Ar-15 Emergency -- Please Help

[mattz357]

Let me preface this by saying that I do not own, nor have I ever disassembled an AR-15. Now that we have that out of the way, a buddy of mine has a Bushmaster with a shell stuck in the chamber. I have successfully dismembered, I mean disassembled, the upper and the lower and have attempted removal from the chamber end unsuccessfully. I know what your first suggestion will be, a dowel rod from the muzzle end, well he tried that too, with a fiberglass fishing rod... which is now keeping the shell company and is stuck in the barrel, broken off flush with the muzzle. If barrel removal is possible, please tell me how. I removed the handguards but put them back on since I didn't know how to go any farther. I do NOT have a manual or any disassembly instructions so any help is GREATLY APPRECIATED. Thanks in advance!!!


By the way, I didn't even get to shoot this gun or have any part in getting the shell stuck, just being a nice guy and getting it out. Thanks again!!!

 

[Barrelmaker]

I know what your first suggestion will be, a dowel rod from the muzzle end, well he tried that too, with a fiberglass fishing rod... which is now keeping the shell company and is stuck in the barrel, broken off flush with the muzzle.

Um, not to be Monday morning quarterbacking, but that should have been a one piece metal rod like a cleaning rod or similar. As far as removing the barrel from the upper you need a special set of tools. One that clamps around the upper for support and a barrel nut wrench for the barrel nut. When you get the upper off of the barrel it might take drilling out the back of the stuck case and tapping it to accept a long machine screw for leverage to pull it out. That is if the fishing rod is not wedged so tightly into the neck of the case. Find someone near you with the appropriate tools for assistance.

 

[mattz357]

Um, not to be Monday morning quarterbacking, but that should have been a one piece metal rod like a cleaning rod or similar.

I agree, but I just got back from vacation today and he told me he had it in his trunk for me to look at for him. He had already done it before I could tell him not to. Any ideas on a hook type tool for removal from the chamber end? Thanks!

 

[Barrelmaker]

The barrel extension on the breech end leaves little room to the cartridge head. Unless someone else on the board can come up with another idea, I'd say drill and tap the offending cartridge is all I can think of at the moment. After the barrel is removed from the upper for better access.

Do not do this if the offending cartridge is a loaded round. Just reread the post and it is not clear that the case is stuck after firing.

 

[SJ]

I have successfully dismembered, I mean disassembled, the upper and the lower and have attempted removal from the chamber end unsuccessfully.

Is the bolt out? What have you done from the chamber end, just tried to pry it out with a screwdriver? Did the extractor rip out part of the rim or just slip over?

If the rim is still there, you can try to yank it out with the bolt. If possible, take the firing pin out of the bolt. Then let the bolt fly forward into battery (if the bolt is still in, this is where you start). Then with one hand holding the charging handle back against the tension of the shell in the chamber, bash the rifle straight down butt first onto the ground. Bolt should come back and hopefully shell with it.

While you're at the gunsmith getting the fishing rod removed , make sure to find out what caused the stuck case in the first place.

 

[Wildalaska]

While you're at the gunsmith getting the fishing rod removed , make sure to find out what caused the stuck case in the first place.

Wolf?


WildcouldntresistAlaska

 

[ny32182]

DO NOT let the bolt fly forward with the firing pin removed.

The cam pin could rotate the wrong way, and you could get the entire bolt and carrier firmly lodged in the upper, compounding your problem.

Seriously, what ammo was it? I can't imagine what could cause a case to get so utterly stuck in the chamber. Wolf or not.

 

[BryanP]

There are times when one must go, hat in hand, to the nearest gunsmith and hand him your rifle with some cash and say "I done screwed up. Please unscrew it. Thank you."

 

[yankytrash]

Hmmm, if the fishin rod got stuck in there, sounds like there's a bullet still in there. Can't see how a fishin rod would get stuck in a 223 case neck, unless you mean it's jammed tight in the muzzle.

Better keep at it from the chamber end. Go to a buddy's body shop and snatch it out of there from the chamber end with a dent puller. Can also be had for cheap at local Megalo-Marts.

 

[SJ]

DO NOT let the bolt fly forward with the firing pin removed.

The cam pin could rotate the wrong way, and you could get the entire bolt and carrier firmly lodged in the upper, compounding your problem..

ttbadbay, you're right, I forgot about that. I inferred that it was a unfired cartridge in the chamber, so I was concerned about a slamfire after repeated dropping of the bolt.

 

[gaven]

take it to a gunsmith after what he has to pay him he will think about what sticks down the barrel next time