Side note, ordered a Spikes Tatical Lower. Last thing is the upper. I do plan to run the original upper for a bit with the new gas block

How I have been doing it:

" />  More lube will not hurt you, dude.   It may even fix it.  Ordering new parts seems to be a bit of an overreaction when proper lubrication could remedy the issues, but it's good for the economy.

Alright I'll lube the ish out of the BCM BCG when it arrives

This is just for fun, but is also echoed amongst reputable trainers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9bOT_d60LM

I also agree that throwing new parts at a problem is kind of silly.  I also think some people totally over blow the whole ARs like to run wet thing.  Assuming your gas block is not too far off center, as it appeared to be in the earlier pictures, I think you have a simple break-in issue, which actually isn't as simple as usual because of the heavy finish on the BCG.

Since you have been firing the rifle, you should be able to remove the gas block and see what kind of carbon ring is surrounding the gas port.  If there is a decent ring all the way around, I would just re-install the gas block and keep shooting the properly lubricated rifle.  Your rail should slide over the muzzle device and you don't have to remove the gas block, just slide it forward some, so checking it isn't a big deal.  

I am not going back to see if anyone mentioned it, but if you look at your gas block, the gas port is milled through the set screw hole.  Install your gas block so the set screw hole is perfectly centered on the gas port.  That means the gas block will be 180 degrees out, or upside down.  Make a center punch inside the gas hole of the gas block.  Not the set screw hole that you just aligned with the gas port in the barrel, the actual gas port hole in the gas block.  You should be punching a center mark on the bottom of the barrel when you do this.  You can either drill a dimple on that center mark, or when you rotate the gas block to its proper orientation, you can use the center mark to center the set screw hole, ensuring the gas port on the gas block is aligned with the gas port on the barrel.

You can also do it the simpler way.  Make a pencil mark on the barrel showing where the center of the gas port is.  Make a pencil mark on the rear of the gas block face showing where the center of the gas hole is.  Install the gas block and line up the pencil marks.  The gas ports should be aligned.

I honestly wanted and planned to upgrade the parts purchased anyway, this was a good excuse :)
Thank you for all the good info.

Just don't forget to shoot the crap out of it with some full power ammo after you get it put together the way you want it, with generous lube of course.
ARs don't need to be run that wet (ask any suppressor user), but they do need to be broke in wet.
Then you can get obsessed about all the little things like accuracy and reliability the AK guys never discuss.  LOL


As much as I like my AKs, I'll never give up my AR, not for nothing, even a what was it, MP44?  Not for shooting.

I recently had this issue as well on my very first build. The gun would lock open on empty mags and had zero cycling problems when shooting match grade 75 grain hornady i used to sight in the gun. I bought some Winchester white box to cut back on shooting cost and had all the problems you described. bolt would not lock open, it wouldn't cycle the next round and if it tried it would jam up, pulled out the bcg and lubed it up and havent had a problem since.

What do you mean by "full power ammo"?  

Get some Black Hills 5.56 and you'll see.

When you're not picking up a round from the magazine, you could be suffering from either an UNDER gassed system OR an OVER gassed system. Severely over gassed systems will move the bolt back and forward so fast that the magazine (spring) can't get the next round up, into place, fast enough for the bolt to catch it as the bolt moves forward. Under gassed (my suspicion) means the bolt isn't, consistently, coming far enough back to grab another round out of the magazine. Based on your pix, I would remove the gas block, check the barrel, block and gas tube for obstructions and then reinstall the gas block. There's a good suggestion above on how to align and install you GB properly but there are also loads of YouTube videos that'll help you to do it properly; so, I'm not going to bore you with how I do it. However, I will tell you that I always check that I have good gas flow by blowing through the system after I install a block AND after I install the gas tube. It's easy to do by blowing through one end of the barrel while plugging the other end OR by blowing through the gas tube or gas tube hole in the gas block, while pinching off the roll pin holes in the gas block. You should hear air moving freely through the system. If it feels restricted, you have a misaligned gas block or an obstruction. It's not all that uncommon to find a bur in a barrel's gas port. Whatever the issue, you clearly have something going on with the gas system. Keep in mind, also, that there's an important relationship between the gas system and your buffer/buffer spring; and that issues with gas can, sometimes be fixed or improved by changing the buffer and/or buffer spring to compensate with extra gas or too little gas, whichever the case may be. It's a balancing act and one of those situations where a solution can come from a couple different approaches to the problem. It's imperative, though, that you have your gas block properly installed and aligned.

Can't give you any advice on your "jams" because the exact nature of these jams is unclear. Maybe you can take a picture of a jam or describe what gets caught on what?

Good luck. I know it can be frustrating. Work one problem at a time. Don't just throw a bunch of new parts in because you won't know what the problem was or what the problem wasn't. I work issues like a detective - one possibility at a time, eliminating one clue at a time until I find the solution. Each problem is a learning experience. Makes it a LITTLE less frustrating that way. Lol!

Double post

The oil chart posted is for a M16/ AR15 that was assembled at a factory and tested.


The oil chart for a new build with parts from various vendors should read. -->  Gas it up and burn it down!

OIL the heck out of it and don't be stingy.
After it gets a few hundred rounds then refer to the chart.

Pull the bolt all the way back and see how much room is left between the bolt face and bolt catch.

Basically what I've seen so far is the OP is going to end up with 2 rifles... one go to, and one "spare parts" rifle

Why bother swapping the lower? yours works and is in spec. Only difference is going to be the roll mark on the side (and if you got the Spikes logo, you'll regret it after you see the memes out there )

The issue was likely an under-lubed BCG as mentioned. It should be pretty damn close to dripping wet (all over) for the first hundred or two rounds. With all my new builds I have enough lube on the BCG that it spits the excess out of the ejection port.

Swap out the gas block or send the upper back to PSA, there should never be that much carbon at the tube/block connection. (gas block is leaking, causing short strokes)

To align the gas block orifice and the port in the barrel, using a sharpie, mark on the barrel (at the gas block shoulder) and on the back face of the gas block so you can use the set of marks as a reference point for alignment.


With regard to the parts that you've posted pics of, none of those parts look new.
-I've got over 3,000 rounds through one of my ARs and my hammer doesn't look anything like that first picture you posted.
-The BCG and Bolt both look like they've seen plenty of use prior to being inserted in this build.

New build or Old build, I've never had to lube a BCG to the point that "it was dripping" to get a rifle to run.  As I suggested earlier, I'd start with replacing the gas block (and not with a $20 ebay job, get one from BCM/RAINIER), as I bet that is the issue.

Thanks for all the suggestions throughout this post. Like said previously, I do have a BCM Gas Block on the way. When the parts arrive i will keep this thread updated.

I disagree with almost everything you posted.

 

Congratulations...?



the advice you gave was spot on..
oh wait, nevermind..
(if a rifle is functioning properly, it will operate WITH ANY commercially available ammo - we're not talking about accuracy here, we're discussing FUNCTION)

One of the big thngs I've seen that causes issue like that, is forgetting that the buffer/spring can get lubed as well.

Looked fine. 90% of the carrier has no contact with anything.

The only parts that need lube as the bolt, cam pin, and carrier rails. Carrier body doesn't need lube outside of rust prevention.

Standard rifle buffer in a carbine buffer tube?

ALL gas tubes have some blow by.

 

Those parts look fine, not  well used.


Using a bcg wet is a common and often recommended way to keep a dirty or new gun functioning.

You probably needlessly bought new parts when a little QC on your carrier key and gas block, plus some extra lube and 5.56 ammo would have had you running.


That's probably not a bad thing, considering election season.  But still just throwing a new BCG in won't fix anything if the issue is a misaligned gas block.


Maybe you just really wanted two rifles.  

I sold off the Lower and BCG for a few bucks less than I paid new.
When I Built the Rifle, I was tight on money. When I built it I really wanted the BCM Parts - Now I can afford them so I bought them. I have a New BCM Gas Block too

BCM parts will treat you right.  Good choice.

Of course my BCM BCG is lost in shipping. Delays....

I will take a Photo of the Buffer Spring when I get off work and post it.

So I went to my FFL and picked up my Spikes Lower. Unplanned but also worked out was I took a 1 on 1 CPL Class with him, and a new (to me) 1911 followed me home as well. All parts have arrived :)

Spikes lower all together with all BCM parts

New BCM Gas Block and Spikes Gas Tube on.

Sweet. In for the new and improved range report.

Just got back from the range. AR and 1911 performed flawlessly

Dude, no one cares about your ammo stash. Get out of here.

Picked up a new Muzzle Device as well

Oh wow, I guess I thought I was back in 2008!

Many of miss the old AR15.com, but what the heck, times change.
Lot's of competition out there, but for the less then "expert" new comers out there, follow every lead!