Hey guys. My name is Matt. Joined the forum because I recently finished my first AR10 build and took it out yesterday for the first time. I’m not going to sugar coat it…I’m new to AR10s for sure, newish to AR15s and even new to guns in general. I live in the extremely restrictive state of NJ unfortunately, so that’s mostly what delayed me buying a gun for most of my adult life. I did grow up with a few guns as my father had a few shotguns and rifles.
Anyway, I’m here to ask you guys for any help or advice you can offer.
Water Board stuff, I’ll try my best to not miss anything…but if you need more info, please just ask. I’m all ears and here to learn!!
First the gun itself;
-Aero M5 Lower, Aero M5E1 upper, Ballistic Advantage 20” .308 Heavy profile Premium Series barrel, Ballistics Advantage BCG Black Nitride (came as a combo with the barrel), VG6 Precision Epsilon 762, Aero M5 complete .308 Rifle buffer kit, and Superlative Arms adjustable bleed off Gas block: 0.75” clamp on melonite (I started FULL OPEN and tried a few other adjustments. At full open is the only time it came even close to cycling)
1: Don’t have Armalite AR10 recoil system
2: Buffer Weight - 5.6oz
3: Buffer Length - 5.3”
4: Buffer Tube internal length - 9 5/8”
5: Spring, Length, Coils, Brand, Color - Spring came with the Aero M5 rifle buffer kit. It’s 12 3/4” long, 39 coils, Aero, and has a “bronze-ish” color
6: Gas System Length - Rifle
7: Gas Tube length - 15 3/16”
8: Photo into Mag well
After attempting to take some fine measurements, I “believe” the gas block was too far back. I had it up against the shoulder but I believe it needs to be about 1/32” forward of the shoulder to line up properly. This may solve everything, but without going to the range, I don’t know how to tell for sure. Here is a second photo of the Mag well with the gas block moved forward 1/32”:
9: Photo of Bolt Face:
10: Photos of BCG Clearance:
11: Gas journal diameter - 0.75”
11a: Gas Port Diameter - Measured with a slide caliper, it’s 0.083”. A 5/64 drill bit fits with a little wiggle and a 3/32” drill bit won’t fit.
12: Description of Malfunction - When I went to the range yesterday, my rifle wouldn’t cycle properly, or at all, depending on the ammo. My first “guess” is that it’s under gassed…but as I mentioned, I’m new so rather get some input from all of you. I shot 40 rounds total yesterday: 20 rounds PMC Bronze .308, 147 grain FMJ-BT and 20 rounds of Ammo Inc 7.62/51, 150 grain FMJ (bought it bulk from PSA). With the PMC, the rifle would “attempt” to cycle but the BCG would never go back far enough to eject the casing and I’d end up with a “stove pipe.” With the cheaper Ammo Inc stuff, I don’t even think the BCG came out of battery, and if it did, just barely. It cycles completely fine by hand, no binding, BCG stays back with an empty mag. I put a lot of money into this build and wanna get it working correctly as soon as I can!! Thanks for any tips!!
13: Here’s the two types of ammo used:
14: Here’s a photo of the buffer and spring:
I think that’s everything with a few extra photos. If I missed something, let me know and I’ll add it asap. As mentioned above, it could be that the gas block was too far back, but without going back to the range (which is a pain in the ass in NJ), I don’t know how to make sure. I’d rather try to trouble shoot as much as possible before my next trip to the range.
Thanks everyone and I look forward to hearing from you and shooting the poop (no pun intended).
Matt-