AR-15 bolt jams with handloads

[ocabj]

Of all the guns I have, I have not started reloading for .223, so I decided to try since I scored some Sierra 55gr BTHP GameKings and some 69gr MatchKings off a relative. I made some dummy rounds to see how they feed in my AR but for some reason, when I chamber a round, the bolt will not open. I have to slam the stock against a hard surface and it "loosens" the bolt so I can pull back the charging handle and extract the chambered round.

So right now, I haven't made any live rounds until I can figure out why it's doing this. I'm using PMC and Federal once-fired brass (that came out of this specific rifle). It was full length sized using an RCBS FL Sizing Die.

Any ideas?

 

[Jeeper]

I would guess an OAL problem with the heavier bullets since they tend to be a bit longer. They also seem to get to a bigger dimension quicker. Check the bullet to see if there are rifling marks on it. You can also try a round with some magic marker on it to see if it is rubbing anywhere. Another thing with 223 is it seems to grow after a few firings. Your brass might need to be trimmed. THe last possibility is that the gun you fired the reloads in originally might have a bigger chamber and even with a FL sizing die the brass might have to big of a base. You should notice some markings somewhere on the brass of where it is getting caught up. Try just feeding a piece of sized brass first without a bullet in it.

EDIT
sorry I missed the part about the brass coming out of that rifle! Try the sixed brass by itself.

 

[mparris71]

Not as qualified as some on here. But did you trim your brass? OAL maybe too long. head space may not be right. Get a Wilson, Lyman or other Case Length/Headspace Gauges to help you set your FL sizer die correctly for your gun.

 

[ocabj]

Yes, I trimmed the brass to 1.750". I can't try feeding just brass without a seated bullet. It won't chamber because it needs the bullet shoulder to guide it in properly.

I'll try seating some dummy rounds really short to see if the problem persists.

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

sounds like the oal is too long, my buddies load the 80gr. matchkings, which won't chamber in my rifle because of that......

wish i had a throated chamber too...

 

[ocabj]

It doesn't appear to be OAL. I seated both the 55 and 69 grainers very very low and it still did it. From what I can tell, it looks like the case shoulder isn't being resized enough. But I won't know unless I get another set of dies.

 

[mparris71]

not likey to be the dies as the problem try screwing the Sizer up and down a little and notice how much chage there is in the shoulder area. I have had good luck loading for my bushy with a set of Lee's dies and one of These
the gage is like a small chamber to check your shells to see if they headspace right and check out the length as well. If you are set about a new set of dies check out RCBS small base dies some guys I know swear by them.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Just to chime in. The proper OAL on the 69gr MatchKings is whatever will feed from your magazine. It should be something like 2.25-2.26" roughly. Also, thinking of my own AR, I can't really tell you what might be wrong. Other than improperly resized brass. Don't take this the wrong way, but you are using the FL die properly, right? I know I have had a case of forgetting to screw the die in far enough. Other than that though...

Also check to ensue that AR is properly lubed and cleaned. This can make a difference too. I had a case a few weeks ago where my AR wouldn't chamber rounds. Finally figured out all I needed to do was oil the bolt and carrier to make them run properly.

Hope you solve the problem.

 

[Steve Smith]

Ok, OAL should be 2.260" max. Since you tried this wiith really deep seated bullets, I think that you are having a problem with your die. Either you aren'tusing a Full Length die or you don't have it screwed down far enough. Those are the likely culprits. Keep us informed.

 

[ocabj]

I have the full length die screwed down such that the die touches the shell holder when the ram is all the way up.

I may order a Lee Rifle die set for .223 if I can't get one locally. I have one for .308 and I like them better than the RCBS rifle dies, anyway, so it might be worthwhile.

 

[Quantrill]

My AR-15 is very fussy about OAL. I check each loaded round for dimensions. Quantrill

 

[WalkerTexasRanger]

If I read your post correctly, the bolt will not open to extract. If you are not having a problem getting the bolt to close, are you using the bolt release to chamber the round? If so, than I would say you are having a sizing issue. Under force the case will chamber, you just cant get enough force with the charging handle to remove the case.

FWIW, I would STRONGLY discourage you from using fired Federal brass. It is very soft and everything I have read says to stay away from it.

When sizing there is a slight amount of springback of the brass, i.e. it will get slighly larger when coming out of the die. WIth very soft brass, this will be amplified. Try some different brass.

Also, be very cautious of the headspace and shoulder bump. Get a Stoney Pioint headspace gague and take a look. You could be actually bumping the shoulder back upon chambering, thus expanding the brass slighlty in the chamber and causing the difficultly in extracting.

Get back with us, we are happy to help!!!

Safe Shooting!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JA]

Are you resizing the brass and then trimming it?

 

[ocabj]

If I read your post correctly, the bolt will not open to extract. If you are not having a problem getting the bolt to close, are you using the bolt release to chamber the round? If so, than I would say you are having a sizing issue. Under force the case will chamber, you just cant get enough force with the charging handle to remove the case.

Yup, I let the bolt slam forward when chambering the dummy rounds. That's why I started thinking it was a sizing issue.

Are you resizing the brass and then trimming it?

Yes, I resized and trimmed.

 

[ocabj]

Oh, furthermore, I took the dummy rounds that wouldn't chamber in my AR and ran them through my uncle's Mini-14 and the bolt operated normally.

 

[ocabj]

If you are set about a new set of dies check out RCBS small base dies some guys I know swear by them. (mparris71)

I went to the range today and was talking to another range regular about my problem and he also mentioned small base dies and said that maybe the bottom of the case wasn't being resized enough.

I went to buy some Hodgdon Clays and TiteGroup because I was running low and wanted to reload some .45ACP tonight, and I went to go browse the dies to see if the store had the small base dies and they had one set. I said what the hell and bought them.

I took three of the cases that were causing problems, pulled the bullets and resized the cases using the small base die, seated the bullets again and they ran through the AR perfectly fine.

Thanks for the tip, mparris71, as well as the rest of you for throwing in the ideas. It helped.

BTW: I just measured the cases that were resized with the regular FL die and those resized with the small base die and the bases on the FL sized brass were about .002 longer in diameter than the SB resized brass (as well as factory loaded rounds). I guess the AR has some really finicky tolerances.

 

[Glock9]

I have just started loading 223 and had the same problem with the first few rounds I produced. The problem is that the the neck is a few thousands too far forward.

Using a case gauge it has a step that the case head is supposed to be below the top step but above the bottom step. My cases were even with the top step.

I screwed the sizing die down a smidgen and retested with the case gauge untill it was right and this solved my chambering problem.

Hope this helps!

 

[Nero Steptoe]

There's nothing wrong with your dies; you're just not adjusting the resizing die properly for sufficent bumping of the shoulder of the brass. Just screwing the die down until it touches the shellplate won't get the job done. Ever wonder why Wilson makes case gages? It's so you can test a resized piece of brass to see if you have the die adjusted correctly. Typically, you have to screw the die down harder than "just touching" the shellplate. The press should typically "cam over", when the resizing die is properly adjusted.

Screw the die down a little more and your problems will magically disappear.

 

[Steve Smith]

If you cannot do waht Nero suggests, then have a machinist to trim about .020" off the end of the die.

I strongly suggest things that others have suggested. Dump the Federal brass, and also use a Stoney Point headspace gauge.

 

[cordex]

I had a similar problem when I started loading .308.
Talked to my reloading mentor and he had me bring my dies over and load some on his press while he watched.
Turns out my die wasn't low enough, so I screwed it down lower and then made sure it "rolled over" when I cycled the arm. Problem solved.