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AR Feeding Issues

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SJinMass

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I have a Colt Sporter II that doesn't seem to be behaving.

It has been cleaned and lubed (to the best of my abilities) and yet it won't feed. The problem seems to be extracting the case from the barrel. While I can extract an entire magazine's worth of ammo with the charging handle, getting the cases to extract after firing does not work (2 out of 20 may eject properly). I have tried a variety of ammo with consistent results.

You can see the attached pics to get a view of how each shot ends up- case in the barrel and another round being rammed into the back of the case.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
 

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Im not sure but your bolt looks rusty in your pics? I have only been into ARs a short while.
my NEW Stag had a extraxtor issue.I had a small piece of something (crud) under exstractor lip that I missed one the first cleaning when I got the rifle home. I have since down loaded the M16 manual from AR15.com no problems since.
 
Ammo issues, tight chamber, worn extractor, (or a combination). If it's an older well broken in gun, don't think your chamber is as clean as you think it is....It may need a thourough scrub-down, (built up gunk can look like shiny clean metal).
 
It's possible your extractor spring/insert are hosed. Inspect and replace with new ones.
How does the extractor look? Is it sharp?
Also are you using rifle buffer/spring or carbine?
 
Thanks for the input and suggestions so far.

Supermoto said:
Do they eject smoothly when you use the charging handle?
Click to expand...
Yes- everything is nice and smooth when ejecting with the charging handle.

Replacing the extractor spring and insert seems like a good option that I can do myself. Although at this point, I am tempted to take it to a gunsmith.

Still open to ideas and suggestions.
 
Do you have any of the cases that you had to knock out of the chamber available to look at? See if the extractor has taken a bite off of the top section ( the square part ) of the rim. If it has, try replacing the extractor. Ammo ( bad metallurgy of the brass ) can cause this but with the different brands you tried, the chance is slimmer. Trying another BCG is a good check for this.

As far as the second rounds looks like in the pictures, you might also have a 20 round mag with some issues also. The first picture not so bad but the second one is showing the round almost into the charging handle slot area. Get a round stuck between it and the top of the bolt will not be an experience you'll want to have happen more than once. Me personally - I don't like the old Colt 20 round mags unless they have had a new spring and checked for feed lip alignment. YMMV.

Joe R>
 
I'll bet your gas tube is plugged.

Try to blow out the gas tube with Gun Scrubber or brake cleaner airosol can. Spray it with the supplied plastic tube from the action until it runs out the end of the barrel. Point the barrel down while doing this. Get in a habbit of doing this every time you clean.

"Aim small miss small",

joseph
 
Last edited:
Hmmm wolf ammo, I never use it because...... If it is steel cased, it is varnished to prevent it from rusting. When you fire the rifle, the varnish can melt and coat the chamber with crud. This stuff is real hard to see and get off. I would bet your chamber has a coating on it. when the rifle is cold, it will feed OK but when you fire it, the varnish gets gooey and sticks to the case preventing extraction. Try cleaning the chamber with carburetor cleaner and see if it improves.
 
If you never use wolf ammo how do you know what it may or may not do?
I run Wolf in all AR's, and as long as it is to spec and properly maintained, the ammo makes no impact on its functioning.
Lucas McCain said:
Hmmm wolf ammo, I never use it because...... If it is steel cased, it is varnished to prevent it from rusting. When you fire the rifle, the varnish can melt and coat the chamber with crud. This stuff is real hard to see and get off. I would bet your chamber has a coating on it. when the rifle is cold, it will feed OK but when you fire it, the varnish gets gooey and sticks to the case preventing extraction. Try cleaning the chamber with carburetor cleaner and see if it improves.
Click to expand...
 
All very good advice.

Something else to look for when you pull the extractor is to check the extractor pin holes to make sure they aren't elongated. Laugh if you must I actually had this happen.
 
joseph said:
I'll bet your gas tube is plugged.

Try to blow out the gas tube with Gun Scrubber or brake cleaner airosol can. Spray it with the supplied plastic tube from the action until it runs out the end of the barrel. Point the barrel down while doing this. Get in a habbit of doing this every time you clean.

"Aim small miss small",

joseph
Click to expand...

It could be the gas tube if it was extremely plugged... but cleaning it every time you clean is over the top.
 
vellnueve said:
It could be the gas tube if it was extremely plugged... but cleaning it every time you clean is over the top.
Click to expand...

It only takes 1 squirt in the tube and all over the action and down the barrel before you run your cleaning rod and then lube everything. It is no big deal to keep your weapon clean.

Try some Highpower competition where everything is timed in seconds. You have one jam and you are out of the game just like if you were in a fire fight.

joseph

PS: Some guys drag their rifles by the end of the barrel all the way to their deer stand too.
 
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For what its worth, my Bushmaster DCM upper has similar behavior.... it was the crappy wolf ammo. When I switched to handloads with lake city brass it worked like a champ, not a single misfeed. They same wolf ammo worked fine in a Bushmaster Carbon-15, just not the DCM competition upper. Tighter tolerances perhaps?
 
I just had a little flash back
Dad the gun aint working, "clean it"
Dad the gun aint working, "did you clean it?" Yeah, do it again.

Did this happen before or after you touched anything?
Also isnt the sporter .223
I had some Remington green and white box from WalMart .223 that I had a few issues with. Been shooting Wolf polycoat mil classic with no issues. My Stag H2 has eaten everything labeled 5.56 M193 with no issues. brown box,white box ect ect.

Also WOLF has a 100% money back guarantee. They even pay the shipping. Not happy with their ammo return it. Name another ammo manufacture that does that.
 
The next time I go to the range, I'll definitely bring an extra bolt and bolt carrier. That seems to be an easy way to rule out a couple of likely suspects.

Thanks for the sage advice and suggestions.
 
SJinMass said:
I have a Colt Sporter II that doesn't seem to be behaving.

It has been cleaned and lubed (to the best of my abilities) and yet it won't feed. The problem seems to be extracting the case from the barrel. While I can extract an entire magazine's worth of ammo with the charging handle, getting the cases to extract after firing does not work (2 out of 20 may eject properly). I have tried a variety of ammo with consistent results.

You can see the attached pics to get a view of how each shot ends up- case in the barrel and another round being rammed into the back of the case.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Cleaned and lubed? The chamber should be dry, not lubed. Perhaps you aren't lubing the chamber, but your post sort of left this in doubt.

The two causes of this problem that I have experienced are a bad extractor or spring and a rough chamber. It is fairly easy to replace the extractor and spring, so I would give it a try. Polishing a rough chamber is not so easy and perhaps a job for the factory or a gunsmith.
 
As others have said, do the easy things first:

Use different ammo
Use different mag
Use different BCG

Those should narrow it down

The one thing it's not, is the gas tube. Don't F with it. It can't clog.
 
What kind of chamber does the DCM have? Being a competition specific rifle it is most likely has a .223 chamber, or and don't go by what they print on the barrels, often it's not accurate.
Wolf does not work well in tight chambers.

Gadsden said:
For what its worth, my Bushmaster DCM upper has similar behavior.... it was the crappy wolf ammo. When I switched to handloads with lake city brass it worked like a champ, not a single misfeed. They same wolf ammo worked fine in a Bushmaster Carbon-15, just not the DCM competition upper. Tighter tolerances perhaps?
Click to expand...
 
PatMcD said:
As others have said, do the easy things first:

Use different ammo
Use different mag
Use different BCG

Those should narrow it down

The one thing it's not, is the gas tube. Don't F with it. It can't clog.
Click to expand...

My Bushmaster DCM gas tube clogged a couple of times until I started to spray it with brake fluid and it never happened again.

joseph
 

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