Someone please help,

I have a relatively new  14.5" AR15 (under 1,00 rounds fed through it) built by a local manufacturer in my state (CT), it's technically an "other". The only thing I've done since I got it is change the handguard, which required me to take down the entire upper to change the barrel nut. I ensured that the gas hole was aligned with the gas block using the uncooked spaghetti method.

Anyways, I was at the range yesterday shooting Winchester 5.56 and after a couple 10 round mags, it started to malfunction like crazy. I mean failure to eject, stovepipes with the spent casing and a live round, etc. I don't think it was under-gassed because the bolt was locking back on empty mags, and with the standard spring and buffer, I was getting 1-2 O'clock ejections.

I switched over to a Spingco blue spring, and H2 buffer, and was still getting these malfunctions, the ejection pattern was closer to 3 O'clock I'm pretty sure.

When I got home I tested the BCG by placing it face down, bolt open, and it closed under the weight of the BCG. Which I've heard to be an indicator of bad gas rings. However, I can assure you they were fine before I went shooting, because I recently changed them and it passed this test prior.

Here's a picture of the stovepipe, and a picture of the live casings after the malfunctions, which appear to be severely dented/gouged.  



Any help is appreciated.

Sounds like an excellent method to get shit stuck in your gas block, which may be all burnt to shit now.

Have you tried different  ammo?

Different mags?

Why did you change gas rings at 100 rounds?

Have you tried a different BCG?

I'm Italian so I really like spaghettis, I'm sure it's fine.
But in all seriousness you stick a jam rod through and it breaks the spaghetti and it falls out the barrel.

I know that's the idea, but did you double check all of it came out? If you pinch it while tightening, you may leave some behind.

Seems like a sure way to give yourself a headache when most gas ports are over sized and a simple mark works. I would take off the gas block and run a wire through it all the make sure nothing got blown into the tube or block.

I changed the gas rings because they looked like shit (bent), even after only firing 100-200 rounds.
I did not try a different brand mag, but it was malfunctioning on all my Hex mags (7 of them).
I have not tried a different BCG, I was thinking maybe that should be my next step but BCGs aint cheap.

Did you check them again?

If your rings "bent", something caused that. The rings fit into a grooved channel, to bend them would require some serious deformation.

Yeah, I checked them after firing, they were a little mangled but nothing too crazy. However, the BCG did fail the gravity test like I said. I placed the BCG bolt side down, and it's own weight was enough to close the bolt.

A little mangled is too crazy!

3 rings sit in a grooved channel, that maintains their physical shape. If they appear any differently than round and in alignment something is causing that. Gas rings shouldn't deform, just get a little dirty and wear out over time.

So do you think my gun is just crazy over gassed or is the BCG just bad?

I would try a different BCG.  I have had over-gassed and under-gassed and neither have mangled gas rings.

Well, under no circumstances should you see gas rings being deformed.. that is an issue thst may or may not be related.

It could be over gassed, but not "crazy". Changing springs will not help here, you would need an adjustable gas block, or heavier buffers to slow down the cycle. You already tried that...

If gas rings are bad, gas blow by will reduce cycle energry.. short cycling can still get a bolt hold open.. and ejection angles aren't the end all be all of determining over under gassing.

Alright, I'll give that a try, thank you!

Update:
I ensured my gas block was properly aligned and made sure the gas tube is un-obstructed.
Purchased an Aero BCG and a H buffer. Gonna run that with the Springco blue at the range this weekend and see how it runs.

You're doing the test wrong. Bolt should be up. It's not even broken in yet, gas rings are not worn out. If they were completely mangled by a burr in the carrier or something it would be obvious.

Changing springs is pointless and may be making things worse. Despite popular misconception, spring rate has almost nothing to do with how fast the bolt opens, just changes how hard it closes.

This seems like a not-uncommon constellation of issues from 10 years ago for an overgassed carbine 14.5 or 16".

Make sure ejector is good and strong.

Might need an extractor O ring.

H2 or H3 buffer.

Normal carbine spring.

Try some lower-powered ammo. If it's better, you probably should think about an adjustable gas block, or else changing to a midlength gas barrel.

The bolt-over-base malfunctions can be a magazine issue so trying some different mags may help.

Need pictures of 'mangled' gas rings !
No reason for this to be happening at all, period!
Either something on the bolt, or bolt carrier is way out of spec., or damaged.

So you're saying that the enhanced spring could be making it worse?
I bought a new BCG, took it to the range, and though it seemed to stove pipe less, it was still doing it. When brass was ejecting, it was ejecting at around 1-2 O'clock still. This was with the Springco blue and H2 buffer.

I might also note that the recoil on this gun seems like a lot for 5.56. I was just shooting Winchester 55 grain.

I'm not sure where to go from here.

Yes. Standard springs are plenty adequate, if not excessive.

It's entirely possible (I'd say almost certain) you're getting "carrier bounce" from the back of the buffer tube due to excessive bolt speed. The recoiling mass of bolt carrier group and buffer are hitting the back of the buffer tube at a relatively high velocity, resulting in the perception of higher than normal recoil as well as the parts bouncing back forward at a high rate of speed. The empty case doesn't have time to get ejected properly which is why they're getting pushed up to 1 oclock, or else not getting out fast enough and stovepiping. The bolt is coming back too fast for the magazine to get a cartridge up to be fed leading to the bolt-over-base malfunctions.

There could be a factor of inadequate bolt travel contributing to the problem. If you pull the bolt all the way to the rear, how far behind the bolt catch is the bolt face?

As an experiment try some much lower powered ammo, say PMC Bronze 223. I'll bet that works a lot better.

I'd give extremely high odds that you just have too much gas/energy. The true fix is to reduce the energy with an adjustable gas system, or different barrel. You can try to band-aid the symptoms with an H3 (or even better, an H6 if you can find one) buffer, extractor O ring, different magazines (try some PMag M3's). Or change to an A5 buffer system... but it's still a band-aid.

Midlength gas is a better option for a 14.5" barrel, especially if you're planning a steady diet of full power "5.56" ammo.

If your gas rings are getting mangled after only a few rounds sounds like you have a burr on the inside of the carrier or something.

I also just learned something. The gas sytem is carbine length, not mid like a previously stated, I just measured it.
Explains why the "felt recoil" is so high.

in regards to the comments about being over gassed, brt gas tube can help tremendously or a adjustable gas block.
id go gas tube over gas block, especially for diagnosing. before spending well over $100.
i dont like AGB's personally.
good luck.