223 version of the RPR

Had to do some finagling but got the Magnetospeed on my 223 RPR today...

80gr Amax @ 2.45" COAL
24.9gr Varget
Lapua brass
CCI-450
2715fps

Haven't had a chance to verify the velocity at distance with drops.
 
Had to do some finagling but got the Magnetospeed on my 223 RPR today...

80gr Amax @ 2.45" COAL
24.9gr Varget
Lapua brass
CCI-450
2715fps

Haven't had a chance to verify the velocity at distance with drops.
I played around with the 80 eld's and XBR 8208 the other day. I ran an ocw test from 23.6 to 24.6 gr. Had a node between 23.8 and 24.0 then another one starting to form at 24.6 but didn't want to push it any harder cause I was starting to getting flattened primers. Accuracy was excellent with all groups in the .4's and one at .253 24.0 gr and one at .171 23.8 gr. Velocity ranged from 2726 to 2848 from a labradar. Gonna load up some at 23.9 to proof test my results and center up on the node if all looks good I'm calling it done, can't ask for much better than that. it goes without saying this load data is for my rifle only start low and work up.


 
Bull81 have you had a chance to verify your 80 ELD/XBR load in your RPR yet?

I did I settled in on 23.9 grains of XBR 8208 seated at .
2.465. Fired 20 rounds across the crono and got an average of 2787 with an SD of 10.8 for 19 rounds, crono didn't pick one up. Accuracy was very good all 5 round groups were in the .3's. Very happy with the results.
 
Was able to confirm my 80 gr eld load this weekend at 825 yards. 6.5 mils put me where I needed to be and matched up well with my velocity and the stated BC value. Load was very accurate at that range easily less than 1 moa even in the tricky wind we had that day.
 
I bought one on Saturday. I wish I had inspected it better before taking it home. No refunds on guns.

-magazines don't lock into the patented extra super mega bottom metal of the gods
-safety rattles around, no positive click in either position. Probably best to remove it to keep it from activating
-finish is missing in a lot of places and wipes off by hand in other places
-stock uses an AR15 castle nut, which isn't staked nor tightened, so the stock flops around
-due to sloppy machining, the stock wouldn't lock closed until I tapped the release button with a punch. This removed enough of the burrs to lock the stock
-bolt and bolt raceway ribbed for her pleasure
-recalled

I didn't inspect the rifle well. I had it out of the box for maybe 15 minutes, 10 of those to film a youtube vid to mock how junk the rifle is. I expected more from Ruger, but it's a bolt gun that isn't a mauser design, so OFC it's bad.

I'm embarassed that I accepted this thing. Hopefully Ruger doesn't fix it, or give me a replacement from the heap. I'd rather they pull one from the rack of rifles they give to reviewers.


https://youtu.be/h8cghSeaXDo
 
10 minutes to film youtube video with less than 20 seconds of footage? lol

I guess it would have been too much to actually take some measuring tools and figure out why the magazine latch wouldn't engage? It would have been a lot more informative than you cussing and smashing on your rifle. It could be as simple as the latch being a little long and out of spec which could be shortened with a few minutes of filing. I'm also sure Ruger would send you whatever parts were needed to fix it without boxing it all up and shipping it back.

Where's the footage showing the finish, stock, and safety issues?

I find it a little hard to believe that the finish wipes off by hand in places, I'd love to see a video of this and also showing the missing finish. This is a very legitimate concern if true.

Loose castle nut? Just tighten the thing and stake it if that's what you want. It takes all of a couple minutes. I'm glad they don't come tightened with hulk strength and/or staked because it makes it easier to swap out the stock.

The safety is a piece of junk and a known issue, swap it with a seekins like everyone else does, problem solved.

It's pretty common for folder mechanisms to be a little tight out of the box. This is so they're not stripper loose once they wear in a bit. The obvious solution is precision billet machining, but this is a $1K rifle, you're simply not going to get that.

Bolt and raceway rough? The two I have did have some machine marks on the bolt but nothing terrible. They will make that sound that sounds like running a zipper really fast for a while but it wears in. It's a cast action, again, you can't expect the finish quality to be that of a precision machined part. Put a little toothpaste or lapping compound on the bolt body and run it a bit and then clean it all out. It will smooth right up. The rifle feeds smoother than hell (well if your mags would lock in, the rifle would) and the action doesn't bind up like a lot will which is way more important to me than an action being silky smooth. Is a smooth action nice? You bet but you're not going to find many on $1K guns and the ones you do find don't have the feature set this rifle offers.

I can see why you're frustrated and I can't blame you. I think you're over reacting a bit though. Instead of just being angry about receiving a sub par product you should focus that energy to figuring out what it will take to fix it correctly so you have that in your toolbox when you call Ruger. Bust out a dial caliper and take some measurements, measure both mags to see if they vary. Ask someone else here to measure their 223 mags from the seating surface to the latch point. Ask someone to measure the length of the latch from the pivot point. This takes no time at all and you'll know exactly what's wrong and what will be needed to fix it before ever calling Ruger.

I had a issue with some small parts on the stock, the little clamp/washer piece that the adjustment lever locks down snapped easily. I called Ruger and got a very nice lady on the phone and explained what my issue was. They never asked for the rifle to be sent in, never asked to see pics of the broken part, serial number, nothing. They asked for my address and about a week later the replacement part showed up in my mailbox along with a very generous amount of extras. That has been my only CS issue with Ruger but they handled it extremely well, much better than the other companies I've dealt with on issues.

I'd still love to see a vid pics of the finish issue, that just sounds extreme to me. Regardless though, call Ruger if you're not satisfied with the product. Whether you do or don't try to address the problems before hand is up to you vs just sending it back. Just a word of advice if you want the issues resolved to your request (replacement firearm), be a little nicer on the phone than you are in your video or your comment here. It will get you a little further and I'd bet good money that whoever answers the phone isn't the same person who put your rifle together and sent it out the door. Letting them know you're disappointed is one thing but an attitude isn't going to get you what you want.

I hope they get this corrected for you, they're fantastic rifles for the price and I think you'll be satisfied once you get the major concern addressed which is why the magazine latch isn't engaging. Just keep in mind this is a $1000 rifle and there's going to be plenty of stuff that could be better even on cherry picked rifle. If you want perfection then pony up and buy an AI.
 
I'm not fixing their mistakes or trying to help them figure it out. Every gun, optic, or gun accessory I've purchased in the past few years has been junk unless it was a mauser or made in eastern europe. I've spent enough time on this kind of thing.

It's on them. Everything I touched was messed up, so I put it back in the box. I only documented that issue because someone asked.
 
Zero issues with my 223 RPR stock being firmly affixed to the chassis. My folder button was uber-stiff and required a mild whack with a small dead blow the first dozen or so times; now it opens with ease. I considered the bolt throw fast but yeah it wasn't custom action smooth; but it has worn in some and the entire system was barely the cost of a Stiller.

My safety is what I would consider stiff to manipulate and doesn't rattle...seems to be the exception rather than the norm?

Magazines not locking up, now that is odd...haven't had any issues with mine doing that.

<shrug>

One thing *I* have had trouble with is getting comfortable behind the damn thing, just can't get used to a chassis...
 
I'm not fixing their mistakes or trying to help them figure it out. Every gun, optic, or gun accessory I've purchased in the past few years has been junk unless it was a mauser or made in eastern europe. I've spent enough time on this kind of thing.

It's on them. Everything I touched was messed up, so I put it back in the box. I only documented that issue because someone asked.

You'd be doing yourself a service to know what to check for when it comes back or when a replacement comes back, but what do I know.

To be quite honest I think everything about your post is extremely exaggerated. It started right from claiming you spent 10 minutes filming the rifle which only produced a short clip of you trying to smash a mag into the rifle and only with the one mag. No close up of the latch assembly, rear of the mag, nothing. Also no footage or pictures to support your other claims. What was the point of your post and that worthless video if you're not going to back it up? You want us to believe the rifle is a piece of shit so prove it.

 
You'd be doing yourself a service to know what to check for when it comes back or when a replacement comes back, but what do I know.

To be quite honest I think everything about your post is extremely exaggerated. It started right from claiming you spent 10 minutes filming the rifle which only produced a short clip of you trying to smash a mag into the rifle and only with the one mag. No close up of the latch assembly, rear of the mag, nothing. Also no footage or pictures to support your other claims. What was the point of your post and that worthless video if you're not going to back it up? You want us to believe the rifle is a piece of shit so prove it.

Video evidence isn't good enough for you? I have to back it up? Please, give me a detailed list of the studies you'd like me to perform on a rifle I don't have access to. I deeply need to satisfy your ridiculous requests.
 
Jeremy Clarkson, is that you? That was like watching an orangutan. No...If you make a giant post shitting on a rifle that most people find to be more than acceptable, people want to see the evidence before they write you off as a jealous elitist that hates a 1k ruger competing with his Mitchell's Mauser. If you have a lemon, send it back. Crap happens. But calling them all junk without showing exactly what your issue is screams immaturity and ignorance.
 
has anybody shot factory 75 grain hornady black in their rpr's? i'm curious what kind of speed you got because my barrel seems slow as hell. i was only getting 2600 fps out of mine, accurate just seems slow
 
Video evidence isn't good enough for you? I have to back it up? Please, give me a detailed list of the studies you'd like me to perform on a rifle I don't have access to. I deeply need to satisfy your ridiculous requests.

What was that video evidence of other than showing that you think beating on a precision tool is the way to make it work?

Your video showed less than jack shit. The only one of your issues it came remotely close to addressing was that mags don't lock in. It didn't show any detail, for all we know you could have filed off the fucking latch from the rear of the mag.

In addition it didn't show the finish which you claim you could wipe off, it didn't show either of your issues with the stock, and it didn't show rough bolt and raceway.

Your video was a fucking joke at best. You came here claiming all of these issues with one gun and posted a video like it was going to be some 20 minute long rambling actually addressing concerns and it wasn't. I don't think it should come as a surprise when people don't take you seriously and yes, you do need to satisfy these requests if you want to be believed.
 
has anybody shot factory 75 grain hornady black in their rpr's? i'm curious what kind of speed you got because my barrel seems slow as hell. i was only getting 2600 fps out of mine, accurate just seems slow

I havnt shot any of the hornady but did shoot a box of 77 gr federal gold medal and it was around that same speed. My 80 grain eld load is running 2787 fps so it sounds like your barrel is fine. Also if it's new it will speed up some as you break the barrel in
 
I havnt shot any of the hornady but did shoot a box of 77 gr federal gold medal and it was around that same speed. My 80 grain eld load is running 2787 fps so it sounds like your barrel is fine. Also if it's new it will speed up some as you break the barrel in

yeah i was hoping it would speed up but after 500 rounds it hasn't. what powder are you using in your 80 grain load? trying to stay with a powder drop friendly powder like 8208 or ar comp but i haven't had any luck getting a decent velocity without running into pressure
 
yeah i was hoping it would speed up but after 500 rounds it hasn't. what powder are you using in your 80 grain load? trying to stay with a powder drop friendly powder like 8208 or ar comp but i haven't had any luck getting a decent velocity without running into pressure
Im using 23.9 grains of XBR 8208 in new lake city 16 brass with CCI 450 primers. COAL is 2.465 with a .010 jump. Load is very accurate consistently in the low .3's for 5 rounds with an SD of 10.8 for 19 rounds. Have confirmed this out to 825 yards with easy sub MOA even with fairly tricky winds. The only pressure signs I am getting is primer cratering but no more than I was getting with factory loads, this is one of the issues with these rifles. I plan on have mine bushed as soon as I get a chance. This load was safe in my rifle but you know how that goes, start low and work up

 
Im using 23.9 grains of XBR 8208 in new lake city 16 brass with CCI 450 primers. COAL is 2.465 with a .010 jump. Load is very accurate consistently in the low .3's for 5 rounds with an SD of 10.8 for 19 rounds. Have confirmed this out to 825 yards with easy sub MOA even with fairly tricky winds. The only pressure signs I am getting is primer cratering but no more than I was getting with factory loads, this is one of the issues with these rifles. I plan on have mine bushed as soon as I get a chance. This load was safe in my rifle but you know how that goes, start low and work up

23.9 of 8208 got me 2640 and i'm only able to get 2.28 with .010 jump. i had my gunsmith cut my barrel for a longer throat but haven't messed with it since
 
I'm going to jump in here real quick and say that Ruger must be having a QC issue due to the demand of the RPR's, and their success in making a rifle that people actually want. I have been recommending the RPR for those that are just getting into LR shooting and PRS style matches. As such one person that did this asked if I could meet him at the range as he was having an issue getting it zero'ed...

Long story, short; the receiver was machined so far out of spec that with a Gen II Razor on top, we ran out of left windage and were still 4 Mils (yes, a full 4.0 mils) off at 100 yards. This is with ARC M-10 rings, so I knew the rings were good, and the scope was not likely the issue either.

That was the bad, now the good. Ruger responded, and had him ship it back, confirmed that the rifle was completely out of spec, and that they would be sending him a replacement rifle. No fuss, no hassle, just a "Hey, our bad, this thing is hosed, we'll send you another one".

Of course, now he has to wait another 10 days, and pay another processing fee (yea for Kalifornistan).

RPR's (IMHO) are a good, no frills design with a lot of thought behind them. That being said, it would appear that demand is causing some rifles to slip through proper QC. I'm not bashing Ruger per se, just advising everyone to look over their RPR's when they're buying these days, as I think there may be a bad lot of receivers that got through the QC process...

JME, YMMV...
 
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Video evidence isn't good enough for you? I have to back it up? Please, give me a detailed list of the studies you'd like me to perform on a rifle I don't have access to. I deeply need to satisfy your ridiculous requests.

You should know by now that RPR is perfection, IOR is junk, Tiborsorus Rex is a fraud; still undecided about Trasol.
 
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I'm going to jump in here real quick and say that Ruger must be having a QC issue due to the demand of the RPR's, and their success in making a rifle that people actually want. I have been recommending the RPR for those that are just getting into LR shooting and PRS style matches. As such one person that did this asked if I could meet him at the range as he was having an issue getting it zero'ed...

Long story, short; the receiver was machined so far out of spec that with a Gen II Razor on top, we ran out of left windage and were still 4 Mils (yes, a full 4.0 mils) off at 100 yards. This is with ARC M-10 rings, so I knew the rings were good, and the scope was not likely the issue either.

That was the bad, now the good. Ruger responded, and had him ship it back, confirmed that the rifle was completely out of spec, and that they would be sending him a replacement rifle. No fuss, no hassle, just a "Hey, our bad, this thing is hosed, we'll send you another one".

Of course, now he has to wait another 10 days, and pay another processing fee (yea for Kalifornistan).

RPR's (IMHO) are a good, no frills design with a lot of thought behind them. That being said, it would appear that demand is causing some rifles to slip through proper QC. I'm not bashing Ruger per se, just advising everyone to look over their RPR's when they're buying these days, as I think there may be a bad lot of receivers that got through the QC process...

JME, YMMV...

Solid statement I have seen this happen with alot of hot items on that have come out on here. Supply tries to meet demand and then quality diminishes. Like sides of a triangle, you make one smaller or longer the others will be affected.
 
I just received mine today. The magazines needed a firm rap to seat. I may file a few thousandths off the mag catch. Safety is positive and functional. The trigger has a bit of creep before the break, but adjusted weight just fine. It is subject to the recall, but Ruger already has a new shroud on its way to me (cannot beat that kind of responsiveness). Seems well built and looks like the muzzle can be contoured for my 12th Model suppressor :cool:
 
Found the magazine issue on my rifle. The magazine took a pretty good rap to latch. It indexes off the front of the magazine against the barrel nut lock and latches in the back. There was pretty significant sign of hitting the barrel nut lock on the front ('toothed' indents in first picture) so the Dremel and sanding drum went to work and removed about 1/16" off the magazine nose (second picture). Mags now click in with just a bit of pressure. Since they are plastic mags, I figure to leave a little material so they can wear in.

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First rounds thru the .223 RPR were Hornady Match 68gr (only Match Off-The-Shelf ammo available to me right now while I wait for the 80gr bullets to come in). Out of 20rds fired, 5 pierced primers and ALL were pretty heavily cratered. Accuracy was OK ... keeping sub-moa. Velocity seemed OK. 2860fps with or without suppressor with a box-printed velocity of 2960fps, probably for a 24" barrel.

Contacted Ruger Customer Service about the pierced primers and they are having me send the rifle back for evaluation. I really don't want to have to replace firing pins here and there from erosion when 25% of the rounds fired send hot gases past the firing pin.
Girl I spoke to was unaware of this issue being reported on other RPR .223 rifles, so if you have seen it ... which it looks like some have ... report it so they can come up with a fix .. .like correct firing pin-to-bolt clearance.
 

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Ruger offered to take my rifle back months ago for cratering after blanking two primers...I decided against it as blanking hasn't occurred again and I can live with what cratering I've seen on my reloads.

The particular person you spoke to might be unaware, but trust me, Ruger knows...
 
I had the same issue with cratering and piercing primers so I started asking people questions. First ruger is using too thick of a firing pin, from those I talked to the firing pins were .072 to .078 diameter, small diameter firing pins should be .062. Next the firing pin protrudes too far into the case when fired. Those who measured their firing pin protrusion ran from .053 to .058 and according to my gunsmith it should be from .025 to .050 so I ground mine down to .040 and stopped piercing primers and you can just barely tell that the primers are still cratering slightly.
 
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Found the magazine issue on my rifle. The magazine took a pretty good rap to latch. It indexes off the front of the magazine against the barrel nut lock and latches in the back. There was pretty significant sign of hitting the barrel nut lock on the front ('toothed' indents in first picture) so the Dremel and sanding drum went to work and removed about 1/16" off the magazine nose (second picture). Mags now click in with just a bit of pressure. Since they are plastic mags, I figure to leave a little material so they can wear in.

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I'll look out for that. Thank you!

As for cratering, if that happens, I'm out. Popped primers stuck in the firing pin chanel are a PITA and can end a day of shooting.
 
Ruger has my rifle as of Wed. Hoping they have an answer. They said 5-10 working days to return, "once they identify the issue", so I figure 3-5 weeks.
 
Got word today that the rifle is on its way back and should be here tomorrow by UPS. Call them up and they replaced the bolt, barrel, and shroud. They also refinished it.
 
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Mine went in a couple weeks before yours, so it'll probably only be a few more weeks for me.

Did you call them up front and get the RMA # and paperwork?

Still moving into the new place so haven't taken it back out to shoot. Out of town for work next week so it'll be a couple weeks before I get trigger time with it.
 
Turns out my dealer has been sitting on it since returned from Ruger on August 25. I haven't gone over it, but magazines do not latch in the gun and the finish on the muzzle brake was still tacky, so I assume nothing was done by Ruger. Big shock.

BTW, I had no contact with Ruger, so my disgust for this product was not the cause of their failures to manufacture or repair this rifle. They got it back from my dealer, not me. Figured I'd explain that before some child suggested it.
 
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I tried my MDT 223 mag in it. It locks in the rifle, but does not feed nor allow top feeding.

The bolt shroud had a full 3/8" of slop, but the recall replacement only has about 1/8". Huge improvement. I thought the bolt was broken when I took it out of the box. Glad they fixed that.

Another plus, the action runs smoother, lighter, and far faster than my GAP Tempest. It's about as smooth as an old wartime Mauser. If it didn't have the snag on closing, I'd say it'd be even.
 
Took mine out to the range today ... finally. I did some OAL measurements a couple days ago and it looks like the throat is 0.015" longer.

Shot 2 different ammo batches today. 25rds for zero's and groups with/without the can (very consistent .4MIL elevation drop when adding my can, no windage). The other batch was 3 groups of 5rds all loaded with 23.6gr 8208 and Nosler 77s loaded to 1.885" BTO (2.265" OAL), which is about .030" from the lands. 3 different primers used, CCI 450, Rem 7 1/2 and CCI BR4. Of the 40rds shot I had just a couple very faintly cratered primers , and nothing close to pierced primers. The fired brass reads a "0" on my Mo's headspace gauge on the fired brass so the headspace is perfect. The Mo's gauge reads "0" on a GO gauge (1.4636"). The BR4s shot a .5" group, the Rem 7 1/2s shot .6 and the 450s were a vertical .4". Can't wait to shoot some 80gr loads and see what this thing does at distance.

I will echo Twinsen's comment about the bolt. Pretty doggone smooth for a new rifle. The only feeding issue I had was if I limp-wristed the feed stroke it would hang up. This rifle/mag combo seems to prefer a nice, steady, firm hand on the bolt.

Fired brass:

 

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Well this is cool.

On another note, has anyone used their AI style 223 mags? Most of the 223 mags have been very hit or miss. If Ruger is producing a version that performs well then the magazines may be bigger news for the community than the rifle.

I tried a 223 RPR mag in my AX2014 chassis with a Remington SPS tactical 223. It didn't feed until I modified it. I needed to dremmell the feed lips back so the head of the case would pop up sooner. Otherwise it wouldn't feed. After mods it works awesome. 4 range trips or 400 rds put through it so far.

The one on the left is an AI polymer.


Before
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After
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I got my 5.56 RPR back for the second time. They overnighted it back and gave me two more mags and a cleaning cloth. Four mags is awesome. I tested 3 of the 4, and they worked flawlessly. It's the same rifle and the mags aren't filed, so I'd bet the 4th mag is fine. I tried the MDT mag again, it won't cycle. I have yet to find a rifle that mag works in. No problem of Ruger's.

The gun runs ok righty, fantastic lefty, and fantastic offhand. The barrel is a lot lighter than I'm used to, so support side offhand is much better than my other rifles.

It punctured one primer out of 140 and flattened all the others with some flowing cups. All factory ammo. That's poopy because it was only in the 90s today and I shot in the shade. In the summer, my ammo will be a lot hotter, so I'm expecting that to be worse.

Until then, I've got a great lefty and offhand practice gun!
 
I got my 5.56 RPR back for the second time. They overnighted it back and gave me two more mags and a cleaning cloth. Four mags is awesome. I tested 3 of the 4, and they worked flawlessly. It's the same rifle and the mags aren't filed, so I'd bet the 4th mag is fine. I tried the MDT mag again, it won't cycle. I have yet to find a rifle that mag works in. No problem of Ruger's.

The gun runs ok righty, fantastic lefty, and fantastic offhand. The barrel is a lot lighter than I'm used to, so support side offhand is much better than my other rifles.

It punctured one primer out of 140 and flattened all the others with some flowing cups. All factory ammo. That's poopy because it was only in the 90s today and I shot in the shade. In the summer, my ammo will be a lot hotter, so I'm expecting that to be worse.

Until then, I've got a great lefty and offhand practice gun!

measure your firing pin protrusion and i'm willing to bet it's as far out of spec as mine was or possibly even worse. i took .015 off the firing pin with a dremel so it only protruded .040 and that fixed my cratering and piercing problem until i got to high pressure loads. been contemplating taking another .005 off of it but i have a load that shoots very well that is no where close to pressure but a little slow
 
Another update on my 5.56 rpr. I took it out today and ran some loads through it with 80 grain Nosler CCs and RL15 going from 23.5 to 24.5gr in .2gr increments with bullets seated .015 off the lands in LC-16 brass, once fired with Rem 7 1/2 primers. I was just barely seeing slight catering on the last 2 shots. No flattening or ejector swipes. I will be going up to 25.5 in the next batch.

My measured firing pin protrusion is .057".
 

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