Sure fire way to keep your AR from exploding...?

AR's use a freefloating firing pin. The important thing here is to keep the firing pin channel cleaned and lubed, and to avoid using ammo with soft primers to prevent slamfires. Other than that, they are no more prone to explosions than most other firearms, and the same culprits apply. Typically squibbed barrels or case head separations. Most of these are ammo problems, and there is no real way to avoid a freak occurrence. Only using new factory ammunition will greatly reduce the likelihood of this happening.

SAAMI-spec .223 factory ammo isn't as hot as NATO-spec 5.56x45mm, and the AR is spec'd to handle tens of thousands of rounds of the latter. I'd say bad reloads are the most likely culprit, unless someone is shooting with debris in the barrel.

I'd say don't reload if you don't know what you're doing, and don't use reloads made by someone else who doesn't know what they're doing, and you'll be fine.

use quality ammo.

Gun show reloads are likely responsible for a good number of these.

Simply buying ammo from a known factory will minimize most of this.

A ziploc bag of 50 rounds on a table at a gun show should probably be left right there

But, you'd be surprised how many people by that unknown garbage then go shoot it in their rifle.

Use good ammo, make sure you run a chamber reamer on your gun and keep it at least Semi clean.

Use good ammo, make sure you run a chamber reamer on your gun and keep it at least Semi clean.

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Easy there... A chamber Reamer is far different than a Chamber Brush. Use a brush, not a reamer.

1) Don't shoot reloads.

2) Check for barrel obstructions if you suspect a squib or drop the muzzle into the dirt.

BSW

I'm voting bad reloads and squibs.

simple: don't shoot it. Ever.

but seriously, gun-wise, having a properly staked gas key, a tight/staked receiver extension/buffer tube, and cleaning it is all you need. Everything else is ammo-related.

Stand back when Bubba says he wants to try your gun with his hot new reloads.

Bad reloads? Could be folks shooting 5.56 in .223 (probably unlikely). who knows, but my thought is "operator error".

Sure-fire technique?

What would be some sure-fire methods to keep your AR from ever being like one of those you see on youtube?

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Leave it in the gun safe.

Take the other rifles out to the range.

Most (but not all) AR kabooms are the result of bad handloads. If you cannot pay attention to the ammo you create, you have no business doing so. You'll find experienced shooters and handloaders who will not fire somebody else's reloads. There's a good reason for that.

I've handloaded tens of thousands of rounds for my own firearms since about 1976, but I won't shoot somebody else's.

Reloading for a semi-auto is quite a bit different than for a bolt gun. The tolerances an headspace measurements come into play and can be critical to the proper function of rounds in a semi-auto. Consequently a lot of reloading "habits" that work fine when loading ammo for bolt guns can get you into trouble pretty quickly when using that ammo in a semi-auto.

Wanna learn something that could save you buying a new rifle? Read this:
http://www.fulton-armory.com/ReloadingThoughts.htm
http://www.fulton-armory.com/Kaboom.htm
http://www.fulton-armory.com/SlamFire3.htm

Reload KB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWygoxV_ApM

Don't fill with water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3TMh1qkjFk

Watch some of the guys on YouTube giving "instructions" on how to reload, and you would not have needed to ask how AR's are getting blown up!

It goes hand-in-hand!

BTW: Nobody ever blew up an AR by shooting 5.56 in a .223 chamber, I betcha.

I have never seen even one documented case in 41 years of fooling with them.

At the very worst it might result in some leaky primer pockets and/or loose primers falling out.
That right there is what we call A Clue!

rc

Wanna learn something that could save you buying a new rifle? Read this:

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Clint McKee is a blow hard and I would never buy one of his overpriced rifles. With all his internet postings he obviously has too much time his hand. You don't see Ron Smith post on multiple gun boards a day. Make an M14 receiver already Fulton Armory.

On Kabooms, I never wory about them because I use good ammo.

man...i bought a reloading setup and one of the calibers i was hoping to reload for was .223 (already bought a bunch of bullets, primers and powder)....this thread has me kind of scared though

No I meant reamer.
DPMS, Bushmaster and some other makes have put out some bad barrels lately.

I've seen a few of these videos and they scare the crap outta me. Is the issue putting too much powder into the reloads? I guess that would result in too much pressure in the chamber - one of them blew out the mag even.

Of course to balance it out, then I watch something like Shooting USA where a bunch of older gentlemen are firing ARs in a big firing line and they just make it look easy - going from like 800 yards all the way down to I think 100 and no major difficulties except for some huffing and puffing as they keep up with the line as it moves to each distance.

I've never watched a "you tube" video. I wasn't aware AR's blowing up was a big problem.

I think a lot of it has to do with the number of AR's out there, the number of rounds the average AR owner runs though them, and the lack of factory ammo out there.

There are a huge number of AR's out there right now. People have been buying them like crazy. When you have hundreds of thousands of any particular rifle out there, you are going to see more scary KB video's just by nature of the numbers out there. For example, how many Lamborgini's do you see on the side of the road broken down vs Chevy's? It's not because Lamborgini's are more reliable, it's because there just aren't as many to break down.

Then you have to consider the number of rounds the average owner puts through their rifles. The average centerfire bolt action shooter fires maybe 50 rounds a year (and I'd put it at even less) compared with many, many more from most AR owners. Again, a numbers game.

When people can't get the inexpensive factory ammo, they are more likely to consider buying that big plastic bag of ammo at the gunshow of unknown origin.

One last reason, AR's are more likely to actually get filmed at the range. Partly due to the average age of AR owners being lower than the average age of other firearms (from my personal observations). Partly due to the fact that some yahoo rapidfiring his new AR is more exciting to watch (or so the people taping think) than some guy shooting a round every 30 seconds with a bolt gun at a target the camera can't even see.

http://www.ar15.com/content/swat/keepitrunning.pdf

Good read here. and NEVER shoot anybody else's reloads!

The reason you see that stuff on you-boob is the high number of inexperienced user. Both as shooters and re-loaders. While none of this is rocket science, if you don't pay attention it well jump up and bite you.