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Posted: 2/15/2004 8:09:21 AM EDT
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My colt 16 inch jammed up on my buddy yesterday. I looked in the chamber and about 1/2 an inch of a live round was hanging out. I did SPORTS and the bolt pushed the bullet in some more; but not all the way and now the whole rifle is frozen. Charging handle wont move as the bolt is stuck and im not too keen on trying to knock the bullet out with a rod as its a live one. In retrospect I should have just locked the bolt back and hit the bullet free with a rod but I did SPORTS almost automatically (its beaten into your head). So now I have a problem. What should I do. BTW...I think the reason for this malfunction could be the ammo...I am shooting the Federal 5.56 55gr. and Ive had separated cases with the same lot before; Im thinking maybe the front half of an empty was left in the chamber and a live round fed inside of it?? |
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HM, You beat me to it. The most useless hickey on the AR rifle is the FA assy. You have a weapon where the majority of its failures are failures to extract. So you have a round that does not chamber properly, do you really want to force that round into the chamber? This is ancient info. The Marines and the A.F. did not want the FA added to their uppers, citing SOP for FTF in the M1 and M14. SOP = clear the feed failure and strip another round. If still FTF, find real source of malfunction. If you got the bolt to lock, you will have to unlock it before you can drive the round out....very carefully. |
| I once saw a similar thing happen when a round that had been fired in a plinker with a fairly loose chamber was reloaded without being properly resized then was fed into a match rifle with a very tight chamber. Had to pull the upper off of the lower (not easy when the BC isn't all the way forward) then use a flathead screwdriver to pry the bolt carrier open. Had to replce the charging handle because it was bent in the process of trying to open the bolt. |
| Got the round out today with the help of the local gunsmith. Indeed a case got ripped in half and another round loaded inside of it. All that was required was some assistance by a brass tipped cleaning rod (by him). But now I am facing a "serious" headspacing problem. |
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Quoted: If you have a headspace problem then that is Colt's problem not yours. Ok heres the deal; my headspacing is so out of spec that apparently I need a need a new upper. I imagine contacting Colts Customer Service would be the next logical step, but I am not the original owner and do not posses the manual/warranty information. Will Colt still honor their warranty if I am the second owner? BTW This is a rifle with less than 400 rounds through it...it looks perfect. |
| Being the second owner, you might be out of luck. Get together with a friend that has an AR and try a different bolt with gauges. With less than 400 rounds, obviously the bolt or barrel assembly is way out of spec.. find out which one and replace. SOP...... if u r lucky enough to have a bud that will let u swap out parts to troubleshoot, make sure to mark the parts to keep them straight. |
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What was the headspace dimension? Did you use SAMMI or NATO gauges? The dimensions are different, and most Colt chambers are NATO (and longer). I don't have sthe specs in front of me right now, but before you get into it with Colt, check the chamber with a military (5.56mm) field reject gauge. |
| I don't think colt will even flinch at taking care of it. From what I've seen they are gtg on taking care of problems. The level of owner, especially since you are only the second one should not hurt you. Especially since it has only 400rds through it. Good luck. |
| Yes, I looked to make sure the 'smith was using 5.56 gauges. Im not sure of the exact measurements but he said he put the biggest gauge in and it still closed up. I will call down there tommorow and get the exact numbers. Ill also be on the phone to colt's CS tommorow. |
| I just got off the phone with the gunsmith and he says he tried ~25 other bolts and they all failed the go/nogo. So now I need a new barrel. This sucks cause I bought this rifle in October. Colt says to send the upper to them and they will determine what needs to be done and call me back for a CC#. I probably will just replace the barrel b/c I already know whats wrong and I dont want to spend more money for them to tell me what I already know. |
| I just got off the phone with colts customer service and I really must say I am not impressed. I would just like a straight answer of how much a new barrel replacement at Colt will cost me vs. what I know it will cost here. Instead I keep getting the same old runaround of "send it up here and we'll look at it and call for youre CC#". and "this repair will not fall under any service agreement". WTF? this rifle is almost brand new! I can understand how me being the second owner might complicate matters but I havent even made it that far with the CS people yet. They seem stuck on the same line...I am not stupid and I already know what the damn problem is! |
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Quoted: BTW...I think the reason for this malfunction could be the ammo...I am shooting the Federal 5.56 55gr. and Ive had separated cases with the same lot before On that note... (I assume you mean Fed/LC XM193) What lot have you been having trouble with? Yes its the XM193 and off the top of my head I believe its Lot 14 |
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Just buy a new barrel and let your gunsmith put it in. It will be cheaper than sending it to colt. KurtsKustom might be able to re-index the barrel extension and re-headspace your old barrel but for now I would replace it and salvage your curren one another day. |
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