Jb333 Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 Hello, I am pretty new to building... I built and ar10 in .308 and thought it was finished and about ready to test fire.. The problem I'm having is charging the rifle. It is very difficult to charge, I pretty much have to mortar it to get it to charge. Then when I let it go the bolt doesn't go all the way forward. The bolt catch works, if I release it from that position it does go all the way foward, but if I just pull it back and release slowly, it kind of gets stuck half way. I'm thinking about taking it to a gunsmith, just wanted to see if I could find some assistance first. I built it on a live free armory receiver set, using a cmc bolt carier group, aero 308 lower parts kit. I'm not sure if the bcg is getting hung up on something? Thanks for any help/advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtrmn Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 "...and release slowly" Here's your main problem. Pull that charging handle back til it stops and let it slip through your fingers. Act like you're trying to tear it up. You'll never cycle it by hand as violently as it cycles when you shoot it. It was made to slam/ bang around. You can't baby this thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jb333 Posted April 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 I dont know if the problem is the lower receiver or the bcg, but what I have discovered is that if I pull the back pin and slightly open the receiver I am able to cycle it fine, i put the back pin back in, and I have to mortar it to get it to charge.. Anyone know a fix for this? Is this receiver out of spec? Would an enhanced buffer tube with the lip fix this? Should I abandon the cmc bcg with the larger back end? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtallen83 Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 6 minutes ago, Jb333 said: Should I abandon the cmc bcg with the larger back end? That may end up being the solution but lets take a close look first. If something is hanging up like that there should be some marks somewhere, inside the upper, on the lower where the buffer tube threads inside, on the BCG? Take some pics and post up if you see anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jb333 Posted April 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt.Cross Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 I'd start with the fact that its dry as a bone at the outset. It's well documented that this platform needs to be broken in with copious quantities of heavy lube at the outset. Get that sucker soaking wet to begin with, after that cease & decist from riding that charging handle. Yank that sucker to the rear until it slips your grasp and slams home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtrmn Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 48 minutes ago, Jb333 said: I dont know if the problem is the lower receiver or the bcg, but what I have discovered is that if I pull the back pin and slightly open the receiver I am able to cycle it fine, i put the back pin back in, and I have to mortar it to get it to charge.. Anyone know a fix for this? Is this receiver out of spec? Would an enhanced buffer tube with the lip fix this? Should I abandon the cmc bcg with the larger back end? Thank you OK I read and posted too hastily and got hung up on you releasing it slowly. I totally missed/ignored you saying it was hard to pull back to begin with. I've had one AR15 build that was hard/almost impossible to charge. Turned out to be a defective upper receiver. The bore for the BCG was out of axial alignment with the barrel and the buffer tube. The further you pulled the BCG back, the harder it was to pull. The BCG was binding against the inside of the buffer tube because it was out of alignment. Once I figured out what the problem was, I noticed the sidewalls of the upper receiver were very different thicknesses at the rear. The left sidewall was much thinner than the right sidewall and the BCG was travelling diagonally in relation to the rest of the gun. YOUR upper sidewalls appear to be correct in the pictures, but if you can pull the rear pin and the gun's function improves, perhaps your buffer tube may be out of alignment vertically. This could cause the rear of the BCG to bind against the bottom of the buffer tube's interior. Pull the buffer and spring out and inspect the inside of the buffer tube for any marks or polished spots. Maybe reassemble the gun without the spring/buffer and just pull the charging handle back slowly. The only resistance you should feel would be the hammer spring pushing the hammer against the bottom side. If it binds up don't pull it any further or you may have a problem getting the BCG back forward again so you can tear it back down. Like Matt said above OIL it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 1 hour ago, Jb333 said: What lower receiver is this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jb333 Posted April 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 Live free armory. I think the bcg is just sitting to low, I can charge it with the buffer tube removed, but it is sitting right on the receiver.. I have an enhanced buffer tube on another build, I'll probably take that and see if I have any better luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted April 19, 2021 Report Share Posted April 19, 2021 (edited) Contact them. Edited April 19, 2021 by 98Z5V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
392heminut Posted April 19, 2021 Report Share Posted April 19, 2021 14 hours ago, 98Z5V said: Contact them. I agree! If Dave Reideman is still the owner he will take care of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted April 20, 2021 Report Share Posted April 20, 2021 12 hours ago, 392heminut said: I agree! If Dave Reideman is still the owner he will take care of you. One hell of a great guy, right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jb333 Posted April 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 I e-mailed them a few times since Sunday with pictures asking for help but haven't received any response... I guess ill try it with my other buffer tube this weekend and if it doesn't work I'll just strip it and send it back.. I wasn't rude, I even said hey, if it looks like I'm doing something wrong please let me know... It does kind of suck with all the money I put into it can't even get a response from them.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtallen83 Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 1 minute ago, Jb333 said: It does kind of suck with all the money I put into it can't even get a response from them.. Call, talk to a person there. It's a small company but a good company, they have driven 40 miles to a customers house with a replacement rifle in the past, they have a good reputation taking care of problems. No doubt like all firearms companies right now they are swamped and might need time.....but call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 People in today's age forget that you can dial a phone number, and talk to a human on the other side of the phone... and that's still the best way to solve issues - even if you have to wait on hold, before your call is answered. Instead, we email (mainly), or post on theit FB or Twitter feed - and just hope for a response. I prefer talking to real humans, about issues or questions, and gladly wait on hold when I have to. Put a name to a voice, and shiit gets solved faster than other ways... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jb333 Posted April 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2021 It's not that I forget that I can call, but I work 7 days a week, and 6am-7pm Monday through Friday for a large hospital system so when I get the time to send an e-mail it's what I do... But at least they did contact me back and ask for my number.. I just didn't call because I dont expect them to be there on the weekends which is the only time I can call at a decent hour.. I put on an enhanced buffer tube and now it charges, just still doesn't feel as smooth as I would expect... this is the first ar 10 style rifle I have had so idk if the heavier bcg it's just normal to be like that? What is the reasoning for an ar10 using the same size buffer tube as an ar15 even though the bcg is so much bigger? I am a long time gun enthusiast, but for a long time non ar anything fan... so I'm just beginning my journey into building which I have found is very addictive. These are the 2 I've built, but now wanting to build something every day... Thank you for the responses.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtrmn Posted April 26, 2021 Report Share Posted April 26, 2021 All I can tell you is that if the barrel, BCG, and buffer tube don't share the same concentric centerline then either the upper or lower receiver is probably machined out of specs. In other words you should be able to draw a straight line from the center of the muzzle all the way through the gun to the center of the rear end of the buffer tube. From what you have described I would say that probably the threads in the lower receiver may be off just enough to cause the buffer tube to not properly align with the BCG. Or the buffer tube could possibly be bent, but the problem didn't completely go away when you changed the buffer tube. I'm just throwing this out there based on very limited experience with out of spec parts in the past. I do NOT have the level of knowledge these other guys have, so YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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