Was at the range today and several times after emptying a magazine, I put a new one in, made sure it was well seated, hit the bolt release and the top round had problem feeding, the bolt only moved forward a few inches and the round was “stuck” until I pulled the charging handle all the way back and let it go, then the round seated.
Any ideas why this would happen?
I should mention I had no feed issues while shooting through half a dozen magazines, only when seating a new mag and hitting the bolt release.
More details needed.
Type of upper and BCG. Type of magazines. Type of ammo?
Did this happen with other mags and ammo combinations?
Were you “riding” the charging handle?
Magazine: Pmag 30 Round
Ammo: Lake City 62 grain, green tip
Rifle: Daniel Defense M4V1
BCG: DD
Has never happened before.
I have around 5,000 rounds through the rifle. Would it be time to replace to buffer spring?
Riding the charging handle? No, this only happened when the bolt locked back after emptying a magazine, inserted new magazine, hit bolt release, no charging handle involved.
If you think the action spring is the problem, I would try a new action spring and keep everything else the same. Change only one variable at a time until you isolate the problem.
Was the rifle well-lubed? How long since last cleaning?
May have been lube issue…I’ve put about 500 rounds through it since last lube…though I do use the TW25B grease LAV recommends. I’ve noticed a significant improvement in high round count sessions with it, as opposed to any oil I’ve used.
The reason why I didn’t immediately suspect clean/lube is that usually when it is not lubed enough I have feeding issues while shooting it, this time the only problem was the one I described.
But…I finished giving it a detailed clean and I got it well lubed up. I’ll see if this happens again next time I’m out.
How long do the springs last in this thing? I’m referring to the spring in the buffer tube, sorry for not calling it the right thing.
That would be the Action Spring and its lifespan varies. I suspect that 5000-7000 rounds would be a good time to try a new one and see if that solves the problem.
I just read in another thread the tolerances for the buffer spring.
I believe it is 10 1/6" minimum and 11 1/4" maximum, uncompressed.
My bad, here are numbers from IG’s tacked thread.
The final part of the inspection is to measure your action spring (buffer spring) a carbine length spring should measure between 10 1/16 to 11 3/4 in length. A rifle spring should be 11 3/4 to 13 1/2. My rule of thumb for the carbine is I replace it at 10 1/4.
You also will want to check your buffer and determine what you have. A carbine buffer will be plain faced. From there it progresses to H, H2, H3. This is imprinted on the face. A rifle buffer is pretty obvious.
I have about the same amount of rounds thru my 14.5" carbine.
A mix of steel case and NATO loads.
My spring measures 11 1/8"
A new one should be at my door tomorrow.
$4.50 well spent!
Every time this has happened to me, provided that it is known good magazines that work fine in other guns, it’s been the “buffer spring”. Order two when you order. Check the length of the current one against the length of the new one, and then replace it. Every so often when cleaning or lubing, check the spring in the gun against the known good one.
