Check the key screws to make sure that they are tight (35 inch LBS).

Wolf ammo round sticking in the chamber as the rifle/chamber begins to foul, not out of the norm.  The ammo does burn on the dirty side, and with the poly case, add powderized poly fouling to the mix inside the chamber.

As for what you are describing, either a leaking gas system or a fouled chamber will both cause the problem with short stroking. Since you did state the bolt had not expelled the spent brass, you can weed out mag problems (unless you were getting double live round feeds).


At this point with the broad range of variable ammo being used, give the rifle a good cleaning, check the key to make sure it's correctly tightened, and if you are going to run wolf ammo, remember to keep the upper bearing surfaces well lubed with CLP (it really helps).

I will say this, the pipe cleaners that are offered to clean the inside of the gas tube have caused more problems then good.  Really they were semi-needed items back in the LSA lube/ dirty recycled gunpowder from surplus days.

Given now that CLP is used to clean and lube the rifles, a quick shot of CLP down the gas tube is more than enough to clean even worst of gun powder fouled tube (really doesn’t happen since for the most part, the tubes are self cleaning). Like on other parts, the CLP will dissolve the gun powder fouling and it be blown out of the tube on the first shot fired after cleaning.

Now to take cleaning the gas tube one step farther, when there is a barrel gas port entry bur, or you do use the barrel with the 22LR kits, the gas system can get clogged with copper or lead fouling.  If something like this is the problem, then really the gas tube needs to be pulled, instead of just ramming a pipe cleaner into the end of gas tube, and just totally blocking the gas tube/ FSB gas channel at the 90*.


As for his statement of "he said he'd cleaned more m-16's than I had seen", I wouldn't doubt it, since during boot camp, you spend a great time cleaning your issue more than a few times daily until you get it right. Real question just comes down to how many showers he is going to take with the rifle until he feels it's military acceptance clean.