AR Sponsor
Posted: 5/19/2007 5:59:13 PM EDT
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First off, hello I'm naes. I've been lurking here for a while now and figured it was time to sign up, as i just got my first AR last week. I just bought a Bushmaster 16" A3. I took it to the range today for its first time, and I ran into some problems. The biggest problem is the hammer failed to fall when the trigger was pulled far too many times for my liking, forcing me to disconnect the upper from the lower and physically reset the hammer myself. It seems that it is being pushed back too far. Also, I had a few feeding issues when chambering the first round of a fresh mag. Some would completely miss the round and would not chamber at all and others would only go part way, which wasn't so bad with the forward assist. This happened with all four mags that I have. Any suggestions, or should I just assume that the rifle needs more breaking in. Sorry for the lengthy first post. |
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The hammer was locking back, but too far. I had to free it up. i was using the 10 rounder that came with it, 2 shorter bushmaster 10 rounders and a preban 30 rounder mil spec with the green follower. sorry, I don't know what short stroking is. The feeding problem was happening in both instances. The hammer problem was completely random. Usually in the middle of a mag. |
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If there’s binding in the Fire Control Group causing the hammer to stick I would start by taking a close look inside the lower receiver. With out having the rifle in front of me it’s hard to pin point what might be causing the problem. You might want to call Bushmaster and explain the situation to them. Are you sure this is a factory built rifle? Or did someone assemble it them selves from Bushmaster parts? |
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I sure hope it is a factory built Bushmaster. It came with all the paper work, hard case, mag and sling. I'm going to take it apart, clean and relube tonight. If the problems persist tomorrow, I think I will have to give Bushmaster a call. The other remedy to the hammer problem, was to squeeze the trigger a few times till I heard the hammer fall back into place. Also, the rear sight is as low as it will allow me to adjust it and it is still shooting high. Overall, my first impression of ARs is not turning out to be good. |
| definately send it back, you should not have trigger/hammer problems like that with a new rifle, tell bushmaster you want a replacement because you have no confidence in the rifle you just bought. if you bought it from a local friendly shop, have him do the legwork, saving you shipping and hassle. |
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Hopefully you bought it from a good dealer who will take care of it for you. It seems to me that maybe your disconnector is not releasing after you release the trigger. You can remove the upper pull the trigger and cock the hammer back at the same time. Now release the trigger, you should see the hammer rotate a little forward as the disconnector releases it. Do this alot and make sure that the hammer goes forward a little each time. If it is not moving forward then your disconnector is not working properly. Anyway, your rifle is shooting high because your front sight apperature/post is too low, you need to raise it some. You can buy a special tool that will let you do this very easily or you can do it with a bullet but it takes some practice. |
Dont blame the AR design. ALL companies have lemons. Call Bushmaster and Complain. I bought a brand new Bushmaster that works fine. Sometimes you just get unlucky and unfortunately it happened to you. Sorry to hear this happened. I hope it works out for you, let us know what happens, keep us posted. Good luck bud. 
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Very true words Karabiner I was just frustrated... I have had great luck with other peoples ARs I just took the rifle apart, gave the trigger assembly and hammer some extra lube and spent some time inspecting it. I don't see any major issues and I checked the disconnector on the trigger... all seems fine. I'm going to give it another go tomorrow and see what happens. If all else fails, I will take it back and hope the issues can be solved. Thank you all for the quick responses and advice. I will provide an update tomorrow. |
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No, it's all clean and lubed up in there. I'm really looking forward to giving this another go tomorrow, I'm hoping that it is just a case of new rifle break in and that it just wasn't lubed enough. Oh, and thanks texasaggie for the advise on the front sight, I tried to adjust it with a bullet, but it didn't want to go anywhere... like I said, I will give it another go tomorrow. |
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Your disconnector is binding on the engagement surface at the back of the trigger. It should eventually smooth out, but it shouldn't happen at all. If it were me I'd polish the engagement surfaces up, but you should probably contact Bushmaster unless you know how to do that yourself. As for the feeding issue...The most likely problem is...you are riding the charging handle home. Just pull to the rear and release. A full mag has a lot of spring pressure on the rounds, and increases the friction on the top rounds, and will commonly cause FTFs if you hold on to the charging handle as it attempts to strip the top round on a full mag...or your mag catch needs tightened another turn. Push the mag release button all the way in until the mag catch clears the 'bump' on the other side of the weapon, and tighten it one turn (clockwise). If this doesnt fix the issue, make bushmaster repair the AR. Finally, as is common with A3 Bushmasters, the Front Sight Base (FSB) is not the right type for flat top ARs (F-Marked is correct), you will need their 'tall front sight post'- .040 taller than standard, they have them in stock. I have had to use this fix on every Bushmaster I've ever built. Good lock, and happy hunting. 
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Definitely not riding the charging handle, but thanks for the advise on holding down the bolt release. Are you saying that I should try turning the the mag catch over the bolt release and back home? Sorry, I'm new to ARs I'm going to have to take a closer look at the disconnector. I'm assuming that it is the shiny section of the trigger assembly. Also, is the front sight post difficult to replace? |
Check out this thread, it will show you how the trigger components work together fire control parts The part that latches to the hammer and keeps it back from following the bolt carrier forward is the disconnector, notice that once the trigger is released in the animation that the disconnector releases the hammer and allows it to rotate a small amount until the trigger/hammer surfaces take over and keep the hammer from riding all the way forward and striking the firing pin. If the disconnector is sticking then it will just continue to lock onto the hammer. I really don't think that you need to replace the front sight post unless you are using an ARMS, Troy, or other "mil spec" back up iron sight for your rear sight. If you are using the stock bushmaster carry handle you should be able to just turn the stock front sight out a bit after pressing down on the detent to allow it to rotate. Its not easy to do though. If you can I would seriously consider getting the tool, its makes it a hell of alot easier cause it holds the detent down for you. This procedure worked fine on my Bushmaster patrolmans carbine and I didn't need to get the .04" higher front sight post, and no there were plenty of threads left on the post so there is no danger of it falling out of the FSB. But I'm no expert, you may have to get the taller post but I doubt it. Here is the pic of the tool, make sure you get the A2 version and not the A1 version, they are different. Most everybody sells them, this one is from bushmaster. 
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Excellent! 
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normal. marks on the gun give it character and scratches on the bullet don't do anything. Put a few drops of CLP on it. It may help |
Good to hear. Changing the front sight is as easy as holding down the detent and unscrewing it. then screw in the taller front sight post. The more you shoot it the smoother it will get....enjoy. |
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Just glad my new rifle is operating correctly now. oh, and I'm glad to finally find an active gun forum. heres a pic of my new AR http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/naes1/AR-15A3.jpg and one with its evil cousin http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/naes1/AR-AK.jpg |
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[shudder]restricted mags[/shudder] you need to move |
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[ I really don't think that you need to replace the front sight post unless you are using an ARMS, Troy, or other "mil spec" back up iron sight for your rear sight. If you are using the stock bushmaster carry handle you should be able to just turn the stock front sight out a bit after pressing down on the detent to allow it to rotate. Its not easy to do though. If you can I would seriously consider getting the tool, its makes it a hell of alot easier cause it holds the detent down for you. This procedure worked fine on my Bushmaster patrolmans carbine and I didn't need to get the .04" higher front sight post, and no there were plenty of threads left on the post so there is no danger of it falling out of the FSB. But I'm no expert, you may have to get the taller post but I doubt it. Here is the pic of the tool, make sure you get the A2 version and not the A1 version, they are different. Most everybody sells them, this one is from bushmaster. www.bushmaster.com/shopping/gunsmith/Images/ray-005.jpg That is what the guy at BM told me too. |
AWESOME! Nice AR man! I am glad it all worked out for ya'. I had to raise my front sight as well. Welcome to the AR family!
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