Grendel American Ranch ejector gouging brass

[MaineAR]

Finally got the Grendel American Ranch to the range yesterday. Got it for my son and put it in a compact stock and Mini-30 mag well (works great btw). Only put 19 rounds through it because, well you all know. Anyway, I had a hell of a time working the bolt after the shot and saw that there were some big gouges on the headstamp. Looked at the bolt and the ejector has a pretty good gouge in it too, which I think is the culprit. (Hopefully the photos show it well). Also, not sure if this means anything, but I compared my x39 American bolt to the Grendel bolt (the one on top in the photo) and the ejector sits recessed compared to the x39 bolt. The rifle ejected brass just fine though. As more and more shots went down the barrel it became easier to work the bolt and as you can see on the Hornady brass, the gouges became less severe compared to shot #1 with the PPU brass. But it still shouldn’t have a gouge in the ejector… Am I being overly picky or what?

Should I just keep shooting it and hope the gouge gets ground down over time on the ejector? Or should I talk to Ruger about this? For those with the American Grendel, does your ejector sit recessed like mine?

[Old Bob]

That burr on your ejector shouldn't be there. Send those photos to Ruger 'cause it's a QA issue. If you can, drift out the ejector retaining pin & polish the ejector face yourself. I don't have a Ruger American so I'm just guessing on its ejector installation. I've had to replace ejectors on other bolts & that's a common way they are retained. Be careful it doesn't shoot across the room after you remove the pin. Been there, done that!:p Now I put some masking tape across the bolt face before removing the pin.

[Lemonaid]

This vid is pretty good for bolt disassembly/re-assembly for the Ruger American. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4s6qFa2K2g

[riuma]

That the Ruger bolt guns can be a little rough from the factory is unquestionable. My Grendel and X39 both needed a huge amount of effort to cycle the bolt. I made up a set of stones to handle the bolt which includes one that slips down the bolt guide slot. Carefully taking out most of the tool marks will help. That said, don't do a thing until you contact Ruger. That ejector is just wrong, regardless of the burrs on the bolt.
~Riuma

[MaineAR]

I’m not too keen on filing/grinding/sanding down the ejector; that should be on Ruger to rectify. I wrote them to see what they say. Hoping it is an easy fix that doesn’t require the whole rifle going back to them. I would prefer to send just the bolt. We will see.

[MaineAR]

Well, it’s as I suspected… They want the whole rifle. Hopefully it won’t take long to repair it.