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Thread: What really fails on the AR?

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by steeltoe View Post
    Better tell Canadian special forces their C8 SFW rifles are all going to fail. Because they are all 16in carbine gas length weapons. But that's another thread
    And the C8 SFW is a different animal than a normal M4 Carbine based 16" barreled gun. It has a modified chamber and gas system, and I believe a buffer of similar weight to an H or H2, I can't remember for sure.

    I'm not sure if you were just poking fun or serious, but to be clear, to insinuate that the C8 SFW is proof that a carbine-length gas system with a 16" barrel is the superior choice is deceptive.

    Readers: check Colt Canada's website if you want, though it is lacking in detail, you can read what I am pointing out
    http://coltcanada.com/sfw-page.htm
    Jack Leuba
    Director, Military and Government Sales
    Knight's Armament Company
    jleuba@knightarmco.com

  2. #32
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    On our range I see more bolt failures than anything. Of course folks only bring them to us when something big goes wrong. On our S&W range AR, the bolt has completely split in two at the cam pin hole 3 times. Other than that, I have seen at least a half dozen DPMS bolt that have failed.

    Other than that, MEAL has covered every other failure I have seen. Well, except when guys don't remove their Aimpoint bikini covers - they just pop the ends off and let them hang around the sight. This usually caused empty cases to bounce back into the chamber and cause issues.

  3. #33
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    How does one properly diagnose extractor tension?

  4. #34
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    I did see one pretty amusing failure recently. A shooter was sighting in his rifle using one of the devices with a spud which slides into the muzzle. The barrel burst in a very spectacular fashion. Looked like something from a cartoon, it was split along the rifling into six sharp petals going all the way to the gas block. The flash hider was gone. I and the Range Officer both asked the shooter if he had the device in the barrel when it burst and he insisted he did not though he did not volunteer to show it to us. After he left we found the shattered remains of his sight in device down range. Damn them Rock River junk guns! I called RR the next day and told them what I knew. The RR guy had already heard from the irate owner.

  5. #35
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    I had the pin that holds the extractor snap in two. It was an Olympic Arms gun...

    Spooky

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by gotm4 View Post
    MEAL is good for ARs in general but I see lots is failed ejectors too. Usually from brass/carbon down in the ejector hole in the bolt or way too much extractor tension on a gun that doesn't need it (for example on a midlength). So I personally would add an E.
    Yes (which is why we started to sell them and the spring).


    C4

  7. #37
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    LOL Yea, I've heard a couple of war stories where folks left bore sighters in the barrel, but never a barrel split from it LOL. Normally they just kiss the 50+ dollar bore sighter good bye.
    Only issues I've had, were doubles caused by the trigger not catching the hammer when releasing. My bad...
    Fire pin getting torched! Three things it could be; Firing pin to long (nope tested a second one), Bolt out of spec (To short?), It's a Beowulf, and those use Large Pistol primers which in my opinion is not smart. The solution I'm testing on my next range visit is a shortened FP. I really don't want to convert it to Large Rifles cause I would need to rewrite all the load data. I sectioned the brass and there's plenty of meat to deepen the primer pocket - so that might be what I have to do it the shortened FP doesn't work.
    What else? I had gotten an AR-10 upper where the FAssist protruded into the upper, but it I remember right those were blems and got for almost half priced. Easy fix though.
    I had a couple builds where the bolt catch tang was a little long, causing the top round to pop up because the tang was contacting it when inserting the magazine. To be honest that could be my bad cause I machined the lower from a forged block. None the less it's something to consider during an inspection of a new AR. The fix is to take about .005" off that tang till it works- don't go nuts.
    That's about it, and BTW I'll let you know how my DPMS carrier holds up in my Beowulf LOL however I'm using about a 4.375oz buffer made from steel. At one point I had it up to 5.5oz filled with lead but was causing FTF, so I went back down to my original weight using three steel inserts. More weight is not always better!!!
    ---------------------
    Ron C. Terry

  8. #38
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    I once saw a buffer roll pin work its way out. The pin was binding against the buffer spring. I can't recall the specific malfunction or symptom, as this was many years ago.

    I also don't know which brand buffer it was.

  9. #39
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    I haven't shot anywhere near as much as many of the folks here, but what I have seen in person:

    - Oly lower that broke around the metal that goes around the buffer tube.
    - short stroking because of gas block mis-alignment after someone had a rail installed by a shop. (you could grab it and pull it back, and get it to fire reliably, but not if it was left unheld)
    - worn extractor from too much steel case ammo (not that it's stopped either he or I from shooting steel case ammo in our ARs)

    Other than that, any ARs I've known ran like champs, only stopping to reload.
    Last edited by MTechnik; 09-11-10 at 22:49.

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by jmart View Post
    How does one properly diagnose extractor tension?

    I will also ask for help with this question. What is a proactive measure, one that makes it so you don't have to wait until FTE's occur?
    "Facit Omina Voluntas = The Will Decides" - Army Chief


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