AR-15 double feed jam from hell

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Erno86

New member
I was on the firing line of our 100 yard outdoor range yesterday, when I noticed a fairly new member, who was stationed down several lanes from me, was having a problem with his AR. I had to put my ECI's in my two rifles first...then I walked over to him, and I asked if he needed any help, since I thought he might be having a problem figuring out how to rectify his double feed jam.

I noticed that it was indeed a double feed jam {with a live round in the chamber and another round partially stuck out of the magazine} --- Only he made things worse by sliding out his two takedown pins.

Here he is...trying to hold the charging handle back, with the upper and lower completely ajar by at least 1/4 of an inch, with seemingly no hope of getting the upper and lower mated back together or completely separated; until I convinced him to let me strip the magazine out. He also did not know how to lock the BCG back, when I told him he or I should lock it back --- He just kept on holding back the charging handle back for dear life. I finally convinced him to strip the magazine out, even though he did not believe me at first, that I could remove the stuck 10 round mag.

Once I "ripped" the magazine out, the upper and lower came apart and the live round fell out of the chamber.

It was a hairy situation for both of us...since a live round was in the chamber and his two takedown pins were out. I told him to go on the web and look-up AR-15 double feed jams --- even after I told him the way to fix a double feed.
 
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stagpanther

New member
We all have our "stupid moments" so a little compassion in these embarrassing moments might not be a bad idea, especially if they are fairly new to the weapon.

So just what DID you tell him was the problem causing his "double feeds?"
 
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4EVERM-14

New member
The AR is capable of some pretty interesting jams. Some of which look impossible. Regardless usually the first thing to do is remove the magazine. Get that excess ammo out of the way.
 
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odugrad

New member
Generally if there's a feed issue it's the magazine.

A double feed could happen because the extractor isn't getting a grip on the cartridge to clear it from the chamber.

But since we're talking about a live round I would bank on it being a magazine issue.
 
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stagpanther

New member
Could be most anything--though certainly clearing the weapon first is the right thing to do. The mag often is a contributing issue--but not always the sole cause; bad bolt lock-up, damaged cartridges, bullets too deep into lands, bolt/extractor problems can be factors.
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
"But since we're talking about a live round I would bank on it being a magazine issue."

3-4 years ago, I bought an AR upper which the seller said would "double feed live rounds every shot". This was one UGLY DUCKLING upper with a 24" barrel and carbine gas system.
Yupper, it would double feed every shot.
Problem: too much barrel beyond the gas port.
Solution: adjustable gas block pinched down to almost nothing.
Had nothing to do with the magazine.
I bought it for parts but SIL decided he liked it as it was so it's his now--still working fine.
 
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Gunslick

New member
A lot of times, this particular method works great for when firing and a shell bounces off a wall and lands back into your ejection port (I am not crapping you it has happened to me in a shoot house during a carbine course) and jams between the gas key and gas tube. Everyone I have seen try to clear this malfunction has tried to mortar the rifle-no luck, tap rack bla bla bla-no luck, no this method can work for a few malfunctions but is meant for this particular one, if you have a strong enough finger all's you have to do is release your magazine and grab the bolt with your index finger and pull back and the shell falls right out. You cant pull back on the charging handle because the shell is stuck in between that area. This works for a few different malfunctions but was kind of meant for the shell bounce off the wall back into the ejection port, you would think it was rare but I have seen it happen 3 times maybe 4.
 
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Independent George

New member
Mobuck said:
3-4 years ago, I bought an AR upper which the seller said would "double feed live rounds every shot". This was one UGLY DUCKLING upper with a 24" barrel and carbine gas system.
Yupper, it would double feed every shot.
Problem: too much barrel beyond the gas port.
Solution: adjustable gas block pinched down to almost nothing.
Had nothing to do with the magazine.
Click to expand...

Who makes a 24" barrel with a carbine gas port?
 
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Erno86

New member
Have you guys ever heard of a double feed jam occurring with an AK?

Now...I've accidently jammed a couple of my AK's twice, buy short stroking the charging handle with a live round in the chamber. Instead of the live round ejecting out of the ejection port --- The live round would fall back in the receiver on the trigger group, thusly making the AK inoperable until I field stripped it and removed the live round.
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
"Who makes a 24" barrel with a carbine gas port?"

Custom, tacticool super dooper possum shooter kind of guy. I don't even remember where (one of the auction sites)I got the upper from. It was cheap enough to break down for parts but after SIL liked the goofy look, I spent $4x on an adjustable gas block just to see if I could make it work.
 
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bamaranger

New member
failures

If the novice in this story did not have the knoweledge on how to lock the bolt to the rear, I'd strongly suspect that the failure was operator induced. The chain of events would go something like this:

Fail to feed (it happens even to good equipment now and again). Dork with it, to include fooling with the forward assist, which the uninformed see as a "jam fixer". Now a second live round is in the mix. Dork with the take down pins. Blame the rifle, magazines, the ammo....when the problem is the operator.

I'd like to the the word "jam" phased out of jargon of good shooters and common use, though it is widely accepted. Firearms have "failures". Fail to fire, fail to eject, fail to feed and so on. I suppose "jam" works when there's a need to be brief.
 
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Independent George

New member
Mobuck said:
"Who makes a 24" barrel with a carbine gas port?"

Custom, tacticool super dooper possum shooter kind of guy. I don't even remember where (one of the auction sites)I got the upper from. It was cheap enough to break down for parts but after SIL liked the goofy look, I spent $4x on an adjustable gas block just to see if I could make it work.
Click to expand...
I don't mean the shooter - I mean the manufacturer. I'm not am engineer or gunsmith, but a carbine gas port on a 24" barrel seems to go beyond silly and into outright dangerous territory. I can understand an inexperienced buyer not understanding how the gas system works, but for a manufacturer? That's a whole other mixed metaphor.
 
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