LR308 Failure to Eject issue

[Brian_Paul_D]

Having just taken the leap into the world of MSRs and purchased a LR308 I am having a FTE issue that I need some help with.  

The gun is a Live Free Armory LF308 with a 20" barrel.  DPMS-style upper/lower and BCG.  

First day to the range was yesterday.  I was doing the barrel break-in and would shoot one round and then clean the barrel.  After 7 rounds I went up to 3 rounds between cleaning.  The first 10 rounds didn't have any issues.  After that I began having a failure whereby the spent round wasn't ejected but the new round was being jammed up under it as it was trying to enter the chamber.  After a few times I fully cleaned the barrel and BCG, lubed, and switched ammo.  (I used Federal 165 gr BTHP the first 10 shots then switched to Winchester 150 gr when it first jammed).  The third box of ammo was Hornady Black 150 gr.  I loaded 3 rounds in the mag and the first two shot fine but the third was just laying on top of the empty mag with the bolt locked back.  Went back to the original Federal 165 gr.  and it jammed again after the first shot where the spent round was on top of the new round entering the chamber.  

I got tired of fooling with it and decided to do single shots from the magazine for another 6-7 rounds.  Some rounds kicked out okay but more of them didn't. They didn't stovepipe, would just lay on top of the mag.  

Fully cleaned and lubed up the gun again last night and tried again today.  I thought that maybe I had too much oil around the chamber area and that the extractor was slipping off of the round as it started back.  So I cleaned out the chamber area pretty well but today it did the same thing.  Add in Hornady 150 gr ammo as well today with the same issue.  I managed to get up to 3 rounds working before the 4th jammed in the mag with the 5th under it.  

I was using a Magpul 10 round P-mag and tried the 20 round mag as well with no difference.  I don't think it is the mag because even on the last shell the extracted round would be laying on top of the empty mag with the bolt locked back.  Since the bolt will lock back on the empty mag and leave the spent round on top the mag, I don't think it is an issue with the BCG not cycling fully.  

I'm pretty new to this so any tips or things to check would be appreciated.  I can get a hold of the company on Monday but I figured that the most likely cause of the error is ME - being new to the semi-auto gun world.  

Thanks in advance,

Brian

[shepp]

Welcome to the forum feel free to tell us about yourself in the intro section

 

actually these rifles need lots of lube, it was going to be my first question, 2nd is when you were firing single shots was the bolt locking back? I know others will ask other questions but those are two we'll get out the way right now. Complete rifle or you built? 

[jtallen83]

Have you called Chris at LFA? I know they have had some issues with suppliers parts of late and have taken good care of the customers when they were made aware of the problem.

Edited March 26, 2017 by jtallen83
clarity

[Brian_Paul_D]

I haven't had the chance to call Chris yet since it is the weekend but I will on Monday.  (LF Arms build)

Yes, the bolt locks back after single shots but sometimes there is a spent round sitting on top of the mag (when I would fire with only a single round in the magazine).  When it does eject it pushes the round out hard at the 3:30-4:00 position and it will travel 10+ feet. (if that helps).  

I have had BCG and gun well lubricated.  I thought maybe I had oil in the chamber area the might be causing the extractor to slip off the base of the round.  I cleaned it all out so there was no oil in there but it still jammed after the 4th shot (with the spent casing on top of the new round inside the chamber).  I made sure not to have any oil on the face of the bolt where the extractor claw grabs the round but had lube on the back of the lugs and sliding bolt surfaces.

[jtallen83]

I had a similar issue with a build, swapped the extractor spring for an Armalite extractor spring set and haven't had a problem since. Others with the same issue have had a new ejector spring cure the problem. I'm betting Chris will have a good idea what you need.

[Brian_Paul_D]

I have the bolt out and I can hook a spent round in the extractor and then use torque to straighten the round and push in the pin.  The force isn't always consistent.  You can't just push in the pin with your finger but with the round clipped in most of the time I can straighten it and push in the pin without too much force.  Other times it seems to stick and I have to really force it to make the pin pop in.  

[jtallen83]

Maybe take it apart, clean and inspect for burrs.

[survivalshop]

9 hours ago, jtallen83 said:

Maybe take it apart, clean and inspect for burrs.

   Do the above first , make sure the Extractor spring set up is correct , DPMS has a spring within a spring set up , some use a Donut & single spring , I have found that to be sub par in most cases .Sometimes its the Ejector spring is weak , broken or too short . 
    I would change the Extractor & Spring with a real DPMS LR 308 one first , after inspection , then the Ejector & spring .

    I have also seen where some put an bevel on the face of the Ejector to help it eject ,they say the face of the Ejector is too flat & the Bevel around the edge helps the spent case angle out of the ejection Port . I have never done this , so can't say it has any merit , but ya never know . 

 Did your failure issue look something like this  ?  Changing the Extractor to a DPMS one fixed this issue . BCG was not OEM DPMS .

[Brian_Paul_D]

It looked exactly like that with the rounds jammed.

[Brian_Paul_D]

I'm not sure if this helps identify anything but today I inserted a 5 round magazine (outside in a safe direction and on safe) and manually cycled the charging handle back.  The gun kicked out all 5 rounds at the 3:30-4:00 position.  I repeated this again with the same positive results.  I kind of figured it would leave some rounds in the chamber.

[Sisco]

I am guessing extractor spring. I had a similar issue with my AR10T. Turns out the rubber washer (donut) had split. Replaced that and the spring and tested it with 80 rounds through it. I also replaced the whlole extractor assembly just to be on the safe side.

[Brian_Paul_D]

I don't even  have the donut on my spring.  I'll call LFA tomorrow and hopefully I only have to send back the BCG.  I'll let you all know.

 

Thanks

 

[jtallen83]

13 minutes ago, Brian_Paul_D said:

I don't even  have the donut on my spring.  I'll call LFA tomorrow and hopefully I only have to send back the BCG.  I'll let you all know.

Different BCG makers have different systems, Armalite uses a spring with a plug and a doughnut, some use nested springs and I have seen a single spring.  Your mileage may vary.

[survivalshop]

 Cycling by hand may not reproduce the issue , spent case may also be sticking in the Chamber too long & slowing down the Cycle ( Timing ) You should also check the Chamber for roughness .