AR-15 failing to go into battery

[Perplexed]

Factory ammo or reloads? If reloads it could be the bullets not seated deep enough.

Factory ammo. Wolf Gold .223

 

[Snattlerake]

But if I have to use it every single time…

I was just wondering what the final fix was or wasn't because the forward assist still exists on most AR's.

 

[Perplexed]

Back to what Swamprat mentioned… how difficult it it to seat a fully loaded magazine with the bolt carrier forward? I’m thinking it’s a combination of tolerance stacking with the parts you used.

I tried a PMag just now, and still had the same battery issue. When I loaded it fully and tried seating it on the closed bolt, I had to smack the bottom of the mag with the heel of my palm to get it to lock into place. The mag release button was stiff to push after that, but it did work.

 

[HiredHand]

I tried a PMag just now, and still had the same battery issue. When I loaded it fully and tried seating it on the closed bolt, I had to smack the bottom of the mag with the heel of my palm to get it to lock into place. The mag release button was stiff to push after that, but it did work.

With the upper and lower separated, insert a magazine into the lower and see if it’s pushing upward on the bolt stop. I’m wondering if the bolt stop is dragging on the carrier.

 

[Perplexed]

With the upper and lower separated, insert a magazine into the lower and see if it’s pushing upward on the bolt stop. I’m wondering if the bolt stop is dragging on the carrier.

Here’s what happens.

 

[cowadle]

i see the trigger isn't mil spec? try the upper on another lower? already though you have identified an issue that the recoil spring and buffer won't come out as they are supposed to.

 

[chazroh]

The buffer not coming out. Did you take the buffer retainer and spring out? I believe jp recommends to remove it for the silent capture. But I don’t think this is your main problem.

 

[geezer77]

Careful how you word topic headings, otherwise liberals will want Biden to ban all AR-15 batteries, whether alkaline or lithium.

 

[Perplexed]

Well, I just tried the upper on another, known good lower, and had the same problem of the bolt not going fully into battery with a magazine inserted. Then I managed to remove the JP silent capture buffer, and I tried two different springs, a standard and a heavy duty, and two buffers, standard and heavy. Releasing the bolt on an inserted magazine partly stripped a round but stopped; the furthest forward the bolt ever got was with the JP buffer. The problem appears to be in the upper, and somehow seems related to the presence of a magazine, loaded or not.

I did notice that if I loaded a fresh round, then dropped the mag after the failure to go into battery, and I ejected the one round, I noticed faint striations spiraling very slightly along the length of the bullet from the case mount toward the point. Like the dashed line on a divided road. The marks weren’t there before the attempted chambering.

 

[HiredHand]

Here’s what happens.

The two things that I notice are the mag isn’t fully inserted and the bolt stop looks like it has some heavy wear marks along the top edge, but that may just be the lighting.