I was shooting my RRA Entry Tactical today. I have already put about 500 rounds through the rifle. Today, I only got to shoot 34 rounds. I fired a 30 round mag without any malfunctions. I then started shooting my second mag. I fired four rounds and then nothing on the fifth round. I thought it was just a dud round even though I didn't think I heard a "click". I pulled back on the charging handle in hopes of removing the dud round and cycling a good round from the mag. Instead, the charging handle didn't move. I ejected the magazine and then attempted to pull the handle again, but it wouldn't move. I broke the rifle into lower and upper receivers in hopes that when apart the charging handle and bolt assembly would fall free and the chambered round could be removed and I could resume firing. I couldn't get anything to budge!
Upset, I left the range and went home. At home, I took the upper receiver and noticed that when looking through the ejection port it appeared that the bolt was not the entire way forward. Pressing the forward assist did nothing. I then took a screwdriver and pried the bolt away from the chamber and towards the rear of the receiver. That was all the rifle needed. The bolt was free and the round plopped out. I inspected the round and rifle. No parts were damaged on the rifle. The round's primer was not dented.
However, on futher inspection, I noticed that there was a large dent in the side of the shell. That was the answer to my riddle from what I can tell, unless someone thinks otherwise. I think what happened was that the shell, which was part of a bulk ammo supply was dented prior to being fed into the rifle. Because of the dent, the shell fattened. When chambered, the shell wouldn't fit the entire way into the chamber. That is why I saw that the bolt wasn't the whole way forward. However, it did get fed into the chamber far enough and with enough force that it became stuck in the chamber and the bolt would not let go of its clamp. That explains why I was unable to eject the round by just pulling on the charging handle.
In conclusion, I thoroughly cleaned my rifle, bolt and all. I am certain that the malfuntion was not caused by the rifle, but by faulty ammuntion. The moral of the story is to check your ammo before you load up a mag. Even a small dent can cause a lot of trouble.
Upset, I left the range and went home. At home, I took the upper receiver and noticed that when looking through the ejection port it appeared that the bolt was not the entire way forward. Pressing the forward assist did nothing. I then took a screwdriver and pried the bolt away from the chamber and towards the rear of the receiver. That was all the rifle needed. The bolt was free and the round plopped out. I inspected the round and rifle. No parts were damaged on the rifle. The round's primer was not dented.
However, on futher inspection, I noticed that there was a large dent in the side of the shell. That was the answer to my riddle from what I can tell, unless someone thinks otherwise. I think what happened was that the shell, which was part of a bulk ammo supply was dented prior to being fed into the rifle. Because of the dent, the shell fattened. When chambered, the shell wouldn't fit the entire way into the chamber. That is why I saw that the bolt wasn't the whole way forward. However, it did get fed into the chamber far enough and with enough force that it became stuck in the chamber and the bolt would not let go of its clamp. That explains why I was unable to eject the round by just pulling on the charging handle.
In conclusion, I thoroughly cleaned my rifle, bolt and all. I am certain that the malfuntion was not caused by the rifle, but by faulty ammuntion. The moral of the story is to check your ammo before you load up a mag. Even a small dent can cause a lot of trouble.
