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WTF?! AR15 question..

3682 Views 27 Replies 0 Participants Last post by  Alaskapopo
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ok, so i got an AR 15. bushmaster, when i first got it, she worked great, kept her clean and all, no problems. here lately its been choking like crazy. FTL FTE's all kinds of stuff. i finally went to the range today to shoot it for the first time in a month or two and i got 50 rounds into it before all hell broke loose. Every round got jammed, no joke. Rack, Fire, Jam, Safe, Lock open bolt, Remove mag, clear jam, insert mag rack fire, jam.. and so on. not only that but when it wasnt doing that it was not loading in the next round AND not holding the bolt open after firing. Now i will admit i was using some brown bear ammo, which i usually dont like doing, but with ammo prices.... but even when i thought that was the problem i cleaned it real quick and started loading remington green and white's with the same problem. not only that but TWICE i had the bolt get totally stuck with a spent round in the chamber, i had to bang it on the ground to get the bolt to move, worst shooting trip ever. on a good not the XD performed great! who has ideas? is it the gun? the ammo? whats the deal???
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Trade it in on a Colt 6920...:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:
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has nothing to do with the brand of the firearm colt or bushmaster dont matter. the problem sounds mag realted... did you try different mags and if so did it happen on all of them. the rounds stuck in the chamber i would chalk up to the ammo because of the coating on the outside of the brown bear ( not sure if brown bear is laquered though)
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has nothing to do with the brand of the firearm colt or bushmaster dont matter. the problem sounds mag realted... did you try different mags and if so did it happen on all of them. the rounds stuck in the chamber i would chalk up to the ammo because of the coating on the outside of the brown bear ( not sure if brown bear is laquered though)
ya, the brown bear sucks, no doubt, but i have used other ammo (remington white and green box) the mags i have switched up too.. i used the mag that came with the gun, another one i baugh sep and 5 diff magpuls, all with same issue... i know AR's arnt "top of the line" when it comes to being reliable... but damn...
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If you were shooting Brown Bear, my first thought would be the ammo, then the mag. Clean it well, including disassembling the bolt and running a pipe cleaner down the gas tube. Lube it back up and make sure you're not using a crap mag. If you're using a factory mag or quality aftermarket (AR-Stoner, C-Products, etc) disassemble, clean and lube it lightly.

Brown Bear is dirty stuff, and if you're going from the steel case to brass without cleaning it your reliability shouldn't be expected to improve. The theory is that steel case doesn't expand perfectly to seal the chamber like brass does, so you get more chamber fouling. Switching back to brass without cleaning won't solve the issue.
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Oh yeah, and make sure you're using a good stiff brass/bronze chamber brush in the chamber. A standard bore brush won't scrape any of the crud out of the wider chamber and you could easily have carbon buildup at the shoulder/neck of the chamber.
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check for gas leaks. clean the chamber. make sure the gas key is secure. use good magazines. lube the bolt and bolt carrier very liberally.
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ya, the brown bear sucks, no doubt, but i have used other ammo (remington white and green box) the mags i have switched up too.. i used the mag that came with the gun, another one i baugh sep and 5 diff magpuls, all with same issue... i know AR's arnt "top of the line" when it comes to being reliable... but damn...

Stock bushmaster magazines are throw away trash.

I never got to shoot mine with the magpul before I traded it in. But mine jammed about every 3 rounds as well. I think there's just something wrong with bushmasters.
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Run the BCG very wet. See if that gets better, change the mags too.


I had a similar issue w/ a new AR and BCG. My RRA will run fairly dry, not the Bushy. Now, I run both wet! CLP is your friend!!!


Good Luck!


Lex
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Buy an AK...........sorry, had to do it. I love it when ya'll get on the ammo thing, if the gun was worth its price, it'd shoot what ever brand you put in it without exception and the ONLY ammo issue will be with out of spec cases like S&B or soft cases like Radway.

I agree that there is something wrong with the firearm itself. you are the third Bushy I've heard go down this weekend. My brother-in-law's rifle went kaput when his bolt head broke, and another guy at the range split 2 gas tubes and ripped his charging handle out...
...but don't feel bad, my cousin decided to be an idiot and show me how you shoot a Mosin. All of a sudden there is a bone rattling BOOM and I hear him scream.....when he slammed the bolt back and moved it to chamber a round. He missed the down stroke and didn't see the round (it was in the chamber) so he pulled it all the way back to chamber another and when he slammed it forward, it drove the 'fresh' round into the unfired round in the chamber. Now I have a JarHead cousin with superficial burns to his face, neck and shoulders and 7 stitches in his right shoulder and a 1970 M39 with a splintered stock and sprung action.....
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I had the same problem with my bushmaster. I thought it was mags or the cleaning but i discovered that gas tube on the bolt carrier (i know im not using the right term for it) was slightly bent. I sent it to bushmaster who's customer service is awesome) and they had it all fixed up for me for free. Im not saying thats your problem but it could be. also i've noticed if you don't clean it often then it will malfunction.
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and it is true bushmaster mags are junk
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A bolt problem or a mag problem.I only use Colt mags or Adventure line mags,thats all.I have experimented with others but allways let me down.The 2 mentioned mags are easliy found at gun shows,I was recommened them by an Ol timer (up in his 70's) AR-15 shooter.He told me next to cleaning it thats the best advise he could give me.I know others will dissagree with me,thats ok.....the Ol timer has since died but Im passing his advise to you.Im not saying Colt or LMT bolts are better ( I have heard it) but I own a Colt AR and useing my mags Ive never had any kind of FTF of FTE or anything.I miss that Ol feller.Just "His" 2 cts.
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I sent it to bushmaster who's customer service is awesome) and they had it all fixed up for me for free. Im not saying thats your problem but it could be. also i've noticed if you don't clean it often then it will malfunction.
i clean mine like crazy, even after about 100 rounds at the range ill take it apart and atleast wipe off some of the residue.... did you call a special number to have the rifle sent? take it to a gunshop and have them send it? how long was it gone for? i like "free" but im not sure if i want to give it up for 6 months or somethin haha
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BTW..Ive shot some God awful ammo thru mine also.I try to stick to WWB but you cant always.
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I had my gun back in two weeks. Just call their customer service number. The best way to find out if the tube on your bolt is bent is to check the clearance between the tube and the key. if there is a huge gap or the key wont come out at all. there fast as long as there able to find the problem. i would try some other mags though first. bushmaster is fast and good. they'll also be able to tell you some troubleshooting stuff to do before you just send the thing in
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I would check the gas key on top of the bolt, make sure it is staked well and make sure that it does not move when you grab onto it and yank on the rest of the bolt. I am guessing a gas leak some where. Also the pipe cleaner through the gas tube is a good idea as well.
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def try some good ammo first.
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gas key thats the word
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My bushmaster dislikes surplus ammo... It'll shoot it, but won't extract the round or load a new one... I have to manually cycle the round to get to the next one. Put in nice factory remmington or WWB and it shoots ALL DAY LONG.

My S&W M&P will eat anything I put into it... Wolf, Surplus, Brown Bear, Anything! Lucky thing is my Bushmaster is my 20" rifle, so it's long range and I tend to like to shoot higher quality ammo anyway.
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