Okay I just got a PSA middy upper with a 410 SS barrel married up on my relic (not really) Shrubmaster lower. BCG is a PWS low friciton and the bolt has the BCM sopmod upgrade. Buffer is a Spike’s T1. BAD lever was on, but I took it off today because it didn’t give me good vibes. Ammo is xm855 from Federal.
I took my new upper out today to slap a 50m zero on my irons and Aimpoint. Bolt back to the rear, bad lever used, no round in the chamber. Charged by hand and proceeded to fire 30 rounds with no issue. Loaded the mag with my once chambered rounds from unloadings, and continued to fire. I had a bolt over base. Checked the mag and there appears to be no damage to the rivets or the feed lips. This magazine isn’t new but isn’t old either. It has a few hundred rounds through it with others of similar age and function. Loaded 10 more rounds from a fresh stripper and the rifle proceeded to become single shot. Extraction was good and consistent, but bolt went home on an empty chamber. My firing schedule was 3 rounds and a 50m walk to look at groupings. In other words the gun was not being run hard in the least. The bolt failed to grab a round with the BAD lever on all reloads. The bolt locked to the rear on every empty mag. I am suspect of the BAD lever, but from what I am reading could it be an over-gassing issue? I should have done the one round in a mag 10 times but I didn’t think of it at the moment and ran out of play time. The Spikes went in with a new standard spring and was put in the gun with the new upper. I wouldn’t think a middy would be over-gassed but I am sure I could be wrong. Additionally, I am befuddled how the first mag was flawless sans the bolt release and then it just shit the bed on the last. I searched, but didn’t not find anything quite like I am experiencing.
Rings are good, and I see no evidence of gas leaking on the gas key or the block which is pinned. And I forgot to add I put a BC 1.0 on it out of the box.