AR-15 question

[Sniper338]

got a bad azz AR in 6.5 grendel... loads are old, been setting 3 years or so.. though it is the pet load... this gun has shot crazy good before, but now its not, and its stove piping, ejecting funny, and sometimes bolt aint locking back after the last round...

under gassed?? ive never cleaned the gas block and gas tube... need to give the barrel a clean again too...

non adjustable gas block..

sound under gas like its clogged?

 

[perry42]

You described your problem. Direct impingment AR's need periodic cleaning of bolt carrier, gas tube, gas block, & barrel.

perry42

 

[msalm]

Never cleaned a gas tube, but the bolt and carrier assembly, inside receiver and often overlooked (but important) buffer, spring, and tube. If hand cycling the action isn't smooth and gritty free, that's your problem.

 

[T-shooter]

I like to run AR's wet, well lubed. I also try to keep them clean. I saw one that appeared to get gas into the firing pin channel. I always lightly lube the firing pin with a little oil on my fingers. I have run several hundred round without any problems and when taken apart, the lube was still wet. I built a new AR for a friend. He had a unused but old bolt carrier and bought a new bolt and firing pin. After 25-30 rounds it started hanging up. The firing pin was stuck in the bolt and the bolt locked back (stuck) into the tube. Took it apart, cleaned it, and installed a firing pin I had polished. Same problem after 30-40 rounds. Took it apart and the light film of oil had solidified causing the pin to stick again. Had him order a new complete bolt carrier group and no more problems, so far.

 

[Fast14riot]

Probably just old lube that got sticky over the years. I have used compressed air down the barrel (plug the chamber) to test cycling or clear the gas system. I replace gas tubes when I replace barrels. Cheap insurance.

 

[jimbo88mm]

Whats the load?

 

[Richard Coody]

keep your rifle clean and well lubed. year old reloads will not perform like freshly loaded rounds.
http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/so-i-pulled-some-old-ammo.3937155/#post-37081358

makes me wonder about my stash of 5.56.

 

[Sniper338]

123 amax, Reloader 15, lapua aa brass

 

[Richard Coody]

123 amax, Reloader 15, lapua aa brass

my grendel really likes the factory hornady ammo. try a box of that and that will let you know if it is your reloads

 

[Richard Coody]

got a bad azz AR in 6.5 grendel... loads are old, been setting 3 years or so.. though it is the pet load... this gun has shot crazy good before, but now its not, and its stove piping, ejecting funny, and sometimes bolt aint locking back after the last round...

under gassed?? ive never cleaned the gas block and gas tube... need to give the barrel a clean again too...

non adjustable gas block..

sound under gas like its clogged?

most likely not the gas block. disasemble the bolt carrier group and clean it well. lube it up well on reassembly. take special care of the tail of the bolt. carbon likes to build up there.

 

[people]

It sounds dirty and dry. Clean it. Then lube it very well and retest.

 

[ebb]

Only time I've ever had the bolt no lock back on last was a bad magazine. All the rest sounds like everyone else said.

 

[bluealtered]

Not to get to far off track, but i have taken a brand new ar and shot 686rds. before the gas tube had to be cleaned.

 

[Sniper338]

Not to get to far off track, but i have taken a brand new ar and shot 686rds. before the gas tube had to be cleaned.

Ive probably shot 2000 and havent cleaned this gas tube. Im sure Ill take it apart and figure it out. Ive cleaned the gun good before of course, just never the gas tube.

 

[people]

I cannot think of a single reason a person would ever need to clean a gas tube on a standard AR-15 or M16.
Maybe if you were doing something crazy but under use the heat and pressure does in-fact self clean the tube.

I shot 4k of wolf with the red mouth sealant over a 6 month period and never cleaned it just added more oil. When I did finally did clean it I just used break parts cleaner and sprayed it clean. The key to keeping these running is lots of oil. Especially when you put them away. Let your CLP work on the built up carbon then when you shoot much of it will blow off.

 

[Rsadams]

It sounds dirty and dry. Clean it. Then lube it very well and retest.

Yup this sounds like the fix.. clean it and run a good oil in it always... Lube it before you shoot it...

 

[Depart123]

For some reason, it seems everyone wants to put the oil all on the outside of the bolt carrier. The spot that really needs it is the recess behind the bolt head. I usually pour in the oil behind the cam pin. After one or two shots, all the rest is lubricated also.

 

[Richard Coody]

How To Lube Your AR-15 (Very Important)!

People speak of running AR-15’s “wet” but this is not the way to go at all. An AR has gas blow back and gas with particulate matter gets back into the inside of the upper receiver, the bolt carrier, etc. Having a wet sloppy mess of oil and grease in there does nothing but provide a trap for a big grungy mess to form and clog things up.

The right type of lubrication needs only be applied where there is metal to metal contact of moving parts - any more is a potential cause for problems. You don't want gobs of oil and grease shooting and squirting all around inside your rifle as it cycles, sending lube into places where it does not belong (i.e. down in the magazines, on the bullets themselves, up inside the chamber, back into the buffer tube assembly).

Would you indiscriminantly hose down the inside of your car's engine compartment and the drive train underneath your car with lube and oil? No!

On lubrication, about 95% of all "gun" lubricants out there are not appropriate for an AR. For the bolt lugs in particular you need a very high viscosity sticky lubricant because the lugs are a "severe duty" application in that they open fast under pressure and get very hard use otherwise. Most greases are no good because they don't stay around. The best lubricant I have found is Phil Wood Tenacious Oil (it's like a sticky 90 wt. gear oil) and you can buy it for $8 or so at your local bicycle shop or on the internet in its own applicator bottle. I have built up a lot of AR's over the years and seen others come back for re-barreling or other work. Some have an enormous amount of bolt wear (and a corresponding dramatic increase in head space) because inadequate lubricant was used. The owners thought they were using a good product, but it was not. A lot of the favorites are no good either (and I am not going to name names).

Some parts not to lubricate at all: 1. The firing pin (don't need anything to impede the pin making a good strike on the primer); and 2. The buffer or the buffer spring assembly (unless you want your rifle to possibly malfunction and short stroke); 3. If you are going to be shooting in very cold weather, keep the lubricant off the lateral riding surfaces on the outside of your bolt carrier or it can slow the carrier down enough so the rifle will short stroke. Above about 20 degrees F, that's not an issue typically.

The areas that always need it: 1. The rear of the bolt lugs (severe duty – must do, but only need a little bit on the back of each lug); 2. The cam pin (another severe duty place, put around the pin just below the head of the pin); 3. The very back of the bolt behind the gas rings (the .250” diameter stem) where it rides in and out of the carrier; and 4. The gas rings; and 5. The lateral riding surfaces on the outside of the bolt carrier, except in very cold weather (like below 20 degrees Fahrenheit) where high viscosity lube can slow down the carrier and possibly cause the rifle to short stroke).

 

[Milo 2.0]

keep your rifle clean and well lubed. year old reloads will not perform like freshly loaded rounds.
http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/so-i-pulled-some-old-ammo.3937155/#post-37081358

makes me wonder about my stash of 5.56.

Properly stored ammo, factory or reloads are fine. I just shot 600-16yr old PMC ammo, 223 - 55gr fmj, not a hiccup. Next is a 2 gal painters pail full of 55gr Nosler BT's loaded in 2004 or so, not expecting even a remote accuracy loss from those either.
Don't overthink this.

 

[T-shooter]

Some friends laugh at me for using too much lubricant. Maybe but I have older guns with thousands of rounds fired that are about as tight as they were new. I lube every part that rubs another surface. I've tried a bunch of lubricants over the years. I've been using Weapons Shield for a while and like it, both oil and grease. I tested it on the sears of my Savage rifle and Taurus 9mmn pistol. I was using Slip2000 grease in that location. In both cases, the trigger pull was noticeably reduced, the Savage went from 2lb to 1-3/4 lb. For my Savage 22LR semi-auto, I use a 50/50 mix of Hoppes #9 and Militec oil (since I had a big bottle). I set the rifle muzzle up and spray quite a bit down around the bolt letting it soak in, then put paper towels in the mag well and open bolt area and invert. A lot of the crud comes out. A couple times doing this and working the bolt cleans and lubes it pretty well. It's too hard to take apart every time it's shot and get's dirty really quick. For a $99 plinker, this is enough and seems to do a good job.