Ruger came out with the SR-556 a couple years back now, and it was very well received. The piston-powered rifle seemed to be rugged and reliable, and when I abused one out in the desert of Arizona it worked like a charm no matter how I neglected it. But it seems that a flaw has been identified in the “varmint” heavy barreled version of the gun that could lead to the gun “going off” when you don’t want it to, and Ruger has issued a recall for all varmint variety rifles. Make the jump for the low-down from their website . . .
WHY WE ARE RECALLING THESE RIFLES
We have determined that the disconnector in the two-stage trigger system on our SR-556VT™ modern sporting rifles was not properly heat treated by a vendor and that the disconnector can wear prematurely. This, in turn, can result in an unsafe condition in which the rifle delays firing (there is a delay in firing after the trigger is pulled) or doubles (discharging once when the trigger is pulled and again when the trigger is released). Although no incidents have been reported from the field, this is an important safety issue and we are therefore recalling the rifles.HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOUR RIFLE NEEDS TO BE RECALLED
This disconnector is used only in the two-stage trigger system found in the SR-556VT™ models and no other models of the SR-556® are affected by the recall. However, at this point, all SR-556VT™ rifles manufactured to date are subject to the recall. The SR-556VT™ is distinctive looking as it is equipped with a fixed stock, brushed stainless steel barrel, Magpul® MOE® pistol grip and extended charging handle on the left side. Thus, if your rifle looks like the picture below, it IS subject to the recall. If you have any other model SR-556®, then your rifle IS NOT subject to the recall. If you have questions about whether your rifle is subject to the recall, you can contact our Newport Customer Service Department at 603-865-2442.
Very interesting!
There was a couple out at Asymmetric Solutions yesterday in a Tactical Carbine 1 class and they had purchased two Ruger 556s and … disaster.
Their rifles kept having the most God-awful double-feel malfunctions I’ve ever seen and no end of problems.
So….If it’s a bad disconnector-and ONLY a bad disconnector, how ’bout they just send me a new one and I’ll spend the 5 or so minutes swapping it out and everything’s good.
They probably will if you ask them to…
I bought a used 70’s era Ruger bolt gun years back, I checked on recalls after getting it, like I do with anything I buy used. Found it had a recall on the safety, called Ruger up and they sent me the parts and instructions.
Asked them for new scope mounting screws too, sent new ones with the recall stuff free of charge.
Short Answer? Lawyers. If one clown gets his disconnector in the mail and installs it wrong and has a catastrophic failure or a misfire, Ruger could be exposed to liability because people would rather get a payday than admit they screwed up. And the firearms ignorant juries will be no help to Ruger. Not saying it is right, just that it is reality.
If liability was the only reason for recalling the rifles instead of mailing new disconnectors to the affected customers, Ruger could simply require that a qualified gunsmith make the swap. They could even require the customer to provide them the name and business address of the certified gunsmith that would be doing the work and send the part directly to said gunsmith.
Ruger is somewhat infamous for not making parts available, and expecting owners to ship complete firearms to them for repair.
IOW, good luck.
Speaking of piston guns, maybe you folks at TTAG news central can do a piece on Al Zita of ZM Weapons. He was all the buzz a decade ago but seems to have dropped off the edge of the world when Para bought his design then went belly up.
I’ve got a lot of Ruger guns and they’ve always been happy to help me with the few problems I’ve had. I’d be very surprised if they wouldn’t just send you a good disconnector so you can swap it out yourself.
That’s why I bought a top of the line AK-74 for my SHTF rifle.
PROTIP:
Install a big patch box (like they use on muzzleloaders) in the stock and put a pocket flask in (if you drink).
@ lolinski
Don’t drink.
Should have been an AK-47, but I hear you bro!!!
“doubles (discharging once when the trigger is pulled and again when the trigger is released)”
This sounds more like a selling feature than a reason for a recall…
“This sounds like a selling feature…”
Sounds like you have a bright future at GLOCK.
Burst fire is nowhere near as useful as some people might think
+1
First round on target the rest either redundant or into empty space.
Two recalls so far this year, including American Rimfires. What the hell is happening to Ruger? Maybe too much demand is overwhelming their QC or putting to much stress on Engineering.
its not just ruger. ive noticed allot of ammo recalls and gun recalls. i think cranking out as much as they can as fast as they can is catching up with them.
Went to the range this morning and sighted in my new ruger american in .243. I am, as always, happy with my ruger product. I’ve been using ruger’s since the mid 70’s and have always been happy with their product.
I’ll just put this up here, as always, FWIW, I bought my Daniel Defense M4 V1 about … oh, what, four/five years ago and have put thousands of rounds through it. It’s nothing fancy. No gas piston, just the old DI system. It gets dirty. I clean it, occasionally. I slather it with top quality oil and grease every time I take it out. Never has failed me a single time. I drop it on the ground. I bang it around. It has that “comfortably worn in” look now.
I just keeps working.
+1 for DD’s no frills, no BS quality
I’ve heard the Remington 1911 line is supposedly pretty good, I really like the enhanced and carry models, any thoughts?
I have a 1911R1 Enhanced. Pretty much, I love it.
I had a couple of failure-to-feeds in the first boxes of ammo. Switched to Chip McCormick PowerMags and Wilson Combat, no further problems.
The stock grips are quite aggressive on my soft never-seen-a-hard-day’s-work hands. Swapping to rubber Hogue grips took care of that.
The only thing I have on my to-do list at this point is to put some Nitesiters on the rear sight, probably in green, to get a bar-dot-bar green-red-green sight picture. Not that the stock sights are bad, this is just my personal preference and isn’t high on my priority list.
They’re Series 80 pistols. If you’re seeking a CCW piece, that’s OK. If you’re seeking a pistol for target or competition, that might be a deal breaker.
I have a $500 AR that shot right out of the box and continues to do so with no maintenance what so ever. I had a big name $1000 AR that would not shoot right out of the box and I was told all kinds of nonsense by the mfr to try and make it work. I suggested they take it back and fix the over priced POS or give me my money back. They decided to fix it and I decided to sell it. After owning a half dozen different 556 AR’s and three 762 AR’s…i have determined that mktg hype and price have nothing go do with quality and reliability. KMAGYOYO.
Umm…where I come from, you identify products affected by a recall by the serial number or model number. Saying “If it looks like this” is not adequate. Unless they have a more detailed recall announcement somewhere else, Ruger needs to get their act together on the Quality side, specifically with regard to the traceability of their product, processes, and suppliers.
Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of 500.00 AKs and 100.00 SKSs just keep functioning without cleaning, repairs or quality ammo.
Hi
I have the said rifle, and Ruger did supply us (south african owners) with the parts, 5min and did the swop. The new sear actually improved a already great trigger! I was gritty when I dropped it in so I polished the sides only on 1050 grid paper, dropped it in again and the gritty ness was gone!
This rifle shoots .5 ” groups at will I love it. I use it for IPSC competitions.
Comments are closed.