AR KABOOM

[reload4ever]

My son and I went to the range over the holiday weekend to shoot my new ar. Please keep in mind that i am fairly new to the world of black guns and it took some coaxing from my son to purchase my first ar it is an A3 configuration. The first ten to fifteen rounds went through it without any problems and then it started. The bolt wouldnt quite go all the way into battery once or maybe twice took it apart at the range didn't see anything obstructing the chamber or anything wrong with the bolt. So tried it again and click, nothing. Kicked that round out and cycled another one in and it looked like the bolt was closed and boom! The bottom of the magazine separated from the magazine the spring popped out along with the four remaining rounds and the bolt was stuck forward. Took the gun home got the bolt out and the extracter was bent the shell casing was ballooned at the base and there didn't appear to be any damage to the chamber or upper reciever. I've read about this happening to others and was wanting input as to what may have happened and what should be done to see that it doesn't happen again. The ammo was store bought and i've used it for years in my bolt guns without any problems. Oh yeah, this was not its maiden voyage it has had approximately 120 rounds through it. any input would be appreciated

 

[JiNx0036]

What ammunition were you using?

 

[reload4ever]

remington umc

 

[jd4320t]

What kind of rifle is it? Did you build it or piece it together?

 

[reload4ever]

Bought it from a friend of my son who said it was a kit gun it has a dpms lower but the barrel had no markings.

 

[sloughfoot]

Get thee and thy rifle to a gunsmith at the soonest. Something is keeping your ammo from fully chambering. Or possibly a firing pin problem. Is it a slam fire, or did you pull the trigger and it went boom?

Be sure to bring your ammo with the rifle. I have shot thousands of Remington UMC out of my AR's with no problems. Maybe a bad lot of ammo. It has happened before..

Your problem can not be fixed over the internet. If you are close to Ft Wayne, I can look at it. Others on this board can look at it too. Just don't shoot it until it is diagnosed and fixed.

 

[baldmax]

Was any steel cased ammo used before? Steel does not expand like brass and leaves some carbon in the chamber. It is possible that this maybe the issue.

 

[Ogre]

without markings on the upper, are you certain you are using the right caliber ammo?

 

[Steve MI]

Was any steel cased ammo used before? Steel does not expand like brass and leaves some carbon in the chamber. It is possible that this maybe the issue.

and what do you have to support this claim

 

[j706]

My son and I went to the range over the holiday weekend to shoot my new ar. Please keep in mind that i am fairly new to the world of black guns and it took some coaxing from my son to purchase my first ar it is an A3 configuration. The first ten to fifteen rounds went through it without any problems and then it started. The bolt wouldnt quite go all the way into battery once or maybe twice took it apart at the range didn't see anything obstructing the chamber or anything wrong with the bolt. So tried it again and click, nothing. Kicked that round out and cycled another one in and it looked like the bolt was closed and boom! The bottom of the magazine separated from the magazine the spring popped out along with the four remaining rounds and the bolt was stuck forward. Took the gun home got the bolt out and the extracter was bent the shell casing was ballooned at the base and there didn't appear to be any damage to the chamber or upper reciever. I've read about this happening to others and was wanting input as to what may have happened and what should be done to see that it doesn't happen again. The ammo was store bought and i've used it for years in my bolt guns without any problems. Oh yeah, this was not its maiden voyage it has had approximately 120 rounds through it. any input would be appreciated

Is the barrel marked 223 or 5.56? I would think like others, that something is keeping the round from chambering. Tight chamber,rough chamber? Hard to say. I would sure be interested in seeing some pics of the round ect. Glad you are OK.

 

[Wabatuckian]

Strange.... I was just reading about UMC ammo on another forum. Fifty-five grain stuff?

Why do I reload? This is why!!!

Josh

 

[fordmech_2000]

scary glad no one was injured

 

[XtremeVel]

Get thee and thy rifle to a gunsmith at the soonest. Something is keeping your ammo from fully chambering. Or possibly a firing pin problem. Is it a slam fire, or did you pull the trigger and it went boom?

Be sure to bring your ammo with the rifle. I have shot thousands of Remington UMC out of my AR's with no problems. Maybe a bad lot of ammo. It has happened before..

Your problem can not be fixed over the internet. If you are close to Ft Wayne, I can look at it. Others on this board can look at it too. Just don't shoot it until it is diagnosed and fixed.

+1

Was any steel cased ammo used before? Steel does not expand like brass and leaves some carbon in the chamber. It is possible that this maybe the issue.

and what do you have to support this claim

I would agree with Baldmax based on shooting alot of Wolf and seeing how dirty the chamber gets and also looking at the cases. I just don't know if this would be what caused the OP his issue. Also, I would wonder if the steel cases expanding enough to seal the chamber would be due to the property differences between brass and steel, or the fact wolf can be underpowered. My guess is it could be a combination of both.

 

[DragonGunner]

You bought the gun used...how many rounds had it gone through without a good chamber cleaning before you started shooting it...? Clean the chamber agressively with cleaner an wire brush an the bolt, espicially around the front where, as I call them the teeth are at an where they go in an up against the chamber. I would say you have carbon build up in that area an its keeping the bolt from getting all the way forward, this also results in a stuck bolt.

 

[223 Gunner]

You can read my recent post of steel vs. brass ammo in AR's. I wrote this this morning. Under long guns. "Wolf ammo stuck in my match chamber" by COLT556. Long story short don't run steel cased ammo thru your expensive rifles.

 

[trigger_happy57]

try using rubbing alcohol on the carbon build up it definately helps remove it a lot quicker a lil trick i learned in the sand box

 

[HD1911]

If your AR is in spec and of good quality...there is absolutely nothing wrong with running Wolf (*read- Polymer Coated, NOT Lacquer coated) ammo.

 

[Dtruck260]

I shoot Lacquer coated Brown Bear all the time from my AR's, ?

 

[HD1911]

I shoot Lacquer coated Brown Bear all the time from my AR's, ?

The Lacquer coated cases CAN gum up your chamber, thus creating potential problems.

if you use it with no problems, rock on and keep saving money

 

[samrothstein01]

Out of one of my AR's, I have run almost nothing but steel cased ammo. Maybe 300 rounds or so of brass when I didn't have any steel cased left. The rest has been a mix of Wolf, Tula, BB. A bit of a function/stress test for my own curiousity I suppose. I have NEVER cleaned it, just lube. After approximately 4k+ rounds, it is still chewing up everything I feed it with zero malfunctions.

Just my experience thus far.