Hey all, last time I shot my Bushmaster, I ran into problems with the bolt not pushing a new round out of the magazine, and it jamming. I was attempting to shoot Wolf Military Classic .223, it'd shoot a couple and then jam, towards the end it was stove piping. Prior to using wolf I used Remington .223 with no issue. Now, the rifle had sat for about a month without be oiled a second time prior to shooting it, could this have been the cause of the bolt issues? I cleaned the gun since the last time I used it and made sure everything was properly put together, I plan on trying some Remington and Wolf and see how that goes this weekend. Can anyone think of any other scenarios for this problem? I should add, the rifle is cleaned after being shot, the gun is not dirty.
AR-15 not chambering
- Thread starter caseypj
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1KPerDay
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Never mind...
azredhawk44
Member
Wolf mil classic has that polymer coating over a steel case, right?
Remington is honest-to-God brass.
I'd suggest cleaning your chamber well with a chamber brush and making plans to spend a bit more money on quality ammo. Lacquered/coated catridge cases react weird under the heat of firing and extraction. The guns were designed to handle the metallurgic principles of brass cartridges.
If the economic savings outweighed the reliability concerns, our military would be using technology similar to Wolf's mil-classic for their small arms ammunition.
Only gun I've ever shot polymer/lacquered ammo in is my Mosin in 7.62x54R, but that stuff is similar. Sticks in the chamber. I would imagine it also "grips" when being chambered as the case and lacquer are heated by the energy from the last shot.
Just MHO.
Remington is honest-to-God brass.
I'd suggest cleaning your chamber well with a chamber brush and making plans to spend a bit more money on quality ammo. Lacquered/coated catridge cases react weird under the heat of firing and extraction. The guns were designed to handle the metallurgic principles of brass cartridges.
If the economic savings outweighed the reliability concerns, our military would be using technology similar to Wolf's mil-classic for their small arms ammunition.
Only gun I've ever shot polymer/lacquered ammo in is my Mosin in 7.62x54R, but that stuff is similar. Sticks in the chamber. I would imagine it also "grips" when being chambered as the case and lacquer are heated by the energy from the last shot.
Just MHO.
Deer Hunter
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MC is still lacquer coated.
Black box isn't anymore.
Black box isn't anymore.
TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
No, it's not. The Military Classic came out long after the polymer was introduced. There is no currently made Wolf using the lacquer.
The only difference between MC and the Performance black box is the primer. MC is berdan primed, black box is Boxer (mostly)
From their website:
http://www.wolfammo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=116
Deciding you have a rifle problem after trying only one brand of ammo isn't likely to help you much.
You say you are going to shoot some Remington, that's probably fine too but it's likely .223 not 5.56. That isn't a problem of course but I'd really shoot exactly what it was designed to shoot to kind of get a baseline.
Find some white box Winchester 5.56 or something similar and try that if you can. Of course if the Remington is all you can find then go ahead, it certainly won't hurt and it it works you can go from there.
That Wolf is notorious for mediocre quality control. It's possible you have a missized lot or something, maybe not even be your rifle.
Or it might be but with shooting just Wolf you'll be chasing your tail trying to find out.
I've shot Remington .223 through the rifle without issue. When I tried the Wolf it was after I hastily reassembled the rifle and the bolt did not want to advance all the way in. I'm seriously hoping it was just user error from when I reassembled the rifle and the 300 rounds of Wolf .223 I've got here will work fine.
Thats sounds like a mag problem; try some new or different mags.
Clean the gun, make sure gas rings are not aligned, and check the carrier key. I'd also add a #60 O-ring under the extractor to be sure the extractor isn't slipping off during the extraction sequence.
FWIW, I use Wolf all the time through one of my Bushmasters in full-auto. Works every time - never a problem.
MG, I tried with multiple magazines, a couple of times it looked like the bolt had gone over the top of the magazine. When I broke the rifle down I found the gas rings had become aligned, I spaced them out as suggested by Bushmaster.
Shear_stress
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Sounds like it could be short-stroking: bolt's not coming back far enough to push the cartridge from the head and instead tries to push it out of the magazine from the middle of the round.
Sounds to me like it was possibly short stroking. Did it at least strip rounds out of the mag and chamber the rounds more reliably once you staggered the gas rings?
Still, check to make sure the carrier key is staked on tight - could still be losing gas there. Also get to a plumbing store and get a #60 O-ring (should be about $.39) in case the extractor is slipping off the rim before the ejector nails the empty case.
Still, check to make sure the carrier key is staked on tight - could still be losing gas there. Also get to a plumbing store and get a #60 O-ring (should be about $.39) in case the extractor is slipping off the rim before the ejector nails the empty case.
MG, I didn't break the rifle down until I got home, I've yet to see if it'll work properly now that I've fixed the alignment. I don't think the extractor has issues, I ran about 250 Remington .223 through the rifle without any extraction problems.
I think you've probably got it. I've never used Wolf Military Classic, but regular Wolf is suppossed to be a little underpowered. With the rings aligned you were probably losing just enough gas to short stroke it with Wolf. Remington has a little more punch to it, so that was probably just enough over the line for it to function ok.
At least thats my $.02
At least thats my $.02
ProficientRifleman
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Get some MagPul magazines and try them. In most semi-autos the root problem with failure to feed is USUALLY bad mags.
Do that and then look for other sources of the problem.
Good luck!
PR
Do that and then look for other sources of the problem.
Good luck!
PR
If you were shooting the 45 grain yellow box Remington without issue and switched to Wolf ammo, rest assured it wasn't your rifle causing the problem.
If you were shooting Remington yellow box 55 grain ammo in your rifle without issue and then switched to Wolf ammo, rest assured it wasn't your rifle.
Wolff gunspring,(not affiliated with Wolf ammunition), offers a reduced power action spring that may allow the Wolf ammunition to fully cycle in your rifle.
As stated, quality control standards seem to be hit and miss on Wolf ammo and the lot you bought may be slightly underpowered.
If you were shooting Remington yellow box 55 grain ammo in your rifle without issue and then switched to Wolf ammo, rest assured it wasn't your rifle.
Wolff gunspring,(not affiliated with Wolf ammunition), offers a reduced power action spring that may allow the Wolf ammunition to fully cycle in your rifle.
As stated, quality control standards seem to be hit and miss on Wolf ammo and the lot you bought may be slightly underpowered.
W.E.G.
Member
Wolf in an AR. 
cracked butt
Member
ayup. There isn't a week that goes by that someone doesn't complain about wolf ammo jamming up their AR.
Steve in PA
Member
I have over 1k of Wolf MC through my Bushmaster. It eats it like candy.
The problem with your rifle not stripping a round from the magazine is a problem with the rifle, not the ammo. As mentioned, it could be short stroking caused by underpowered ammo, but all the Wolf MC that I shot, shoots just like brass cased ammo.
Wolf MC is polymer coated NOT lacquer coated.
The problem with your rifle not stripping a round from the magazine is a problem with the rifle, not the ammo. As mentioned, it could be short stroking caused by underpowered ammo, but all the Wolf MC that I shot, shoots just like brass cased ammo.
Wolf MC is polymer coated NOT lacquer coated.
I didn't encounter dinged up cases from my extractor, I'll be shooting the AR and my other firearms this weekend, I'm hoping the short stroking was from the gas keys not positioned correctly. I'll be sure to post back with my results.
And yet thousands and thousands or AR owners use it with no issues whatsoever. How many of the AR's you see that have problems with Wolf have a chrome lined barrel? How many with a 5.56 chamber? How many were parts guns or home builds and not factory assembled guns?
It is a good question MGshaggy.
I have removed stuck steel cases from numerous AR15 rifles and in every case I noted that the rifle was extremely fouled.
I remove the case, clean the rifle and check for anything broken or misaligned.
Was it the ammo? The owners own neglect? A faulty rifle?
Nobody wants to admit fault, it is always the ammo at fault and the owner pays me his money and walks away swearing at the ammo.
I don't personally care for Wolf ammunition in .223, I do shoot a heck of a lot of Silver Bear though and I do shoot quite a bit of Wolf in 7.62X39, 9mm, and .45acp without major issues.
I have removed stuck steel cases from numerous AR15 rifles and in every case I noted that the rifle was extremely fouled.
I remove the case, clean the rifle and check for anything broken or misaligned.
Was it the ammo? The owners own neglect? A faulty rifle?
Nobody wants to admit fault, it is always the ammo at fault and the owner pays me his money and walks away swearing at the ammo.
I don't personally care for Wolf ammunition in .223, I do shoot a heck of a lot of Silver Bear though and I do shoot quite a bit of Wolf in 7.62X39, 9mm, and .45acp without major issues.
Tarvis
Member
It probably doesn't, but it will give a more positive extraction for those sticky steel cases. I'm not sure, but I get the feeling it will fling your brass further.
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