Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles RUGER SFAR PROBLEM SOLVED UPDATE

HEY ALL...I posted a while back about my problem with my SFAR...NUMEROUS FTF & EJECT AND NO LOCK BACK...thinking it just needed Ruger's "BREAK IN"
I continued to shoot it...after about 125 rounds with a superficial cleaning at 50 rounds, I thoroughly cleaned it...and removed the handguard to clean the regulator and gas block....the set screws were about to fall out and the gas block was VERY loose on the bbl...cleaned it all up and the set screws and set screw holes and loctite'd 'em in....just got back from my club range here in central texas...its VERY hot and humid today...97DEG..but the shooting positions are all covered....fired approx 75 rounds of factory hornady & winchester 150 hunting loads and my fav 150 hunting load with TAC powder...
no more FTF or Eject and rifle locks back on empty magazine..it is throwing the fired cases at 3 to 4 o'clock on
gas setting T W O....
PROBLEM SOLVED....now to write RUGER a nasty note on their exemplary quality control......
Pete in central texas

That's not the first one I've heard of having that problem. Glad you got it sorted out.

I bought one (20") a couple of weeks ago and haven't had any issues with it, but I haven't shot it enough to call it reliable. It does seem to be accurate enough with the one load I've tried in it, but right now I'm just trying to see if it'll run. So far so good.

More than likely, I'll shoot it some more this weekend with the load I have, then we'll get into trying a different load or two with bullets more suitable for hunting, the one I've tried is using an FMJ.

I'm glad you took the initiative to fix this simple problem. Usually folks like to piss & moan so they can be consoled.
Good job.

Ruger ARs have a pretty terrible track record.

Out comes the FUD spreader..

Mine has run flawlessly for three hundred plus rounds. Accurate with several bullet weights and loads. Putting a Burris 2x7 scout scope on it soon. It will be a do all rifle then.

Really? I am an FFL and have a VERY GOOD customer that ordered a Ruger SFAR. He got 1 round thru it before it locked up tighter then [bleep]. Why the [bleep] should someone have to fix a problem on a BRAND NEW rifle? Do you have to do that on a new car? If Ruger can't get their [bleep] together [bleep] them. Bill Ruger may have been smart but he was a FUDD if you want to throw that word around. 10 round mags for you and me but the popo get 20 and 30 rounders. Dumb bastard

One round fired and it’s locked up? I’ll ask the obvious then
What ammunition was fired in his rifle?

I have only bought one new vehicle that didn't come from the factory with major problems that required repair right off the bat. Nissan, Ford, Jeep. Same would be true with Toyota but they don't have a way to fix its problem, it's a design flaw with no work-around. Apparently the service department manager's truck has the same problem.

So .. unfortunately, that's a big YES.

He won't answer. He doesn't know.

The only issue I am having with my SFAR is with the last round loading. I am thinking its a mag issue because it is only ever the last round. The bolt fails to catch the rear of the cartridge but picks it about 1/2” from the base and jams the round in an upward angle. My thoughts are that the spring is. Ot pushing that last round up enough. Only used Magpul 10 and 20 round mag, so going to source a different mag to try.

If you think the mag spring is weak you might try pulling it from the mag and giving it a little stretch. Not a long term solution, but it may isolate the problem. Swapping mags to see if you can duplicate the issue with the mag is an obvious troubleshooting step before you go screwing with the magazine.

I’ve been shooting my 16” SFAR a bit and it has a definite preference for 168 grain bullets over the 150s. Accuracy (with 168s) and reliability have been wonderful. I did pull the annoyingly loud muzzle brake and install a Surefire three prong flash hider to mount my suppressor. Recoil with the suppressor ain’t bad at all, and with the suppressor the rifle is a joy to shoot.

Edit**
I’ll add that even if I wasn’t going to suppress the rifle I would ditch the factory muzzle brake. It is very good at mitigating recoil, but the noise is well beyond my acceptable limits. I would never want to shoot it without ear pro. Had it at the range a while back before I took off the factory brake and I was setting off car alarms with it.

I have actually never fired mine with the factory brake. I installed a ASR brake for my suppressors. Mine also likes the 168 BTHPs and shoots them quite accurately. I have been loading 155 gr BTHPs w/cannelure over IMR 4895 and that seems to be a good load.

I will try stretching the mag spring to see if that makes a change.

It is an obvious question, and reason for the issue.

Or, Ruger shipped a schiddy gun?

Either is a possibility.

I wish they made one in an 18" Creedmoor. Although the 16" 308 is pretty tempting I'm just giving them a little time to get them ironed out.

I have an older dpms recon 16" that shoots very well but has the old quad rail that chews up anything that gets near it in the safe. I need to replace it with something mlock but I'm not sure what forearms it takes.

Bb

I did stretch out the spring on a MAGPUL mag and did not have FTFs this past weekend.

On another note, I picked up two ASC 10 round mags and found that they would not work at all. The rear cut out on the mag would not allow the bolt release to move downward. I took the Dremel to them removing enough material to allow them to work correctly. Still need to test them out to see if they will feed properly. I use ASC mags for 223 and 6.8 SPC and never had issues with those.

The right shows the modification.


This rifle consistently shoots under 1-1/2" at 100 yards with a SWFA 1-4. This was just under 1".

I normally shoot this with a Hybrid-46, but was shooting it with a YHM R9 yesterday. Looks like the POI shifted down a little from where it is zeroed with a Hybrid-46.

That’s good accuracy with the 155s. Thanks for sharing. No problems with my mags. I’m using Pmags.