Tula ammo sticking in my AR.

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Then I guess I'm in error.

Tula ammo gets stuck in my AR's chamber. Same with a friend of mine's. When the stuck case is removed, it has crap peeling off the case. Lacquer, polymer, faeries tears, I don't really care. Something is causing Tula to jam in my rifle when no other ammo does, and its not a dirty chamber.

EDIT: don't get me wrong, I love the stuff. Its cheap and perfect for plinking. Most bullets on their ammo are bi-metal with a steel/copper jacket--tons of fun to shoot through metal targets with. I just can't use it in my AR. vOv
 
I am just puzzled by the fact that two weeks ago I fired 200+ rounds of this Tula ammo without a hiccup. Then yesterday I have problems. Day was alot hotter but the rifle was cleaned before each session.
 
I put about 200 rounds of Tula through a brand new spikes, without a hiccup, in 20-50 round range outings over the course of a couple of months without cleaning. Then in June it jammed up tight. I banged the case out and it looked like nixorf described. The case was all scuffed and scratched to hell with polymer partially coming off. I chalked this up to a dirty chamber and not enough lube, but this thread has made me think it might be something else. I guess it's time to break out the Uly.
 
I know it's bad juju, but I had a SS 16" carbine barrel that would get every single round of tula stuck unless I put a drop of CLP on the first round in every magazine. After I changed to a 24" rifle length barrel, it had no trouble ejecting, but wouldn't strip a round from the magazine. I started reloading .223 since then, so no issues anymore.
 
If what nix and sebatian are describing is indeed something coming off of the cases, it may be something particular to Tula ammo that may even vary by lot.
 
Isn't Tula ammo lacquered, too? In a hot barrel, that crap will gum up the works nicely...
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Lacquered or steel simply won't use it honestly its not worth the cost savings,
some AK's will withstand it and function, super sloppy tolerances required.:D
 
As far as cleaning, invest in an AR chamber brush, either nylon bristles or copper/steel.

To the ammunition, after one outting of problems its hard to say with out being there to observe. It could be a result of a dirty extractor that is having difficulty gripping potentially thicker case rims on the steel cases. Take a look at your bolt face and make sure it is clean.

Other than that give it a very complete clean up and try it again. If you develop problems similar to that with that brand of ammunition, try another one if you are using steel for plinking.

Steel cases typically are harder on the rifles to digest and harder on the extractors themselves but should not be having huge amounts of issues. That being said the rifles were designed for brass cased ammunition. Commie block weapons have much beefier extractors and looser tolerances to digest whatever they are fed and the wild irregularity that they had with some of their ammuntions.

Another question, is the extractor gripping the case rim at all? is it tearing the case rim off?
 
"Lacquered or steel simply won't use it honestly its not worth the cost savings,
some AK's will withstand it and function, super sloppy tolerances required."

I've never seen an ak that wouldn't. Considering steel ammo has been, and still is to my knowledge, standard issue in the russian military for a long time i would say AKs do more than withstand it.

Melting lacquer has been discussed in at least one gun magazine that i've read and makes sense to me. I've never seen anything that disproves it can cause issue. I suspect an AKs design makes it far more impervious to the issue than ARs.
 
WaltonS said:
Isn't Tula ammo lacquered, too? In a hot barrel, that crap will gum up the works nicely...
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This is an internet myth that needs to be stamped out. In the past 50 years several billion rounds of laquered ammo have been fired through extremely hot machine guns, if there was a problem with the laquer gumming up the works we would have heard of this problem from somewhere other than internet forums.
 
TonyAngel said:
Well, since you read about it in a magazine, it must be true.
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For real. We could suggest he try to intentionally melt off the lacquer or polymer, but he probably wouldn't believe that either.

"Lacquered or steel simply won't use it honestly its not worth the cost savings
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Justin; sorry, but I can't agree with that. I may not shoot the MOST steel case on the planet, but I definitely shoot more than most people. I have 2 AR's that shoot it fine. A Frankenstein and a S&W M&P15. Never have issues. As for "Worth the cost". Here's some basic math:

1. On a SLOW month, I will shoot 400-500 rounds through my AR.
2. Using SLOW month as an average, that's between 5,000-6,000 rounds per year.
3. Average cheapest brass ammo, even in bulk, is between $6.00-$7.00 per box
4. Average cheapest steel ammo, even in bulk, is between $4.00-$5.00 per box
5. 5,000 rounds per year, minimum, is 250 boxes of 20 rounds each
6. At an average of $2.00 per box savings, that's a savings of $500
7. My "average" shooting is actually closer to about 7,500 rounds per year, 375 boxes
8. That's an average savings of $750 per year.

Personally; I think that's definitely worth the saving. I can almost buy an entire rifle for that. Definitely any part that could possibly wear prematurely.

I will admit, as I have said previously, there are some weapons that simply don't like shooting the steel case ammo. Forget the fact that some have ammo issues even with brass ammo. If you have an AR, and you've tried 4-5 different brands of steel case ammo, and your rifle doesn't like ANY of them; then your rifle probably just doesn't like steel case. It's not worth fixing your rifle. (Yes, the problem is with the rifle, not the ammo). Could be chamber, lead, timing, etc... But I definitely wouldn't try and fix it. Just find and use brass ammo. (Me personally; I'd try and sell the gun at a gun show or shop for as close to original price as I could, and I'd buy a different AR). If you gun can't shoot steel case ammo, the problem is with the rifle.
 
If it works for you use it, but why try to convince others it good ammo.
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Because it IS good ammo. The question is: Is your weapon good enough to use it. If it can't, then as said, no one is saying you should spend the money to get your rifle fixed. It would defeat the purpose of saving money. But if you haven't tried it, then you owe it to yourself to try it. Then you can determine if you're in a position to save money in your hobby or not. But you won't know until you try it. Just like I don't tell people that Corbon ammo sucks because my Walther won't chamber it, because the lead is too short. At the same time, it's not worth the money for me to get the gun repaired to it will shoot Corbon. There's a lot of Corbon lovers out there. I personally like the ammo. And I use it in many of my weapons. Just not my Walther.

So no; I'm not trying to tell others that steel core ammo is good. IT IS. It's just whether or not their rifle is capable of shooting it. So on the same lines, don't assume that steel case ammo isn't good ammo. Just because it doesn't work in your weapon doesn't mean it's bad. Just like Corbon isn't bad because it doesn't shoot in my Walther.
 
I had a CMMG AR with chrome bore and barrel that had the same problem. Started within the first 10 rounds. I have a BCM upper that takes it just fine. Some AR's have tight chambers and aren't as tolerant of Tula. I sold the CMMG. I want an upper that will eat anything.
 
When I first started using Tula, it would stick in my chamber as well, until I had my chamber polished. Now nothing sticks.
 
I suspect that your AR doesn't have a chrome lined bore. The only problem with steel cased ammo I ever had was from my only AR without a chrome bore.
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+1

Chrome helps.
 
It is a chromed barrel,

I have three or four chamber brushes and use the heck out of them,

The bolt face was pretty clean inspected after firing 40-50 rounds but started with a clean rifle.

Extractor was fouled but certainly not dirty also cleaned before start of firing and pulled to check after having problems.

Bolt and extractor lock and held cases both live and fired brass just fine.
 
TonyAngel and christcorp: "Well, since you read about it in a magazine, it must be true. "

No, but it makes it hard to call it just an internet myth. Its funny that one would discount a statement as being an internet myth based on what they read on the internet.
And if you read what i wrote i did not say if it were true or not but that it sounded plausible. Given that most lacquers have melting points that are not relatively high it is highly probable that it does melt. Does that mean it will remain behind from ejected rounds or gum up a gun? Maybe, maybe not. Some guns may be more susceptible and certain cleaning processes may be effective in preventing an issue such as use of solvent that can dissolve lacquer.
 
Some of us have actually tried to melt it. We've taken butane torches and directly flamed the lacquer and polymer cases with a lot more sustained heat than the few seconds that the shell is sitting in the chamber. We can't get it to melt. I've never seen a lacquer or polymer or zinc plated case lose it's corrosion protection. (That's the total reason for being on the case. Raw steel would rust/corrode almost instantly). I've seen the red sealant on the primers break free, just not the lacquer or polymer on the case.
 
I used to have consistent issues shooting steel case ammo on my ar until I bought a bcm extractor spring upgrade kit. before it would jam every five rounds, now I've shot through almost a thousand rounds of tula with no issues.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
 
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