Ruger SFAR issues

[Tonopah]

I pulled my 308 Ruger SFAR 16” out of the back of the safe, removed the OEM muzzle brake and installed a Keymo brake. Attached a Dead Air Sandman to it and went shooting. The OEM gas block was still set at 3. Shooting was problematic. Mostly failures to eject at all or only partial ejection.

I set the gas block to 2 but the same thing happened pretty much the same way. I set it to 1 and it was better, but far from reliable.

I removed the suppressor and set the gas block back to 3. Rifle shot fine. Dropped it back to 2 and had problems with ejection again. This rifle probably only had 50 rounds through it, all on the factory supplied initial gas block setting of 3, and functioned fine before I put it in the back of the safe a couple of years ago.

The serial number on this rifle is 563-04587 so it was “shipped in 2022.”

By the way, the rifle is quite accurate as I had no trouble at all hitting 200 and 300 yard plates from an unsupported standing position — when it did shoot.

Should I order and install a Superlative gas block or just continue to shoot it on setting 3 with no suppressor for a while and see if the rifle somehow magically “breaks in”?

 

[RockAndSage]

I pulled my 308 Ruger SFAR 16” out of the back of the safe, removed the OEM muzzle brake and installed a Keymo brake. Attached a Dead Air Sandman to it and went shooting. The OEM gas block was still set at 3. Shooting was problematic. Mostly failures to eject at all or only partial ejection.

I set the gas block to 2 but the same thing happened pretty much the same way. I set it to 1 and it was better, but far from reliable.

I removed the suppressor and set the gas block back to 3. Rifle shot fine. Dropped it back to 2 and had problems with ejection again. This rifle probably only had 50 rounds through it, all on the factory supplied initial gas block setting of 3, and functioned fine before I put it in the back of the safe a couple of years ago.

The serial number on this rifle is 563-04587 so it was “shipped in 2022.”

By the way, the rifle is quite accurate as I had no trouble at all hitting 200 and 300 yard plates from an unsupported standing position — when it did shoot.

Should I order and install a Superlative gas block or just continue to shoot it on setting 3 with no suppressor for a while and see if the rifle somehow magically “breaks in”?

What was it lubed with? How much, and where?

 

[RockAndSage]

What was it lubed with? How much, and where?

Also, IIRC, going from setting 3 to setting 2 actually reduces the gas, right?

 

[43.6N]

For your gas block, is “3” wide open? And “1” most restricted?

Here are a few follow up questions from 20years of working around and “tuning” ar15’s and AR10’s:

How far was brass ejecting? Any pattern to the ejection? Does your bolt ejector plunger work? Extractor claw is clean? Good tension on the extractor? Any chipping or premature wear on your bolt lugs?
What does your buffer system look like? What does the buffer weigh? Does the spring have a color painted on some of the coils?

 

[43.6N]

Mostly failures to eject at all or only partial ejection.

Describe this with a little more detail please.
Maybe pictures if you have them.

 

[Tonopah]

What was it lubed with? How much, and where?

Barrel thoroughly cleaned, dried well, and then one patch through it will a little CLP. Bolt carrier group was very clean, wiped it down, used nylon brush, left it with a light coat of Ballistal. I did not remove and clean the firing pin, however. A little bit of Ballistal inside the receiver and then wiped down.

going from setting 3 to setting 2 actually reduces the gas, right?

Yes.

For your gas block, is “3” wide open? And “1” most restricted?

Yes. Ruger recommends running the rifle on 3 (wide open) for several hundred rounds (so I have heard in the forums) to “break the rifle in” and then dial back to 2 for all normal shooting. Position 1 is intended for shooting suppressed.

Mostly failures to eject at all or only partial ejection.

I pull the trigger and nothing happens — then I notice that the bolt is fully closed on an empty chamber. Or, bolt is half way closed with the cartridge from the chamber stuck partly sideways in the receiver — often with damage to the case mouth and some to the side of the empty cartridge case.

I was thinking that the bolt is moving too fast and thought that reducing the gas setting would help (this is when the rifle was suppressed). When the suppressor was removed, the rifle functioned on 3 just fine but problems returned when I dialed it back to 2.

I am going to strip the rifle down again tonight and clean it, and this time I will remove the firing pin to check it for any damage and clean it too. I will shoot again tomorrow.

The ammo I was shooting was Federal 150 grain 308.

 

[Tonopah]

ChatGBT:
While
there is no formal, public safety recall for the Ruger SFAR regarding its gas block, Ruger has been actively addressing reliability issues—specifically cycling and extraction failures—by replacing original, problematic gas regulators with a revised, 4-position version. Early models often required, or still benefit from, sending the rifle back to the factory to fix issues related to gas leaks, loose gas-block screws, and inconsistent cycling.

 

[Tonopah]

I will remove the hand guard and inspect the gas block to see what I can see. I will also closely inspect the bolt to see if the gas rings look ok.

 

[43.6N]

Thank you for more detail.
If there is a recall out for your model, having Ruger take care of it seems the smartest and safest thing to do first.

 

[Tonopah]

I removed the BCG and then tried to remove the key thingy that has to be removed before the bolt itself can be pulled from the carrier. That key would not budge. I had to use some Kroil and a pair of pliers to get it out.

The interior of the BCG was filthy with a thick black grease including the firing pin channel. I cleaned all that up with a nylon brush, a wire brush, Q Tips and a pipe cleaner. Re-lubed everything with a bit of CLP and put the bolt/BCG back together.

I noticed some flakes of brass here and there in the receiver and the mouth of the chamber. I cleaned that out. I think that was from the cartridge case mouths that got deformed when the rifle was jamming. The bolt would sometimes not fully eject the spent cartridge and then slam it forward back against the chamber mouth -- damaging (partially collapsing the cartridge case mouth) and probably peeling away some flakes of brass.

I did not inspect the gas regulator. I will shoot the rifle again tomorrow and see if the sticky crud in the bolt/bolt carrier group/firing pin channel is the culprit or not first. Only then will I deal with the gas regulator — only if I think I have to.

All of this is actually over my head but I am just trying to address the obvious and easy things first.