Live Round Stick in COLT AR15 Chamber

SteveSS · January 9, 2013, 01:31 AM

Hello - I'm having problems with live rounds sticking in a new COLT LE6920 Carbine. Using factory brass ammo / Remington. Cleaned properly w/ CLP

Will usually fire and eject 1st round in the magazine, but the 2nd round will usually not chamber quite all of the way. Is very difficult to remove the stuck round. Takes a great deal of effort with 'mortor slam' method.

There are visible dark lines inside the chamber that I cannot remove with Blast-Out or CLP. (photos attached)

The first 20 rounds through it were Russian steel case ammo. Didn't have any stuck rounds. Switched to a strictly factory/brass diet and started having the problem.

Are these lines normal or might they be causing the problem? Were they possibly caused by the steel cases?

Thanks, Steve

_DSC0971web.jpg

_DSC0974web.jpg

_DSC0973web.jpg

Creeper · January 9, 2013, 01:53 AM

Man... that is one chattered looking chamber. I say "looking" because it may be dimensionally sound and just appear tool chattered. If on the other hand it is dimensionally out of spec, with the "dark lines" being the areas of under spec....

As the gun is new and under warranty, conjecture is irrelevant. Call or e-mail Colt. Show them the photos and tell them your story. Let them sort it out.

C

Justice06RR · January 9, 2013, 02:00 AM

As a general rule, you shouldn't run steel cased ammo before brass. Brass first, then steel is fine. Most milspec AR's will run steel (yours should), but some lower-end AR's might not.

I cannot see your pics as my pc at work won't open it, but if it persists contact Colt about the issue and send them the pics. The warranty should cover you.

Mrgunsngear · January 9, 2013, 09:13 AM

Quote:

As a general rule, you shouldn't run steel cased ammo before brass.

This.

The steel doesn't expand like brass does so excess fouling will build up in the walls of your chamber, then when you switch to brass and the cases expand in the fouled chamber walls you can get stuck cases.

SteveSS · January 9, 2013, 12:06 PM

I've tried cleaning with the chamber brush that came with the COLT. Used it with a number of solvents / CLP / Power-Blast / WD-40.

If it is contamination from using the steel ammo rather than a 'final step' left out at the COLT factory, I should be able to clean it myself. (?)

It's hard to believe that COLT and their QC would allow a new LE6920 to leave the factory with something obvious like this.

I attepnted to email photos to COLT at the address shown on their website [email protected] but it bouced back to me this morning as an invalid address.

Does anyone know of a new, valid email address for COLT?

Any suggestions on removing the contamination? Someone mentioned FLITZ metal polish / 0000 Steel Wool ?

Mrgunsngear · January 9, 2013, 12:49 PM

Quote:

I've tried cleaning with the chamber brush that came with the COLT. Used it with a number of solvents / CLP / Power-Blast / WD-40.

If it is contamination from using the steel ammo rather than a 'final step' left out at the COLT factory, I should be able to clean it myself. (?)

Yes, it should wipe away with patches.

Quote:

The first 20 rounds through it were Russian steel case ammo. Didn't have any stuck rounds. Switched to a strictly factory/brass diet and started having the problem.

So did you clean the chamber after you fired the 20 rounds of steel before you switched to brass?

Quote:

It's hard to believe that COLT and their QC would allow a new LE6920 to leave the factory with something obvious like this.

I don't. Colt makes excellet rifles and has very good QC but every company can make mistakes or let something slip through. They let a seemingly large batch of BCGs slip through last year that weren't staked. But, they replaced all of them at no cost to the users and that's what really matters in my opinion.

dean1818 · January 9, 2013, 12:56 PM

If you are handy, lightly polish the chamber.

I used a dowel rod in a drill. I used masking tape and tightly wrapped the end to closely match the chamber size (use a bullet as a model)

I then used a car polish on the tape and used the drill for 30 seconds to polish

it cleaned the same issue up on both my and my friends new AR

SteveSS · January 9, 2013, 02:25 PM

Thanks fellas for the good advice.

After just a 30-minute wait on hold (I expected much longer), I spoke with Louis at Colt Customer Service. He said that [email protected] was deactivated a couple of weeks ago due to the volume of mail they couldn't efficiently keep up with.

Louis at COLT suggested basically the same thing / a vigorous cleaning and polishing and then test firing it.

Will try the suggestions I've received tonight and will report back to the board with hopes, if successful, the solution may be helpful to future forum members and visitors.

If problem persists, he said to call them back and they'll issue a postage-paid Return Label. Said to return upper and lower so they can test fire before returning.

Just found your forum last night while Googling my AR situation. I couldn't be more impressed with the professional attitudes and expertise of the folks on TheFiringLine.com

Thanks - Steve

Erno86 · January 9, 2013, 03:43 PM

SteveSS --- You'll probably need a chamber brush rod --- if you don't have one now --- that you can buy from Sinclair or Brownells. Rotate the chamber rod, with the chamber brush attached --- soaked with degreaser --- at least twelve revolutions in the chamber; then dry patch out.

Mobuck · January 9, 2013, 07:33 PM

Are all you Colt fans real happy about this little oops? None of my blankety blank noname home made clunker Frankenguns have ever had this problem.

JimDandy · January 10, 2013, 01:49 PM

Its not my Colt, so I'm not UN-happy about it, just like your Frankenguns aren't my Frankenguns so I'm not happy about your success either. I didn't want to build one, so I paid someone with a good rep to do it.

blfuller · January 11, 2013, 10:40 AM

Try some Flitz or Iosso metal polish in the chamber. Get a section of GI cleaning rod and a bore brush a little larger than the chamber, maybe .40 or .45 caliber and wrap a cloth around it a couple of times. Put the rod in your variable speed drill. Then apply some Flitz or Iosso to the cloth and polish away until clean. Neither is abrasive. Make sure you wrap your cloth in the opposite direction of rotation.

Quentin2 · January 12, 2013, 01:40 AM

Those lines in the chamber are so evenly spaced I doubt the steel case ammo could have caused them. Definitely try some of the advised cleaning techniques above but if the lines remain I'd pursue this issue with Colt. I've never seen anything quite like those pictures.

chris in va · January 12, 2013, 02:19 AM

You know, now that I think about it there are some fired 308 cases at the range with similar stripes, evenly spaced. Best I can tell they were fired out of a FAL or MG of some flavor. Always wondered what is up with that. Somehow gasses are getting around the brass/chamber seal in a uniform pattern.

hodaka · January 12, 2013, 06:35 AM

Those cases are due to the fluted chamber of an HK-91 (or PTR clone).

Strafer Gott · January 12, 2013, 09:08 AM

The fluted chambers on some designs leave those stripes, but from your chamber views, that has to be some of the lowest relief fluting ever. It's there to aid ejection, ironically. Real fluting makes for dirty, messed up brass. Did you send those pictures to Colt?

Art Eatman · January 12, 2013, 10:56 AM

SteveSS, start a new thread telling us of the results of polishing, after you test your rifle.

January 9, 2013, 01:31 AM	#1
SteveSS Junior Member Join Date: January 8, 2013 Posts: 3	Live Round Stick in COLT AR15 Chamber Hello - I'm having problems with live rounds sticking in a new COLT LE6920 Carbine. Using factory brass ammo / Remington. Cleaned properly w/ CLP Will usually fire and eject 1st round in the magazine, but the 2nd round will usually not chamber quite all of the way. Is very difficult to remove the stuck round. Takes a great deal of effort with 'mortor slam' method. There are visible dark lines inside the chamber that I cannot remove with Blast-Out or CLP. (photos attached) The first 20 rounds through it were Russian steel case ammo. Didn't have any stuck rounds. Switched to a strictly factory/brass diet and started having the problem. Are these lines normal or might they be causing the problem? Were they possibly caused by the steel cases? Thanks, Steve _DSC0971web.jpg _DSC0974web.jpg _DSC0973web.jpg

January 9, 2013, 01:53 AM	#2
Creeper Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2008 Location: Woooooshington Posts: 1,797	Man... that is one chattered looking chamber. I say "looking" because it may be dimensionally sound and just appear tool chattered. If on the other hand it is dimensionally out of spec, with the "dark lines" being the areas of under spec.... As the gun is new and under warranty, conjecture is irrelevant. Call or e-mail Colt. Show them the photos and tell them your story. Let them sort it out. C __________________ Shoulder Drive Nicholson Club

January 9, 2013, 12:56 PM	#7
dean1818 Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2009 Location: Frisco Texas Posts: 844	If you are handy, lightly polish the chamber. I used a dowel rod in a drill. I used masking tape and tightly wrapped the end to closely match the chamber size (use a bullet as a model) I then used a car polish on the tape and used the drill for 30 seconds to polish it cleaned the same issue up on both my and my friends new AR __________________ An imperfect servant of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Buying American made, wherever I still can

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January 9, 2013, 02:00 AM	#3
Justice06RR Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2010 Location: Central FL Posts: 1,360	As a general rule, you shouldn't run steel cased ammo before brass. Brass first, then steel is fine. Most milspec AR's will run steel (yours should), but some lower-end AR's might not. I cannot see your pics as my pc at work won't open it, but if it persists contact Colt about the issue and send them the pics. The warranty should cover you.

January 9, 2013, 12:06 PM	#5
SteveSS Junior Member Join Date: January 8, 2013 Posts: 3	I've tried cleaning with the chamber brush that came with the COLT. Used it with a number of solvents / CLP / Power-Blast / WD-40. If it is contamination from using the steel ammo rather than a 'final step' left out at the COLT factory, I should be able to clean it myself. (?) It's hard to believe that COLT and their QC would allow a new LE6920 to leave the factory with something obvious like this. I attepnted to email photos to COLT at the address shown on their website [email protected] but it bouced back to me this morning as an invalid address. Does anyone know of a new, valid email address for COLT? Any suggestions on removing the contamination? Someone mentioned FLITZ metal polish / 0000 Steel Wool ?

January 9, 2013, 02:25 PM	#8
SteveSS Junior Member Join Date: January 8, 2013 Posts: 3	Thanks fellas for the good advice. After just a 30-minute wait on hold (I expected much longer), I spoke with Louis at Colt Customer Service. He said that [email protected] was deactivated a couple of weeks ago due to the volume of mail they couldn't efficiently keep up with. Louis at COLT suggested basically the same thing / a vigorous cleaning and polishing and then test firing it. Will try the suggestions I've received tonight and will report back to the board with hopes, if successful, the solution may be helpful to future forum members and visitors. If problem persists, he said to call them back and they'll issue a postage-paid Return Label. Said to return upper and lower so they can test fire before returning. Just found your forum last night while Googling my AR situation. I couldn't be more impressed with the professional attitudes and expertise of the folks on TheFiringLine.com Thanks - Steve

January 9, 2013, 03:43 PM	#9
Erno86 Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2012 Location: Marriottsville, Maryland Posts: 1,739	SteveSS --- You'll probably need a chamber brush rod --- if you don't have one now --- that you can buy from Sinclair or Brownells. Rotate the chamber rod, with the chamber brush attached --- soaked with degreaser --- at least twelve revolutions in the chamber; then dry patch out.

January 9, 2013, 07:33 PM	#10
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	Are all you Colt fans real happy about this little oops? None of my blankety blank noname home made clunker Frankenguns have ever had this problem.

January 10, 2013, 01:49 PM	#11
JimDandy Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2012 Posts: 2,556	Its not my Colt, so I'm not UN-happy about it, just like your Frankenguns aren't my Frankenguns so I'm not happy about your success either. I didn't want to build one, so I paid someone with a good rep to do it.

January 11, 2013, 10:40 AM	#12
blfuller Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2013 Location: Washington State Posts: 246	Try some Flitz or Iosso metal polish in the chamber. Get a section of GI cleaning rod and a bore brush a little larger than the chamber, maybe .40 or .45 caliber and wrap a cloth around it a couple of times. Put the rod in your variable speed drill. Then apply some Flitz or Iosso to the cloth and polish away until clean. Neither is abrasive. Make sure you wrap your cloth in the opposite direction of rotation.

January 12, 2013, 01:40 AM	#13
Quentin2 Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2009 Location: NorthWest USA Posts: 1,996	Those lines in the chamber are so evenly spaced I doubt the steel case ammo could have caused them. Definitely try some of the advised cleaning techniques above but if the lines remain I'd pursue this issue with Colt. I've never seen anything quite like those pictures.

January 12, 2013, 02:19 AM	#14
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	You know, now that I think about it there are some fired 308 cases at the range with similar stripes, evenly spaced. Best I can tell they were fired out of a FAL or MG of some flavor. Always wondered what is up with that. Somehow gasses are getting around the brass/chamber seal in a uniform pattern.

January 12, 2013, 06:35 AM	#15
hodaka Senior Member Join Date: April 23, 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 2,010	Those cases are due to the fluted chamber of an HK-91 (or PTR clone).

January 12, 2013, 09:08 AM	#16
Strafer Gott Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2011 Location: New Mexico Posts: 1,315	The fluted chambers on some designs leave those stripes, but from your chamber views, that has to be some of the lowest relief fluting ever. It's there to aid ejection, ironically. Real fluting makes for dirty, messed up brass. Did you send those pictures to Colt?

January 12, 2013, 10:56 AM	#17
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	SteveSS, start a new thread telling us of the results of polishing, after you test your rifle.