Safety selectors keep getting gummed up on multiple lowers, whats up? Fixes?

[Kittyandzombie]

I’ve got an R-guns SBR lower with a MK18 upper that I shoot suppressed, an Anderson lower with a Block II upper i shoot unsuppressed and suppressed, and another Anderson with Block I colt upper I shoot unsuppressed. In all of them I keep having the issue of my safety selector getting gummed up. Two have Anderson selectors, one has an unknown milspec Selector. I’ve tried a bunch of different selectors, they all end up feeling gummed up after shooting a few hundred rounds. I take the selector out, wipe it down, it gets better for a while and then the same thing happens again. When clean they're pretty nice, they move well and have strong tactile clicks. The Anderson’s also have a tendency to “Scratch” the lower which I dislike. What is going on here? Anyone else have this issue? I’m assuming it’s the cheap ass selectors, maybe the detent? What’s a good quality milspec selector? I like the standard selectors so I don’t want anything fancy. It’s a pain in the ass to take that out everytime I shoot and clean it, especially when none of the issued rifles I have had have ever needed their selector cleaned. Hell, my BCM M4 has like 3k through it with no cleaning and it works great! Insight wanted.

[mpom]

Assuming this is a serious and legit post, have you considered changing the lubricant? Sounds like that may be a factor.

Mark

[Kittyandzombie]

It’s both serious and legit. When I lube it up it works great, but gums up again relatively quickly after I start shooting. I’m seriously thinking I may have three out of spec receivers that are letting in carbon in a way that other ar’s don’t.

[jesuvuah]

In my experience, shooting suppressed has the tendency to gum up everything

Switching lube might help but ultimately all that carbon blowing back in is going to stick to your lube.

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[mpom]

Is the inside of lower receiver and the hammer/disconnector plus trigger covered with a layer of soot or firing residue? Normal to have some residue in there after hundreds of rounds have been fired, but not normal for it to interfere with safety selector feel. Would think ammo quality has a lot to do with amount of residue. If you are using "cheap ass" selectors, I would check the tip of the safety detent, make sure the tip is not abraded, as it would be if not properly heat treated.
You can get quality low priced parts from DSG. What ammo and lube are you using? Hard to pin down a problem without more info. Good luck.

Mark

[ST911]

Am suspicious of your components.

The Geissele Posi-Snap Safety Selector is excellent. Also available in ambi. Link: https://geissele.com/geissele-posi-snap-safety-selector.html

[Caduceus]

Yeah, first I'd swap out all of the safety parts with a decent, known brand. Pick your poison. Replace the springs, selector, detent, etc.

As for being out of spec, well.... I mean, they ARE cheap brands. Anderson especially has a hit and miss quality. I can't imagine all 3 would be wrong, but it could be. But the safety parts are cheaper to replace first.

I run a BCM lower with a DD MK18 upper suppressed, and have never 'gummed up' the safety. After about 700 rounds the bolt starts sticking a bit, but that was good for me to find out.

[GH41]

I'll bet shooting it wet with CLP would solve his problems. Not wanting to start an oil thread but I have been using Rand/BreakFree CLP forever without reason to change.

[RHINOWSO]

R-guns, Anderson lowers... meh, I would but you just have a shit pot of stuff that works fine for casual use but in general is crap when run remotely hard.

And I say that having run Mega, Colt, BCM, Noveske, FN stuff hard as hell and aside from occasionally ensuring lubing them, I never think about the safety selectors, because they just work and work and work.

[Disciple]

The Geissele Posi-Snap Safety Selector is excellent.

How is "Posi-Snap design" different from any other?

[GTF425]

How is "Posi-Snap design" different from any other?

I have the ambi model and it requires a lot of force to manipulate, but it has a very crisp movement from safe to fire. There is no in-between: it's either on safe, or it snaps to fire, and vice versa.

Has a very positive feel to it, not mushy at all.

[Disciple]

Nice.

[Steve Shannon]

I also would suspect the lubrication product. I suspect it’s a spray product and after the solvent evaporates you’re left with something gummy.
I suggest leaving the safety dry to see what happens.


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[JoshNC]

I always put aeroshell grease on the detent and in the detent stops on the selector when assembling a lower. I have a bunch of factory Colts that are used suppressed and unsuppressed, semi and fullauto. Colt uses what looks like white lithium grease on the detent and selector detent stops. I never remove the selector to clean on any rifles, unless replacing with an ambi (BAD and LMT), and then they get aeroshell.

Try some aeroshell and don’t remove to clean. If it continues to occur, I would swap selectors.

[hotrodder636]

I have never had an issue with my selectors getting gummed up after shooting suppressed.

Like Josh, on new assemblies, I put aeroshell grease on detent and stops. I don’t do anything with factory assembled lowers. I do not remove selectors for cleaning, no need.

[ST911]

How is "Posi-Snap design" different from any other?

What GTF said.


I have the ambi model and it requires a lot of force to manipulate, but it has a very crisp movement from safe to fire. There is no in-between: it's either on safe, or it snaps to fire, and vice versa. Has a very positive feel to it, not mushy at all.