Ruger America in .308.....Tight Chamber?.....Not a Gen II Rifle.

[Coehorn]

Hello Gun Gurus.

Bought a new, Gen I Ruger American in .308. Great little gun for the price. This is my first time with a .308. Be gentle with me.

I also bought two ammo cans of the ammo pictured. Many hundreds of rounds. I'm guessing it's NATO with the cross in a circle head stamp. The label doesn't read Semi-Auto Only. I thought it would work in a .308 chambered bolt action rifle. Three cases will eject then one gets stuck. Then four cases will eject and one gets stuck. Then several cases in a row get stuck. Is this normal in a .308 chamber? I'm on the very edge of 100% extraction. What to do. What to do.

Would pushing the chamber back a hair remedy the problem? Would going all the way up to a Field Gage remedy the problem?

Also, is there a die that will allow for the squishing of these brass cases. I tried it with my RCBS set of dies and it didn't work. Or is it the round that's the problem regardless of chamber dimensions?

MTIA

 

[John from MD]

Hello Gun Gurus.

Bought a new, Gen I Ruger American in .308. Great little gun for the price. My is my first time with a .308. Be gentle with me.

I also bought two ammo cans of the ammo pictured. Many hundreds of rounds. I'm guessing it's NATO with the cross in a circle head stamp. The label doesn't read Semi-Auto Only. I thought it would work in a .308 chambered bolt action rifle. Three cases will eject then one gets stuck. Then four cases will eject and one gets stuck. Then several cases in a row get stuck. Is this normal in a .308 chamber? I'm on the very edge of 100% extraction. What to do. What to do.

Would pushing the chamber back a hair remedy the problem? Would going all the way up to a Field Gage remedy the problem?

Also, is there a die that will allow for the squishing of these brass cases. I tried it with my RCBS set of dies and it didn't work. Or is it the round that's the problem regardless of chamber dimensions?

MTIA

First buy a cartridge gauge so you can see if the ammo is in spec. If not, pull the heads for reloading. If they are, take the rifle to a gunsmith and have him cut the chamber to SAAMI specs.

 

[Coehorn]

Buying a gauge is a good idea. I have them for all of my reloads. Didn't even cross my mind to buy one to check commercially made ammo.

Will jump right on that. Thank you.

 

[pre64hunter]

Try some different ammo. If the problem is the gun, call Ruger.
I've encountered more than a few chamber dimension problems with Rugers, usually over size or excessive headspace..
I've been shooting different 308's since 1974, it's not the nature of the cartridge.

 

[Coehorn]

Try some different ammo. If the problem is the gun, call Ruger.
I've encountered more than a few chamber dimension problems with Rugers, usually over size or excessive headspace..
I've been shooting different 308's since 1974, it's not the nature of the cartridge.

Had the same problem with this ammo . Does 7.62x51 automatically mean NATO?

Time to buy some actual .308 Win stuff and see if I have extraction problems with that. That should tell the tale.

Thank you.

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

7.62 does not automatically mean NATO...it has to have the cross in a circle on the rim to be NATO. It could be NATO spec but not officially NATO. Genuine NATO ammo has to be made by a member nation.

Back in the '80s I had several cases of 7.62x51 ammo made in Nigeria of all places...loaded to NATO specs but not officially NATO. It was superb ammo.

7.62x51 and .308 aren't exactly the same. The same goes for 5.56x45 and .223 Remington. There are some differences that can cause issues with some rifles...maybe no issues but it's not a guarantee.

 

[Coehorn]

^^^ ^^^

 

[atblis]

Redding body die. May need to lube cases, though if it really is only bumping the shoulder, might get away without lube.

It's nice if everything is in spec, but sometimes you got to work around that. I

 

[pre64hunter]

The ammo should work, it's not the ammo. Call Ruger

 

[Squaregrouper]

Slowly and gently chamber an empty chamber/non-existent round. Then do the same with a live round. The feeling should be very similar.
If the live round fights you, I would suspect a cartridge longer than SAAMI specs.
I have a .308 cartridge checker in Pikesville you're welcome to use. My fee is ONE taco. (Taco Bell tacos are acceptable)

 

[4g64loser]

Slowly and gently chamber an empty chamber/non-existent round. Then do the same with a live round. The feeling should be very similar.
If the live round fights you, I would suspect a cartridge longer than SAAMI specs.
I have a .308 cartridge checker in Pikesville you're welcome to use. My fee is ONE taco. (Taco Bell tacos are acceptable)

You failed to disclose the vigorish you demand for late payments.

 

[atblis]

The ammo should work, it's not the ammo. Call Ruger

Depends on the Ammo. It may be out of spec. Could be the Ruger is on the tight side of SAAMI, and the ammo is on the long side.

The cheapest first step towards a real diagnosis is to get an ammo head space measuring tool. You can get them on Amazon, or they even stock them at BassPro. $30. You'll be able to see if the ammo is inside SAAMI specs, and if it varies. You could cull the long rounds, and shoot the short ones. Another option would be to bump the shoulders using a Redding body die or similar.

https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-380716-Cartridge-Gauge-Winchester/dp/B06W2NTBP5/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oXt2qcQf5_zeIRctk7TxcGLmND3rpAtTj4QpGYWbqp7x8yZVEHP37F3iz8vROW4cGkavT7rgrR39yi85-OMNV-UhlI-j8ISKQTHAMZx3Ks7Wu0XdfKjNXHcxX0nZoD1Vj_iwK-gqkU_KZls6IJvMph8fnj1_OZaHV4k7cZ9u0PW_YHbYxeKvCr87pActa86n0uuKYzjJ6CnXzVFeDk1TgteUGPQlULHzgflaO6CylzvB21HQXelFqbI53Hs3eIgN8d1uvZf89IsbaLrFb8wttcZQglKVy2zWewPLRT1bcHQ.zhhS4VwRZqQIyscdHL_ZZjR_XB-hGfMYC0rLhBdMI1k&dib_tag=se&keywords=case%2Bgauge%2B308&qid=1714486555&sr=8-1&th=1&psc=1

 

[atblis]

First buy a cartridge gauge so you can see if the ammo is in spec. If not, pull the heads for reloading. If they are, take the rifle to a gunsmith and have him cut the chamber to SAAMI specs.

Looks like it uses a jam nut system like Savage. In theory should be a matter of simply loosening the nut, unscrewing the barrel and tightening her back up. I think it's 16 TPI, so 6° out would get you 0.001" longer headspace. Looks like typical is to use an aftermarket barrel nut, so use a pipe wrench to get factory nut removed.

 

[pre64hunter]

Are the cases sticking after they are fired?
OR is it loaded rounds won't chamber or will they chamber, but some won't extract?
OR is it fired cases won't go back in and extract?
Does the bolt close completely on loaded ammo and the gun goes boom and then some of the empties are hard to extract?

 

[outrider58]

I prefer Sheridan gauges for bottle-neck cartridges. They are worth the extra $. They will show you where the failure occurs.

308 WIN Ammunition Gauge

Choose between SLOTTED or NON-SLOTTED. AMMUNITION GAUGES are uniquely designed to check loaded ammunition, giving you the ability to check your factory ammunition or reloads against a spec chamber. The gauge is machined to the SAAMI minimum chamber spec for the 308 WIN caliber. This…

sheridanengineering.com

 

[Coehorn]

Are the cases sticking after they are fired?
OR is it loaded rounds won't chamber or will they chamber, but some won't extract?
OR is it fired cases won't go back in and extract?
Does the bolt close completely on loaded ammo and the gun goes boom and then some of the empties are hard to extract?

Yes.
All rounds will chamber but some won't extract.
Haven't tried putting fire formed cases back in.
Yes.

I have a cartridge gauge on the way. Thank you for all the assistance. Beginning to sound like I should call Ruger. The backing off of the barrel 6 degrees or so sounds interesting.

 

[John from MD]

Yes.
All rounds will chamber but some won't extract.
Haven't tried putting fire formed cases back in.
Yes.

I have a cartridge gauge on the way. Thank you for all the assistance. Beginning to sound like I should call Ruger. The backing off of the barrel 6 degrees or so sounds interesting.

It can only be done easily on non gas operated barrels that use a barrel nut to secure the barrel to the receiver. To do it correctly, you need at least two headspace gauges.

 

[atblis]

Are there any distinct markings on the fired cases. I’ve got a Winchester that has a rough chamber and has extraction issues with soft brass. You just know to avoid certain brands. You can see the markings from chamber. Gun shoots great otherwise so I just live with it.

Adjusting the headspace is definitely not something you do blindly.

 

[Coehorn]

No marks at all. Bright and smooth chamber.

 

[pre64hunter]

Try different ammo. Your ammo box does say "Recommended for semi-auto rifles". If you still have problems, then call Ruger.
If you tell Ruger your using surplus ammo, they'll tell you try different ammo.

Why monkey with a brand-new rifle. That's backwards and ridiculous to try to adapt a brand-new rifle to work with a certain type of surplus ammo meant for semi-autos.