Page 1 of 20 12311 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 192

Thread: 16" Midlength BCM won't feed steel casing. Normal or not?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    694
    Feedback Score
    11 (100%)

    Question 16" Midlength BCM won't feed steel casing. Normal or not?

    I did a search for this and was not able to locate anything particular helpful. Most of the threads/posts are referring to the 14.5" Mid-length which I do understand is not reliable with crappy steel cased ammo. So, yeah, sorry if it has in fact been covered!

    To give you a little background, the rifle I'm running is:

    16" BFH LW Mid-length BCM Upper
    BCM Complete BCG
    BCM Complete Blemished Lower (from Grant) with the standard H Buffer, etc.

    Everything else is BCM including charging handle, etc, etc. In short, it's a quality BCM rifle.


    I took it out for the first time and fired about 100 rounds of M193. Accurate as shit, feeds reliably. Sweet.

    Next up, I put in the 62 grain Golden Bear hollow points I had a box of. The first one fired fine, but the first one fed from the mag itself would cause a failure to feed. I tried it a few times and it happened exactly the same way every time. I had to take my rifle apart and remove the BCG to get this oh-so-high-quality piece of ammo unstuck. boy, I'd hate to have to go through that in a self defense situation.

    Golden Bear is obviously not great ammo. It's supposed to be "premium" Brown Bear ammo, I believe. It's steel cased ammo with a "brass coating" for reliable feeding. Yeah. Right. Anyway, I gave up on the Golden Bear hollow points and threw some more of the M193 in it.... Surprise! It functions fine.

    At this point, I'm going to purchase one box of each steel cased brands out there (Brown Bear, Silver Bear, Tula, Wolf, etc) and see how those function. Has anyone else had issues with steel cased ammo specifically in a 16" Mid-length BCM? Again, I understand crappy ammo in the 14.5" is problematic but I purchased the 16" specifically for the fact that it's supposed to feed all kinds of ammo.

    I understand I'll be putting crappy ammo in my BMW of AR's and everything; my main concern is that in a SHTF situation, I want to be able to fire whatever is available to me after I run through all of my NATO ammo. Beggers can't be choosers, right?


    FYI: 'problem' was resolved after running around 500 or so rounds of full power 5.56 through the weapon, I no longer have short stroking issues with steel cased ammo.
    Last edited by djmorris; 02-19-13 at 08:13.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    4,167
    Feedback Score
    1 (100%)
    all my BCMs, DD, Spikes uppers and my ACR all eat steel with no problems

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    1,365
    Feedback Score
    17 (100%)
    It's probably the ammo but it could be a tight chamber.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    130
    Feedback Score
    0
    It could be that it's a hollow point rather then being steel cased ammo that's making it fail. Perhaps the particular ammo might be underpowered? I doubt it though. I would try different types of steel cased ammo like you said. I don't have a mid length AR15, so I can't really talk about that. My Colt M4 upper never had trouble with Tula or wolf. I've had a Colt 20 inch match HBAR fail on steel cased Tula ammo, while the every single ar15 I fired before ran it fine. I switched the bolt to a SP-1 bolt and it ran steel cased ammo then with the HBAR. There are so many different factors that make one AR15 fail on steel cased ammo, where one will work fine.

    Quote Originally Posted by ForTehNguyen View Post
    all my BCMs, DD, Spikes uppers and my ACR all eat steel with no problems
    That doesn't really help him.
    Last edited by Esh325; 02-19-12 at 15:51.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    SE FL
    Posts
    14,148
    Feedback Score
    5 (100%)
    Try it with a carbine buffer.

    When you say "failure to feed" is it a total failure to feed (as in, fails to catch the next round in the magazine) or a partial failure to feed (as in, catches the next round but the bolt stops partway with the tip of the round stuck on the feedramp or the barrel extension lugs)?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    694
    Feedback Score
    11 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Esh325 View Post
    It could be that it's a hollow point rather then being steel cased ammo that's making it fail. Perhaps the particular ammo might be underpowered?

    I was thinking that too. Perhaps I'll try Golden Bear again in FMJ. I'll definitely be trying other steel cased ammo, probably also in FMJ.

    I did read over on arfcom (i know..) that perhaps my gun needs to be a little bit more "broken in" and loosened up before firing the steel cased reliably. Any substance to that, or just mumbo jumbo ?


    Quote Originally Posted by rob_s View Post
    Try it with a carbine buffer.

    When you say "failure to feed" is it a total failure to feed (as in, fails to catch the next round in the magazine) or a partial failure to feed (as in, catches the next round but the bolt stops partway with the tip of the round stuck on the feedramp or the barrel extension lugs)?

    It does start to feed but it gets lodged in about half way with the tip sticking out.
    Last edited by djmorris; 02-19-12 at 16:09.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    2,908
    Feedback Score
    8 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by t42beal13t View Post
    It's probably the ammo but it could be a tight chamber.
    Not likely in a BCM upper.
    Quote Originally Posted by scottryan View Post
    Anybody that owns or sells pistol versions of assault rifles is a bottom feeder, irregardless of the ban status of certain ammunition.

    They are illigetimate weapons that have no real purpose other than to attract retards to the gun community.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    130
    Feedback Score
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by djmorris View Post
    I was thinking that too. Perhaps I'll try Golden Bear again in FMJ. I'll definitely be trying other steel cased ammo, probably also in FMJ.

    I did read over on arfcom (i know..) that perhaps my gun needs to be a little bit more "broken in" and loosened up before firing the steel cased reliably. Any substance to that, or just mumbo jumbo ?





    It does start to feed but it gets lodged in about half way with the tip sticking out.
    It sounds like mumbo jumbo to me. I've had AR15's run perfectly fine out of box with steel. With the one that didn't run steel for me, no amount of break in would have changed the result. If worst comes to worst and your rifle won't run other steel cased ammo, I suppose you could try a different buffer or bolt combination.
    Last edited by Esh325; 02-19-12 at 16:16.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    2,908
    Feedback Score
    8 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by djmorris View Post
    I did read over on arfcom (i know..) that perhaps my gun needs to be a little bit more "broken in" and loosened up before firing the steel cased reliably.
    I wouldn't take stock in much you read over there.
    But I suspect you know this.
    Quote Originally Posted by scottryan View Post
    Anybody that owns or sells pistol versions of assault rifles is a bottom feeder, irregardless of the ban status of certain ammunition.

    They are illigetimate weapons that have no real purpose other than to attract retards to the gun community.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    257
    Feedback Score
    35 (100%)
    Does the ammo have a laquer coating on it? Try rubbing two rounds together to see is they slide or if they stick/grab. Also, are you running GI mags or Polymer?

    If the rounds stick try running a polymer mag to see if that helps. I ran into this with some Cabela's Herters 223 and will never buy that shit again. It fed better from a pmag and wouldn't feed even 2 or 3 rounds with a GI mag. Buy better i mean it would fed 5 to 6 rounds before jamming.

    If you want to save money and shoot a ton of ammo get a used Dillon 550b, some once-fired and processed LC 5.56 brass, some pulled bullets, powder, and primers and go to town... You wont have any feeding issues with a quality gun/build.








    Sent from my Sprint EVO via Tapatalk

Page 1 of 20 12311 ... LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •