With the goal of building an AR in 5.56 that had a very mild recoil, I put together one with an 18" barrel with a Wylde chamber, rifle-length gas, and a 1:7 twist. I can't recall who made the barrel, though. I installed a Precision Armaments M4-72 compensator, and used an Aero Precision upper with a WMD NiB bcg, Velocity drop-in trigger with 4 lb pull, and a standard buffer (~2.8 ounces) and spring in a M4 style collapsible stock.
I ended up with an AR that indeed had very little recoil, but I ran into a problem. Once in a while the rifle would fire and cycle properly, but about 8 or 9 times out of 10 it would eject the spent round and fail to chamber a new round. I tried Wolf Gold 55-grain .223 FMJ and Champion 62-grain 5.56 FMJ, with several MagPul P-Mag's and 10- and 20-round metal USGI mags. I know the AR is probably short-stroking, which is why I tried a standard buffer and spring, but to no avail. I checked the gas block for proper alignment with the gas port, and it looked good - very little soot evident around the latter. I even tried clipping one coil from the spring, but it made no difference, and after clipping a second coil, the spent Champion 5.56 round was stuck in the chamber and I had to mortar the AR to get it out. I stopped at that point.
How does one make sure the gas block and port are aligned properly? Am I looking at having to open the gas port? If so, what's the best way to go about this, or are there other remedies I can try without sacrificing the amount of recoil reduction the AR currently has? TIA.
I ended up with an AR that indeed had very little recoil, but I ran into a problem. Once in a while the rifle would fire and cycle properly, but about 8 or 9 times out of 10 it would eject the spent round and fail to chamber a new round. I tried Wolf Gold 55-grain .223 FMJ and Champion 62-grain 5.56 FMJ, with several MagPul P-Mag's and 10- and 20-round metal USGI mags. I know the AR is probably short-stroking, which is why I tried a standard buffer and spring, but to no avail. I checked the gas block for proper alignment with the gas port, and it looked good - very little soot evident around the latter. I even tried clipping one coil from the spring, but it made no difference, and after clipping a second coil, the spent Champion 5.56 round was stuck in the chamber and I had to mortar the AR to get it out. I stopped at that point.
How does one make sure the gas block and port are aligned properly? Am I looking at having to open the gas port? If so, what's the best way to go about this, or are there other remedies I can try without sacrificing the amount of recoil reduction the AR currently has? TIA.