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Posted: 8/1/2009 3:48:55 PM EDT
[#1]
When you pull on the charging handle does the bolt carrier group move at all??
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Posted: 8/1/2009 3:51:32 PM EDT
[#2]
when you took the upper off were you able to get the charging handle and BCG to come out no problem?
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Posted: 8/1/2009 3:52:47 PM EDT
[#3]
Could the port cover be bent back into the receiver? Seems like a VERY long shot but I guess it could happen.
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Posted: 8/1/2009 3:53:49 PM EDT
[#4]
You probably bent your stock and the bolt carrier no longer lines up to go into it.
Take the lower and upper apart using the takedown pins, if should come apart so you can see what has happened inside. The cover isn't moving because the carrier isn't going back far enough to contact it, a small screwdriver carefully inserted between it and the reciever will release it. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 3:57:00 PM EDT
[#5]
Quoted:
You probably bent your stock and the bolt carrier no longer lines up to go into it. Take the lower and upper apart using the takedown pins, if should come apart so you can see what has happened inside. The cover isn't moving because the carrier isn't going back far enough to contact it, a small screwdriver carefully inserted between it and the reciever will release it. is it really possible to bend a buffer tube just from a drop? |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 4:02:25 PM EDT
[#6]
He said in his post that he took the upper off of the lower.
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Posted: 8/1/2009 4:04:33 PM EDT
[#7]
Quoted:
Quoted:
You probably bent your stock and the bolt carrier no longer lines up to go into it. Take the lower and upper apart using the takedown pins, if should come apart so you can see what has happened inside. The cover isn't moving because the carrier isn't going back far enough to contact it, a small screwdriver carefully inserted between it and the reciever will release it. is it really possible to bend a buffer tube just from a drop? Yes, depending on the height. If the lower and upper are seperated and it's still stuck then you bent the charging handle somehow. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 4:08:44 PM EDT
[#8]
Very strange
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Posted: 8/1/2009 4:10:07 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
You probably bent your stock and the bolt carrier no longer lines up to go into it. Take the lower and upper apart using the takedown pins, if should come apart so you can see what has happened inside. The cover isn't moving because the carrier isn't going back far enough to contact it, a small screwdriver carefully inserted between it and the reciever will release it. is it really possible to bend a buffer tube just from a drop? Yes, depending on the height. If the lower and upper are seperated and it's still stuck then you bent the charging handle somehow.  I would assume that would be something like 15-20 ft for that to happen...how far was the drop OP?
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Posted: 8/1/2009 4:56:34 PM EDT
[#10]
Check the forward assist.
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Posted: 8/1/2009 5:02:22 PM EDT
[#11]
Quoted:
Quoted:
You probably bent your stock and the bolt carrier no longer lines up to go into it. Take the lower and upper apart using the takedown pins, if should come apart so you can see what has happened inside. The cover isn't moving because the carrier isn't going back far enough to contact it, a small screwdriver carefully inserted between it and the reciever will release it. is it really possible to bend a buffer tube just from a drop? If its a Colt. 
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Posted: 8/1/2009 5:07:30 PM EDT
[#12]
you are supposed to throw them down the driveway
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Posted: 8/1/2009 5:12:30 PM EDT
[#13]
Quoted:
Check the forward assist. Yup, I bet it is stuck in. Forward assist holds the bolt in place, bolt cant move to knock the port door open. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 5:17:55 PM EDT
[#14]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Check the forward assist. Yup, I bet it is stuck in. Forward assist holds the bolt in place, bolt cant move to knock the port door open. Might have something there 
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Posted: 8/1/2009 5:26:40 PM EDT
[#15]
Considering that banging the stock is one of the procedures for clearing a jam I find it hard to believe that he bent the buffer tube with a drop like that.
Stuck forward assist sounds very plausible though. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:00:35 PM EDT
[#16]
Hi guys. Thanks for the recommendations. I took the upper off. The charging handle still does not go further than about an inch. I did manage to open the ejection port cover. I took some pictures. Hopefully that helps.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/chrislunker/Colt%20Match%20Target/Picture001.jpg http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/chrislunker/Colt%20Match%20Target/Picture002.jpg http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/chrislunker/Colt%20Match%20Target/Picture003.jpg http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/chrislunker/Colt%20Match%20Target/Picture004.jpg |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:04:09 PM EDT
[#17]
Is the inside of that upper lubed at all? Try dripping some CLP down along the body of the bolt carrier and let it sit for a while before pulling on the charging handle again.
If that doesn't loosen it up, (and if it were my rifle), I'd be tempted to GENTLY do some prying on the front of the carrier... It is NOT normal for this to happen, not normal at all. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:15:38 PM EDT
[#18]
just to verify, is there a chambered round in there? or dummy round? how knew is the rifle?
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:20:04 PM EDT
[#19]
There is a dummy round in the chamber. I was instructed by the range officer at my pistol range (a sergeant in Army) to let the hammer down on a spent round when done shooting.
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:21:33 PM EDT
[#20]
Quoted: just to verify, is there a chambered round in there? or dummy round? how knew is the rifle? we have a winner |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:23:52 PM EDT
[#21]
Edit: dummy round
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:24:03 PM EDT
[#22]
Quoted:
Quoted:
just to verify, is there a chambered round in there? or dummy round? how knew is the rifle? we have a winner Ahhh, reassemble, hold charging handle back and slam the stock against the floor several times. The case is stuck in the chamber. And..........STOP DOING THAT!!!! [putting a "empty" in the chamber] The guy is 100% wrong, it's dangerous, [think WHOOPS that was a live one] and dropping the hammer on a empty chamber is perfectly OK to do without any damage occuring to the rifle. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:25:36 PM EDT
[#23]
that could be the problem right there. I would put a cleaning rod down the barrel and give it a good tap. THe case may be stuck in the chamber keeping it from extracting/opening. If you pull on the charging handle or try to pry the bolt carrier you could rip the rim off.
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:26:45 PM EDT
[#24]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
just to verify, is there a chambered round in there? or dummy round? how knew is the rifle? we have a winner Ahhh, reassemble, hold charging handle back and slam the stock against the floor several times. The case is stuck in the chamber. And..........STOP DOING THAT!!!! The guy is 100% wrong, it's dangerous, [think WHOOPS that was a live one] and dropping the hammer on a empty chamber is perfectly OK to do without any danage occuring to the rifle. THIS |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:35:06 PM EDT
[#25]
Quoted:
There is a dummy round in the chamber. I was instructed by the range officer at my pistol range (a sergeant in Army) to let the hammer down on a spent round when done shooting. Take the rifle back to the range and use the range officer's pointy little head to pry the dummy round out. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:35:24 PM EDT
[#26]
The spent case came out. Thanks for all the advice. If anyone finds themselves in Sandy Hook New Jersey, look me up and I'll buy you a beer.
I am a dyed-in-the-wool handgun guy. I've always been told never to dry-fire any of them except my Glocks (the 22 rimfires will peen the chamber, the old revolvers with the firing pin in the hammer don't like dry-firing either). Just to confirm, it is OK to dry fire my AR? |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:39:01 PM EDT
[#27]
Quoted: I'm not giving you a hard time about this, because you probably just didn't know any better. But what this knucklehead told you is BS. If you really feel some overwhelming desire to let the hammer down after shooting, just pull the trigger on an empty chamber, or toss a snap cap in there. But don't use a spent casing, because this will likely happen pretty often.There is a dummy round in the chamber. I was instructed by the range officer at my pistol range (a sergeant in Army) to let the hammer down on a spent round when done shooting. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:39:11 PM EDT
[#28]
[ Just to confirm, it is OK to dry fire my AR?
yes |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:40:04 PM EDT
[#29]
Quoted: ... Just to confirm, it is OK to dry fire my AR? Yes. Dry fire all day long until the cows come home. Actually it's a great way to work on trigger technique. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:44:15 PM EDT
[#30]
Thanks for not getting on me too bad. I will try to show the same restraint one day when I have accumulated a fair knowledge of this weapon.
I would have went with the snap caps but they were all out at the range. I wonder if they teach you the spent round thing in the military, or did at one time (the guy who told me that is retired). I looked all through the manual that came with the Colt and nowhere did it mention dry-firing unfortunately. I went with (what I thought was) the conservative approach. As a followup, I guess it doesn't hurt anything to leave the hammer cocked with the selctor on Safety? I was thinking about wearing out springs under tension. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:46:16 PM EDT
[#31]
Quoted:
Quoted:
... Just to confirm, it is OK to dry fire my AR? Yes. Dry fire all day long until the cows come home. Actually it's a great way to work on trigger technique. Never "dry fire" with the upper removed. It may be tempting to watch how it works but you could screw stuff up. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 6:50:34 PM EDT
[#32]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
... Just to confirm, it is OK to dry fire my AR? Yes. Dry fire all day long until the cows come home. Actually it's a great way to work on trigger technique. Never "dry fire" with the upper removed. It may be tempting to watch how it works but you could screw stuff up. The rifle's receiver is a very hard aluminum, but the hammer is a much, much harder heat treated steel - eventually your receiver will lose the contest. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 7:35:15 PM EDT
[#33]
Quoted: Thanks for not getting on me too bad. I will try to show the same restraint one day when I have accumulated a fair knowledge of this weapon. I would have went with the snap caps but they were all out at the range. I wonder if they teach you the spent round thing in the military, or did at one time (the guy who told me that is retired). I looked all through the manual that came with the Colt and nowhere did it mention dry-firing unfortunately. I went with (what I thought was) the conservative approach. As a followup, I guess it doesn't hurt anything to leave the hammer cocked with the selctor on Safety? I was thinking about wearing out springs under tension. Maybe someone teaches the spent round thing somewhere in the military, but I've never heard of it. Also, no, it doesn't hurt anything at all to leave the hammer cocked so you can flip the selector to Safe. ARs are much tougher than many give them credit for. But like one of the posters above me mentioned, don't dry fire the lower with the upper receiver removed. You don't have to worry about the receiver, but if you dry fire the lower separated from the upper you can crack the bolt catch. |
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Posted: 8/1/2009 7:39:28 PM EDT
[#34]
Quoted:
Quoted:
There is a dummy round in the chamber. I was instructed by the range officer at my pistol range (a sergeant in Army) to let the hammer down on a spent round when done shooting. Take the rifle back to the range and use the range officer's pointy little head to pry the dummy round out. LOL this!
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Posted: 8/1/2009 8:08:21 PM EDT
[#35]
you can buy dummy rounds - i will use them and have my wife load mags so i don't know where the dud is and if something goes "in the heat of the moment" it is no big deal since i have already had a "non firing round and was able to calmly deal w/ it". now if something bad ever happend that is one thing i feel i am able to stay a little calmer than if i had experineced a dud for the unthinkable need to be done. i know the chances of that happening are small, but look at how many of us have firearms and thankfully never have to use them to save our loved one or ourselves.
i had a new rifle do this to me - it was shot at the factory but that was it, so i am guessing maybe 3-5rnds if that? everything was still very sharp edges on the lugs so when i went to pull the ch back it felt locked. a quick holding of the ch back w/ a bit of tension and a light slam on the buttstock on the ground pulled it out. i was using the magpul dummies fwiw and after i worked the action for maybe 50x or so by hand seems like everything is g2g even w/ hand cycling a dummy. |
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Posted: 8/2/2009 5:03:22 AM EDT
[#36]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Thanks for not getting on me too bad. I will try to show the same restraint one day when I have accumulated a fair knowledge of this weapon. I would have went with the snap caps but they were all out at the range. I wonder if they teach you the spent round thing in the military, or did at one time (the guy who told me that is retired). I looked all through the manual that came with the Colt and nowhere did it mention dry-firing unfortunately. I went with (what I thought was) the conservative approach. As a followup, I guess it doesn't hurt anything to leave the hammer cocked with the selctor on Safety? I was thinking about wearing out springs under tension. Maybe someone teaches the spent round thing somewhere in the military, but I've never heard of it. Also, no, it doesn't hurt anything at all to leave the hammer cocked so you can flip the selector to Safe. ARs are much tougher than many give them credit for. But like one of the posters above me mentioned, don't dry fire the lower with the upper receiver removed. You don't have to worry about the receiver, but if you dry fire the lower separated from the upper you can crack the bolt catch. I've had some doozies for qualification instructors in my day, people who would explain how the rifle worked completely wrong (because that's how they were trained), but I've never had anyone tell me there needs to be a case of any sort in the chamber of an M16 when you drop the hammer. Dry fire the living crap out of an AR, there's no problem with that at all. Nor is there a problem with leaving the hammer cocked for extended periods of time. If you MUST have a round in the chamber for some reason, whether it's function testing, FTF drills or whatever, use PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED DUMMY ROUNDS. I made up a bunch of them to use up some "not terribly consistent" Winchester bullets, and I did it right-fully sized cases without primers, bullets seated precisely (for length anyway), and crimped in like there's no tomorrow to keep the bullets in the cases. Popping in some fired empty is like playing roulette; maybe the little ball will land on your number and you win, but more likely you'll pop in someone else's empty and it'll cause problems. |
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Posted: 8/2/2009 10:30:05 AM EDT
[#37]
No one else has said it, so I will ... it looks like the BCG is rusty and dry as all hell.
Lube that sucker!!! . . |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 9:35:00 AM EDT
[#38]
I know it looks like that in the pics, but it really isn't. For some reason the flash made the metal look like rust. There isn't a speck of rust on the gun. And it is lubed. Thanks for the head's up" though.
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Posted: 8/3/2009 10:07:33 AM EDT
[#39]
If your afraid to dry fire it, you can push the rear take down pin out and open the upper from the lower and gently let your hammer down with your thumb.
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Posted: 8/3/2009 10:26:35 AM EDT
[#40]
The only harm from dropping the hammer can occur of the upper is not attached to the lower. In this case, the hammer can damage the bolt catch or rear of the mag well.
Springs wear out from cycling, not being held in tension. Just like leaving your mags loaded won't hurt the springs, leaving the hammer cocked won't hurt the springs. And dry firing is perfectly OK with the vast majority of firearms, and particularly all center-fire firearms. Not so good on rimfires, and not so good on some older revolvers. Perfectly OK on ARs, 1911s, and just about every modern centerfire gun (handgun and long gun) |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 11:22:16 AM EDT
[#41]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
... Just to confirm, it is OK to dry fire my AR? Yes. Dry fire all day long until the cows come home. Actually it's a great way to work on trigger technique. Never "dry fire" with the upper removed. It may be tempting to watch how it works but you could screw stuff up. "Screw stuff up" = broken hammer |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 11:24:39 AM EDT
[#42]
Quoted:
The only harm from dropping the hammer can occur of the upper is not attached to the lower. In this case, the hammer can damage the bolt catch or rear of the mag well. Springs wear out from cycling, not being held in tension. Just like leaving your mags loaded won't hurt the springs, leaving the hammer cocked won't hurt the springs. And dry firing is perfectly OK with the vast majority of firearms, and particularly all center-fire firearms. Not so good on rimfires, and not so good on some older revolvers. Perfectly OK on ARs, 1911s, and just about every modern centerfire gun (handgun and long gun) Not good for shotguns. They fuck up the firing pin springs. Always use snap caps on your shotguns. |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 12:06:23 PM EDT
[#43]
If you still want to put dummy rounds in to drop your hammer on, its not hard to make your own. Pull the bullet out, dump the powder and punch the primer. Then replace the primer with a circular piece of eraser and re-seat the bullet. Then make sure to draw all over it so you have no chance of putting a live round in the chamber instead of your dummy. But dry-firing your AR is 100% A-OK.
Also, it's fine to leave your weapon cocked. Just like its fine to leave mags loaded. Repeatedly compressing and decompressing the springs is what affect mags (an an AR), not leaving them compressed. |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 12:53:34 PM EDT
[#44]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
just to verify, is there a chambered round in there? or dummy round? how knew is the rifle? we have a winner Ahhh, reassemble, hold charging handle back and slam the stock against the floor several times. The case is stuck in the chamber. And..........STOP DOING THAT!!!! [putting a "empty" in the chamber] The guy is 100% wrong, it's dangerous, [think WHOOPS that was a live one] and dropping the hammer on a empty chamber is perfectly OK to do without any damage occuring to the rifle. Based on what you posted before, wouldn't slamming the stock against the floor bend the buffer tube? You said it could have bent by it falling out of his gun case, wouldn't slamming it against the floor be worse? Just trying to find out if it's really that possible to bend the buffer tube that easily, I would think you would have to drop it from a 5 story building onto pavement for this to happen. |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 12:55:34 PM EDT
[#45]
The only thing I'd say about leaving the hammer cocked is that you're never going to accidentally drop the hammer on a gun that isn't cocked. We were taught in the Corps to NEVER leave a weapon cocked when coming off duty. Even guns with disconnector or trigger safeties or hammer blocks. The exception would be in an active combat zone where you'd probably be in Condition 1 - cocked and locked - because you never know when you might wake up to gunfire.
As several others have already said, there is no harm at all in dropping the hammer of an AR on an empty chamber. When you reach the last round and the bolt locks open, just drop the magazine, hit the bolt release, point the weapon safely downrange and pull the trigger. . . |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 1:31:46 PM EDT
[#46]
Quoted:
Based on what you posted before, wouldn't slamming the stock against the floor bend the buffer tube? You said it could have bent by it falling out of his gun case, wouldn't slamming it against the floor be worse? Just trying to find out if it's really that possible to bend the buffer tube that easily, I would think you would have to drop it from a 5 story building onto pavement for this to happen. Maybe if you swung it like a baseball bat against a tree. But smacking the butt on a table or the ground while simulataniously pulling the charging handle absoluetly won't hurt it and is a common method to unlocking a stuck bolt. |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 3:06:01 PM EDT
[#47]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Based on what you posted before, wouldn't slamming the stock against the floor bend the buffer tube? You said it could have bent by it falling out of his gun case, wouldn't slamming it against the floor be worse? Just trying to find out if it's really that possible to bend the buffer tube that easily, I would think you would have to drop it from a 5 story building onto pavement for this to happen. Maybe if you swung it like a baseball bat against a tree. But smacking the butt on a table or the ground while simulataniously pulling the charging handle absoluetly won't hurt it and is a common method to unlocking a stuck bolt. Yeah that is what im trying to get at, but the other member stated that the rifle falling out of the guys gun case onto the floor could have bent the buffer tube. Which sounds absolutely impossible in my opinion. |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 4:03:48 PM EDT
[#48]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Based on what you posted before, wouldn't slamming the stock against the floor bend the buffer tube? You said it could have bent by it falling out of his gun case, wouldn't slamming it against the floor be worse? Just trying to find out if it's really that possible to bend the buffer tube that easily, I would think you would have to drop it from a 5 story building onto pavement for this to happen. Maybe if you swung it like a baseball bat against a tree. But smacking the butt on a table or the ground while simulataniously pulling the charging handle absoluetly won't hurt it and is a common method to unlocking a stuck bolt. Yeah that is what im trying to get at, but the other member stated that the rifle falling out of the guys gun case onto the floor could have bent the buffer tube. Which sounds absolutely impossible in my opinion. Depends on the ANGLE of the strike. Straight back, no worries, at an angle and on a hard surface and high enough, yeah, it could happen. There are only a few things that will prevent the bolt carrier coming back if already unlocked and a bent buffer tube is one of them tho I'd figure a carbine would have a greater issue with this then a rifle stocked AR. |
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Posted: 8/3/2009 4:05:56 PM EDT
[#49]
It sounds like you are under the impression that you should unload and dry fire the AR for transportation or storage. There is no reason to do that. When you are done firing, let the bolt go home on the empty chamber and put the rifle on safe. You aren't hurting anything, and you have already verified an empty chamber. Reverify every time you pick it back up, and nothing can go wrong. You aren't going to damage or wear the hammer spring by leaving it cocked.
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