sagebrush Posted November 12, 2021 Report Share Posted November 12, 2021 right off the bat problems. finally got all the parts to build an ar15 pistol. started out by checking head space between 10.5" .223 ballistic advantage barrel and brownells bolt (i think toolcraft). both go and no go gages will chamber. i checked headspace on an old bushmaster varmint model ar15 to make sure gages were ok, go gage would chamber no go would not. then i thought all ar15 specs are supposed to be the same, so i tried the bushmaster bolt in the ballistic advantage barrel and both gages would chamber. am i thinking right that i need to talk to the barrel people? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sketch Posted November 12, 2021 Report Share Posted November 12, 2021 I've had good and bad from B.A. barrels. Not sure about a no go chambering? This is a crude vid that explains my process. There are better but. Your experience may vary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted November 16, 2021 Report Share Posted November 16, 2021 (edited) Call up BA - they'll take care of you, completely. What gauges are you using? What's the chamber on your barrel? I've seen .223 Rem No-Go gauges chamber in a 5.56 NATO chamber. Edited November 16, 2021 by 98Z5V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagebrush Posted November 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2021 the gauges are clymer .223, the chamber on the ba barrel is marked .556. i thought same gauge would work for either (what i get for thinking). i see brownells list a head space gauge for .556, will get one. for the record the bushmaster i checked with gauges the barrel is marked .223-.556 how does that work? thanks for the info @98Z5V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted November 17, 2021 Report Share Posted November 17, 2021 Most of that comes down to the gauges that the barrel manufacturer uses for headspace. That's only because not all gauges are the same. Some might say Clymer, some might say Forster. 0.001" differences on those two brands might mean that one chambers, and one doesn't. Call BA before you buy more gauges. Just ask them what ones they use to measure. I fell stupid, with as many BA barrels as I have, because I should know this answer - but I just don't know... After they tell you which ones they use, compare the prints/specs to the clymer .223 gauge that you have. If we're within 1 thou or 2, I can help you get through this and measure it, with scotch tape... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagebrush Posted November 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 i'm farming right now and don't have access to phone during their business hours. will call them next rain day or when finished for the winter. did send email to them and it was answered promptly. he avoided the "who makes the head space gauges you use" question and asked that i send them the barrel to check. (what fun is that) said they would replace if out of spec. so customer service is definitely there. you're right, talking to them may get the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagebrush Posted November 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 had a rain day today. after emailing ballistic advantage, couldn't stand the wait, was going to order 6arc head space guages so ordered .556 guages also. these have been sitting here for a week. today i checked head space on .556 ballistic advantage barrel and just like @98Z5Vsaid the 556 no-go would not chamber. put the pistol together (3oz buffer & white springco recoil spring) took it out to shoot for function and sight in. i shot green tip 62gr had bolt lock back, 3 o'clock to 4 ejection worked perfect. now the next problem. i thought this pistol would make a great tracter & truck gun, so i tried the 55gr v-max load that i shoot in my full size ar's and it will not load second round, no bolt lock back. thought about increasing gas hole size or maybe try loading a 60gr v-max, maybe that would increase dwell time enough. i mostly shoot at varmints, won't shoot full metal jackets at them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted November 30, 2021 Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 48 minutes ago, sagebrush said: so i tried the 55gr v-max load that i shoot in my full size ar's and it will not load second round, no bolt lock back. That's already a light load, meant for longer barrels, so it's gonna be short on power for a pistol build, man. That's designed as a Varminter round from an 18" or longer gun, but really designed for even longer Varmint barrels, 22" to 24". If you really want that thing to work in your short gun, then we need to up the gas port diameter - or seriously play with the recoil system. Changing the gas port diameter is permanent. Playing with the recoil system isn't. You can come up with a recoil system that will work those light guys, and only use it when you want to run them. I'm in for playing with this, and making it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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