Posted on 04/08/2013 9:31:57 AM PDT by hdbc
Usually when I’ve encountered this type of complaint, it was caused by firing a NATO 5.56 round in a .223 barrel. The leade is much less in the .223 barrel. If you fire a 5.56 NATO round in a .223 barrel, the pressures caused by the projectile encountering the rifling so “soon” cause the pressures to spike. A lot of times, the primer will pop out and jam the gun. DO NOT assume the jockey at the gun store will know this or that the barrel or ammo are marked correctly.
What weight bullet are you using. I once had a DTMS that wasn’t happy with 55 gr. . I would give it a good cleaning including the gas tube. If it has an obstuction not enough gas will go though it to operate the action.
That can be scary. I had it happen in a family member's .380. In that case, I didn't realize there was still a round in the barrel. The next shot split the barrel and could have gotten someone hurt. I was bad ammo. Rare as it might be, I've seen it in two small calliber hand guns. Never heard of that happening with larger calliber though.
You are right. Bad wording. You shouldn’t fire a 5.56 in a. 223 rated firearm.
ditto
I guess I’m still not clear...
When you say ‘hangfire’, do you mean the primer was struck, but nothing happened?
Or do you mean the bullet got stuck in the barrel.
If its the latter, I would not fire again, until I was darn sure the ammo is corrct and not defective.
The chamber dimensions on the .223 are different from the 5.56. It’s the leade, the distance from the projectile to the first set of rifling, that is different. The difference in this gap can cause a dangerous over-pressure condition in the .223 chamber when shooting 5.56 spec’ed rounds.
So while it IS a pressure problem, it isn’t the powder charge in the case that is causing it. Just want everyone to be clear about that as it has spawned a billion and one odd “gun counter” rumors.
Also depends on platform. Pencil barrels with a thin chamber wouldn’t survive. A stainless bull barrel probably wouldn’t notice. Your mileage may vary...
I should just assume someone will beat me to these kinds of posts...
I need to learn to type faster. ;-)
Sounds like the RO had to help the OP knock the bullet from the barrel. Squib would be my guess. Even a gas tube completely off the rifle wouldn’t account for a bullet not having enough gumption to get clear of the barrel completly.
Sounds horribly flippant, and not meant with any hostility whatsoever, but not to worry. NJSP may be stopping by in the next couple of months and relieving all folk of their functioning/non-functioning “evil” rifles.
On the advice side, find someone face to face, who knows what they are doing, and get that rifle into service! If it is sitting in a dealer’s shop when the hammer comes down, that will be the last time it sees the light of day.
Round gets stuck midway down the barrel (before reaching the gas port?), sounds like the bolt is not locking up entirely. Could be head-space issue, roughness in the bolt carrier cam path, get a head-space gauge and verify chamber dimensions (Brownells).
Fire a buddy’s AR with similar ammo. If yours felt markedly different (presuming a round goes downrange), down-check the rifle and turn-to with the troubleshooting.
Before “the craziness of 2013” there were more options. Now, hold what you have, make it work, stock up on ammo.
Good luck!
5.56mm or .223 chamber?
5.56mm or .223 ammo?
Brass or steel ammo? Some chambers are too tight for steel, which is not as soft as brass. Some rifles shoot steel or brass shells all day, some hate steel and digest only brass.
“You can safely fire .223 in 5.56, but not the opposite.”
Yes and no. Example, I own a Ruger Mini 14 Ranch. At the Ruger website in the FAQ’s the question is asked “is it ok to shoot 5.56mm in my Ruger .223?” Ans; yes, with the exception of the Ruger Mini 14 Target Model. So, it’s best to check with the manufacturer of your .223 before shooting 5.56mm. Just saying :)
I had a Bushmaster that would get steel cased cartridges stuck every time. Solution: no more steel cased ammo! (Wolf, etc.)
Good explanation.
Check the bolt carrier key (the hollow, forward-facing horn on the top of the bolt carrier) for ANY sign of movement or looseness. A loose key is the main reason a new gun will fail to cycle. If it is loose, get an allen wrench, tighten it up (a good “hmph!” tighter than snug but don’t go crazy and wring off the heads) and stake both screws tight with a punch. They will have been staked at the factory, but in my experience this operation is not always successful. If they aren’t staked rigt, they will come loose again right away, often on the first shot.
More about the ammo, please. The possibility of your DPMS being out of spec is not the cause of a stuck projectile in the bore. That's a squib load, sir.
Many lots of Federal XM193 and pretty much all Federal AE223BP is absolute rubbish. I know that ammunition is hard to come by right now, but you need to find quality 5.56mm ammo like Hornady GMX Superformance or Hornady TAP, Black Hills, Silver State, or premium Winchester Q3131 and use that at the range before you blame DPMS.
You didn't specify what barrel twist rate you have, but I'd expect that it's going to be 1x9 or 1x7. In either case, use ammunition with 62gr projectiles and report back to us.
You need to examine your ammo, magazine, and then the rifle in that order.
Your fired casings from your last range trip would probably tell a lot more of your story. I have great suspicions about this Federal '223' ammunition you have. If you bought it in loose bulk pack of 1000 rounds, come back and tell me what the carton says. If its XM193, you will see the lot number printed on the face of the individual 20-round boxes.
Before the mishap on the Chesapeake last year or so, I had my DPMS AR-15 since 2008. Not one jam.
Try different ammo.
Federal ammo is not always good stuff.
I recently bought a DPMS AR-15. Lost it in an unfortunate boating accident right after I picked it up from the FFL. ;-)
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