clearing weapon of ammo

[plutonium]

I have a colt m4 .223 and i am new to the weapon.... First thing i wanted to learn is how to unload the gun safely.... i bought some dummy bullets to practice with ... ..understanding the mechanics of the gun is interesting ....to make the bullet eject i noticed that the charger unit has to be pulled back. at first it did not eject the bullet... after trying a few times i accidently let it snap closed.. i pulled it back and then the bullet ejected. could someone explain the mechanics of the ejection system.... does it need to snap over the bullet to eject it

[m16]

The extractor needs to jump over the rim of the case in order to grab it.

As for clearing the weapon, point in a safe direction, drop the magazine, pull the charging handle and visually check for an empty chamber.

[plutonium]

just what i thought simple physics kinda felt that out .... is the extractor part /[connected to] of the charging system?

[m16]

The extractor is part of the bolt.

It is spring loaded and pivots on a pin, if you pull out your bolt carrier and look at the bolt face it will be easy to identify.

[kmrtnsn]

Download these. Read them.

http://noveskerifleworks.com/impdf/ar15manual.pdf

http://larcpistolandrifleclub.com/pd...005_319_10.pdf

[Matt-man]

to make the bullet eject i noticed that the charger unit has to be pulled back. at first it did not eject the bullet... after trying a few times i accidently let it snap closed..

Pulling the charging handle fully to the rear and letting it go is the correct way to load the firearm. If you maintain pressure on it while letting it return forward (known as "riding" the handle) you will see malfunctions where the bolt doesn't fully close.

Pull the charging handle back and let it fly, or if the bolt is locked open you can hit the bolt catch on the left side of the rifle to release the bolt.

[Seagunner]

here'a a graphic of internal parts and how they work.

http://www.bushmaster.com/anatomy_bushmaster.asp

[Arctic1]

OP:

This should be of help:

http://stevespages.com/pdf/colt_ar15.pdf

Read through it to get the hang of nomeclature and so forth.

There are also several good videos online that show how the system works.

[gesundheit]

Others have already provided the technical info so I won't repeat them except these three fundamental safety precautions while unloading:

1. Always assume that your weapon is loaded
2. Never, even when you think the weapon is unloaded, point the muzzle at anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Finger outside the trigger well

[JOHNNY51966]

At a point you think you have got it all figured out. Then someone asks the most basic question and you learn something new.
FUNDAMENTALS
FUNDAMENTALS
Thanks to everyone who makes this the best forum to get info.