AR556 wow's ....

[stroker87]

hey every one!

picked up a AR556 last week finally had a chance to take it to the range and well it was not good

had fail to feed every round or ever other round for about 1st 50 shots, then i pulled the bolt out and tried oiling it really didnt do any thing? the most rounds i was able to shoot with out a problem was about 10. I was using the factor mag and another pmag i bought that day was the same with either one

i read 100's of positive reviews on this rifle i just dont understad what the problem is with this one? this is my 1st rifle (have a few pistols) i was using Wolfs gold 55gr brass 223. i cam home cleaned the gun fully disassembled the bolt cleaned every thing found a ruger video lightly oiled every thing and put it back together but have not been back out to the range while cleaning it i didnt see any thing that looked to be a problem? only thing i did come up with and not even sure if this is a problem the front sight can be rotated a very very little bit

if any one can tell me what to look for it be appreciated

Thanks!

 

[Aqualung]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

Had you cleaned your rifle before the first range session?

I know that when I got mine out of the box, it was slathered in and oozing the *protective* oil, which isn't the same as lube oil.

I'm not saying you should go to this extent, but when I got my AR556 home, I immediately had a CAT scan performed on it:











My kids love the smell of gun oil and they really were sniffing out the stuff all over and oozing out of the rifle. While it was wet with the stuff, it didn't feel slick, like a lube should feel. I figured it was a preservative or even a machining oil.

So, I thoroughly pulled mine apart and got all that gunk out of it. Then, I lubed everything up with CLP.

I didn't have any issues on my first outing with it or since. I've got about 500 rounds or so through it...

So, I'd say to give it another chance, now that you've cleaned it up. Or, go back in and clean it up some more if you think it might need it.

 

[stroker87]

the only thing i did clean before i hit the range was the barrel, i seen so many video's and read so many reviews where people claimed to just open the box and shoot it with out a issue i didnt give it a full cleaning. I cleaned it really good after the range visit though ( i keep all my guns clean blame it on OCD lol) this one did have a lot of oil or lube that the factory puts in it mostly around the firing pin area

i hope to go back soon just wanted to know if theirs something i should be checking for before i go?

 

[Aqualung]

One thing I found was that the buffer and spring had a lot of that stuff in them. I have zero experience with AR rifles, except for my AR556, but I would suggest pulling th buffer and spring out and getting all that out of there, too. Then lube buffer and spring with a proper lube.

That and your BCG (Bolt Carrier Group) are the heart of the AR, I've come to believe. Others will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure.

Best of luck.

Aqualung

 

[stroker87]

Aqualung, thanks!

i just checked my buffer and spring and they was bone dry, I just lightly oiled the tube spring and buffer with CLP

 

[daveg.inkc]

Your barrel nut is loose!! You should not be able to twist barrel. I fought this for 6 months. Take back to dealer and tighten, or send back to Ruger. And send Mr. Mike Fifer an email. This is an epidemic. I could set mine down while I loaded a mag., may not hit a dinner plate after reloading. It should shoot well after this, but no excuses for this. I called Ruger on mine, lady said to fix it myself.

 

[daveg.inkc]

I dont know if that is a feeding problem. Mine never acted like that, just wouldnt group.

 

[sliclee]

THE BARREL NUT-everything on this rifle is easy to use easy to clean so they say- EXCEPT the BARREL NUT.
You must have a torque wrench, most people do not have one,the tool to tighten the barrel nut and the tool to fit the
torque wrench. a gun dealer might have one -not so simple-wish you good luck Lee

 

[021]

Mine just hiccupped on .223. 5.56, on the other hand, ran flawlessly. So that's what I feed it. After break in, it probably would fire the .223 fine, but I haven't bothered since I have so much 5.56. Shouldn't matter, but it seems it did.

 

[PriseDeFer]

"...i did come up with and not even sure if this is a problem the front sight can be rotated a very very little bit..." Do you mean the whole front sight assembly or just the small front sight post? The front sight assembly is the gas block and the hole in that block has to line up with the hole in the barrel so the magic breath can get into the bolt carrier group to work the gun.

 

[stroker87]

hey guys thanks for all the response!

the barrel it self is tight (checked after seeing your post) just the front sight assembly itself has a very little bit of wiggle, when looking down the sights i can rotate the front sight left to right, it less then a milometer though from side to side i noticed this cause when i was at the range there was some oil around the front of it on the barrel witch was not there before my range visit

I called ruger this morning and i spoke to a lady who was really not much help :shock: only thing she told me was try different ammo if it still happens to call them back

every thing i read prior to buying this AR said they eat any thing you can put true them, not one review stated a ammo brand that was a problem? I looked up the wolfs gold .223 55gr it also has pretty good reviews only a few bad

new to the rifle world but my groups at 50 yard was around 3" i didnt think it was so bad being 1st time out? all the problems i never really dialed in my scope i'm sure i could do better with the AR working correctly and the scope dialed in so at this point i feel the groupings is me not the AR

 

[Aqualung]

hey guys thanks for all the response!

the barrel it self is tight (checked after seeing your post) just the front sight assembly itself has a very little bit of wiggle, when looking down the sights i can rotate the front sight left to right, it less then a milometer though from side to side i noticed this cause when i was at the range there was some oil around the front of it on the barrel witch was not there before my range visit

I called ruger this morning and i spoke to a lady who was really not much help :shock: only thing she told me was try different ammo if it still happens to call them back

every thing i read prior to buying this AR said they eat any thing you can put true them, not one review stated a ammo brand that was a problem? I looked up the wolfs gold .223 55gr it also has pretty good reviews only a few bad

new to the rifle world but my groups at 50 yard was around 3" i didnt think it was so bad being 1st time out? all the problems i never really dialed in my scope i'm sure i could do better with the AR working correctly and the scope dialed in so at this point i feel the groupings is me not the AR

PriseDeFer is correct. If you can move the sight assembly laterally across the bore axis (or turned around the barrel, as it were), your gas block is loose. Check the pins that hold the sight/block in place. If they're loose or missing, that's a problem. That sight/block should be tight to the barrel. If it's not, you can see a gunsmith or make another call to Ruger, telling them that it IS NOT an ammo issue, but a gas block issue.

"Magic breath"...I like that...

Aqualung

 

[stroker87]

I just tapped the pins for the front sight in a little more and its not moving any more but noticed some wear marks on the barrel from the sight moving, not sure if it can bee seen that good in the pic (sorry thats the best pic i was able to take) and you can see some oil, is the oil in that area normal?

hopefully i will be going back to the range soon and will see whats up

 

[Aqualung]

I just tapped the pins for the front sight in a little more and its not moving any more but noticed some wear marks on the barrel from the sight moving, not sure if it can bee seen that good in the pic (sorry thats the best pic i was able to take) and you can see some oil, is the oil in that area normal?

hopefully i will be going back to the range soon and will see whats up

The oil residue is probably blow-by from the loose block. I wouldn't worry about it.

I'd shoot it again and then check the pins to see if they came loose again. If they do, I'm not sure what the next step would be. At that point, I'd probably place another call to Ruger to see what they have to say. Maybe Iowegan could make a suggestion to how to find or make bigger pins...maybe a couple cheap drill bits or something.

Aqualung

 

[IslandRuger]

Oy - sorry you're having issues. Mine is back at the factory for a second time. Barrel nut spinningly loose so back it went - and when it came back it wouldn't function.

Loose gas block would certainly give you some grief for cycling and accuracy.

This is a rifle I would love to love - inexpensive, Ruger name, worked well for a few hundred rounds and then...wham.

 

[steelshooterco]

Stoker87,

If any of my 22 LR rim fires grouped like that, "new to the rifle world but my groups at 50 yard was around 3" i didnt think it was so bad being 1st time out? all the problems i never really dialed in my scope i'm sure i could do better" they would deserve to become tomato stakes.... This includes pistols, you have a definite problem.

 

[IslandRuger]

are they California Compliant tomato stakes? Cherry tomatoes only, no more than 10 to a bunch, you have to have a "tomato button" to prune them...

 

[FergusonTO35]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

Had you cleaned your rifle before the first range session?

I know that when I got mine out of the box, it was slathered in and oozing the *protective* oil, which isn't the same as lube oil.

I'm not saying you should go to this extent, but when I got my AR556 home, I immediately had a CAT scan performed on it:











My kids love the smell of gun oil and they really were sniffing out the stuff all over and oozing out of the rifle. While it was wet with the stuff, it didn't feel slick, like a lube should feel. I figured it was a preservative or even a machining oil.

So, I thoroughly pulled mine apart and got all that gunk out of it. Then, I lubed everything up with CLP.

I didn't have any issues on my first outing with it or since. I've got about 500 rounds or so through it...

So, I'd say to give it another chance, now that you've cleaned it up. Or, go back in and clean it up some more if you think it might need it.

Love those kitties, orange tabbies are the best. You have very good taste in music too!

 

[stroker87]

Stoker87,

If any of my 22 LR rim fires grouped like that, "new to the rifle world but my groups at 50 yard was around 3" i didnt think it was so bad being 1st time out? all the problems i never really dialed in my scope i'm sure i could do better" they would deserve to become tomato stakes.... This includes pistols, you have a definite problem.

i cant blame it all on the rifle, this is my 1st one so i'm learning it and how to hold it and things like that plus i had a strikefire ll on it at the time witch i didnt like, I now have a Burris fullfeild tac30 with fastfire 3 that i think will help next time out

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi, Stroker

This isn't particular to your rifle, but to firearms in general:

It's a good idea to take ANY brand new gun down as far as you can in a normal field stripping drill, clean thoroughly, and lube properly, before the first firing. With Ruger's guns, I'd consider it MANDATORY! I hear these stories about people taking their Ruger rifles out of the box and running thru however many 100s of problem free rounds, but I've yet to see it in person!

OTOH, I've seen way too many that reinforce my old gunsmith boss' comment that "Ruger has no trash cans on the floor, so when the janitors sweep up, they just empty their dust pans into the nearest gun being assembled." He had little good to say about Ruger's QC! I have even less. As in, "Come on, guys, don't you have compressed air in your factory and an air gun on every bench to blow the chips out?"

Good luck getting yours working... and please be sure to share your experiences with Mr. Fifer. He gets paid enough to run a company that turns out a flawless product... if not flawless, at least good enough to come with a WRITTEN warranty, no less! Ruger's customers need to keep his feet to the fire...

Rick C