Big Trouble... DPMS LR-308 Jammed .. Stuck .. HELP

[Mags]

Funny I didn't see where the website specified what the break in process was for in my link.

 

[MCMXI]

From the DPMS website ...

http://www.dpmsinc.com/support/warning.aspx

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Barrel Information

To achieve the best results for accuracy you should clean the chamber and bore after every round for the first 25 rounds and then every 10 rounds up to the 100 rounds. It usually takes about 200 rounds per barrel for optimum accuracy. Please keep in mind that our barrels are production barrels not custom barrels. Accuracy is dependant upon many factors such as bullet weight, powder load, rifling twist, rifling lands, operator technique, etc. Our production barrels have achieved anywhere from 1/8" to 1 ½" M.O.A. Obviously, we would hope that every production barrel would shoot 1/8" M.O.A., but with all of the above factors, we cannot guarantee a specific group size.

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As for their accuracy claims, my 24" fluted stainless DPMS barrel will shoot under 0.5 MOA at 100 yards and 200 yards consistently so I have no complaints. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't follow any fancy break-in procedure with that barrel or any other AR barrel that I have.

 

[Wes Janson]

Let's get a few things clear.

Barrel break-in has nothing to do with the current problem.

The problem was due to the LR-308's tight chamber, when used in conjunction with longer 7.62x51 ammunition.

One of my friends purchased an identical rifle, and a quantity of .308 ammunition loaded for use in an FAL. His problem was identical-failure to feed and lock due to overlength cartridges. My solution was to pick up his rifle, bang the charging handle against the rifle bench (padded edges), clear the round and solve the problem. He sold me the ammo, and I proceeded to shoot it in my FAL and M1A without a hitch (although poor accuracy, to be fair).

LR-308s HAVE TIGHT CHAMBERS AND WILL JAM WHEN USED WITH MILITARY AMMUNITION. ONLY USE .308 WINCHESTER AMMO, OR HANDLOADS PROPERLY SPEC'D FOR THE RIFLE

Claiming "1-2 weeks repair time" from the gunsmith is pure BS. The problem shouldn't take a vaguely competent gun-monkey more than 5 minutes with a hammer and a vise, worse-case scenario. Unless the OP did something truly stupid to the rifle in the process of trying to get it apart, there's not going to be any damage or issue beyond removing the round from the chamber. And leaving a loaded action sitting on a gunsmith bench for two weeks is criminal idiocy.

 

[jpwilly]

After reading this whole mess I'm truly puzzled as to why the op refused to follow the good advise given by a number of people here.

If you need to clear a jam in this rifle it is a simple matter ***Pull like a gorilla on the charging handle and drop the rifle on the butt stock*** The inertia will cause the bolt to cycle.

Otherwise a wooden dowel and or cleaning rod could have been used to clear the jam.

Your LR-308 is tough enough for this procedure. I'm surprised your "gunsmith" didn't do this for you and hand it back the moment you showed up. I'd charge you at least $20.

 

[Evergreen]

Damn.. I feel so ripped off .. Well, the guy said it was hunting season and that he was overbooked with other rifles to service. HE showed me a wall of like 10 rifles. He said he would see why it woudl not taking any longer than 2 hours to fix.

I should have waited and listened to people, but I was frantic and the guy is the most popular gunsmith in the Bend/REdmond area.

The gun is in two seperate pieces, that is why I cannot follow the advice of pounding it against teh ground.. THere is a live round in the chamber and I live in close quarters to my neighbros. Even if there isa 1% chance of it going off when I bang it out, that is too much of a chance for me to take.

Yeah, I guess the guy is going to make some money out of me and I know he could have tried to force it out then and there, but oh well.. What can I do .

Its at the gunsmith, should I go and demand my gun back now? What if I cannot get that live round out of there? He said if it was going to go off it would have gone off already.. I have to admit I do feel a little nervous. I am a new to shooting rifles and I don't have any real people to assist me here. The range I go to is completely empty most of the time and nobody could give me any assistance before I stupidly detached the upper nad lower.


Since it is at the smith and he said 1 week , should I just not wait? If it goes past 1 week I will tell him I want my gun back and I will find another smith. I wasn't planning on shooting this week anyway. I do feel a bit pissed he could have not just got the bullet out there.. I am sure he could have done it in 20 minutes..

He claims he will need to take the barrel off and do all kidns of other things, because the bolt is sticking out and jammed in the chamber. I dunnon.. I am ignorant , pardon me. Think I am stuck now.

I think the guy is going to get $100 out of me for this procedure. I could always use a more experienced person to help plead my case in this matter, but I doubt anyone heere would call the gunsmith and talk with him on my behalf. I felt like a dummy going in there, not sure what to do. I have had gunsmiths make a fortune on me in the past.. They can be unscrupulous.

 

[Bill2e]

Leave the gun at the smith until it is fixed, pay the money and used good factory ammo after that. Good Luck to you.

 

[Wes Janson]

Without seeing the weapon and knowing exactly what's going on, "taking the barrel off" sounds like extreme overkill for the problem. I'm not a gunsmith, but my first inclination would be trying to work the upper and lower back together, and then doing the usual charging handle drill. OTOH, if it's binding up badly enough, you'll just wind up bending up the charging handle by doing so.

All things considered, this shouldn't be a major issue. This sort of problem happens fairly frequently, and at the store I used to work at we'd deal with something of this sort every single day. Right now it's too late to unjam the rifle using proper procedure, and it's too late to get the gunsmith to fix it immediately. Wait out the week, find out exactly what happened, and learn from the mistakes.

 

[tkcomer]

The bolt is back just a tad because the round jammed before it had time to do a full lockup. It's also why the gun didn't fire. The bolt has to be fully in the locked position for the hammer to hit the firing pin. Do not take the barrel off to fix this problem. If the smith says that's what he has to do, I'd question his work on AR type rifles. It is a common problem with the tight 308 chamber of the DPMS rifles. It is supposed to give a slight accuracy edge, though I haven't seen that with mine. And if it was mine, I'd go get the rifle and try the punch tip. At least to keep him from taking the barrel off. Since you have that many rounds through the gun, it is now broken in. But one thing is for sure, once the round is out, disassemble the bolt assembly and clean it. You don't have to do this every time, but lube that bolt with CLP every time you go shooting. It will make the gun more reliable. Breakfree is the brand I can find at Wal-Mart. And for the scratches on the bullets. That is the bullet scraping the lugs on the barrel as you eject a live round. When you pull back on the charging handle, the ejector on the bolt is shoving the shell to the right to eject it. And the bullet scrapes against those lugs, scratching it. Doesn't happen as it chambers from the magazine.

 

[KevinB KAC guy]

Pardon the intrusion.

Mortaring the rifle is an accepted practice.

Delrin block, punch and hammer are necessary now -- and as said it may take all of 30sec to fix.

DO NOT PUT CLP IN THE BORE

Ideally use TW-25B for lube in the bolt/upper receiver for these guns, they like it a lot more than CLP.

I am an SR-25 Armorer, and teach our class to the .gov types


Kevin S. Boland

Military/Government Product Liaison
Knight's Armament Company
701 Columbia Blvd.
Titusville, Fl 32780
1(321)607-9900 ext. 1365
[email protected]

www.knightarmco.com

 

[feedthehogs]

Claiming "1-2 weeks repair time" from the gunsmith is pure BS.

Wouldn't have anything to do with other customers before him would it?

Evergreen,

You gotta quit getting your panties in a wad.
Its just a gun.

It'll get fixed.

 

[jaro]

When I had ftf in mine (new)...

...it turned out to be a loose gas block. Tightened it up with an Allen wrench and it's been perfect (with intermittent tightening) since. Also check to make sure gas rings are staggered.

Jaro

 

[Evergreen]

Evergreen,

You gotta quit getting your panties in a wad.
Its just a gun.

It'll get fixed.

It's not just A GUN.. Its the gun I love most of all, my baby.. I put more money into this gun than any other and this was to be the gun I did all my real long range shooting with. I really think this gun has a soul.

ANyhow, its at the gunsmith and I am hoping he will fix it without blemish. I guess end of story.

However, the large amount of advice I have been given is very helpful for fixind and preventing problems like this in the future. Too bad I didn't do more of my homework before I got into this mess.

I guess the ammo probably is the culprit. My respect to the guy who posted the disclaimer from the DPMS site.. Shame on me for not reading thaat carefully. I didn't realize Portuguese Mil-surplus ammo was on the list of ammos that screw up the gun and void the warranty. I was always told Portuguese was the best of the best along with Austrian. I guess my warranty is void, that really sucks. Tell me, is there any way DPMS would know I shot this ammo through the gun, if I need to send it back for other repairs?

After this mess is over.. I will sell all my mil-surplus ammo and buy some reloading equipment and factory ammo.

ANyone, interested in mil surplus ammo?? LOL..

 

[ny32182]

The ammo is fine; your chamber is just too tight for it.

It is only "a mess" because you have been WAAAAY over-thinking the whole thing from start to finish. It is just a stuck round. It will happen to everyone eventually.

I had an AR15 do the same thing one time, with a reload that wasn't sized enough, before I got the die adjustment sorted out (I was new to reloading in general, and .223 in particular). I pogoed it and went about my business.

It isn't the end of the world. Your gun is a gun, not an expensive painting. It doesn't have to be handled with kid gloves. Your gunsmith is going to pogo it, give it back to you, and charge you something ridiculous for the honor.

It is a lesson learned; next time you will know.

 

[tkcomer]

Hope everything comes out alright. But on a side note, if you ever decide to reload for it, get a small base die.

 

[FlyinBryan]

I am an SR-25 Armorer, and teach our class to the .gov types

can i have your autograph?

 

[Solidus-snake]

My first AR I was shooting some Wolf through it and had this same problem. Stupidity on my part for using wolf but hell, I was new to finnicky AR's. Well anyways, it was cold and I had put several rounds down range n she was nice n hot. Reloaded a mag, chatted for a bit, then went to fire again and FTE. The lacuer had melted off the rounds and built up in the chamber, where it proceeded to harden thus tightening the chamber tolerances.

Just pulled and yanked, and pulled and yanked some more, I swear I felt like donkey kong when it was over, I finally yanked the sumbitch out. Wish I knew about pogoing them then..

 

[Evergreen]

It isn't the end of the world. Your gun is a gun, not an expensive painting. It doesn't have to be handled with kid gloves. Your gunsmith is going to pogo it, give it back to you, and charge you something ridiculous for the honor.

Ok, I am not sure if you read the previous posts, but how is the gunsmith going to pogo the gun, seeing that the upper and lower are detached and cannot be reattached because the bolt is sticking out and cannot be pushed back in? I would have followed the pogo advice, but I was told the gun needed to be in one pice to do that.

Unless, this guy is a liar, he said he will have to do a few things to get the round out, beacuse the gun is detached. Yeah, I made a great mistake removing the upper assembly from the lower.. I am smacking myself on the head now for that.. But what I would like to know is how seeing the gun is apart that he can pogo? Many people here suggested it was too late for the pogo fix, since I already detached the upper and the bolt was stuck and extending out of the chamber.

 

[KevinB KAC guy]

Dude - if you want to get your gun back -- give me a shout and I will talk you through it / send pictures of how to do it through email if you want.

For our Texan friend - the point was to make that I have at least a credible background (that can be verified) in talking about these guns. DPMS bought several of our older guns in the early 90's and designed their gun off our older SR-25 Match rifle.

Its not the end of the world and really a 30 sec fix.

 

[ny32182]

Ok, I am not sure if you read the previous posts, but how is the gunsmith going to pogo the gun, seeing that the upper and lower are detached and cannot be reattached because the bolt is sticking out and cannot be pushed back in? I would have followed the pogo advice, but I was told the gun needed to be in one pice to do that.

If the carrier is sticking out the back of the upper, I presume you just drifted out the front and rear pins and pulled it apart horizontally (rather than pivoting it first) to get it apart in the first place, right? Reversing the process should get it back together.

 

[tkcomer]

Actually, it is easier to get the round out with the upper off the lower using the punch method. And no banging the gun on the ground. I have a friend who had just got a DPMS. He had brass that had already been resized for his M1A. Worked great in that. Told him to stick that brass in his DPMS. It immediately stuck and he banged that rifle hard several times just to get the empty sized brass out. He bought a small base die to cure that problem. Same as me.

 

[W L Johnson]

Is this a DPMS thing? I don't seem to recall anyone complaining about an Armalite doing this.

thanks

 

[Noban]

Hope this all works out for you. Same thing happened to a fellow at our range, but it was a spent case, not a live round like your problem. Bound up real tight. He separated the halves and flipped the upper onto its back in a gun cleaning cradle. Applied copius amounts of CLP on and around the bolt to relieve friction, placed a wooden dowl against the bolt and tapped it to the rear. The bolt popped loose after three wacks.

 

[hammerklavier]

Live and learn, all's well that ends well, etc. $100 is a pretty cheap lesson.

 

[hammerklavier]

For future reference, does DPMS make a 7.62x51 chambered rifle? I seem to remember them having both chamberings listed on their website. I hope that's not false advertising.

 

[hhmorant]

Is this a DPMS thing? I don't seem to recall anyone complaining about an Armalite doing this.

thanks

A friend's Armalite AR-10 had similar problems. No stuck cases, but it had trouble chambering several types of ammo. I think he eventually found Black Hills match ammo worked best.