AR-15 Bolt/Carrier is Tight/Sticking. Need Help!

[glide]

I was at the range today and had a FTE. The case wound up being stuck in the chamber (it didn't burst or anything, but was stuck in there pretty good). I removed the casing and re-assembled. Now the bolt/carrier is sticking like crazy. It will chamber a round alright, but takes a great amount of force to pull it back manually. I have not tried shooting again yet.

Any ideas what the problem may be? There are no visible signs of damage.

It is a S&W M&P15T if it helps...

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Check to make sure the gas tube in the gun is not bent and binding on the bolt carrier key. Also, check to make sure the bolt carrier key is not dented or bent. The gas tube should slip into the key without resistance when the bolt moves forward.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Is the bolt sticking by itself, or is it only when you chamber a round? Have you shot any steel cased ammo recently, and did you clean the chamber afterwards?

 

[glide]

Is the bolt sticking by itself, or is it only when you chamber a round? Have you shot any steel cased ammo recently, and did you clean the chamber afterwards?

Yes it sticks by itself - even when I'm not chambering a round. It has been cleaned recently.

Going to take it apart again and check the carrier key...

 

[Another_David]

like others said check to see if gas tube slides in to the key freely. easiest way to do this is to remove the bolt cam and bolt and then slide the carrier in by itself without the charging handle. it should slide back and forth freely. If it does stick remove the hand guards and with a little pressure on the gas tube you can make it move a little to test how well it works in different positions. once you've determined which way the gas tube should be moved adjust it by slightly bending it inside the upper.

On second thought, the gas tube is typically a feed issue. Does it stick even without a round in the chamber? Maybe check your bolt head and extractor for damage.

 

[Bruff]

FTE= Failure to Extract, correct?

could we add it to the forum acronym list?

 

[Patriot]

I was at the range today and had a FTE. The case wound up being stuck in the chamber (it didn't burst or anything, but was stuck in there pretty good). I removed the casing and re-assembled. Now the bolt/carrier is sticking like crazy. It will chamber a round alright, but takes a great amount of force to pull it back manually. I have not tried shooting again yet.

Any ideas what the problem may be? There are no visible signs of damage.

It is a S&W M&P15T if it helps...

Clean your gun...

 

[Amicus]

FTE= Failure to Extract, correct?

could we add it to the forum acronym list?

I can also mean: Failure to Eject.

FTF: Failure to feed; failure to function.

We really need new verbiage with different initial letters.

 

[atilla]

step 1: spray the hell out of it with some lubricant. do this until it functions OK.

step 2: inspect the assembly for any signs of wear in specific areas. you shouldn't really be running into too many problems as it sounds like your rifle came in one piece from the factory. repeat step 1.

 

[jonathans]

strip the whole thing down and clean it first! you could be dragging brass fragments between moving parts.

 

[P2A]

Do you have any wear marks on the bolt carrier? Where does it bind at?

 

[maee]

step 1: spray the hell out of it with some lubricant. do this until it functions OK.

If it turns out to be a bent key, the poor guy is going to go through gallons of CLP...

 

[glide]

If it turns out to be a bent key, the poor guy is going to go through gallons of CLP...

It's not a lubrication/cleaning issue and it looks like it's either the bolt key or the gas tube. Both parts are relatively inexpensive and I could use spares anyway...

Thanks for the help everyone.