American Eagle Ammo

[12oreo]

I used 40 rounds of American Eagle 63 gr. SP in my new BM Patrolman and experienced bullet nose to feed ramp jamming during manual loading and operation. I have since used Black Hills and Hornady, ( 70 rounds total- both with the plastic nose) without any issues. This is my first AR-15 and I am curious if the SP ammo is a problem with these feed ramps.
Thanks

[PALADIN-hgwt]

xxxxx

[12oreo]

FWIW the most serious ammo related malfs I ever experienced were using Fed 63 fmj's. They were the old blue box loads from the early 90's.

The root cause was defective magazines, however in one instance the Fed. round suffered such bad bullet setback it almost fell inside the case! Had the round been fired my M4 would have been KABOOMED.

When you say manually loaded do you mean you rode the bolt forward, or were you hitting the bolt release from the locked back open position with the magazine inserted?

Paladin

Happened when the magazine was inserted and I pulled the charging handle to chamber a round. It also ocurred during operation.
Had several setbacks to the extent that propellant was leaking but they did not chamber- lucky

[gunny]

By during operation are you meaning during live fire? Manual cycling is not always a good indicator how your rounds will feed during live fire. If that is the case then go to the range & see how they function during live fire since you can't manually cycle rounds faster than when firing. Another suspision is that you are using a new weapon that doesn't sound like it's "broken in" or you may have an issue related to the rifle itself or may have bad mags. If you are able, shoot different new manufacture rounds & fire them through the rifle to test function. No reloads. Sometimes you can get a bad lot of ammo even with new make stuff too. I'm sure you're inspecting EACH round you load for defects? WHat kind of mags are using & have you inspected them for damage as well?

[12oreo]

By during operation are you meaning during live fire? Manual cycling is not always a good indicator how your rounds will feed during live fire. If that is the case then go to the range & see how they function during live fire since you can't manually cycle rounds faster than when firing. Another suspision is that you are using a new weapon that doesn't sound like it's "broken in" or you may have an issue related to the rifle itself or may have bad mags. If you are able, shoot different new manufacture rounds & fire them through the rifle to test function. No reloads. Sometimes you can get a bad lot of ammo even with new make stuff too. I'm sure you're inspecting EACH round you load for defects? WHat kind of mags are using & have you inspected them for damage as well?

Yes, operation means during firing. New Black Hills and Hornady seems to work fine but it is a new rifle with only 100 rounds so far. I am using the "newest" BM mags with the gray Magpul follower- I don't know what the general opinion is with them. I have read no complaints with the American Eagle but I plan to shoot the above mentioned ammo for a while then give the AM another try. What is the average number of rounds required to break one of these in?

Thanks

[gunny]

Break in can vary from make to make. Follow your owners manual. I don't trust any new AR I buy until I get about 2000rds shot through it. That is no indication with regard to break in, more to do with reliability, but 500rds seems to be the general consensus for break in. I too use BM mags & they are the best mags I've owned. I also now only shoot Federal ammo (makers of AE) with good result & some Remington. Try the ammo in a different rifle if you can & see how that lot shoots. Closely inspect your mags & each round before you load. If the different ammo shoots ok in the same rifle, then you know it's a prob with that particular AE you have.

[12oreo]

Break in can vary from make to make. Follow your owners manual. I don't trust any new AR I buy until I get about 2000rds shot through it. That is no indication with regard to break in, more to do with reliability, but 500rds seems to be the general consensus for break in. I too use BM mags & they are the best mags I've owned. I also now only shoot Federal ammo (makers of AE) with good result & some Remington. Try the ammo in a different rifle if you can & see how that lot shoots. Closely inspect your mags & each round before you load. If the different ammo shoots ok in the same rifle, then you know it's a prob with that particular AE you have.

Thanks for your input, I feel better about the BM mags now. This is the first rifle I have owned since my parents bought me a Western Auto .22 40 years ago, so I am stumbling along with this one- but having fun.