First time shooting new AR. Multiple FTFs

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Finally got to pack my new AR and head to HSA. It was my first time shooting an AR that wasn't a 22. I went through 4 full mags. My goal was just to get it sighted in, somewhat. Through these 120 rounds, I had maybe 6 or 7 FTFs. All I had to do was hit the foreword assist and it fed and fired. Sometimes it would be ok after that, for a little bit. Other times they came a few in a row. I was using ZQI 62 grain, USGI pre an 30 round mags with magpul anti tilt followers. I had spray painted the mags too. That might matter. I only had my lunch hour so I didn't have too much time to experiment. Just wondering what might be the most likely candidate. New gun/lack of lubrication, ammo, crappy mags. Would it be possible I might have gotten some overspray on the inside lip of the mag, where it feeds? Otherwise, it was really a lot of fun to shoot. And I think I got it sighted pretty well. Good enough for now anyway.
 
a thin layer of spraypaint shouldn't cause that. lubricate the rifle properly, throw some on the buffer spring for giggles, and if that fails try loading the mags only to 28.
 
Finally got to pack my new AR and head to HSA. It was my first time shooting an AR that wasn't a 22. I went through 4 full mags. My goal was just to get it sighted in, somewhat. Through these 120 rounds, I had maybe 6 or 7 FTFs. All I had to do was hit the foreword assist and it fed and fired. Sometimes it would be ok after that, for a little bit. Other times they came a few in a row. I was using ZQI 62 grain, USGI pre an 30 round mags with magpul anti tilt followers. I had spray painted the mags too. That might matter. I only had my lunch hour so I didn't have too much time to experiment. Just wondering what might be the most likely candidate. New gun/lack of lubrication, ammo, crappy mags. Would it be possible I might have gotten some overspray on the inside lip of the mag, where it feeds? Otherwise, it was really a lot of fun to shoot. And I think I got it sighted pretty well. Good enough for now anyway.

Did you clean and lube it before you shot it?
 
Finally got to pack my new AR and head to HSA. It was my first time shooting an AR that wasn't a 22. I went through 4 full mags. My goal was just to get it sighted in, somewhat. Through these 120 rounds, I had maybe 6 or 7 FTFs. All I had to do was hit the foreword assist and it fed and fired. Sometimes it would be ok after that, for a little bit. Other times they came a few in a row. I was using ZQI 62 grain, USGI pre an 30 round mags with magpul anti tilt followers. I had spray painted the mags too. That might matter. I only had my lunch hour so I didn't have too much time to experiment. Just wondering what might be the most likely candidate. New gun/lack of lubrication, ammo, crappy mags. Would it be possible I might have gotten some overspray on the inside lip of the mag, where it feeds? Otherwise, it was really a lot of fun to shoot. And I think I got it sighted pretty well. Good enough for now anyway.

Factory build, or did you build it?

In my experience, a lot of rifles take a few hundred rounds for everything to break in.

You mention lack of lube -- how dry was it?
 
There was a thread just like this one a week ago. Solution there was to clean and lube the bolt and carrier.
 
I use that ZQI for decent accuracy and haven't had trouble.

Honestly we need more information to diagnose anything. Pics of the rifle, is the lower ramped, is the barrel, did you lube it, what lube did you use, is the bcg tight, what spring, buffer, gas tube combination are you running, did it FTF on the first round or subsequent rounds, did the BCG scrape the top of the round, how did it not feed, etc.

If you can take slo mo video of it FTF'ing next range trip (or if you shoot Sundays at HSA we can look at it) then that would help. Generally, we need a lot more info than what you gave to solve this FTF dilemma.
 
Mag seated all the way? I had issues with the first volley at the car shoot last week! Too excited to get out there and unload... I wasn't properly loaded!
44679566.jpg
 
Since you say hitting the forward assist would make it work.. id lean toward lubing it or a different buffer spring combo(heavier). Its impossible to tell since you didn't provide any technical info.

If it was mag related , try a different mag... if its the mag catch you would have more of a bolt overrideing the cartrage issue which the forward assit wouldnt help.

I never use my forward assist....ever.
 
Ok. I'll answer some of these questions. I did take it apart, clean and lube it.. But, that was a couple of months ago. It's a factory Windham Weaponry. I changed out the stock, buffer tube and buffer to a rifle stock. It's a Magpul Stock. I honestly couldn't tell you what the spring and tube brand is. I'd have to dig that up. The mag was seated. First round was ok. There was no pattern. It happened half way through the mag too. The BCG was grabbing the round just fine. As far as I could see. The round was getting hung up either coming out of the mag, or going into the chamber. The break in theory sounds very plausible. I should have thought of it. I have no problem throwing several hundred more rounds down range.
 
Since its a factory rifle, id try putting it back to its factory configuration, and test fire it..
If it works you just need to play with your stock/buffer/spring setup.
If it doesnt work you know the problem isnt related to changeing the stock/buffer/ spring.


A good place to start..i build all mine so there never is a factory/stock setup to default to.
 
I used CLP when I cleaned and lubed it. But, like I said, that was some time ago. Seems like my next move is to clean and lube it up good, then take it out for another test drive.

- - - Updated - - -

Since its a factory rifle, id try putting it back to its factory configuration, and test fire it..
If it works you just need to play with your stock/buffer/spring setup.
If it doesnt work you know the problem isnt related to changeing the stock/buffer/ spring.

That at should be easy enough to do
 
What he said: I never use the forward assist. It was designed when the Army cheaped out on surplus 5.56 and had trouble chambering on earlier versions of the M16. If you need the forward assist then you really have other issues to address.

Swapping out a carbine spring, buffer, & tube with a rifle length setup contradicts the timing of your gas tube. The system works as a whole so if you want to swap for a longer buffer tube, you need to compensate for that. The timing between your bolt and the next round appears to be off.

Bring it back to as-produced config and re-test. If it works then we can figure out how to mount the new stock. Is it a PRS that you mounted?
 
What big Blue said is why i prefer adjustable gas systems.
 
What he said: I never use the forward assist. It was designed when the Army cheaped out on surplus 5.56 and had trouble chambering on earlier versions of the M16. If you need the forward assist then you really have other issues to address.

Swapping out a carbine spring, buffer, & tube with a rifle length setup contradicts the timing of your gas tube. The system works as a whole so if you want to swap for a longer buffer tube, you need to compensate for that. The timing between your bolt and the next round appears to be off.

Bring it back to as-produced config and re-test. If it works then we can figure out how to mount the new stock. Is it a PRS that you mounted?
image.jpg

I know i should have fired it stock before making any alterations. I had no where to shoot it for a long time though. I couldn't help it. I get the accessory bug with everything I get onto. Guitars, motorcycles. Etc.
 
How likely is it a lubrication issue or the buffer? I want to try one thing at a time. So I know what does or doesn't fix it. I just removed the bcg. Seemed pretty dry
 
How likely is it a lubrication issue or the buffer? I want to try one thing at a time. So I know what does or doesn't fix it. I just removed the bcg. Seemed pretty dry


Easy test on lube: Pull the charging handle back and gently let it go forward. Does the bolt seat in the lugs properly without much effort? (If it were tight it would likely require more lube). Obviously not a full diagnostic, just a simple test.

If it is a timing issue due to the new buffer, tube, & spring then no amount of lube will help.
 
Its probably both, combined with what bigblue said about timeing.
Is this a carbine length gas system or a midlength gas system..?
Carbine are typically so overgassed there very forgiving.

I look at the manufacturers website but have no idea which one you bought.

Id definitely rule out stupid things like bad mags and try a few kinds of ammo aswell..

Youll get, it just needs aslittle trouble shooting.
 
Just looking at that picture, it is a carbine length tube (7"). That FSB is wicked short so there is probably a ton of gas depending on the size of the port. I think the issue is the timing of the rifle length buffer tube with teh carbine length gas tube. $0.02 and too tough to tell without seeing video or shooting it.

Like I said before, we are usually at HSA on Sundays until about 2:00 (not this Sunday though due to USPSA).

ETA You can measure the gas tube: 7" is carbine, 9" is mid length. I'm 90% sure that is carbine based on the pic.

ETAA: If you are bored and want to do some reading: https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2014/9/24/ar-gas-system-lengths-explained/
 
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There was a thread just like this one a week ago. Solution there was to clean and lube the bolt and carrier.

Yes, and it was my thread. Re-scrubbed and re-lubed everything. I also had so dummy rounds (snap caps), and probably fed 200 through mag and manually ejected. (simulated break in?) Problem was over.

If I had to pick on one thing that I suspected was the resolution it was disassembly, scrubbing and re-lube of new AIM BCG.
 
It is a carbine length. Ok, so I'll clean it up and put the old buffer/tube/stock configuration back on it. As far as the mags, it happened on a couple of different mags. I bought a bunch of old USGI mags' cleaned them up and replaced the followers. I hope that's not it. The only other one I have is the cheap POS 10 rounder that came with the rifle. The lip of the follower already wore out to the point the bolt won't lock back anymore.
 
FWIW my Windham 300BLK was bone dry. Dumped some Break Free into it and it worked much better. Not even going to screw around with it until I run a few hundred rounds thru it. New guns just need to break in is my experience.
 
A properly installed rifle buffer tube and spring will run fine with a carbine, midlength or rifle gas length


As MGNoob wrote, it is easier to "properly install" that combo with an adjustable gas block. On a new rifle with an unknown gas port size, no lube, and changes made to the config before test firing ... The easiest thing to do is reset to factory config and test. If it works just fine then you tune the gas system to the rifle length setup if that is what you want.

Dwell and timing differences do add up the further apart the gas tube and buffer system get. This tends to reduce reliability with stock parts when they are "dropped in". Yes they can work together, just not often "out of the box". Pistol length gas systems require even more tuning to be "properly installed" but they can work as well.
 
Im just wondering why do you want a rifle stock on your carbine?
Is it to comply with the MA AWB. Rather than just pin a carbine collapsible stock open?
Or are you a big dude who needs a longer stock?

I usually dont ask why because id like to think you have your reasons..its also none of my buissness why you want what you want because if you want it thats a good enough reason for me.
 
Im just wondering why do you want a rifle stock on your carbine?
Is it to comply with the MA AWB. Rather than just pin a carbine collapsible stock open?
Or are you a big dude who needs a longer stock?

I usually dont ask why because id like to think you have your reasons..its also none of my buissness why you want what you want because if you want it thats a good enough reason for me.

Yes and yes. I have long arms and was trying to get a little more length of pull. I figured, since I can't have an adjustable stock anyway, might as well go this route. I like the way it looks too. I didn't think it would be a problem.
 
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