A2 fails to extract

i have an A2 built with a surplus upper from ohio ordanance. 20 inch barrel, gi carrier and mpc bolt. RRA lower with DPMS lpk and DPMS A2 stock, buffer and spring. using a surplus mag with green follower. ran first serveral mags perfect, i was very happy with this rifle from the start. the last two times at the range, the first round of the second mag would fail to eject. bolt gripping the spent shell firmly. spent shell sticking out of chamber about 1/8th of an inch. twice ive had to knock it out with a cleaning rod. once i was able to pull back on the charging handle to free it. on both problem trips to the range, temps were high, almost 100 out. i am using tula steel cased fmj. the shells show no marks or signs of chamber issues. i am not new to firearms, but i am new to the AR family. carrier key tight and well staked, rings on bolt seem fine with some tension inside carrier. proper cleaning did not help. bolt always stays open on last round. if the problem does not happen on the first round, it will run the mag perfect. im anal about cleaning, and am convinced its not a chamber problem. barrel seems to be nearly new and is chrome lined and original to the upper. any help or ideas from you folks that know this platform would be very helpful and i thank you in advance!
Dave in indiana

I had a similar problem with one of my rifles. It turned out to be the Tula ammo. I normally don't use the stuff myself but wanted to try some in each of my rifles to see if it would feed. It worked fine in 4 out of 5 rifles. The one it didn't work in was a PSA M4 upper. Worked just fine in my two RRA's, CMMG and Bushmaster.

Try a brand of ammo that does not use steel casings or a polymer to seal the bullets in the case. Try something like Federal, Winchester, PMC or Eagle Arms (made by Federal). Tula ammo isn't for everyone. Lots of folks have had ejection problems with it and some reported broken extractors blamed on the steel cases. Some folks love the stuff. It just depends on the barrel / chamber you have. Personally, I only purchase brass cased ammo but that is just me.

thanks
yes, i have thought about the ammo. but the way ive always looked at it, if a rifle will cycle the steel cased junk, that means all is well. but i have heard that the AR can sometimes be a little pickey when it comes to ammo quality. if nothing is found, i will try brass cased ammo. my ak rifles will cycle anything, but i guess thats comparing apples and oranges! the AR is built with far more quality and tighter tolerances.

i was going over the shells that were stuck, they had a line around the casing right where they jammed. i then looked at unfired tula and wolf steel cased and found the same line and slight bulge! wow, unreal! looked at some brass cased and it does not have this. now i cant wait to head back to the range with brass cased ammo. i guess i may be my own worst enemy! it may be that the GI barrel may have tighter tolerances than my sons non-chrome lined barrel, as this crap runs fine in his carbine. we shall see!

I helped a guy out at the range once who was "breaking in" his new carbine with Wolf ammo which I believe is made by Tula. It stuck a case. I carry a cleaning rod in my range box and happen to have a soft face hammer that day too. Just tapping it with the bass rod would not move it. We had to use the hammer to get it out. I'm not saying we had to beat on it but it did take 2 or 3 taps and when it came out it flew10 feet away. The guy said it has happened before with that ammo but that one was extra tight. The rifle was fine and he continued to shoot. Then he ran a box of brass ammo through her and gave me the brass. He also gave me the hard case that the rifle was sold in. What a guy!!

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