brazosvet Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 Brand new AR-10 carbine with a curious problem. Starting with the bolt closed and in battery. The action cannot be opened by simply pulling the charging handle. I must bump the stock sharply first to unlock the bolt before the charging handle can retract the BCG. Is this normal in a brand new AR-10? Does this indicate a problem? Does something need adjustment? Will break-in eventually work this out? When firing live rounds, the gun cycles perfectly. What have others experienced?
imschur Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 Is it the handle or bolt carrier group thats tight?
brazosvet Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Posted March 22, 2012 BCG, I think that the rotating part of the bolt is what is tight, The handle is smooth when the bolt is locked open.
Retired JM Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 If you haven't tried this already, put a couple of drops of oil down the opening for the cam pin and manually work the bolt forward and back to spread it. Then reassemble the rifle and see if that helps. Also, remove the buffer/buffer spring and wipe it down with an oily rag. New Armalites are built snug.BTW, did you get your package yet?
brazosvet Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Posted March 22, 2012 BTW, did you get your package yet?Got it. Looks great. Have now replaced all the green furniture with black Magpul stuff.I tried the oil. Actually dis-assembled the BCG and oiled everything. After reassembling everything, the charging handle pulled easily for the first few pulls, and then became tight again. So I am left to believe that this pass with some break in, Right? Would grease on the lugs help?
brazosvet Posted March 23, 2012 Author Report Posted March 23, 2012 Greased the lugs. Saturated the bolt with oil. No improvement. Called ArmaLite, explained my problem to a tech., and was told that they would send out a new charging handle ASAP. Apparrantly they have some experience with this particular problem to diagnose it that quickly. I don't see how the handle could cause this, but I'm not the AR tech. Maybe someone here could enlighten me.I am very impressed with ArmaLite. How many companies can one call into anymore, get a real, knowledgeable person on the phone, and have parts shipped to fix the problem? I really like "Made in America"! Nice job ArmaLite.
Retired JM Posted March 23, 2012 Report Posted March 23, 2012 Got it. Looks great. Have now replaced all the green furniture with black Magpul stuff.And the pictures are posted where? <thumbsup>Glad I could help a brother out. Charging handle, you say. Damn, I woulda never have thought that was the culprit given your description of the issue. I guess that's why Armalite makes the big bucks. EDIT: I sat and thought about it for a minute and it makes sense now. If you look just forward of the cam pin on the bolt carrier, there's a "shelf" milled into the bolt carrier. This is where the trailing edge of the CH lug engages the bolt carrier when pulling the CH to the rear. Perhaps the offending CH lug wasn't long enough to lock up with the shelf and when you pulled to the rear, the CH was pulling against the gas key and not providing enough leverage to manually unlock the bolt. Please post an update when you get the new CH.
Slash Posted March 23, 2012 Report Posted March 23, 2012 It sucks that you're having problems with a new gun. I hope you get it worked out soon.IMO, ArmaLite has the best customer service in the business. I won't spend my money on .308s from ANY other manufacturer.I would try moving the CH fore and aft without the BCG installed and 'exercise' the bolt in the carrier by hand. You might be able to better diagnose the problem this way.
brazosvet Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Posted March 27, 2012 Well, I received the new charging handle today. No change in the stuck bolt. I think that the lugs are tight . I guess I'll call ArmaLite tomorrow and see what's next.Another thing I noticed is the firing pin has a bulge on the tip. It doesn't come to a tapered point. If I press on the firing pin when it is in the bolt carrier, it sticks in the pin hole. Could this indicate a problem related to the sticky bolt? Keep in mind that when firing live rounds, that the gun fires and cycles normally.
imschur Posted March 27, 2012 Report Posted March 27, 2012 Any chance we can see a picture of the firing pin?
brazosvet Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Posted March 27, 2012 I'll try. I'n not sure I can photograph that.
Slash Posted March 27, 2012 Report Posted March 27, 2012 What kind of ammo are you shooting?New domestic factory ammo? Milsurp? Hand loads?
brazosvet Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Posted March 28, 2012 Winchester 7.64 with 150 gr. fmj.
edgecrusher Posted March 28, 2012 Report Posted March 28, 2012 you may want to try breaking in your rifle with heavier grain bullets, i believe it's in your armalite manual
brazosvet Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Posted March 29, 2012 Gun took a ride in a brown truck back to Geneseo IL today.
brazosvet Posted April 12, 2012 Author Report Posted April 12, 2012 Gun is back home today. Armalite replaced the BCG and the action works smooth as silk now. No specifics on what the problem was but, I see now how easy the action should have been to operate. There is no doubt that something was not right. Armalite was great. They even tuned the trigger free for my trouble.
Retired JM Posted April 14, 2012 Report Posted April 14, 2012 Awesome stuff! Lube it up and go shoot it!
unforgiven Posted April 14, 2012 Report Posted April 14, 2012 Great service speaks volumes for the company. 8)
MattG Posted May 10, 2021 Report Posted May 10, 2021 Would it pull back about 3/8 inch then stop? mine is doing this. What fixed it?
shooterrex Posted May 10, 2021 Report Posted May 10, 2021 17 minutes ago, MattG said: Would it pull back about 3/8 inch then stop? mine is doing this. What fixed it? This post is 9 years old. OP hasn't been here since 2013. If you have a problem please start a new thread with the info we need to help you out. Ease by the intro section and introduce yourself.
DNP Posted May 10, 2021 Report Posted May 10, 2021 And what fixed it was Armalite replaced the BCG “no specifics on what the issue was” per the last post by the OP above.
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