Help- Feed problems with Rem VSSFII

[rbaust]

I have recently bought a new Rem VSSFII in .223Rem. The rifle has developed a feed problem. It has fired approx 150 rounds during running in and my first shooting trip.

The rifle is jamming as it feeds the 3rd round from the magazine. It feeds the first two rounds fine and then jams the 3rd but then feeds the 4th and 5th without problems. The bolt picks up the round ok but as it starts to feed it flicks up and the base jumps out of the action and jams. This makes me think that it may be a problem with the pressure exerted by the magazine spring.

I ran the rifle in with Federal 55gnSP factory rounds and it fed fine. Once I started hand loading the problem occurred. It made me think that the the problem was the OAL of the hand loads. I ran up some dummy rounds and varied the OAL and the problem persisted. It also now occurs with the factory loads as well.

Help, any advice?

RB

 

[Malikovski]

I'm not familiar with that rifle, but magazine spring tension should decrease with each round, so it's would seem it's not too much or to little, since the first two rounds should be under more pressure, and the last two under less. At the same time, tension is the only really obvious thing that would change.

Questions: does it happen when you work the action quickly as well as slowly?

If you work the action slowly, is there an exact point at which it pops of? If so, what is the extractor and ejector doing at that point? How does this compare to slowly feeding the first two rounds?

Are you switching the rounds you're using to test?

Is there extra space at the front of the magazine so that the rounds can move forward? If so, perhaps as the first two rounds are stripped, it's pusing the rounds below it forward. If the round is too far forward, maybe the extractor isn't picking up the rim like it should?

Just thinking out loud to try and narrow down the cause.

 

[rbaust]

Thanks for all the advice you have all offered. I finally got the rifle back from the Remington approved gunsmith after returning the rifle for a warranty repair. He had to adjust the magazine box by squeezing it a little tighter to get the rounds to sit slightly more vertically. Interestingly he said that it was the 3rd Remington VSF or VSSF that he had worked on with the same problem. I will be submitting an email to Remington’s service department.