The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

chemok82 · May 30, 2013, 01:07 PM

First time poster here. I have used this forum many times in the past and always found good information so I thought I would post this issue I had with a new AR.

I bought a brand new RRA LAR 15 mid length a few months ago from the local gun shop. I didn't have a chance to take it out to the range due to work so it sat in my closet for almost 2 months which killed me but that's life. I finally had a chance last weekend to go to the range with some friends so I ran home and grabbed the gun and met up with them. This is where the issue started. I never inspected the chamber or cleaned it and it didn't dawn on me because i had the gun for so long. I was also in a hurry as the range was going to close in a few hours.

That being said, we loaded up the magazine with 5 rounds and fired the first shot. The gun fired and I saw a hole in the target however the casing was stuck in the chamber. I removed the magazine and locked the bolt open. I got one of the guys who worked at the range to help me extract the casing after inspecting the gun to make sure everything was safe. He used a cleaning rod from the muzzle end to knock it out. It didn't take much effort. We examined the chamber and bore and everything seemed ok so we went back to the range and shot 50 rounds with no issues. So the only round that caused a problem was the very first shot fired through the gun.

When i got home I examined the casing and saw that the the ejector removed a small edge of the rim of the cartridge which makes sense as it was stuck in the chamber and something had to give. I used a set of calipers to measure the casing at various spots and compared it to other spent casings. In some cases the problem casing was smaller in size than others but only by 0.001". So I didnt notice anything abnormal with the casing diameter. The primer was intact and did not appear to be flattened. No other weird marks that I can tell except for some discoloration of the metal but I see that on other casings as well.

I also took a better look at the barrel. I didn't see any weird black rings on the inside that would indicate a bulge and putting a tight patch down the barrel seemed fairly consistent all the way through.

I know that I will probably win the award for the longest post but I wanted to provide as much info as possible. So the questions I have are do you guys know of anything else I should check to make sure the gun is ok and is it safe to use and should I be worried? My primary concern is barrel damage due to overpressure. It was stupid to not have cleaned the gun before first use as I'm suspecting that's what caused the stuck casing. I knew better as I always did that with my other AR's. I was kind of thinking there could have been something between the chamber and casing that just caused it to be too tight and jam and there wasn't any overpressure.

Thoughts??

May 30, 2013, 01:07 PM	#1
chemok82 Junior Member Join Date: May 28, 2013 Posts: 3	AR 15 First Shot Stuck Casing First time poster here. I have used this forum many times in the past and always found good information so I thought I would post this issue I had with a new AR. I bought a brand new RRA LAR 15 mid length a few months ago from the local gun shop. I didn't have a chance to take it out to the range due to work so it sat in my closet for almost 2 months which killed me but that's life. I finally had a chance last weekend to go to the range with some friends so I ran home and grabbed the gun and met up with them. This is where the issue started. I never inspected the chamber or cleaned it and it didn't dawn on me because i had the gun for so long. I was also in a hurry as the range was going to close in a few hours. That being said, we loaded up the magazine with 5 rounds and fired the first shot. The gun fired and I saw a hole in the target however the casing was stuck in the chamber. I removed the magazine and locked the bolt open. I got one of the guys who worked at the range to help me extract the casing after inspecting the gun to make sure everything was safe. He used a cleaning rod from the muzzle end to knock it out. It didn't take much effort. We examined the chamber and bore and everything seemed ok so we went back to the range and shot 50 rounds with no issues. So the only round that caused a problem was the very first shot fired through the gun. When i got home I examined the casing and saw that the the ejector removed a small edge of the rim of the cartridge which makes sense as it was stuck in the chamber and something had to give. I used a set of calipers to measure the casing at various spots and compared it to other spent casings. In some cases the problem casing was smaller in size than others but only by 0.001". So I didnt notice anything abnormal with the casing diameter. The primer was intact and did not appear to be flattened. No other weird marks that I can tell except for some discoloration of the metal but I see that on other casings as well. I also took a better look at the barrel. I didn't see any weird black rings on the inside that would indicate a bulge and putting a tight patch down the barrel seemed fairly consistent all the way through. I know that I will probably win the award for the longest post but I wanted to provide as much info as possible. So the questions I have are do you guys know of anything else I should check to make sure the gun is ok and is it safe to use and should I be worried? My primary concern is barrel damage due to overpressure. It was stupid to not have cleaned the gun before first use as I'm suspecting that's what caused the stuck casing. I knew better as I always did that with my other AR's. I was kind of thinking there could have been something between the chamber and casing that just caused it to be too tight and jam and there wasn't any overpressure. Thoughts??