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11/15/2012 4:52:30 PM EDT
My step dad recently put together a mid-length upper and it is failing to extract on every round. I have tried Silver Bear, surplus, Hornady, and a couple other manufacturers and every time it fails to eject and the bolt carried is only out of battery just enough so that I can see a little bit of brass. I took it apart earlier today and I am thinking that the gas port is too small, it measured .054. It has a regular mil-spec buffer, and spring and a Palmetto state BCG, but I had swapped that out with my LMT one and it did the same thing. It also acts the same on all of my lowers.

So basically would I have to have the gas port enlarged or is there something else I should try first?
11/15/2012 5:52:10 PM EDT
[#1]
What is the barrel length, 16"?  .750" gas block journal?

Have you already examined the gas system for leaks or misalignment?  A couple of common failure points are sliding a low profile gas block all the way to the shoulder on the barrel leading to a partially obstructed gas port, and a loose or leaking gas key to bolt carrier junction.
11/15/2012 6:15:04 PM EDT
[#2]
gas port is too small by about .015

if its a .750 it should be .070 to .086
if its a .625 it should be .063 to .078 (.078 being a more recently used size)
11/15/2012 6:56:21 PM EDT
[#3]
between those two post you should have your issue. My first thought was miss-aligned gas port. You are aligning up two small holes with almost nothing to go off of. Its easy to get it wrong.
 
11/16/2012 2:01:59 AM EDT
[#4]
It has a .750" journal, I will break it down again after work and try to see if it is seated back too far. Thanks for the quick responses.
11/16/2012 7:29:18 AM EDT
[#5]
The gas port on the gas block is a larger diameter opening and should leave a witness mark on the barrel to confirm alignment.

I would open the barrel port to a minimum of .0625.  It's easy to make the hole larger, go in small increments.
11/17/2012 4:10:39 PM EDT
[#6]
Well there is an almost perfect outline from the hole in the gas block around the gas port, is opening that up something that can be done with a mill or a drill press or is it better to send it off? I measured the gas port on my mid-length earlier and mine is at .0695 so I am guessing his is pretty under spec.
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