AR issue

[ArmyBrat61]

I have a question for the AR experts. First off I'm an AK guy, its simple, rugged and reliable. I have ventured into the AR realm and have run into something troubling that I can't figure out. I took in an AR in trade, Aero Precision, and it cycled by hand, unloaded just fine. Nice buffer tension, snappy detents and the bolt went home with a satisfying thunk. I loaded up a magazine, inserted , pulled the charging handle, released and....... the carrier would not go into battery. I pushed the forward assist and it went in with some effort. I decided to check it. The issue arose when I tried to eject the live round by hand. It was stuck. I had to remove the upper and pry the bolt carrier to the rear. It was jammed in good. The bolt lugs would not rotate unless I physically pried the carrier back...it ejected out on its own. I almost took a rubber mallet to the charging handle to get the carrier to move, that's how stuck it was. 

The rifle is pristine, no fouling or wear marks, that's the reason I accepted it in trade. Is it a headspace issue? Does it need a break in period? I have not fired it because of the forward assist being used on the first fed round. I know is sounds silly but I'm paranoid with any weapon that I'm not familiar with. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Alleycat72]

Out of spec chamber or out of spec ammo. 

[krunchnik]

First think I would check is the ammo being used-I have had the same issues with my first reloads not being sized down far enough-

 

[ArmyBrat61]

I had not thought of that, obviously. I will check that out. I hope its that easy. Thank you gents!

[Alleycat72]

If you're using handloads and the brass has been used in a different chamber, you may need small base dies. 

[krunchnik]

2 hours ago, Alleycat72 said:

If you're using handloads and the brass has been used in a different chamber, you may need small base dies. 

yup-exactly

[ArmyBrat61]

I loaded up a mag with factory steel rounds, Wolf to be exact, and the bolt carrier slammed home no problem. Yes I was using handloads made just for this rifle, just didn't realize how finicky it could be. I've ordered some virgin brass cases and will fire form them to this rifle. My once fired brass will have to be gone through and rechecked to insure it is in spec and my loaded rounds will be pulled and reprocessed. My only waste is time and worry at this point. It's for damn sure not an AK.

Thank you, gentlemen,  very much for the information and guidance. 

[Alleycat72]

If you get a small base die, you'll never have that problem again. Some chambers need it and some don't. 

[ArmyBrat61]

12 hours ago, Alleycat72 said:

If you get a small base die, you'll never have that problem again. Some chambers need it and some don't. 

I will look and see what Lee has. Don't want to have this again! I will pull the 100 rounds that I loaded and see if there is a pattern by headstamp. I have loaded up 3 types of factory rounds and not one issue. I feel like a noob but better embarrassed than fingerless.  I really appreciate the replies.

[gregintenn]

13 hours ago, Alleycat72 said:

If you get a small base die, you'll never have that problem again. Some chambers need it and some don't. 

I guess I’ve been lucky as I’ve never used or felt the need to use a small base die.

I can’t help but believe that a properly made sizing die should size a case back to SAAMI specs if adjusted properly. This should then work in a properly chambered firearm, just like factory ammo should.

14 hours ago, ArmyBrat61 said:

I loaded up a mag with factory steel rounds, Wolf to be exact, and the bolt carrier slammed home no problem. Yes I was using handloads made just for this rifle, just didn't realize how finicky it could be. I've ordered some virgin brass cases and will fire form them to this rifle. My once fired brass will have to be gone through and rechecked to insure it is in spec and my loaded rounds will be pulled and reprocessed. My only waste is time and worry at this point. It's for damn sure not an AK.

Thank you, gentlemen,  very much for the information and guidance. 

An AR is a battle rifle, designed for battle conditions, and is in no way “finicky”. I doubt seriously your AK would chamber an out of spec round either.

I not sure how many ARs are laying around here, probably 8 or 10, and I assure you any of them will chamber, fire, and eject any in spec 223 or 556 round that’ll fit in a magazine.

Perhaps your particular rifle has a really tight chamber, or perhaps you need to screw your sizing die into the press further.

You’d really need to do some measuring to know for sure.

[Alleycat72]

33 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

I guess I’ve been lucky as I’ve never used or felt the need to use a small base die.

I can’t help but believe that a properly made sizing die should size a case back to SAAMI specs if adjusted properly. This should then work in a properly chambered firearm, just like factory ammo should.

An AR is a battle rifle, designed for battle conditions, and is in no way “finicky”. I doubt seriously your AK would chamber an out of spec round either.

I not sure how many ARs are laying around here, probably 8 or 10, and I assure you any of them will chamber, fire, and eject any in spec 223 or 556 round that’ll fit in a magazine.

Perhaps your particular rifle has a really tight chamber, or perhaps you need to screw your sizing die into the press further.

You’d really need to do some measuring to know for sure.

Most of the problems come from progressive presses. This assumes everything is set up properly in the first place. I've had normal dies that work just fine on a single stage, but if used on my Dillon the brass is a bit tight in some guns. It's from the inability to cam over like you can with a single stage. I use the Dillon when I am processing brass for my ar10 or ar15. The trim die is essentially a small base die. Everyone will drop freely from a case gauge after loaded. I can't have a problem 12 hours from the house. I've seen what happens when ammo on the large end of the spec meets a chamber on the small end of the spec. Thankfully I always take twice as much ammo as I think I'll need and have had to donate some to the cause.  @Handsome RobI usually do 1k 5.56 or 308 at a time and you can definitely feel the difference in some chambers from the change in force needed to size them.

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, Alleycat72 said:

Most of the problems come from progressive presses. This assumes everything is set up properly in the first place. I've had normal dies that work just fine on a single stage, but if used on my Dillon the brass is a bit tight in some guns. It's from the inability to cam over like you can with a single stage. I use the Dillon when I am processing brass for my ar10 or ar15. The trim die is essentially a small base die. Everyone will drop freely from a case gauge after loaded. I can't have a problem 12 hours from the house. I've seen what happens when ammo on the large end of the spec meets a chamber on the small end of the spec. Thankfully I always take twice as much ammo as I think I'll need and have had to donate some to the cause.  @Handsome RobI usually do 1k 5.56 or 308 at a time and you can definitely feel the difference in some chambers from the change in force needed to size them.

Now that makes perfect sense. I’ve never used a progressive press.

[scatman]

Hey, I dont know if you've resolved your issue, but I had a similar issue with mine awhile back. My issue was two fold, one my buffer tube was commercial spec and not milspec, after doing that swap I didnt have any issues for about 60 rds, then it locked up, and the only way I could free it was to "mortar" it. If you dont know what means, its where you slam the buttstock onto a hard surface, this usually gets the bolt carrier to go forward, and then you can retract the bolt, anyways, after those 60 rounds, I noticed my actual buffer had a chip on it and was catching in the tube slightly, I replaced the buffer, and havent had an issue since, I've run over 1k rounds through her since then.