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Posted: 5/11/2010 5:08:20 PM EDT
| Hello, I am a first timer on this site so this question may have been asked before. I own a pre ban 6601 HBAR and since I have owned it it always seems after firing about 30-40 rounds (various ammo manf) the bolt doesn't want to close and I have to use the forward assist. I have owned this rifle since 1990 and thought that it needed to break in. Sometimes the bolt wont even close all the way on a fresh mag, clean gun. I always have to use the assist. My nephew has a Bushmaster and the bolt seems (looser) on his rifle than mine. The HBAR seems to function better with 62 grain rounds than 55. I have cleaned this rifle meticulously and still experience the same problems. Any suggestions would be appreciated. |
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I have heard that:
Hoppes is not compatible with other chemicals and turns into goo when it reacts with them.....Dano will be by shortly to tell you to dump the Hoppes. Use sweets to clean the barrel and bore with the brush. Use CLP to lubricate your rifle. Then try to shoot some factory brass ammo and let us know how it goes. |
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After firing a full magazine does the bolt fail to go into battery on each cycled round there after, one right after the other? Or just once in a while? When does the issue reset? After the bolt cools or with a fresh mag?
Your bolt carrier group may be getting sticky when it heats up. Do you really douce the cam pin area and in the carrier bore? Check for wear marks in the bolt pivot slot where the cam pin travels. Check the cam pin for excessive wear marks. Is it consistant from mag to mag or just on some mags? |
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Yep, combo of the Hoppes and the other lubes after the rifle has been fired only a small amount is causing the problem.
Hoppes leaves behind a residue that one becomes hot or fouled (we are taking an auto loader here, so fouling comes quick), will choke the rifle not only on the forward stroke, but the rearward unlock stroke as well. Granted that you can use the Hoppes to clean the barrel, but it just requires too much scrubbing for a barrel that can be copper gilded heavily when it all said and down. Plus leave behind a residue that has to be removed as well My sugestion would be to switch over to a faster working copper solvent like Sweets, since it will do all the work and no heavy brush scrubbing is required to clean the bore. So now that we have the barrel bore alone clean, what about the rest of the rifle, including the chamber? In the beginning of the service life of the rifle, the government issued LSA to lube the rifle. It worked great for the M-60 platform, but was lacking when it came to the M-16 platform. The missing ingredient in LSA was an aggressive cleaning agent. So, the lube that was designed for the rifle was CLP. CLP has not only both a wet and dry lubing agent, but a strong cleaning agent in it as well. Not only does it work well as a lube, but will clean powder fouling from the rifle as well (both during cleaning, and while it is still in action). So we have used sweets for the bore, and now will attack the chamber (and the rest of the rifle). Once you have dry patched the bore, now spray CLP in the chamber and clean it with a chamber brush by hand. So the now fouled chamber with fouled CLP, well lets put it to good use. Sweets does not leave behind any protective barrel, but CLP does. So give the chamber another shot of fresh CLP, then start running dry mops down the bore (chamber to muzzle). Trust me, even when you think that you have the bore bone dry, there is enough CLP left behind for a protective bore coating. As for the rest of the parts, since you are both cleaning and lubing with CLP, then think more of the process as a oil change alone. On the B/C (which will translate to the upper bearing surfaces), after you have cleaned it, give it a good shot of fresh CLP (inside and out), a quick wrist flick, then put it into the upper. The remaining CLP on the B/C will be plenty to lube the upper bearing surfaces of the upper (will transfer as the cycles). If during range time, the rifle does start to act up, pull the B/C/ give it another good shot of CLP and put the rifle back into service. As stated, CLP does have a cleaning agent, and not only will this help to relube the parts, but to allow the parts to start self cleaning as well. In standard rifle that have broken in, I still pull the charging handle back a tad to get the gas rings in front of the carrier gas ports, then add a few drops of CLP in about every 200/300 rounds. By doing this, I have take rifle well past the 4K mark to keep them running. Granted that they can get a bit slimy, you still have a functioning rifle, and not just a jammed club that is only good for bludgeoning someone instead (although a good butt rubbing does work from time to time to less lethal get your point across when needed). As for a place to get CLP, Wal-mart carriers BreakfreeCLP in the 16oz spray can for under $10. |
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Hey, Thanks for all the responses. First altopwescap, the problem is very sporadic happens cold or hot and with any mag from military to the manuf. so its been hard to pin it down. That being said I wiil try the cleaners and lube that you gents have suggested. As far as replacing my bolt carrier I do have a question I have noticed on the left side of the carrier there are some tooling marks that resemble the "teeth" on the forward assist side. These marks are not deep but you can see and feel them, they are very rough. Are they supposed to be there? I bought this rifle used back in 1990 and the first time I stripped it down the buffer spring was packed with cosmoline. The rifle was purchased from a sporting goods store where the owner told me it belonged to a cop who said it was too heavy for duty use,sounded like bull to me but with billy clinton trying to ban em all at the time and for 600 clams I bought it. I hate to get rid of it cause the rifle shoots straighter than I can hold it. On another note I just plunked down some cash on a Bushmaster MOE M4. I am hoping this rifle is better than my Colt.
Again, Thanks |
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Teeth marks on the carrier are for the forward assist.
If the rifle was packed in grease, then spray a good shot of CLP down the gas tube as well when you go to clean it. Could be a bit of dry grease and fouling in the FSB passage/tube section that is blocking the gas flow a tad. Don't worry about removing the CLP, just let it stand for a day or two, and what every is dissolved/left over will be blow out of the tube/passage the first time you shoot the rifle afterward. |
| Hopefully your colt is fine. Make sure you get that cosmoline out of everything. Have you disassembled and cleaned out your BCG? ie. take out the firing pin and the boly and clean em up? The BCG (bolt carrier group) travels into the buffer tube...if it gets cosmoline on it that will gum it up for sure. |
Yes, I have cleaned this rifle thoroughly, Took the buffer spring out and cleaned the tube and assembly. I know that the" teeth marks" are for the assist but on the other side it is serrated and not smooth and this area always gets gummed up when shooting. I should have picked up some CLP when at the gunshop today . Oh well, always tommorrow, The good Lord willing.
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Quoted:
Would like to but don't know how  Although I got my wife to take a picture of it. Nuthin sexier than a woman handling a weapon But I digress.
Anyone want to help me post the pic Sorry computer illiterate. I use www.photobucket.com. It is free and easy to use. |
Yep, You fellas are correct. I disassembled the rifle down as far as I could and cleaned it thoroughly lubed it with CLP and went to the range. 260 rounds down the pipe, no jams, no failures, all is good and right with the world once again. Thanks to Dano I followed his instructions and appreciate the help.
As far as the tooling marks on my BCG I showed it to a friend who is a machinist and he said that they are just tool markings but he did say that the manf. should have done a better job cleaning it up especially being a Colt. Any one know where I can get a half circle BCG ? |
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