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This still doing that twoclones?

Do you have a different AR lower you can try this on? If not, give me a ring and I'll let you use mine. The magazines might be sitting too low...when you showed it to me it was defiantly a feeding problem. The rounds were defiantly scrapping on the feed ramps.

Everyone here can scream lube and clean...but these guns should function COMPLETELY DRY without a drop of CLP or oil on it.

+1 on that, I have actually considered for some time to Hard Chrome the inside of the upper reciever and the buffer tube, and run no lube. Now that would be slick, literally. The HC has a natural lubricity and a rockwell hardness of 72 (I think).
 
HC is great, so is Robar NP3, Titanium Nitride, etc. These help but do not mean you can run a gun dry. Glocks are meant to run on very little lube.

AR15's are not designed this way. Mr. Stoner did not intend for his original idea to be run lube-free. Now you may think we're a long way from that first gun but we're not. The carriers are still made of steel and the receivers of aluminum, just like the original.

Unless there is some ultra high-tech coating, AR's are not meant to be run dry. Talk to those who have been in the military and have relied on their guns to save their lives. The guns needed to be cleaned and lubed. Same with the M9 Beretta. It will start to malfunction when run dry.

Sigs and Glocks are less prone to this as they were designed with those parameters in mind.

So, basically what I'm stating is, try the simple stuff first, then work your way up the ladder if a bit of lube does not fix the problem. Yes, lube fixes a problem. When the gun is dry and does not function properly, that is a problem. Adding lube fixes this, then you're done. Try not to over-think issues like this. People end up buying tools they'll never use, books they'll never read and guns they won't shoot because "they don't work right".

To the OP: I suggest you try the lubing trick first, then check the gas rings, then the gas block, then if that is all okay and the problem persists, call Smith. They are known for taking good care of their customers and the products are held to a very high standard.

Good luck and please let us know how this works out.

As promised, some pics after shooting this afternoon. I have about 700 rounds through my 5.56 since it's last cleaning. As you can see, the BCG and receiver are FILTHY but she keeps running. It's had 1 stoppage due to being too dry. Hosed her down and has run like a champ since. Even with a TiN BCG, you will need lubrication, especially when unburned powder starts getting into the receiver.

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My 7.62x39 upper, even when using ComBloc ammo, the upper runs fine when lubed properly.

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Also, this is a great article but it takes some time to read and is written by Pat Rogers who is a legend in the gun world(show up to his, or any other class and tell your instructor that AR's are supposed to be run dry and see what kind of response is offered):

<broken link removed>
 
With all the ideas offered, I have plenty to try next time. I won't get an opportunity to shoot the AR again until after the weekend as I'm scheduled for a carving demo at the local Stihl dealer this Friday. Need to get ready, carve more product, and need to debrief/clean up/rest after that.

Went to a couple of places asking for a chamber brush... Each thought they had them but neither did :( Seems stupid to sell ARs and not sell tools to clean them.
 
With all the ideas offered, I have plenty to try next time. I won't get an opportunity to shoot the AR again until after the weekend as I'm scheduled for a carving demo at the local Stihl dealer this Friday. Need to get ready, carve more product, and need to debrief/clean up/rest after that.

Went to a couple of places asking for a chamber brush... Each thought they had them but neither did :( Seems stupid to sell ARs and not sell tools to clean them.

Any updates on this? Was thinking about your gun today while assembling an AR15 upper for a customer. :s0155:
 
I had the exact same issue. First polish, polish, polish the feed ramps. Second check to see if the jams stop when you put forward pressure on the magazine. if the jam stops when the magazine is push forward, then you have an issue of the round sliding off the magazine at the wrong angle. This doesn’t necessarily mean the magazine is bad, it means you really need to work on the feed ramps. After a couple thousand rounds the ramps will be broken in.
 
Any updates on this? Was thinking about your gun today while assembling an AR15 upper for a customer. :s0155:

On Tuesday, Riot and I went to the range to test the gun. He checked and cleaned the chamber area, ran multiple rounds through it {without firing them} and determined the bullets were all getting scratched pretty deeply. Scratching occured with both Stoner and Pmag magazines as well as with a different lower which Riot brought.

The failure to chamber the first round 'may' have something to do with how I release the charging handle. We also fired 3 or 4 magazines worth of ammo and still had some malfunctions in spite of it being well oiled. None of this seems to affect the accuracy of the the gun...

I suspect that breaking the sharp corners, around the loading ramp area, with a diamond file will help.

Best estimate is the gun has fired around 1,000 rounds.
 
On Tuesday, Riot and I went to the range to test the gun. He checked and cleaned the chamber area, ran multiple rounds through it {without firing them} and determined the bullets were all getting scratched pretty deeply. Scratching occured with both Stoner and Pmag magazines as well as with a different lower which Riot brought.

The failure to chamber the first round 'may' have something to do with how I release the charging handle. We also fired 3 or 4 magazines worth of ammo and still had some malfunctions in spite of it being well oiled. None of this seems to affect the accuracy of the the gun...

I suspect that breaking the sharp corners, around the loading ramp area, with a diamond file will help.

Best estimate is the gun has fired around 1,000 rounds.

Glad to hear you're making some progress and figuring it out! I also like reading that you're not taking a Dremel to the feed ramps!! I would recommend before touching the gun with any tools to modify it, email or call Smith. See if they will fix it for you. You should be able to just mail them the upper and they can pin it to a lower, check it, fix/replace and send it back.

Send them a couple pieces of brass with it to show the gouges in the rounds. This will help drive home the issue to them.

My opinion is why modify and lose the warranty(if there is one) when you can have it fixed for the cost of shipping to them($15)?
 
Just to clarify;
I bought the rifle used so do not expect a warranty to apply.
It's the bullet, not the brass getting gouged.

I've emailed S&W to see what they have to say.
 
Smith & Wesson replied to my email telling me to phone them. Their first suggestion was "clean and lube". After a little more discussion they got my address and sending shipping stuff for warranty return. :)
 
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