And I can't decide which one I like more!

I'm pretty new to ARs, so forgive me if these are pretty basic questions.  I've put about 600rnds through my naked 16" HBAR bushy and about 400 or so through my pre-ban colt.  I've had no real problems with either rifle.  I was a little concerned with the Colt actually, because the upper I have on it has no markings other than "556" on the barrel and "MB" on the carry handle.  Nothing with twist rate or anything.  I do have the original upper with it as well, but haven't shot that yet.  I've got them both sighted in (I used the improved battle sight zero, I believe is what it's called) and they are definately more accurate than my SAM-7! (duh)

In any case, the only problems I've had are:

On the Colt, every so often (maybe 4 times so far) the bolt won't stay back after the last shot.  I've tried a couple of different mags, but the same thing.

On the Bushmaster, I've had probably 4 failures to eject.  The spent casing is extracted out of the chamber, but isn't thrown clear and it and the new cartridge are both shoved and jammed as the bolt cycles closed.  It obviously jams the rifle.

Any quick fixes or suggesions?

Also, any places in the Nothern Virginia area to shoot rifles other than the NRA range?  I'd like to shoot at distances farther than 50 yards!


Patriot

Your rifles aren't even broke in yet :) Clean them, a good lube job and back to the range. Sounds like they are both short stroking a bit. Common on new ARs. You might want to try some different ammo and see if they run any better (or worse).

You mean I have to keep shooting them!???!  DAMN ;)


Thanx :)

Hey Patriot have you tried Clark Brothers out in Warrenton? When I lived in No. Va. they had 6 or 8 100yd shooting lanes. It's outdoors but it's a well run range. I dont know where in No. Va. you live but it's worth the trip to Clark Bros.

Please see my thread on the AR-15, I'm trying to decide which to get for my first AR and it's down to between what you have already. I'd love to hear from you.

On the Colt: your bolt catch may be a little tight with respect to its fit in the lower receiver. Remove the upper and check the bolt catch for free play. It should come up on its own with zero resistance after being pushed down and then released. If it is hanging up try to figure out where.
My RRA lower did this and simply working this up and down manually to wear down the finish on it was sufficient to fix the problem. Hope it helps.

jethead,


I haven't heard of the place down in warrenton.  I'll have to check it out.  I live in Fairfax (literally a 2 min drive to the NRA's range... hard to beat the location).  I wouldn't mind the drive every now and then though.

I've had the bushy since earlier this year.  I really can't say anything bad about it other than the failure to eject.  Like it was mentioned here, I probably still need to throw some more down range to get any kinks worked out.  I got the 16" HBAR with a regular A2 stock and sights.  I really like the set up, except I think I probably should have bought the A3 so I could use a scope on it should I want to later on.

The colt is a preban Sporter Match Target HBAR that I bought from the EE on this site.  The original configuration of the rifle was a 20" barrel, fixed stock (A2 sights, etc).  The guy was selling it with a 16"HBAR barreled upper and a collapsable stock on it.  It came with the original upper and stock as well, so it was a helluva deal that I just couldn't pass up on.


With regarding the carbines, if I could do it again, I would not get an HBAR carbine, and I would make sure I could remove the carry handle.  The HBAR, to me, is a little front heavy, especially with an Aimpoint on a gooseneck type mount.

I think my plan for the two rifles will be to leave the Bushmaster as is, with perhaps a Kurt brake on it (not sure yet!) and sell the HBAR upper that's on the Colt and get a thin barreled upper with a removable carry handle to make it easier to manuever and easier to mount optics farther to the rear.  Somethin like that anyway....

That being said... they both go bang when you fire them.  I'd say either one do the job just fine.  Bushmaster seems to has a helluva good repuation around here.  Colt does as well.  Bushmaster seems to be *somewhat* cheaper in price than Colt.  The  reason I bought a Colt was the guy selling the rifle had a pretty good deal going on it and I was able to work out somethin a little better ;)...  [url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=21&t=138479[/url]

Hope this helps...


Dr.Jarhead...  I'll take a look at the bolt catch and see if that's the issue, thanx!

IRG to waldo, I don't know if this could be a factor causing it to short stroke, but the Colt's spring seems much tighter than the Bushmasters when I cycle the charging handle.  It's not binding or anything, just stiffer.  Maybe it just needs to be worked a little, like you said.

On your Colt it sounds like you have a 1/9 twist Olympic Arms chromemoly barrel.

[url]http://www.olyarms.com/bblinfo.html[/url]

"CALIBER
First off, every barrel is stamped with the caliber. Since we make over 10 different calibers that are interchangeable on any standard Olympic (or mil any spec) .223 caliber lower, this should be the first thing you check.  The standard .223 caliber rifles are marked "5.56"..."

"CHROMEMOLY BARRELS
The next marking, or lack of it will determine the type of barrel material; in other words, what the barrel is made of. Since we know what to look for to determine the caliber, lets go under the assumption that our barrel is a .223 caliber (5.56), but this same system applies to all calibers. If the only barrel stamping is "5.56", then the barrel is made of 4140 chromemoly steel. Chromemoly is a type steel that incorporates chrome right into the barrel metal itself. This barrel material is corrosion resistant, but not as much so as a stainless material. Using the 4140 chromemoly material allows us to give the consumer a barrel with similar benefits of a chrome lined barrel, but maintain consistencies in the bore that allow for superior accuracy. Our studies have shown that without a doubt chrome lining of any barrel will deplete it's accuracy."

"BUTTON RIFLING
Our standard barrel is button rifled. If you barrel is button rifled, it will have no special stampings to indicate such. It will simply have the normal stampings as stated above. If your barrel is other than buttoned, the stampings will indicate so. All buttoned barrels have 6 lands and 6 grooves in the bore."

USNJoe,

Thank you for that post.  I have been wondering for 2 months what barrel/upper this thing was.  That might just be it.  It has "556" (No decimal places that I can see) right infront of the front sight.  It's a heavy barrel all the way through, no fluting (I took the handguards off to check for any more markings.. none found).  It has a threaded end with a flash suppressor and also has a bayonet lug.  The only other markings on the upper is "MB" on the right side of the carry handle by the windage knob.

Regardless of what kind it is, it fuctions fine and can shoot better than I can, that's for sure...!