While i consider Rugers AR's to be extremely substandard, by far the single worst component on them is their bolt carrier group.
I have seen so far 7 different Ruger AR's exhibit the same issue where a gas ring partially jumps the slot, and wedges the bolt partially out of battery over the past few years.
Fixing the problem involves pulling back the CH till the bolt locks about halfway back, separating the upper and lower until you can get a screw driver in the forward assist scallops, and driving it forward with a hammer till you can use the FA itself. Once it is in battery, you can fully remove the lower. Unlock the charging handle, have the upper in a vise (or have a buddy) hold it upside down, and stick a thick screwdriver against the back portion of the BCG, and hit it with a hammer. Hard.
With the carrier out, you should be able to remove the cotter pin and firing pin just fine. You will need to beat the bolt into its locked position by placing the BCG vertically and hitting it hard with a hammer. When that is done, you'll need to rotate the cam pin 90°. I've found a pair of needle nose pliers work the best. You'll then need to pull the cam pin out. Any slip joint pliers work well. You can then use a .30 caliber ram rod in the backside of the carrier to pop the bolt out. This beats up on ruger's cam pin pretty hard, and I would recommend replacing this part.
Typically it's only one of the 3 rings that has jumped, the other 2 are usually fine. Replacing all 3 rings will not solve the issue. Fortunately the AR really only needs one ring, so removing one of the rings will at least get you an extra mag or two of shooting if you really need it.
I believe 1 (or multiple) of 3 things are happening. Ruger's bolts are undersized, the carrier's bore is oversized, or the slot the rings sit in is too shallow.
The only real fix is to buy a higher quality BCG, Colt, BCM, DD, RRA, PSA, hell, even Anderson. These BCG's are also far easier to disassemble since the cut out for the cotter pin is properly shaped, unlike ruger who just cuts a flat spot.
You can always contact ruger for a new one, but it'll be a similar BCG to what you already have, from the same production line, with the same (at best) batch QC checks.
I'll see if I can add some pics later, but damn ruger. It's an AR BCG. The only thing that's easier to make is an A2 pistol grip.
I have seen so far 7 different Ruger AR's exhibit the same issue where a gas ring partially jumps the slot, and wedges the bolt partially out of battery over the past few years.
Fixing the problem involves pulling back the CH till the bolt locks about halfway back, separating the upper and lower until you can get a screw driver in the forward assist scallops, and driving it forward with a hammer till you can use the FA itself. Once it is in battery, you can fully remove the lower. Unlock the charging handle, have the upper in a vise (or have a buddy) hold it upside down, and stick a thick screwdriver against the back portion of the BCG, and hit it with a hammer. Hard.
With the carrier out, you should be able to remove the cotter pin and firing pin just fine. You will need to beat the bolt into its locked position by placing the BCG vertically and hitting it hard with a hammer. When that is done, you'll need to rotate the cam pin 90°. I've found a pair of needle nose pliers work the best. You'll then need to pull the cam pin out. Any slip joint pliers work well. You can then use a .30 caliber ram rod in the backside of the carrier to pop the bolt out. This beats up on ruger's cam pin pretty hard, and I would recommend replacing this part.
Typically it's only one of the 3 rings that has jumped, the other 2 are usually fine. Replacing all 3 rings will not solve the issue. Fortunately the AR really only needs one ring, so removing one of the rings will at least get you an extra mag or two of shooting if you really need it.
I believe 1 (or multiple) of 3 things are happening. Ruger's bolts are undersized, the carrier's bore is oversized, or the slot the rings sit in is too shallow.
The only real fix is to buy a higher quality BCG, Colt, BCM, DD, RRA, PSA, hell, even Anderson. These BCG's are also far easier to disassemble since the cut out for the cotter pin is properly shaped, unlike ruger who just cuts a flat spot.
You can always contact ruger for a new one, but it'll be a similar BCG to what you already have, from the same production line, with the same (at best) batch QC checks.
I'll see if I can add some pics later, but damn ruger. It's an AR BCG. The only thing that's easier to make is an A2 pistol grip.
