Ruger AR 556 Malfunction

[Bocephus]

Bought the Ruger and fired it for the first time yesterday. First mag .223 had 3 malfunctions. Easily cleared no problem. Second mag also .223, first round chambered and the bolt locked forward. Had to mortar it to clear the round. After cleared emptied all 30 rounds with no malfunction. 
 

All this was done straight out of the box, no cleaning, no extra lube etc. Do you think this may a serious problem or just a break in issue. I’m new to the AR platform so any advice from the experts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Bo

Edited May 24, 2020 by Bocephus

[Roman in Knoxville]

Something similar once happened to me and when it did the problem was with the amount of gas. It is likely over-gassed or under-gassed. I am not sure.

[Magiccarpetrides]

Might help to know what brand and grain is the ammo and what brand is the mag you used.  My experience with quality and my Frankenstein ARs has been they are all quite reliable. So a dud from Ruger would surprise me.

[Bocephus]

Tried three magpul  mags fully loaded. Chambered a round, removed the mag then  tried to clear the live round. Bolt stuck in forward position charging handle won’t move it at all.  Only way to clear the live round is using the mortar technique to unlock the bolt. 

[Garufa]

7 minutes ago, Bocephus said:

Tried three magpul  mags fully loaded. Chambered a round, removed the mag then  tried to clear the live round. Bolt stuck in forward position charging handle won’t move it at all.  Only way to clear the live round is using the mortar technique to unlock the bolt. 

What brand of ammo were you using?  Steel-cased by any chance?

[Bocephus]

Don’t remember the brand but it was brass. 

[Garufa]

8 minutes ago, Bocephus said:

Don’t remember the brand but it was brass. 

I would thoroughly clean the chamber with Hoppe’s #9 and a .30 cal brush.  Chances are the factory oil in there goobered things up.