AR Jam Question

[matt_w]

So I went out shooting some cheap russian ammo with my AR, and after firing about 50 rounds, it jammed up with an empty case not ejecting. It was really jammed in the barrel big time. I had to take it home, disassemble it, and use a thin rod down the front of the barrel and a rubber mallet to bump it out.

My question, is this soley caused by the case or could there be something wrong with the rifle that caused the case to bulge/get stuck? It's a pretty new rifle with only a few hundred rounds fired. I measured the diameter of the case with a micrometer and it's a tiny bit bigger.

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[i8asquirrel]

Sounds more like you stated the answer in the first of your thread.CHEAP AMMO dont use crap ammo in good rifles.

 

[spengo]

Was it a lacquered case? If you shoot a bunch of ammo to get your gun good and hot, then leave a lacquered case in the chamber and let it cool, the round will get stuck in your chamber. Many of the steel-cased ammo manufacturers have been switching to polymer or zinc coating instead to prevent this.

For reference: lacquered steel case ammo looks green as pictured

Polymer is black and zinc is silvery.

 

[NoAim]

And then also, since it's a straightwall steel case, you get a lot of blow-by and it makes the chamber really dirty.

After shooting for a while you get enough crud in there that it can cause a failure to extract.

To answer your original question, it's very very likely that it's ammo related (steel case). Clean the crap out of the chamber and switch to brass cased and you should be good to go for many thousands of rounds.

 

[swoop]

Spengo is right on..laquer is the problem. Bring a few tools to the range, wood dowel, hammer, cleaning gear ect. Don't let it ruin your day.

 

[matt_w]

It's a grey case, so not lacquered.

 

[spengo]

Go shoot 500rds of some brass ammo and if it still has issues you may want to upgrade your extractor spring or replace your extractor. If it has no issues then I'd say it is just crappy Russian ammo being typically crappy.

Some good Russian ammo is Prvi Partizan (brass cased). It is about the same price as (often cheaper than) AE XM193 and it runs a lot cleaner. It is great ammo for the money.

Also, buy a dillon 550B.

 

[Abiqua]

Some good Russian ammo is Prvi Partizan (brass cased).

Prvi Partizan is Serbian not Russian, but is very good quality as you noted.

 

[RallySoob]

I got some wolf steel case crap ammo for free when I bought a RRA Car A4. 1st trip out I had 4 or 5 fails out of 60rnds. posted a thread like this and learned real quick what the consensus was on steel cased ammo; its garbage made to shoot out of your AK. atleast my AK tolerated it fine

 

[Riot]

It's a grey case, so not lacquered.

This is 55gr Tula stuff that was on sale a few months back? I had the same problem as well...it was the ammo.

 

[Jer's Guns]

It really depends on the gun. My friend has a Bushmaster we call the "hungry hungry hippo",and it eats steel Russian junk all day. Our DPMS,and Colts won't.
I shoot the cheap stuff out of Saigas.

 

[spengo]

My CMMG eats steel cased ok. I once ran 500rds of brown bear through it without cleaning just to see if I could. Not a single jam. Dirtiest rifle I ever cleaned though! Even though it worked fine, I still would not use steel cased for something like a carbine class and definitely not home defense..

 

[matt_w]

This is 55gr Tula stuff that was on sale a few months back? I had the same problem as well...it was the ammo.

This was wolf, but I have a ****load of the Tula stuff I haven't used yet, uh oh!

 

[Riot]

This was wolf, but I have a ****load of the Tula stuff I haven't used yet, uh oh!

Just inspect it...had a bunch that had dented cassings, corroded cassings, and messed up primers.

 

[matt_w]

I spot checked it randomly and it looked ok. I may just sell this crap off though and move to the cheap Federal stuff. Now that ammo prices are finally dropping I don't have to be as much of a cheapo as I was before.

 

[orygun]

I've never had any AR jam. Does it go well with peanut butter?

 

[spengo]

I had one jam once. It was ammo-related with AE XM193. Blown primer got stuck between the bolt lugs and no matter how hard I whaled on the charging handle I couldn't get it back. Had to disassemble the rifle and pry the bolt back to get it out.

 

[raftman]

I don't think the ammo is so much crappy as it is incompatible with certain firearms. The vast, vast majority of the ammo I've fired through my AK-74's, AK-47's, PSL, Vz.58, SKS, Mosin M44, P-64, CZ-82, and Makarov has all been steel cased stuff Russian ammo and it's never given me any trouble whatsoever. Guns that were made to shoot it will shoot it just fine. AR's however, generally speaking, were not made not shoot it.

 

[NoAim]

I don't think the ammo is so much crappy as it is incompatible with certain firearms. The vast, vast majority of the ammo I've fired through my AK-74's, AK-47's, PSL, Vz.58, SKS, Mosin M44, P-64, CZ-82, and Makarov has all been steel cased stuff Russian ammo and it's never given me any trouble whatsoever. Guns that were made to shoot it will shoot it just fine. AR's however, generally speaking, were not made not shoot it.

Not really. It's the difference in the case taper. 5.56/.223 is nearly straight walled after the shoulder. The 7.62x39 on the other hand has an extreme taper (that hurts efficiency) to aid in extraction.

 

[jordanvraptor]

I'm just curious what kind of barrel do you have? Chrome lined? I shoot lots of Wolf poly through my Bravo Company upper with no problems of any kind.