Issues....not sure how to classify it.

[Cojo87]

Hey guys. So I have an issue, and really Im just trying to diagnose the problem. But im not sure if its my rifle, or the ammunition. So heres the scoop....

 

Ive been buying reloads from a local guy. He has a pretty impressive setup ie. machines, loading supplies, gunsmithing. He seems knowledgeable and I genuinely like the guy. Ive ran over 1000rds of his 9mm, 0 issues. However, I got some 556 from him, only ran 100rds and Ive had 2 rounds stuck in my barrel and ruined the shooting day because I couldnt get the casing out. First time, I got a cleaning kit from Nashville armory, took the rod from the kit and pushed the round out. Did not save the casing. Today, it happened again. Saved the casing, and Ill attach some pictures. Looks like a piece of the rim is missing after being fired. First time this happened, I thought maybe the "lightweight" spikes BCG was the culprit. Ive heard they can be unreliable. So today I threw in my SLR rifles BCG in, and 1 mag later, happens again. Spoke with him, and he thinks I need to replace my barrel because Ive ran too much steel case through the chamber and he thinks those rounds have damaged the system. Im unconvinced. Or, he could be correct. Just curious on opinions here. Not sure it matters, the rifle is a custom build from Royal Range. BCM/Aero with Faxon barrel. (not an inexpensive setup)  

Appreciate the help!

Long live the republic!

[superduty]

Same thing happened to me after neglecting one of my favorite rifles with a bunch of steel case ammo and too little cleaning.  I decided it was cheaper to buy a new barrel that get a smith to fool with it.

 

***not saying that's your issue, but it seems like a reasonable assumption without knowing more.

Edited August 11, 2021 by superduty
Details

[Cojo87]

2 minutes ago, superduty said:

Same thing happened to me after neglecting one of my favorite rifles with a bunch of steel case ammo and too little cleaning.  I decided it was cheaper to buy a new barrel that get a smith to fool with it.

Thanks for the comment. 

I clean this thing after every shoot. But Ill admit, Ive ran a bunch of steel through it. Hes probably right. lol 

[Beltfed]

Can you borrow another rifle from a buddy, or take him shooting with the problem ammo?  The primer in your pics looks good.  No over pressure signs.  The case on the other hand looks scratched up.  The damage to the rim is likely the extractor tearing the rim in an effort to do its job.

 I would agree with the above, however you said you had ‘rounds’ stuck in the barrel.  Do you mean bullets or casings? That is important.

 

[Quavodus]

I noticed the primer looked good too. I've shot some steel cased Tula in .45 ACP but, not anything else, and never seen this before.

[Garufa]

There’s nothing wrong with your barrel.  If you’ve been shooting steel cased ammo, polymer or lacquer residue from the case coating can build up and cause this exact problem when switching to brass.  The brass case expands more fully than steel and gets stuck.

Thoroughly clean the camber with some Hoppe’s #9 and a .30 caliber bore brush...or one of those fancy AR chamber brushes.  I bet that will fix the issue.

There is nothing inherently wrong with steel cased ammo but avoid letting a live round sit in a hot chamber for too long as that contributes to the build up of that case coating residue.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Garufa

[peejman]

2 hours ago, Garufa said:

There’s nothing wrong with your barrel.  If you’ve been shooting steel cased ammo, polymer or lacquer residue from the case coating can build up and cause this exact problem when switching to brass.  The brass case expands more fully than steel and gets stuck.

Thoroughly clean the camber with some Hoppe’s #9 and a .30 caliber bore brush...or one of those fancy AR chamber brushes.  I bet that will fix the issue.

There is nothing inherently wrong with steel cased ammo but avoid letting a live round sit in a hot chamber for too long as that contributes to the build up of that case coating residue.

I agree with this. You could also get something like cerrosafe to check the dimensions of the chamber. If it's smaller than its supposed to be, there's definitely some build up. 

[gregintenn]

You could probably put a 30 cal bronze brush on an old piece of cleaning rod, chuck it in a drill, and go to work cleaning that chamber. Some sort of cleaning solvent would likely help.

Listen to garufa. He’s a wise men. Steel case ammo with the powder type lube on the cases aren’t bad. That lacquer coated stuff shoots, but it’s messy.

[turkeydad]

4 hours ago, Garufa said:

There’s nothing wrong with your barrel.  If you’ve been shooting steel cased ammo, polymer or lacquer residue from the case coating can build up and cause this exact problem when switching to brass.  The brass case expands more fully than steel and gets stuck.

Thoroughly clean the camber with some Hoppe’s #9 and a .30 caliber bore brush...or one of those fancy AR chamber brushes.  I bet that will fix the issue.

There is nothing inherently wrong with steel cased ammo but avoid letting a live round sit in a hot chamber for too long as that contributes to the build up of that case coating residue.

The only thing better than the wisdom of Garufa is the wisdom of Garufa with a Fred Garvin avatar.

[Cojo87]

16 hours ago, Beltfed said:

Can you borrow another rifle from a buddy, or take him shooting with the problem ammo?  The primer in your pics looks good.  No over pressure signs.  The case on the other hand looks scratched up.  The damage to the rim is likely the extractor tearing the rim in an effort to do its job.

 I would agree with the above, however you said you had ‘rounds’ stuck in the barrel.  Do you mean bullets or casings? That is important.

 

Just casings. I ended up replacing the barrel yesterday. Got a 12.5 Faxon gunner. I wanted a bit longer barrel anyways. Ran 1 magazine, 0 issues. This weekend I'll throw a bunch more and see how it holds up.