My son's ar15 has around 300 rounds through it and after firing 50 rounds recently, we heard a "click". We continued to aim downrange for several seconds and then ejected the magazine. We couldn't switch to "safe" but the trigger seemed like it was on "safe" and the charging lever couldn't be pulled back. After hitting the forward assist a few times, we were finally able to pull the charging lever back and eject the round. There were 2 fairly large dents in the side of the case and the primer had a very slight dimple in it. We fired about 50 more rounds without a problem. This was a reload with the primer seated properly and after pulling the bullet, it did have powder in it. The case had been trimmed to the proper length and the bullet was seated to the proper depth. The primer was a Federal. This is the only problem we have ever had. Any ideas?
Explain this malfunction
- Thread starter AL45
- Start date
doglegarms
New member
sounds like the bolt wasn't forward all the way and stuck. was it excessively dirty?
nemesiss45
New member
could be a lot of things, but my money is on a case size problem preventing the round from chambering fully. check just below the shoulder, the biggest problem I've had with reloads in my AR is overcrimping causing a ballooning below the shoulder. the dent in the primer could just be from the bolt chambering the round. because the firing pin is free floating it bumps the primer when a round is chambered, just not hard enough to ignite the primer.
The above response is correct. Floating firing pins always ding primers. Also, it is a case sizing problem. If the round you reloaded wasnt fired from your gun, then it was probably fire formed to a different chamber. FL sizing doesnt actually size the entire case. Try using a small base die to resize brass not fired from your rifle. Also, do not crimp .223's. Neck tension is more then enough to hold the round. Crimping causes a drop in accuracy and could cause a shoulder buldge if you are not careful.
A blanket statement as above may not be true for all people all the time. I have proven on paper, numerous times, that proper crimping increases accuracy, and it shows most improvement on .223. It may not in your rifles, but it does in all of mine.
If you would have said over crimping causes a drop in accuracy, then I would agree.
Destructo6
New member
The reason you couldn't put it on safe is because the hammer was down ("click"). Normal for ARs.
Sounds like the rifle short stroked and the bolt lugs grabbed the side of the cartridge case. But I've never seen that happen, then chamber the same round. Usually, when it grabs the case from the side, it causes a feed failure with the cartridge halfway in the magazine.
Sounds like the rifle short stroked and the bolt lugs grabbed the side of the cartridge case. But I've never seen that happen, then chamber the same round. Usually, when it grabs the case from the side, it causes a feed failure with the cartridge halfway in the magazine.
That is a clear case of improperly sized brass. I don't mean the base I mean the shoulder is not set back properly.
When I gas gun fires, prior to the bullet leaving the muzzle, gas is bled off and starts pushing the bolt (extractor) back. While the ejector wants to eject the brass there is still pressure in the case pushing the neck forward, ending in stretched brass.
In sizing the shoulder has to be set back to specs.
That's why they invented case gages, which will measure the cast from the shoulder to the base. Use this gage to set you your resizing die.
Problems result from miner, (which the op has) to slam fires. Slam fires are more common in M1s and M1As then ARs but they are possible.
That's why many range officers running matches (including my self) carry case gages on the line. If ammo is suspected of be undersized, they are checked and if the reloads don't fit the gage, We refuse to allow that ammo to be used.
When I gas gun fires, prior to the bullet leaving the muzzle, gas is bled off and starts pushing the bolt (extractor) back. While the ejector wants to eject the brass there is still pressure in the case pushing the neck forward, ending in stretched brass.
In sizing the shoulder has to be set back to specs.
That's why they invented case gages, which will measure the cast from the shoulder to the base. Use this gage to set you your resizing die.
Problems result from miner, (which the op has) to slam fires. Slam fires are more common in M1s and M1As then ARs but they are possible.
That's why many range officers running matches (including my self) carry case gages on the line. If ammo is suspected of be undersized, they are checked and if the reloads don't fit the gage, We refuse to allow that ammo to be used.
I recently had the same issue with some of my reloads using military brass. Bolt closed "almost", just enough to drop the hammer but not fire the round, and then I had to do the old "bang the butt while pulling on the charging handle" thing to get the round out.
Turns out, that while struggling with getting the brass sized, and having to deal with a number of stuck cases in my die, it appears to have slipped its lock ring and was slightly off in sizing the cases. I loaded up a hundred rounds and went out back an fired a couple off to check, and one in three locked the gun up.
I got to thinking about what went on while trying to size the brass, and had a suspicion that something was up with the die setting. Of course, I couldn't find my case gauge
, and had to send off for a new one. Once that got here, it confirmed the problem, and I had to resize 1400 rounds of primed brass.
Once that was done, everything has been fine since, or at least the couple of hundred Ive fired since.
I normally dont reload military brass just because it is such a PITA to deal with, but it was here and it was free (in a sense.).
If youre using reloads, especially someone elses (something I wont do), get yourself a case gauge and check the rounds.
I dont normally check every round, but I will check new lots of brass, and any that are military.
Back when primers were hard to come by, and all they had left were Winchester small rifle primers, I picked up a 1000 and figured Id give them a try. I still have 900 sitting on the shelf.
The first pull of the trigger in my Armalite AR gave me a 4 round burst. I had a few singles, and then more bursts. That was that. The Winchesters are now on the bolt gun primers list.
Turns out, that while struggling with getting the brass sized, and having to deal with a number of stuck cases in my die, it appears to have slipped its lock ring and was slightly off in sizing the cases. I loaded up a hundred rounds and went out back an fired a couple off to check, and one in three locked the gun up.
I got to thinking about what went on while trying to size the brass, and had a suspicion that something was up with the die setting. Of course, I couldn't find my case gauge
, and had to send off for a new one. Once that got here, it confirmed the problem, and I had to resize 1400 rounds of primed brass. Once that was done, everything has been fine since, or at least the couple of hundred Ive fired since.
I normally dont reload military brass just because it is such a PITA to deal with, but it was here and it was free (in a sense.
). If youre using reloads, especially someone elses (something I wont do), get yourself a case gauge and check the rounds.
I dont normally check every round, but I will check new lots of brass, and any that are military.
I normally use CCI's in my autoloaders, although I have used Federals and havent had any issues. Winchesters on the other hand, were a different story.
Back when primers were hard to come by, and all they had left were Winchester small rifle primers, I picked up a 1000 and figured Id give them a try. I still have 900 sitting on the shelf.
The first pull of the trigger in my Armalite AR gave me a 4 round burst. I had a few singles, and then more bursts. That was that. The Winchesters are now on the bolt gun primers list.
Thanks for your responses. This is PMC brass and it is the second time it has been fired in this gun. I have fired about 300 of my reloads through this gun and this is the only malfunction. I fired about 50 rounds after the malfunction with no problems. I guess for whatever reason, this 1 case was not sized properly.
Yea, youre gonna need it.
Im on somewhere around my third or forth bazillionth reload through an auto loading rifle, and really have had very few problems. If they are built to spec, they are no more of an issue than factory, and in many cases, you get better performance out of them.
Im on somewhere around my third or forth bazillionth reload through an auto loading rifle, and really have had very few problems. If they are built to spec, they are no more of an issue than factory, and in many cases, you get better performance out of them.
Dents in the case can be caused by oil in the resizing die, something that should be caught when inspecting the brass before or the loaded rounds after reloading.
I have fired many reloads from various semi-auto rifles, and see no reason not to do so. The reloading does require a little different technique than reloading for a bolt rifle, but that is a minor consideration.
Jim
I have fired many reloads from various semi-auto rifles, and see no reason not to do so. The reloading does require a little different technique than reloading for a bolt rifle, but that is a minor consideration.
Jim