Due to torn tendons in my shoulders from decades of construction work. I can no longer hold up my custom built Armalite AR10T (that I bought back in the late 90's) with my custom 28" fluted SS bull barrel chambered in 260REM.

So I was in the market for a super light AR10, and the SFAR fit the bill. The dealer I was enquiring with recommend not to get the 18" because all the one's he got shot like crap and had to send all of them back to ruger. But he had better luck with the 20" version, so that's what I ordered.

After getting the SFAR and shot it at the range, it literally shot shotgun patterns. I mean there were holes all over the 24" square target. This was extremely weird because I'm used to shooting MOA give or take depending on the rifle.

After getting it back home and examining it for a possible loose barrel nut, I discovered the barrel extension had a sloppy fit into the upper receiver, I would see the barrel extension move in the receiver when I put a little side pressure on the barrel. The receiver mic to an even 1.000" and the barrel extension mic to 0.998". A 0.002" gap looks small on paper, but it felt like the sloppy fit of a $2 whore.

I tryed to make it a snug fit with aluminum foil wrapped around it, but it kept taring. Finally managed to snug fit the barrel extension by wrapping it with extra thin vellum. After putting it all back together I noticed the gas block was installed at the factory slightly rotated and touching the handguard.

So after going back and forth for a half hour I finally got the gasblock in the center of the handguard. Took so long because there's only a few hundredths of an inch clearance between the handguard and the gasblock.

I'm taking it to the range tomorrow and crossing my fingers it'll shoot MOA ± this time.

Its sad they let it leave the factory like that...

Most of those guys are just basically function testing as many guns a day as they can. It's not an in depth thing.

I would have probably just sent it back if it was that bad.

My 20” is a keeper, but I can’t speak to a paper group size.
I shot 6-7 at 100 to sight in.  The last two cheap WW ball rounds looked like 2” on target.   Once I saw that I started whacking the 12” steel we have all over that cliff band.  Also shooting some PMC ball.
200-300 yard, easy hits
300-460, hit probability drops but dang, I’m kneeling on the concrete to get the elevation as you go up the hill.

I’m about 350 rounds in, all cheap factory. Flawless on gas 3.
Have 100 cases sized/trimmed/primed.  Soon as my bullet order gets here I’ll have 3 different handloads to test, 147 to 168 gr.

Attached File


This is what we have. All over the place.

Attached File

Update on my SFAR:

Very interesting results, my groups dropped from 18 MOA to 1 MOA
using handloads!

The drawback was that I would get flyers every fourth or fifth round.
Although the gas block wasn't in direct contact with the handguard,
the gap was barely the thickness of a sheet of paper, so I'm suspecting
that there's still occasional contact due to harmonic vibrations.
So I'm going to have to file handguard metal by hand out of the way
of  the gas block.

But a another issue had come to light now. I'm suspecting the head space
is a little on the short side. Roughly one in twenty rounds will get a jambed
round in the chamber upon feeding a round, jamming just a 0.100" short of
being fully chambered.This was happening with both military surplus and
my handloads. What makes me suspect a slightly short headspace is that
when I pulled out the stuck round after it was knocked fully home by the
hammer, I noticed the shoulder is fully marked by the chamber as if pressed
into it , indicating full contacted. I typically only shoot handloads, so it's not
a big deal to knock the shoulders back a few thousandths of an inch.

I know most people wonder why I don't just send it back. It's too much of
a hassle for me with the shipping, having to go through an FFL, pay for
another background check to get it back, and so on. And the odds are
nothing will be fixed, or only partly fixed. Plus I suspected the problems
were easy fixes anyway, and I was curious what was causing all the
problems everyone was having.

After fine tuning zero, I shot it off hand and thoroughly enjoyed the
light weight of the rifle and it's shorter action. I think it's becoming
my new favorite general purpose rifle.

Second update:

After hand filing another 0.010" clearance between the handguard
and gas block, the occasional flyers have disappeared.

After knocking the case shoulders back 0.012" on the handloads,
I experienced no more failure to chamber issues. I also shot a
better quality of military surplus ammo as well with no chambering
issues either.