AR-15 Ejector Question

[Sidewinder]

I have a practically new Bushmaster XM-15 that the ejector is scoring the shell cashing head each time it ejects the spent casing. The ejector head looks pretty flat. Should it be slightly rounded? Also, the spring seems like it might be a bit stronger than others, but it does press all the way in. A friend offered this suggestion: As the bolt tries to slightly turn the shell casing in the "unlocking" process, maybe the ejector is digging in if the casing is tight in the chamber. It is lirerally shaving some to the brass from the shell casing head!

Any of you had this happen before? If so, what did you do to fix it? This was shooting Federal factory ammo, by the way.

I'm considering getting a new ejector and ejector spring at the Murfreesboro gin show this weekend and changing it out.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Sidewinder]

This is weird, if I'm the only person that has ever had this problem!

[Guest FroggyOne2]

If your getting ejector marks on your spent case.. then the ammo is too hot for that chamber.. you are at pressure!

Question one.. is it a 5.56 or a .223 chamber?

Question two.. are you shooting 5.56 ammo in a .223 chamber?

Question three.. are you shooting reloads? Disreguard.. I see that your using some sort of Federal made ammo.

Question four.. Where is the brass landing on the ground after it is ejected?

[MCSCOTT]

If your getting ejector marks on your spent case.. then the ammo is too hot for that chamber.. you are at pressure!

Question one.. is it a 5.56 or a .223 chamber?

Question two.. are you shooting 5.56 ammo in a .223 chamber?

Question three.. are you shooting reloads? Disreguard.. I see that your using some sort of Federal made ammo.

Question four.. Where is the brass landing on the ground after it is ejected?

X2 on all of this, and my first thoughts would be questions one and two. I would try a different brand ammo to start with and see if you get the same results. Just looking at the Federal site, they list their .223 as .223 Remington (5.56 x 45mm), so that may be an issue since there is a difference between the two.

[Sidewinder]

I'll try again... I got bumped off before I could reply!!! What's with the hair trigger on getting bumped and having to sign in again!!

Thanks for your reply.

Question one.. The barrel is marked 8 MP 5.56 NATO 1/9 H BAR, so it's 5.56.

Question two..I'm shooting .223 ammo in a 5.56 chamber.

Question three.. Factory Federal 223 REM. 100 round value pack from WM.

Question four... The brass is ejecting out and forward at about the 2 O'clock position, and at about 3 - 5 feet out.

Maybe a smith can jump in here and tell me what's the problem. The ejector does look flat with little or no bevel around the edge. Thanks again, maybe someone else had this problem and can chime in and tell me what theu did to fix it?

[Guest FroggyOne2]

Well I can tell you that your cycling to fast.. which means the bolt is getting too much gas! Any time that the brass is landing forward of 3 o'clock.. the bolt is cycling to fast.. it would be just right if it were landing at about 4.30..

[Sidewinder]

Well I can tell you that your cycling to fast.. which means the bolt is getting too much gas! Any time that the brass is landing forward of 3 o'clock.. the bolt is cycling to fast.. it would be just right if it were landing at about 4.30..

Thanks for that information, FroggyOne2. I did buy this Bushmaster as a "almost" new gun, with an advertised 40 rounds down the barrel. So, supposedly, it's all factory Bushmaster, as I have not changed anything... but did buy it used. How is the amount of gas getting to the bolt regulated... or is it? Thanks again.

[Guest FroggyOne2]

A lot of them come that way.. getting that port right.. is hard.. there is a carrier weight system that will help slow down the bolt. Also.. if it is a 16 or shorter bbl.. they can be rather picky.. longer is better.. it helps tame the gas..

[Sidewinder]

A lot of them come that way.. getting that port right.. is hard.. there is a carrier weight system that will help slow down the bolt. Also.. if it is a 16 or shorter bbl.. they can be rather picky.. longer is better.. it helps tame the gas..

Thanks again, this is a 16" heavy barrel. Any links of references to this weight system? Is it something that is attached to the bolt carrier group? Have you ever had to use one? Some say keep shooting it, that it'll work it's way through it. Sure hope so. I think the brass is still usable, but it does take a little chink out of every round on the shell casing head. I bought a new ejector at the gun show, and was thinking about changing it out. Your thoughts on doing that?

[Guest Plainsman]

Are you meaning to be referring to the ejector or the extractor?

Try switching to another brand of ammo and see if the problem remains consistent. What kind of ejection are you getting when you extract the round manually? Are there marks on the round when you do this manually?

[Westwindmike]

I shot this rifle on Friday. The extractor seems fine. The ejector is denting/scraping the case head on the headstamp. It is extracting fine and throws the brass from 2-3 oclock and about 5 feet. No jams.

This is a funny situation. When you ask 10 "experts" about it, you get 10 different answers. At the gun show, we heard everything from:

Shoot the p*** out of it, it's fine!

To:

I'd send it back to Bushmaster, your barrel is torqued too tight.

And everything in between.

I think Sidewinder should start cheap(replace ejector and spring) and work his way up. It shoots fine, ejects fine, it just gouges the brass.

Mike

[OngoingFreedom]

Perhaps an "H" or "H2" buffer?

[Rightwinger]

Not nearly the same caliber but when I first started shooting a .458 Socom with a brand new BCG it put some pretty good marks on the brass as well. They started easing off as I shot more. Shoot some wolf steel case to smooth it all in, clean the heck out of it and see what happens.

I was also thinking the buffer weight issue might slow it down a bit and it's not that costly to get an H buffer. Maybe someone put it together with a worn out buffer spring. That would be an easy check, swap out a buffer and spring with an AR friend.

[Sidewinder]

Are you meaning to be referring to the ejector or the extractor?

Try switching to another brand of ammo and see if the problem remains consistent. What kind of ejection are you getting when you extract the round manually? Are there marks on the round when you do this manually?

The divot is out on the face of the shell casing head, so I believe it's the ejector.

I've only had the gun a couple of weeks, and only on two shootings. I don't believe I even looked at an unfired shell... that's an idea that I'll check out. As best I can remember, if I ejected any live rounds, it must have kicked them out pretty good... otherwise, I would have noticed. Thanks for your reply.

[Sidewinder]

Not nearly the same caliber but when I first started shooting a .458 Socom with a brand new BCG it put some pretty good marks on the brass as well. They started easing off as I shot more. Shoot some wolf steel case to smooth it all in, clean the heck out of it and see what happens.

I was also thinking the buffer weight issue might slow it down a bit and it's not that costly to get an H buffer. Maybe someone put it together with a worn out buffer spring. That would be an easy check, swap out a buffer and spring with an AR friend.

Thanks Rightwinger, there is a lot of uniformity in the marks. Every one of them are about the same shape and dimension, which causes me to think it's the ejector jerking a chink of metal out of it each time. This is not just a surface mark, you can feel it with your finger nail, and the slivers are left on the bolt face. Thanks for your input.

[Sidewinder]

Perhaps an "H" or "H2" buffer?

Thanks for your reply. Some others have mentioned this as well. But, the mark is not a dent type as though being hit too hard. It's more like a little divot (Rectangular in shape) has been scrapped or gouged out of the casing face of the head stamp. I was suspecting it was happening as the bolt twisted to unlock, just after firing... if the ejector had a sharp rim on it, and dug in during the twist... especially if the chamber was holding the shell casing from twisting. It's perplexing, to say the least.

[Guest FroggyOne2]

Any links of references to this weight system? Is it something that is attached to the bolt carrier group? Have you ever had to use one?

Creedmoor

Yes I have used it.. it goes inside the back of the carrier.. It will not impede the working of the rifle one bit..but it will help slow down the rearward motion of the bolt carrier.

[Guest HCRoadie]

Creedmoor

Yes I have used it.. it goes inside the back of the carrier.. It will not impede the working of the rifle one bit..but it will help slow down the rearward motion of the bolt carrier.

$50! You gotta be S**ting ME!

[Sidewinder]

The "too much gas" is probably done for increased reliability. Not knowing what people are going to shoot, the factory opens the port to the most it can to help it cycle with whatever ammo the user likes. Wolf comes to mind because it is low powered compared to most which is why you hear of it causing so many problems. I have been told some of their 55 grains stuff chronos at 2800-2900FPS which is slow for .223 or 5.56 and with the slow velocity comes lower pressures needed for reliable function.

Personally, rather than get an H or H2 buffer to slow things down I would get an adjustable gas block to settle things down. Even with replacing the buffer you are still getting the wear and tear on the gun from the additional gas pressure.

But by getting an adjustable gas block you can tune the rifle to cycle slower and it will actually shoot a bit smoother once you get it tuned right. By reducing gas pressure it also reduces the wear and tear on the rifle. Adjustable gas blocks can be had for around $60 but for the money you get a infinitely adjustable gas system. They even have a blocks that have multiple settings.

JP is the one I have used and it worked great.

JP Rifles

Look around at numerous retailers like Brownells, MidwayUsa, etc, for better prices.

I have no affiliation with this guy but have heard great things about his stuff from numerous friends.

AR-15 Adjustable Gas Blocks

They can be drilled for full power, off and custom sized hole. Or it can be drilled with two custom sized holes and off. If I remember correctly, from speaking to the guy, all three postitions might also be able to be drilled.

Once you settle into what ammo shoots the best, tune your rifle for that load. Also, as long as the ammo it is tuned for is quality ammo you should not have any issues when you switch to other quality ammo. Don't expect to have it tuned for quality ammo then be able to shoot crap ammo with the same reliability. But if you do find yourself needing to shoot the crap ammo just open the gas block.

Dolomite

Folks, I appreciate the offer of help, but don't think I want to modify my gun... especially if I'm going to have to drop some serious cash. If there's a "design deficiency" in the weapon, maybe I should send it back to Bushmaster for corrective action. This is not a cobbled together parts gun... this is a factory assembled Bushmaster. Yes, I did say "assembled" not manufactured, as I realize manufacturers build parts for a number of the name brand factories.

Right now, I think I'll try polishing the head of the ejector lightly, and if that doesn't fix it, I'll probably try changing the ejector with a new one. Thanks to everyone.

[Sidewinder]

Final chapter, I hope! As many of you know I've tried lots of things: beveling the ejector, polishing the bolt head, polishing the chamber, and even replacing the ejector, none of which helped any.

Swapped the bolt out yesterday with a friend's bolt. Fired 5 rounds through it, and it shot just fine.

Have contacted Bushmaster, as the gun is in warranty. They have agreed to swap out the defective bolt with me at no charge.

Kudos to "Bushmaster" for doing the right thing. It's only after the sale, that you find out what kind of dealers that you are dealing with. Some flash the "politician" toothy smile, and say the nice words to make the sale. But, it's how they treat you when a problem comes up, that separates the good ones from the bad ones. I'm not calling any names here... but, my recommendation is to check the dealer out "before" you lay down your hard earned big bucks. "Buyer beware"!!!

[Guest The Cat]

Final chapter, I hope! As many of you know I've tried lots of things: beveling the ejector, polishing the bolt head, polishing the chamber, and even replacing the ejector, none of which helped any.

Swapped the bolt out yesterday with a friend's bolt. Fired 5 rounds through it, and it shot just fine.

Have contacted Bushmaster, as the gun is in warranty. They have agreed to swap out the defective bolt with me at no charge.

Kudos to "Bushmaster" for doing the right thing. It's only after the sale, that you find out what kind of dealers that you are dealing with. Some flash the "politician" toothy smile, and say the nice words to make the sale. But, it's how they treat you when a problem comes up, that separates the good ones from the bad ones. I'm not calling any names here... but, my recommendation is to check the dealer out "before" you lay down your hard earned big bucks. "Buyer beware"!!!

I'm glad you got it worked out, and kudos to Bushy for taking care of you!

[Sidewinder]

Are you meaning to be referring to the ejector or the extractor?

Try switching to another brand of ammo and see if the problem remains consistent. What kind of ejection are you getting when you extract the round manually? Are there marks on the round when you do this manually?

No, the extractor seems to be doing it's job... it's pulling the spent cartridge fine, and the ejector is kicking it out in about the right distance and clock position.

I just got a brand new bolt from Bushmaster yesterday. I've pulled the defective bolt, and installed the new one. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but will post the results when I do. Thanks to everyone that responded. This is a great site to share knowledge about firearms on.

Thanks again.

[Sidewinder]

Test fired the new bolt Bushmaster sent me this afternoon, and it shoots, extracts, and ejects, just like it's supposed to do. There are no scratches, dents, or marks on the head stamp of the fired shell casing. And, the good thing is that Bushmaster stood up to their warranty, and didn't charge me a dime! They even sent me a prepaid postage label to send the defective bolt back to them! Kudos to Bushmaster!

"To anger a Conservative, lie to him. To anger a Liberal, tell him the truth". Theodore Roosevelt