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Posted: 11/2/2007 6:07:05 AM EDT
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I recently purchased a .50 beowulf with a DPMS lower, and the bolt catch does not seem to be working. I have not tried it with live fire yet, but if I pull the bolt back manually, with an empty magazine the little tab for the catch sticks out a little, but when I release the bolt forward it just pushes the catch back out. Same thing happens if I have no magazine and manually push the catch in. As long as I hold the catch in with my thumb the bolt will stay out of battery, but as soon as I release the catch, the bolt just pushes through. Any suggestions?? I was told this gun had 2 magazines run through it only before I bought it, and to my eye nothing looks broken.. |
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Check to confirm that you have the correct buffer and recoil spring installed for the correct butt stock assembly being used. A carbine recoil spring is around 10.5" with the shorter carbine buffer for a telescoping stock, and the standard fixed stock spring is around 11.75" with the longer standard buffer. |
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You don't remove the stock to pull the buffer and recoil spring. Shotgun the upper open, cock the hammer back, then while pressing back on the buffer, depress the buffer retain pin and let the buffer travel over/past the retaining pin. This will allow the buffer to walk out past the pin about 1/2". From there, rotate/spin the buffer and this will align the secondary buffer flat with the tip of the pin and allow the buffer to move forward/past the retaining pin. The it just a mater of pulling the buffer the rest of the way out to check the buffer and spring lengths. Also while you have the buffer out, look down inside the receiver extension (the tube). If you have a fixed stock, it could be as simple as the butt stock screw being too long and protruding into the tube cavity (if the correct spring and buffer are being used, and still have a problem). |
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Alright, mystery solved! Now I just have to figure out why the mystery existed. I pulled the buffer and spring out, and both looked normal ish... got a flashlight to look down into the tube, and there looked to be some metal shavings down there. So I poked and prodded, and out fell about a 1/2" thick wafer of compressed metal shavings of the type you get when you drill steel. about half of them are blue, as if from heat of drilling/grinding, leading me to believe it was intentional??? The interior of the tube doesn't show signs of abuse. I will try to post pictures of said wafer later, but I'm pretty baffled. However, the bolt catch now works! |
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