552 cartridge ramp

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Buckington
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:15 pm

552 cartridge ramp

Post by Buckington »

I bought a Remington 552 because I liked the lines and history. The new guns are fine, but the vintage stuff just attracts me. Next stop is probably a 572. Anyway, my 552 was made in November of 1957 according to the charts. Its in fine condition, but was internally very gunked up when I bought it. I cleaned it and shot it. It was accurate, but was jamming pretty often. I took it apart again ... this time for a more thorough cleaning and found that the cartridge ramp looks different on this gun compared to the ramps on the available parts diagrams. My ramp has a top "platform" with legs and a straight "slide". The ramps in the diagrams exhibit a bend in the middle of the ramp. Apparently, according to the diagram the end of the fore-end hanger fits in the hole in the ramp and that keeps the ramp in place.

Since mine has a different ramp and wasn't kept in place by the fore-end hanger, either the original design was changed or someone crafted a way of getting a different ramp to fit. I suspect it a factory change that result in a new ramp design. I also suspect that the end of the outer magazine tube had a protuberance that fit inside a small hole in the top of the ramp and that kept everything in place. That protuberance appears to be missing on my outer magazine tube.

Does anyone know what the real story is, and more importantly, if I buy a "new" outer magazine tube, ramp and fore-end hanger will I be able to retrofit this to my 552 and have it operate semi-automatically?

Any help/comments/suggestions are welcome.

Harlan/Buckington
Buckington
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:15 pm

Re: 552 cartridge ramp

Post by Buckington »

After several days of long wait times and frustration, I finally talked to a guy at Remington who said the 552 went through only cosmetic changes since the 50's. He said there is no indication that the cartridge ramp on the 552 made in the late 50's was any different than the ramp in the current version of the 552. If that is the case, it means the ramp and the way it fits under the outer cartridge tube has not been modified since the rifle was first produced. I'm still not convinced that it hasn't been so modified.

If someone has a 1950's 552 and can check out the ramp in their gun, I would really appreciate it. I'm going to try to attach a photo of the ramp that came with my rifle.

buckington
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552 cartridge ramp from my rifle
552 cartridge ramp from my rifle
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Buckington
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:15 pm

Re: 552 cartridge ramp

Post by Buckington »

I took the Remington customer service representative's word for it, and figured he had the records and the correct information. I, therefore, assumed the ramp in my gun was something other than the ramp as it was originally assembled. I order what Remington indicated was the original ramp and proceeded to reassemble the gun. The barrel assembly wouldn't fit into the receiver at first, because thee fore-end hanger stuck up too much ......... so I tried to screw the fore end hanger down lower since the new ramp was not sitting flush with the barrel. In screwing it down tighter to allow it to fit, I stripped the threads in the barrel. I couldn't get the fore-end hanger to retract enough to allow the barrel assembly to fit into the receiver. That means the design WAS changed after my rifle was produced, and I was given wrong information by the Remington service representative. I've sent a letter to Remington asking for their assistance in getting the rifle fixed.

I'm only detailing the issue because I hope to prevent others from running into a similar problem. The fact is the cartridge ramp assembly DID change sometime after the initial production of these rifles. At a minimum the ramp and the fore-end hanger were redesigned. It probably led to a redesign of the forward hanger (magazine ring), too, but I haven't determined that yet.

H
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