[Guest]

I've been research rifiles is some of you can remember, well i've decided to get both the ak and the AR. the AK is simple enough for me to understand, especially since i've fired one before.

I'm having trouble understanding how the AR works. it is my understanding that you load a round with the charging handle, but when you fire that charging handle doesnt move with the bolt? I've also seen this plunger thing on the opposite side in some pictures, how does that work? what does it do?

I hear things like at times the AR can be unreliable and things like that, i understand that. I read about the dust storm test and all that (it wasnt that bad of an outcome) but what have you guys experienced with your AR's? once again i've seen an AK pop its top because of an over powered round what kind of failures have you run into?

sorry for the long post but i'm hungry for the info.

 

[Guest]

I've been research rifiles is some of you can remember, well i've decided to get both the ak and the AR. the AK is simple enough for me to understand, especially since i've fired one before.

I'm having trouble understanding how the AR works. it is my understanding that you load a round with the charging handle, but when you fire that charging handle doesnt move with the bolt? I've also seen this plunger thing on the opposite side in some pictures, how does that work? what does it do?

I hear things like at times the AR can be unreliable and things like that, i understand that. I read about the dust storm test and all that (it wasnt that bad of an outcome) but what have you guys experienced with your AR's? once again i've seen an AK pop its top because of an over powered round what kind of failures have you run into?

sorry for the long post but i'm hungry for the info.

You are correct, the charging handle does not move during firing. There is a little "hook" on the end of the handle that grabs on to the bolt and pulls the bolt backward. When firing the bolt is recoiling, but is not brining the charging handle with it.

The forward assist (plunger) is used to "assist" the bolt in going to the forward position if it, for whatever reason, did not.

I haven't had my AR (Stag) too terribly long, and have only got about 300 rds through it so far I'd guess, but it has been 99% reliable. I've only had 1 FTE, IIRC, which is fine for me...I expect every new gun to have one or two while being broke in...except for my Glock...it has to work right every single time, perform Calculus problems, land my plane for me, and cure cancer...if it doesn't do all that then I'm throwing it in a lake. :razz:

I know I'm not a real AR buff yet, but I'd venture to say that reliability should be pretty darn good for most of us "hobby" shooters, as we're not over there in a sand box. Our weapons aren't subjected to that kind of environment, so I think you'd be alright with whatever you choose!

 

[Guest]

To go a bit further on what KAD said, the plunger thing on the side is the Forward assist, with makes up for the fact that the bolt has nothing to "beat on" in case of a problem. The FA can push the bolt into battery all the way if need be. I've put over 1k rds though my RRA 16" middy without a single issue, IMO the AR is reliable if taken care of. It won't survive the beating an AK will, but if your gun is getting beaten like that you're probably already screwed.

 

[Guest]

The forward assist I have never once used, you only use it if you accidently dont let the bolt go forward all the way in which case just push on it and it will close the bolt the rest of they way. Like I said I have never used it and I don't know anyone who has used it or needed it. I Have 1200 rounds through my bushmaster laying in dirt shooting prone for about 200 rounds and have had dirt get on my bolt but I have never personally had a Failure to feed or extract or fire. Once I got mine I quickly leanred all the parts of it and they are pretty simple really.

 

[Guest]

My replies in red

I've been research rifiles is some of you can remember, well i've decided to get both the ak and the AR. the AK is simple enough for me to understand, especially since i've fired one before.

I'm having trouble understanding how the AR works. it is my understanding that you load a round with the charging handle, but when you fire that charging handle doesnt move with the bolt?

You're right, the charging handle shouldn't move unless you pull on it and release it. There is a little hook on the left side of it that has a spring in it to keep it secured to the reciever indentation during normal firing.

Otherwise, there would be a lot of us visit the emergency room with broken noses and black eyes regularly.

I've also seen this plunger thing on the opposite side in some pictures, how does that work? what does it do?

The other guys have already covered this well. It's usually unnecessary, but a little extra assurance for those of us who believe in Murphy's Law. In some situations where stealth is a priority, it'll allow the operator to chamber a round more quietly also.

I hear things like at times the AR can be unreliable and things like that, i understand that. I read about the dust storm test and all that (it wasnt that bad of an outcome) but what have you guys experienced with your AR's?

They are as reliable as most any other firearm, and more reliable than many I've owned. I wouldn't hesitate to pull mine out of storage in an emergency.


Proper care and lube should be fundemental practice however. If you don't take care of it, you shouldn't expect it to take care of you when you need it either. Things don't have to be spotless, but they don't need to be funked up too bad either.


once again i've seen an AK pop its top because of an over powered round what kind of failures have you run into?

Any gun can run into this problem under the same circumstances and I don't consider that the fault of the gun.


I've ran into no major problems whatsoever. I do have a buddy who had a casing stick in the chamber once that rendered the gun useless until we got it home and "poked" a cleaning rod in there to free the casing. Mind you this was using steel cased Wolf lacquered ammo.

More info here http://www.oa2.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4383&highlight=official+wolf+garbage , though many will disagree with me, but that's OK I saw it happen myself and find it unacceptable for anything besides harassing paper.

*Items of interest as for more common "problems" after a lot of use. Worn extractor and extractor spring, weak magazine springs, weak hammer spring, weak buffer spring, and less commonly cracked bolts/carriers, and broken/worn firing pins.


Mind you, this doesn't happen overnight, but the above are the culprits of the majority of "problems" associated with years of hard use.

sorry for the long post but i'm hungry for the info.