New build, going into battery by hand?

AR/M4 Beyond 5.56/.223
1

As I wait for Aero Precision to get stripped .308 lowers back in stock I did some fiddling with the rest of the parts I have. The barrel is on the upper, and the BCG and charging handle are in place. With the chamber empty I can push the BCG into battery with 1 finger. It pops right in. If I put a dummy round into the chamber and pushed the BCG forward. No way will it go into battery! Now these are brand new parts, NO lube has been applied yet and since I don’t have the lower yet I can’t use the buffer spring to slam it home. I haven’t tried taking the extractor off of the bolt yet to see what that does. I thought I would ask here first and get some advice from those way more knowledgable than I am concerning a .308 AR.

Is it normal for the extractor and its spring to be so tight that it won’t allow a BCG to go into battery on a bullet by pushing it?

2

Have no fear - the extractor tension on a 308 AR is very high and I doubt you could close it by hand. I know all of the 308 AR’s I have shot require the bolt to be released from fully open to chamber a round, particularly when new.

3

Try again with extractor removed. You will still have to compress the ejector or remove it, too.

4

Thats the route I was thinking about.