Zedex

The only reason the upper and lower couldn't be fully separated is because the bolt carrier was stuck about an inch from closed, meaning the carrier was still protruding into the buffer tube far enough to prevent the upper and lower from falling free from each other. I removed the buffer tube so that I could tap the bolt carrier (no forward assist) and get everything loose. I was afraid to put much force on the bolt carrier until I had thing apart far enough to look at things clearly. No reloads, no surplus. Ammo was commercial Turkish made ZQI (ZQ1?) ammo off the shelf at Walmart. All primers are fine. You are right, the ejector spring isn't in the photos, but it was present and undamaged. I think the light spot seen in the photos is a lighting or photographic illusion. It doesn't look like that as it sits here before me. Just smooth black steel like the rest of the bolt. I had a local gunsmith replace the pin and he put some very light "staking" on it to discourage future unintended movement. I don't know how long the the roll pin is supposed to be, so I don't know if there is a fragment missing from it, but he didn't seem to thing so. I didn't think to check the roof of the upper receiver to see if the pin was scratching on the 'ceiling' in there; at the time of the incident the protrusion you see in the photos was pointing downward towards the mag well.

I was breaking in and sighting in my new rifle today, following DPMS instruction for barrel break in and running the bolt and carrier well lubed as I've been told. Things were going well, getting scope dialed in, getting used to bench shooting again. Had a couple failure to feed issues when I switched to the magpul Pmags. But before I could figure out the feeding failures, the failed in a more exciting way. The bolt froze solid (couldn't move it with the charging handle) about an inch from closed leaving the fresh round just rattling loose in the chamber. I had to take the buffer tube off to get the upper and lower apart so I could get everything loose. As I slid the bolt out, the ejector just rolled out onto the table. And I found this: You can't see it well, but the pin that holds the ejector in place apparently worked itself out. Or perhaps it broke from the inside. I'm still not really clear how it got hung up, but you could clearly see the pin poking down towards the magazine well before I took everything apart. I'm guessing the other side of this pin was jammed into the upper receiver, I forgot to look at the upper for signs of scratching. I'm new to these guns (and ARs in general). Is this something that happens once in a while? Or am I just a lucky guy who had a tiny roll pin fail after 42 rounds?

I'm in Sioux Falls at the moment, just up the road from Vermillion. Haven't spent much time there, just a couple of days in the med school for seminars and classes.

I meant $100 more than it would have been shooting .223, not $100 total. Sorry for being unclear. I agree with weight management. I want an ACE skeleton stock eventually which might help, but I'm not sure how that works with the buffer and what I need to make it work.

So far all I have is a scope and no rings, but I just ordered a DPMS RFLR-308T for $800. I shoot USPSA pistol matches and some friends want me to come play 3-gun with them. I feel like it made more sense for me to compete in heavy metal since the rifle could be more useful outside of competition (hogs/deer). Initial investment will be a few hundred dollars more, and ammo cost will be probably $100/year (only a few matches a year up here). Scope is a Leupold Rifleman 3-9x50. I hadn't planned on going this big, but the price was right. Our local 3-gun range doesn't do long shots (only pistol-depth bays), so I think I'll experiment with 45 offset irons for the super close shots. Seems kinda mall-ninja, but if it keeps me out of open-division it might be worth it? I'm still undecided about the trigger. I was hoping to keep this whole kit under $1,200 (because wife...), and the scope ate a big chunk of my trigger budget. I've been using a Giessele 3-gun trigger on the ar-15 I borrowed for 3-gun this Fall. It was terrific, obviously, but I don't have personal experience with other upgraded AR triggers. It looks like most of the folks on here approve of Giessele, but yikes are they pricey. What do you folks think? Am I crazy for choosing this as my first AR? What are your words of wisdom?