Barrett 107 50 BMG won’t cycle....

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crash32

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I had posted a while back about how I was considering purchasing a used Barrett 107. Well.... I wanted to test shoot it over Christmas to make sure I wanted it before purchasing. It’s a good thing I did because it won’t cycle through. I am unable to shoot more than one round without manually cycling it.
After one shot it APPEARS to load the second round, but won’t fire. Once I eject the round and manually load another one... it fires.
I talked to the owner and he said he’s never cleaned it or oiled it and he has not shot it in over 3 years.
The gun appears to be devoid of ANY lubrications. Needless to say the bolt/extractor is massive, but it sure does seem like it moves very sluggish.
At first I thought it might be due to a weak shoulder so I kept a firm shoulder the second time and .... same results.
I have gotten permission from the owner to clean it real good and oil it at the proper places and see if that will fix the problem.
Has anyone else had a similar problem with a 50 BMG semi auto?
Any suggestions? Going back out tomorrow to try to shoot it again with a buddy.
 
Without knowing what ammunition you are shooting.

I'd say excessive drag is keeping it from the full cycle upon firing that you are putting it through when you manually operate it.

Unless - and unlikely - catastrophic damage has been done, it's a simple matter of a bit of cleaning and a lot of lubricating to slick it up for a full cycle to reset the firing mechanisms.

I see this as a small matter but be sure to factor your time and materials into the end-price of the gun, to a degree.

Too, show a photo of the ammo - nose and headstamp.

There is a great deal of .50 caliber ammunition loaded for specialty purposes never intended to cycle a semi-auto or machine gun.

Todd.
 
Clean it up and try again. We've all come across crusty/ sticky guns. As your cleaning be on the look out for excessive wear and damage. Did the seller mention how much he shot it? What is the guesstimated round count?
If you dont find any damage then As Todd says, see if you get a little better price due to the neglect.
 
When I pull the bolt back for it to load .... as it springs forward whether it’s loading an actual round or not... it does NOT slam like all of my other semi autos. It’s almost like closing a car door and not quite sure if it closed or not.
This is my very first experience with a 50 BMG semi auto so I am not sure if this is characteristic of the rifle or not. The bolt/spring absolutely does not operate with authority.
I was expecting the bolt to spring forward with massive authority given how big the rounds are...... definitely not the case here with this rifle!
 
ApacheCoTodd said:
That should run it just fine.

Clean & lube - I'm betting.

We used to shoot them almost completely dry but not neglected.

Todd.
Click to expand...
I assumed that the Barrett was a “rugged” rifle and didn’t think much of the dry state it was in. Besides, I did not feel comfortable lubing someone else’s rifle. Now that the guy is ok with it... that’s my first step for tonight!!!
Thanks!
 
crash32 said:
I assumed that the Barrett was a “rugged” rifle and didn’t think much of the dry state it was in. Besides, I did not feel comfortable lubing someone else’s rifle. Now that the guy is ok with it... that’s my first step for tonight!!!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Pay special attention to the recoil spring/tube. They like to be loose and floppy to the point of sounding *wrong* on firing.

I was always a little surprised at the lack of resistance un charging a well running Barrettt.

Todd.
 
Hey guys... I cleaned the gun very well and oiled the needed areas and still cannot get it to cycle. Out of maybe 20 attempts I was actually able to get the second round load up properly after the first shot ONCE.
Clearly something is off.
I called a gun smith and he suspects that the previous owner was shooting military surplus which he claims is “way hotter” than the ammo I am using now. Not sure if I believe that. He said more than likely the charging port simply needs to be adjusted.
Personally I think something is going on with the loading ramp. I am trying to call around and found a gunsmith in NC that knows quite a bit about the Barrett semi auto 50 cals to take a look at it.
 
One of the things I loathed about this particular .50 (we had at least 5 different .50's over the years in the Army) was that from time to time this symptom would arise and Barret as well as the U.S.M.C. laid it down to the bolt carrier binding in the receiver necessitating *straightening* of the receiver. Among other - simpler issues.

In the clearest, most direct way. Describe everything that is happening from the moment you insert a magazine.

Todd.
 
If you have not bought it yet...
DON’T!


crash32 said:
I called a gun smith and he suspects that the previous owner was shooting military surplus which he claims is “way hotter” than the ammo I am using now.
Click to expand...

Don’t use this guy.


ApacheCoTodd said:
laid it down to the bolt carrier binding in the receiver necessitating *straightening* of the receiver. Among other - simpler issues.
Click to expand...

What do you call difficult issues?!:D
 
I tried to get you to read page 30 of the Barrett manual for it, it mentions the bolt carrier and what to look for and yes the dreaded receiver rail binding situation where it goes back to Barrell for repair (maybe that will not cost much if anything) . Other issues too. Sounds to ne like the bolt carrier is hanging up, receiver binding is a cause for that but other things are too . Yup call Barrett after you read the manual page 30 I gave a link to.
 
Allen One1 said:
Why?
Click to expand...

Because it doesn't work...

The rifle won't cycle. The receiver appears to be bent. (!?):eek:(How the heck does one bend a Barrett?! Tank maybe?)

Even though the asking price was suspiciously low, I would not be paying asking price for this rifle, super cool thunder hammer or not.

As alluded to before, I would offer less if I really wanted it.

Especially after cleaning, lubricating, maintaining, and then diagnosing for repair, someone else's supposedly fine running rifle they wish to sell me!:confused:

Some guns are fun projects. I, personally, don't want to be into an M-107 for a project.
A simple fix for money off? Sure.
Bent stuff I may have to pay for? Not so much...
But that is a personal decision.
 
Demi-human said:
Because it doesn't work...

The rifle won't cycle. The receiver appears to be bent. (!?):eek:(How the heck does one bend a Barrett?! Tank maybe?)

Even though the asking price was suspiciously low, I would not be paying asking price for this rifle, super cool thunder hammer or not.

As alluded to before, I would offer less if I really wanted it.

Especially after cleaning, lubricating, maintaining, and then diagnosing for repair, someone else's supposedly fine running rifle they wish to sell me!:confused:

Some guns are fun projects. I, personally, don't want to be into an M-107 for a project.
A simple fix for money off? Sure.
Bent stuff I may have to pay for? Not so much...
But that is a personal decision.
Click to expand...
I thought you were implying that he should not call Barrett for assistance. Yes the rifle itself could turn out to be a problem child.
 
Gordon said:
I tried to get you to read page 30 of the Barrett manual for it, it mentions the bolt carrier and what to look for and yes the dreaded receiver rail binding situation where it goes back to Barrell for repair (maybe that will not cost much if anything) . Other issues too. Sounds to ne like the bolt carrier is hanging up, receiver binding is a cause for that but other things are too . Yup call Barrett after you read the manual page 30 I gave a link to.
Click to expand...
I have the actual Barrett manual that came with the gun and reviewed it prior to posting. Not sure what bolt carrier “binding” meant. I am not qualified to diagnose that problem. I think that or the spring buffer is the issue. It seems like the last inch of the bolt carries traveling forward.... it really becomes sluggish.
There’s a small groove on the spring buffer that seems like it might be catching on the grove.
When it loads a round property... there’s maybe an eight inch gap between the bolt and the receiver of the gun. When it self loads the second round (incorrectly) .... there’s always like half an inch gap as opposed to the eighth inch gap.
I am going to call or email Barrett on Monday and see what they suggest. Hopefully they will have an authorized gunsmith nearby ... otherwise how much is it going to cost me to ship that monster to them?!?!?!
 
ApacheCoTodd said:
One of the things I loathed about this particular .50 (we had at least 5 different .50's over the years in the Army) was that from time to time this symptom would arise and Barret as well as the U.S.M.C. laid it down to the bolt carrier binding in the receiver necessitating *straightening* of the receiver. Among other - simpler issues.

In the clearest, most direct way. Describe everything that is happening from the moment you insert a magazine.

Todd.
Click to expand...
ApacheCoTodd said:
One of the things I loathed about this particular .50 (we had at least 5 different .50's over the years in the Army) was that from time to time this symptom would arise and Barret as well as the U.S.M.C. laid it down to the bolt carrier binding in the receiver necessitating *straightening* of the receiver. Among other - simpler issues.

In the clearest, most direct way. Describe everything that is happening from the moment you insert a magazine.

Todd.
Click to expand...
In the clearest way I will try to describe it. When there’s zero rounds and I slam the bolt back it springs forward decently... maybe not as authoritative as I think it should, but when I put a mag in with 5 rounds in it and I slam the receiver back to load the first round .... it seems to spring forward and load it significantly weaker, but it is able to do it.
I shoulder the rifle making sure I put a lot of weight on it to negate any failure due to a “weak shoulder”.
When I fire the first round.... multiple things have happened. Several times the second round has gotten jammed up in there where the tip of the bullet went up too high and missed the chamber completely.... the bolt is left wide open as it’s unable to drive the round into the chamber.
Sometimes it will seem to have cycled perfectly as it will load the second round in but it won’t fire. After inspection it appears that the bolt didn’t quite close all the way. When this happens there’s like an half inch gap between the bolt and the receiver when it’s closed as opposed to the eighth inch that I usually observe after loading a successful round.
 
Demi-human said:
“Dang. I just couldn’t get it to cycle, no matter what I tried. But listen, it’s still super cool, would ya take a grand less for the gunsmithing cost to fix it?”

;)
Click to expand...
Demi-human said:
“Dang. I just couldn’t get it to cycle, no matter what I tried. But listen, it’s still super cool, would ya take a grand less for the gunsmithing cost to fix it?”

;)
Click to expand...
Lol it’s very cool and no way I will buy it until the problem is addressed and it functions like it should. The way it sits... I am better off buying a $1,000 single loader 50 bmg!
 
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