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Posted: 4/3/2011 6:40:45 PM EDT
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I just finished my LR-308 and cycling it by hand(unfired) the bolt catch does not work, I can pull back hard to make sure its all the way back and it still does not catch.. It does work if I operate it by pushing it in by hand.
will shooting rifle loosen things up so it works? I have only used Pmags |
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I checked plunger and spring , they are ok, I stretched spring a little ,, I hate doing that but did it anyway, I did find very small piece of aluminum that fell out on disassemble. where it is from originally I have no idea. will check on who sell ar10 bolt catch to purchase.
I have used dpms mags. c-mags, and pmags , the bolt still does not stay open. |
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Quoted:
If it was aluminum, it wasn't a piece of your bolt catch. That thing is made of steel. Good luck with this. piece was aluminum, when piece fell out on work pad I thought it was from hole that spring and plunger are held in. I used large 5" lighted magnifier to check and found no cracks ,chips or any place missing small chip. just to tell: the small chip or piece that fell onto cleaning /work pad did have black finish on part of it and bare aluminum on other side . My best guess is it had to be in blind hole that bolt catch screw ping goes in and fell out when I removed pin. only other guess is Casper dropped it . |
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The spring isn't going to help it catch. All the little spring does is keep it disengaged until either an empty mag forces it upward to catch the bolt, or you push it to catch the bolt. If it's working manually, then there's a problem with the magazine/bolt catch relationship.
Just to be clear, you are testing it with an empty mag in the gun yes? It also shouldn't matter if the gun is dry or not, the catch should work either way. |
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yes I am testing with empty mag install.. I am not totally stupid on this. I am not sure if I should file the little piece that sticks out into mag or somewhere else.. this weekend it will get studied and repaired.. I have never fail getting a correct answer from this site. it may take a few days , but someone one here has had exact same problem ,, just need to hear how they solved it.. plus on weekend I can give 100% to finding problem, I'll even install ar15 bolt catch and see what difference there is..
I do appreciate any and all replies, and with them I have complete confidence it will work correctly soon.. |
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Quoted:
I'll even install ar15 bolt catch and see what difference there is.. Your .308 AR will break that AR-5 part, with a relative quickness. Save the time, and don't even install that to test it out. It might not break on dry-fire, but as soon as you think "you've got it," it'll fail under live fire. You're wasting your time with that theory. |
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Quoted:
I am not sure if I should file the little piece that sticks out into mag If you file the little piece that sticks into the mag, it will result in failing to lift the bolt catch higher than it lifts now - which is not enough to lock the bolt to the rear, as it is. That will only make the problem worse, maybe even to the point that you can't lock it to the rear manually. Depends on how much you'd decide to file... That's not your answer. Edit - I hope survivalshop sees this thread - he's done something like this before. |
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Yeah, don't file on the catch, you'll just make it worse.
Pull off the upper and push the catch like you would to manually lock the bolt. You said it works manually so, pay close attention to what that looks like. Next, put an empty mag in and see if the catch moves to the same position. If it doesn't, then either the engagement is bad or, there's some friction keeping the mag from being able to push the catch to the proper height. Just gotta' go through the process of elimination. If you can figure out what isn't wrong, then it'll be that much easier to find out what is. Heck, maybe take some pics while you do this so we can see too. |
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If you have the 308 lower parts kit in there ,you should have the right bolt catch.
You do not say what lower receiver you have ,so I'm assuming its a DPMS, correct ? What I gather you are saying is , that the bolt catch is not catching the bolt on full retraction of the bolt carrier group ,with a mag. inserted into the lower ? Lube the crap out of a new rifle , CLP or equivalent . Do not expect things to operate correctly until you do . That includes the buffer & its spring. If the catch holds with you manually pushing it in , its working . Lubing it may help or you may need to tweak the catch stop a little . I have photos of how to do the tweaking ,if needed , but get back after you lube the snot out of it & work it in . Measure the height of the bolt catch with the mag. inserted . Done here with a dial caliper. Let me know what you get. 
This is what the catch should look like ,stopping or catching the BCG. 
Heres the difference in the two Bolt catches , you can see the 308 has more beef. 
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bolt catch is working now.. I filed and used a stone to smooth the sides so it did not feel rough when moving catch. when I took catch off of receiver I looked into slot where bolt catch fits and could see where it was scratching off the black finish. so made sure everything had no burrs and was nice and smooth. it worked . bolt catch now work
yes it is dpms lower, lubricating might not of made a difference in bolt catch working but it made it easier to cycle bolt. |
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