problem with an AR-type rifle

dranrab said:

cleaning rod and try to tap it out.

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^^^ THIS ^^^
Then take some solvent and brass brush to the CHAMBER and bore -- followed by the usual solvent/patch routine(s)
While at it, pull the bolt apart and do the same -- solvent/brass brush/patch/OIL -- and shoot it wet after reassembly.
(all of which will likely fix things from that point on)

Im guessing it was a cleaning problem, not an ammo problem.

At the range the other day, the guy a few lanes over was having misfires with a shotgun. I looked at one of the primers and it looked like a light strike. Sure enough he had bought it that morning. All the preserving oils still on there.

Tap it out like everyone says And then clean out the chamber and bolt. Direct impingement systems get a lot of soot into the bolt area. ARs get dirty , but they’re also really easy to clean

Shawn Dodson said:

ARs will fire steel case 5.56 ammo with zero problems unless there's a chamber issue.

When steel case 5.56 sticks, it's an indicator of an out of spec chamber. The problem is with the gun, not the steel case ammo.

Whereas 5.56 brass case usually doesn't stick in a .223 or out of spec chamber. (Guns with an out of spec chamber exhibit other symptoms when firing brass case 5.56.)

The lacquer/varnish coating on steel cases doesn't melt. This has been proved with torches. The residue you observed was probably scraped off the cartridge by the carbon buildup.

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Yep, I haven't shout hundreds of cases of steel case through AR's but 90% of the ammo I shoot out of AR's has been a pretty even mix of TULA, WOLF, RAS Lacquer or poly coated steel case and probably a few dozen cases through half a dozen AR's with zero reliability issues. Dirtier? Yes. Smellier? Yes. Less accurate? Pretty much.

Less reliable? No, not in my experience which is less than some but certainly more than most.

I can't help but have a lil gratitude about this common perception that steel case ammo will just wreck your gun and won't cycle, I suspect enough people believe this that it's left many more cases available for me at a better price. If your AR is some match grade precision work of art, I'd probably shoot premium ammo through it but any standard off the rack AR should be able to shoot steel case with zero issues and if it doesn't, your gun gots probs.

Bwana John said:

it will break inside the bore causing an even worse problem.

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Well, Spruce will support around 5000psi long its end grain for one, especially with the barrel to help prevent excess bending. Ok, hickory would be better, but the local Ace Hardware probably does not have hickory dowels.
A wooden dowel is also less likely to damage rifling or crown in this use.
But, mostly, OP is more likely, at the edge of rural Kentucky, to have access to a wooden dowel of sufficient length than a bras, AL, or bronze rod of sufficient length.

Now, all of us probably should have mentioned to squirt a bunch of Kroil or even WD-40 down the bore to the stuck case, too.

I would suggest that a 17-20 caliber wooden rod (of whatever type) . . .
. . . is probably "not" the best choice for any truly 'stuck' case.

Use a cleaning rod.
(Honest)

thunderbyrd said:

my friend isn't a dipstick. he is a fine person who doesn't know much about firearms.

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Obviously, we do not know if your friend is a "hold my beer" type person or not.. However, we are left with grasping straws with so little information provided.

i am another that suspects it might just need a good cleaning. I had a couple of failures to extract the first time I took my AR to the range. It is an economically priced Mforgery put together from a PSA kit. It didn't occur to me that I should clean the barrel before shooting as it was new. I posted about the issue I had & was instructed to clean & lubricate before I did anything else. I scrubbed the chamber with a bronze brush & thoroughly cleaned it & the bore. I've never had another extraction issue with that rifle.

thunderbyrd said:

my friend isn't a dipstick. he is a fine person who doesn't know much about firearms.

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Well, one thing is for sure. He’s learning one big lesson now.

I hope between you both you get it figured out and that someday this incident is something to laugh about.

I also have seen dirty chambers cause issues with extraction. It could also have an issue with the extractor, I have seen new extractors cut wrong and one was not even close (M&P). To remove the one in the chamber I also suggest some kind of lubricant soak and tap it out with a ONE piece cleaning rod or 3/16 soft metal rod. Disassemble and inspect the bolt closely before returning it, now would be a GREAT time to teach him how to maintain his AR, AND a good time for old friends to spend some time together, maybe both of you will learn something new.

My first inclination is the gun was offered to a pawn shop because it had issues. A deep clean and lube won't hurt anything and may get you rolling again. I don't think the "pawn shop" is going to help, I hope it's not a home brew if you need support...

Detailed “How to Mortar your AR15 with a round stuck in the chamber​

Yep, probably dirty chamber. Scrub the heck out of that thing BEFORE firing. That should be done to any gun, especially an unknown pawnshop find.

thunderbyrd said:

this query is a bit vague. i am hoping to get more info later, but here's what i've got for now. my friend bought an AR from a pawnshop, either 223 or 556. he took it out and shot it and the case of the 1st round hung up in the chamber and won't come out. he doesn't have a rod to tap it out and is going to try to bring it up to me this week.
i'm not too knowledgeable about this type of gun. what i want to know is this what happens when you mix 223 vs 556? i can't think of another reason this would happen.

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A buddy of mine bought an AR-15 and went on line and bought 1000 rounds of the rock bottom cheapest brass cased ammo he could find. He didn’t read the reviews on the site. First round failed to extract. It was locked up tighter than Dick’s hatband the only way to clear it was to collapse the buttstock and mortar the thing. After two tries, the case came out. He tried again, and the same thing happened. Rince and repeat. I check case dimensions with a micrometer. Turned out that the dude selling the bargain basement ammo simply took fired cases and reloaded them without bothering to resize them. They would stick every time. I tried one in my AR and had to mortar it out. Told him he needed to pull the bullets, dump the powder and deprime the cases, then resize them to SAMMI specs then reload them. He tried to return the ammo to the scammer or get a refund for bad ammo but the seller blew him off. Dude isn’t selling ammo now…might be out of spec ammo. Are these reloads that your friend is having problems with?

If the rim isn’t torn through, mortar the empty case out, clean the rifle, lubricate properly, order and install a new extractor spring, then try again.

9 times out of 10, when a case gets stuck fast in the chamber is it because the case was too soft be it steel or brass. Not so soft as to be dangerous, just soft enough to not be springy enough to release from the chamber walls.

Well.................????????????????????????

The easiest way is to loosen the barrel nut.