44 Mag.Ruger carbine won't eject proper--- Help!!

[frogjake]

I have an older 70's model Ruger carbine it shoots fine with store bought rounds however, my buddy loaded some real nice 300 grain rounds for me now it won't eject properly.   Any one else have this problem?      frogjake

[JW/OK]

I got some 240 grain jacketed reloads from a friend  that would not cycle and eject the empty. The next batch I loaded near the max with H110 and had no problems. I think the velocity was too low on the first rounds to cycle the action. I think that you should be shooting at least factory velocities for best results.

[Ak.Hiker]

The Ruger 44 Carbine was designed to function with the factory 240 JSP or JHP ammo. If you are going to hand load go with full power loads that run about the same as the factory Remington and Winchester 240 grain loads  My Ruger has always been 100% with the 240's.

[nrb]

I have used a Ruger 44mag carbine since the 70's also with reloads. Years ago, I did an accuracy and function test with it. I found that any bullets lighter than 240 gr grouped poorly. 240 gr, 270 gr, and 300 gr bullets grouped best. So it seems the rifling works best with heavier bullets. I use only H110 or Win 296 at near max loads. I never have problems with ejection or accuracy. This is one fine woods rifle.

best,  nrb

[Rangr44]

[it shoots fine with store bought rounds however, my buddy loaded some real nice 300 grain rounds for me now it won't eject properly. ]

IMHO, there's your answer.

If the gun function with factory ammo, but not with reloads, then I'd say it's the reloads and not the gun, that's causing the problem.

If the "300 grain" handloads are lead boolits, they've most likely clogged the gas system - as the gun was designed for jacketed factory 240gr ammo.

[adirondacker]

my carbines,i have 4 ,seem to prefer higher velocity loads to run consistently.i only use 240 grn xtp's.22.5 grns of 2400 seems to do the trick.check load manual to verify.i think you will find this to be a max. or above load.i see no signs of pressure from them in the carbines,now my b-hawk thats another story.later,adker

[Steve P]

I would like to interject another possibility.  Is the brass not extracting properly, or not ejecting properly?  There is a difference. 
The extractor on the bolt pulls the empty out of the chamber.  When the bolt gets back far enough, the brass hits the ejector and flies out.  If your brass only partially ejects, you usually have the empty sticking out the side of the bolt in what some call a stove pipe jamb.  If your bolt doesn't go back far enough to get to the extractor, a lot of the time the bolt will start to close and stop if the brass doesn't go back into the chamber, or the bolt will go back far enough to start to pick up the next round, but not far enough to eject the empty, so you end up with two shells trying to fill the action.

How clean is your chamber?  How well is the reloaded ammo fitting in your chamber?  You might try cleaning your chamber and trying one load at a time.  See if singles will eject.  I don't recall on the 44 carbine if they stay locked open on the last round.  If the guns does stay locked open with one round, you have enough power to cycle the action properly.

Just some more ideas before discounting your reloads.

Steve 

[Varmint Hunter]

I have an older Ruger 44 carbine and a new modern Ruger carbine as well. Supposedly the original model was designed for 240gr jacketed bullets and the newer model for "up to 280gr", if I remember correctly. However, I have had the best results with BOTH rifles using 300gr Hornady XTP bullets. They feed and eject normally and are the most accurate.

If I had to guess, I would think that your handloads may be a little light and are causing a reduction in bolt thrust. A powder with the burn rate inappropiate for the autoloader may be a problem too. I have always used H110 or W296 which are said to be the same powder. The lot to lot variation between cans can account for the slightly different velocities that you see in reloading manuals but I believe they are the same powder.

[Masterblaster1]

I had the same problem with my 60's model carbine when I first bought it. Take it apart and clean the living you know what out of it with gunscrubber. Keep spraying it out until the gunscrubber comes out clear. And then lube it with a high grade lubricant, I used clp breakfree. Now I have no problems and it functions great. I would appear this gun has to be squeaky clean to function properly. Also if you plan to shoot it in cold weather I would stay away from heavier oils like hoppes #9 as our hunting party has experienced gum ups in semi autos with the heavier oil. My load is a 270 grain speer gold dot flat point with mag cci primers and a healthy dose of H110, so far at 100 yards groups have been around 3 inches which is fine for a short carbine.

[targshooter]

The 44 Carbine was designed for the 240 grain bullet. The User's Manual clearly stated this. The manual also warned against lead bullets. In the 1970s I owned two of these, and the didactic follows.
44 Carbine no. 1 was inaccurate. It would function normally with regular 220 or 240 grain bullet loads. Any 180 grain loads had to be HOT if the rifle was to work. I sold it, just too inaccurate.
44 Carbine no. 2 was as accurate as the Deerfield I now own. It would not function properly with any bullet weight, but approached normal best with the standard 240 grain load. Ruger repaired the feed mechanism. After the repair it worked fine if you scrubbed it clean and lubed it down every 50-100 shots or so. It never functioned correctly with anything but 240 grain loads. Sold it.
2000 rolls around and I buy a Deerfield (does this guy learn?) Well, Ruger got it right. The rifle is accurate enough; 3-4 MOA at 100 yards with its peep sights and a 2 MOA rifle with a scope. The load I use for hunting is the Speer 270 grain Gold Dot. The User's Manual says bullets under 215 grains weight and those over 255 may not allow proper magazine function. However, I have seen and others here have reported successfully using 300 grain bullets. Thus, the bullet cannelure placement or the crimp point along the bullet longitudinal seems to allow greater bullet weights to be used. This gun has had no functioning problems of any sort.
So, for your help. I would vote with Masterblaster on keeping the magazine/feed system VERY clean. I would add, insure the bolt and bolt carrier are free of any grit and lubricated. I used a graphite powder in this area to preclude sludge formation in the 70s, but this was before Breakfree. I would lube the entire mechanism with Breakfree if I owned a 44 Carbine today, as this lubricant works well in the far from clean AR15 series of weapons.

[roger460xvr]

Some one tell me way they quit making this rilfe; i never did ever get one can't even find one on gunbroker.com any more.