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Posted: 12/19/2010 8:38:27 AM EDT
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I have a Bushmaster .223 factory bought with only a tactical rail out on by a gunsmith. Have had gun for three years. I fieldstripped it and cleaned it oiled it well before any rounds were ever fired through it. I have tried various different ammo from wolf to remington. I have used the factory USGI mags that came with the gun and have used PMAGS, with loading twenty to thirty rounds to try to see if it is a mag issue. But after a year of having the gun, noticed that it seems like it is not getting enough gas pressure back to the bolt to eject the shell of the round i just shot. Sometimes it will shoot just fine for several rounds than starts having issues. Even trying to load two rounds at once. Gun is well taken care of. This issue is very frustrating. Any suggestions on what i should do? I know only how to fieldstrip the gun and I know that i am putting it back together correctly. Very confusing. any help would be great.
Thanks 
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Could be bolts on the gas key working themselves loose.
Had a Bushmaster that shot fine for years, then started acting up. Same problems you describe. Checked the gas key bolts - they didn't move but were staked very lightly. Two months later function got worse until it was essentially a single shot rifle. Checked the bolts again with an allen wrench and they turned freely with light finger pressure. 
Tightened and restaked with a pocket MOACKS tool. Runs like a top now. For best results use new bolts. 
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WD40, if it sits very long will turn to a varnish like substance, very sticky. If you ever cleaned it with WD40 use break cleaner to get it out and switch to CLP or any other lube but it.
Lube works wonders in AR rifles. Try to run it well lubed. It is almost unheard of to have a gas tube clogged. Spray the interior of your gas tube with brake cleaner or GunScubber by using those little plastic tubes. Watch your gas block to see where it leaks. Make sure the gas block is tight to the barrel and hasn't changed position. To test for short stroking fire one round at a time with an empty magazine. The bolt should be locking to the rear after every shot. If your gas rings will still hold the bolt in place under tension with the gravity test and your gas key bolts are tight and well staked then try some different ammo. I would also lean the interior of your gas key, a lot of carbon can build up there. The tail of your bolt may have large deposits of carbon too. What ammo are you using, I have excellent reliability with U.S.A. made ammo, IMI and anything marked with the NATO cross. |
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Go to the cleaning forum here on the site to no only learn how to field strip and clean the rifle correctly, but the solvents to use to clean and lube the correctly as well.
If this alone does not solve the problem, then get Bushmaster on the phone to go over the problem with them. |
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I had a loose bolt on the gas key, i need to get restalked. Do not know how, could someone explain. I have never used WD40 on the rifle, only CLP. The rifle has been well lube. It has been short stroking, but not all the time. I can put 30-40 rounds before it starts having problems. then will clean the next time i take her out. It will start straight off the bat. Once i can get it stalked, i going to take it out this week and see the results. I will keep posting my results, and more suggestions will be great. I appreciate all the info i got so far. Thanks guys.
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| I did get the bolt staked. It is not a custom built just off the shelf bushmaster and i was looking at the maint. cleaning and sent me to a great site with a video of how to properly clean the AR. I am cleaning it just right, but notice a difference between the extracor in the video and my extracor. In the video, it has a spring with a doughnut at the rear of the extractor. Mine on the other hand only has the spring itself. This is the only variation that i can see. Do all extractors need to have this doughnut around the spring and what is the purpose of that doughtnut. Like i said this is a bushmaster with no upgrades besides a tac rail. Thanks |
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The O ring is a trick to add tension to a standard extractor spring to increase the over all tension on the extractor against the rim so it retains the spent case all the way to the Back of reward stroke when a new rifle due to the chamber being on the tight side to begin with, or the gas system a tad over gassed casing. both which can cause the spent case to be dropped, and the bolt on the way forward instead of cleaning ejection the case, just stove pipes the spent case between the face of the bolt and the face of the barrel extension to cause a jam.
If once the rifle has been broken in, and is still has yet to resolve the problem, the an extra tension extractor spring is installed instead. |
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