Feed Issues

[lckytylr]

I have a Build-Rifle with DPMS Upper and Lower and an assortment of components to complete upper and lower. I have been shooting PMags and Factory 55 grain cheap ammo up until yesterday when I tried some hand loads and switched over to a metal 5-round magazine. I shot 5 each of the cheap factory ammo just to foul my barrel after cleaning and then loaded up 5 hand loads in the 5-rd mag.

Here's where it get's confusing to me. With a full magazine in the well, I slapped the bolt release and the upper stripped the top round off of the magazine and into the chamber. I switched off the safety and squeezed . . . click. Nothing. Grasped the charging handle to clear the live round and it was S T U C K ! ! !

I gradually increased the pressure on the charging handle until I thought I might bend something and it still wouldn't come out. I finally resorted to tapping the buttstock on the bed of my truck to loosen things up and then tried again with the charging handle. That finally got it open.

So, I figured that I didn't re-size my hand loads correctly, so just to check, I dropped a hand load down into the chamber to see if it was getting hung up. Nope, slid all the way into the chamber without issue. I hit the bolt release again and pulled the trigger. Boom.

I tried another hand load exactly the same way, dropped it into the chamber, hit bolt release, squeeze and boom.

thinking that maybe I just had an anomaly, I loaded more hand loads into the mag and hit the bolt release, squeeze . . . CLICK . . . and STUCK Again!!!

Very frustrating. It seems as though my rifle isn't feeding correctly off of a full magazine . . . but only for my hand loads.

My hand loads OAL are longer as I'm shooting the 69 grain nosher HPBT, could that be the culprit?

Any hints, tips or theories?

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

Sounds like an issue with your reloads could be a seating die is set to low bulging your brass ever so slightly or your bullets are seated out to far and your actually hitting the lands my money is on the seating die sometimes the bulge is so slight it is difficult to catch visually it's usaully just under the shoulder sometimes caused by the brass growing in length and not being trimed or the seating die got adjusted to low. Last time I had it happen one of my little helpers was helping dad out by taking my dies out of my turret press or adjusting them or God only knows what they where doing for sure. LoL

 

[lckytylr]

That sounds pretty reasonable, thank you for the reply. I'll get out there tonight after work and fiddle with my setup a little more and see if I can't solve this. I'm sure it's something simple and very minuscule.

Thanks for the help.

 

[alaska]

Do you use Small base Sizer Die?

I Use the RCBS AR Sizer Die .........works great.

Do you trim your brass to spec. Afterwards.

I also use a crimp Lee die for a mild factory crimp.

 

[lckytylr]

Yes, I use a Small Base sizer die, also an RCBS.

We do trim our brass to spec, every single one of them.

I haven't used a Lee crimp before, I'll have to do some snooping on that.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[alaska]

Sounds like you just need to set your shoulder back a tad on your brass
By turning your sizer die down 1/4 turn until your brass chambers smooth

 

[alaska]

Or it's set to low just like the others said

 

[woodnut]

Two possibilities come to mind; either the lips on the mags are ever so slightly bent or the sizer die is turned to close to the shell holder. I have sadly seen both happen to me! I mistakenly thought if you turn the die in til it hard touches the shell holder; you'd get the bass sized good. OVERKILL! Kansaswoodguy and Alaska have the probably cause,too.
Yes, I doubt you can see it or even mike the bulge, but coupled with a full and hence tight mag, there's not enough force to complete the cycle. You should also note that most ARs won't do well with a full mag. I have learned that 15 in a 20 round mag makes a happier AR. Hope you get it solved!

 

[alaska]

In my MK 12

I done the SOPMOD upgrade on my bolt

Went to a 5 coil extractor spring with black buffer insert and enhanced ejector spring from

Tactical Springs

Also went with Mcfarland one piece gas ring just like the MK 18 sopmod upgrade

And installed a Roller Cam by POF

Also if you are using a carbine extension suggest a H buffer at the least or H2 buffer.......
Purrs like a kitten. when it all comes together.
Also knowing your barrel gas port size helps in function

 

[lckytylr]

Re: Feed Issues: UPDATE

Okay folks, right back to square one. We (Father-in-Law and Myself) thought that maybe my dies just aren't up to Snuff. I have a brand new set of the RCBS Small Base sizer die, but thought that maybe I have some kind of odd factory defect. So, we tried my Father-in-Law's dies (exact same dies - but proven to load and function in a number of different AR's).

Same crappy results with any brass that was fired out of a different chamber and resized back to speck - they won't chamber completely and they get stuck.

Next, we took a bunch of brass that started as super-cheap American Eagle brand factory loads (once-fired), resized them in my dies and loaded up a number of different 55 grain projectiles.

They worked . . . every single one of them.

So, how many of you that reload for your .223's have to fire form your brass?

I have never heard of this except for guys that are trying to load up wild cats or jump from one caliber to the next and are really messing with necks and shoulders . . .

What gives? I'm frustrated that I'm going to have to buy a whole bunch of factory ammo and burn it down my barrel just to get brass that I can load for accuracy . . . it's a waste of rounds down the tube.

 

[alaska]

I use the same AR small base sizer die

Turn your die 1/4 turn down until you get brass to chamber properly.

You just have to bump the shoulder back a tad on the brass.

That should work

You just have a close Torrance chamber........that's all ......common

 

[budlight]

You need to buy a case gauge..... To verify that your resized cases and or final reloaded bullets are correct. I bought the Dillion for like $20 or so.

My problem was stuck reloads also. but I had also changed to match .223 and Wylde chambers and all the sudden none of my thousands of reloads would fit.

I thought that I had a die problem, so I bought RCBS competition die set. The actual fix is to ENSURE that you are over camming the full length resizing die. The stroke has to put extra pressure to make sure that the should moves back to .223 specs.

The case gauge is great.... I can drop in any reload and tell if it will fit.


The way to clear stuck cases is to remove the lower and use a wood or brass dowel against the charging handle end of the BCG and tap it out with some light taps.

 

[budlight]

I tried to take some pictures:

See the two rings on this cases shoulder? This was a stuck case because of shoulder not set back far enough.

This is a good reload case

Bad case by 1.5/1000 on dial indicator causing those shoulder rings.

 

[lckytylr]

Thank you for the advice and the photos. I'll go buy one.