pepperbelly Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 I have had a problem off and on for a week with my LR308 not cycling, and today it became worse. At first it didn't want to strip a round from the P-Mag especially when I used the bolt release. Today it did fine for about 15-20 rounds, but then sometimes the bolt did not recoil and extract the next round. If I pulled the charging handle it extracted the case and fed the next round, but it was basically a single shot by then. I also had a few times where it chambered a round but the bolt didn't fully close. If I pulled the charge handle back I could look and see the round in the chamber. When I released the bolt after removing the mag it would lock up and fire. I tried a new P-Mag and it did the same thing. It ran fine yesterday- no cycling issues at all. Does this sound like maybe it's just dirty, dry, or do I have something else to look for? It has only had about 50 rounds since I last cleaned it, but I may not have lubed it enough after cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planeflyer21 Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Are you running it wet with lubricant? Sloppy wet? Juicy oiled buffer tube?Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 No, not that wet. I am seeing that I don't have it wet enough. Would that cause it to not cycle? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 No, not that wet. I am seeing that I don't have it wet enough. Would that cause it to not cycle? Jimyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon308 Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Yes it will not cycle if not lubed very well, Try high speed axle grease. This really helped mine. I had trouble the first say 100 rnds. Tried grease now have over 1500 rnds no issue at all. My buddy just bought new rifle we used grease right off the bat and no problems at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsquared Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Yep. I use Hi-Temp bearing grease when I'm running my suppressor. It does tend to collect grime easier, but it runs smooth with the extra back-pressure and heat from the gas (also using an adjustable gas-block). Now if I don't plan to run the can, I just lube the living hell out of the bolt carrier and lugs (short of dunking it). grinRon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I have some grease that I use on my Garand. Up until now I have just been using Break Free on the bolt and carrier, but I didn't really soak it down. I am supposed to grease or oil the lugs? That seems completely different from every other gun I have ever owned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 when new I grease the lugs and Mobil 1 the bolt. Once broken in I use Mobil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsquared Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Well, I can't say that it's "proper".....I'm just sayin what works for me (as far as lubing up the lugs along with everything else). Lube never hurts. Definitely keep the carrier itself "wet".Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 My rifle isn;t new. I got it used, and I think the previous owner had a few hundred rounds through it when I got it. I have maybe 100 through it myself. I keep hearing about using Mobil 1. I will be getting some tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Examine the gas block and make certain its aligned properly. Also your not using ammo named after an animal are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I am shooting handloads- a 175gr SMK, Federal FC brass and either RL-15 or Varget. I have been trying to work up a load. Until it stopped running it seems to like 41.6gr of RL-15 but I stopped before trying my Varget loads. I wasn't sure if I had a bigger problem and didn't want to keep shooting and damage the rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt.Cross Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Also your not using ammo named after an animal are you?Of course not, "Red Dragon" runs like a dream in these machines... <laughs>Seriously, this is an awesome point. Just because steel-cased, berdan primed, well-lacquered "Pink Owl" only costs you $0.42 per round, doesn't mean that it's a good choice of ammo. Look into some more dependable match ammo offered by smaller companies who are emulating the Federal Gold Medal Match round. Hunting Shack Ammo, Bitterroot Valley Ammunition, Copper Creek, Southwest Ammunition and so on and so forth. All good and inexpensive alternatives to FGMM that perform indistinguishably so far with the 168 and 175 grain bullet weights, in my experience anyways.Edit: After reading your post I see that this doesn't apply to your case specifically, but I'm leaving it as advisement for anyone diagnosing the same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 OK, I just took it apart and cleaned it. It wasn't too dirty, but why not? It was apart. While I was cleaning I thought something looked wrong. All 3 allen screws on the bottom of the gas block were loose. The gas block seems to be aligned, and it wasn't loose itself. Would those screws being backed out allow enough gas to escape to mess with the cycling? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Nice catch, and quite possibly yes, especially in combination with a dry bolt. Take them out one at a time carefully as not to cause misalignment and put some blue lock tire one the threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I will pick up some Loctite this week. I will do them one at a time, but since all 3 were backed out it might now make any difference. When I saw them I grabbed the gas block and tried twisting it to see if it was loose. It didn't move so I may be OK. I will shoot it Saturday and check. There was powder soot on the barrel by the gas block so I was losing some gas pressure. I am thinking it was enough, but I am not that familiar with it to know. Even though it wouldn't twist and didn't feel loose, with the screws backed out would it lose enough gas that the bolt wouldn't cycle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Even though it wouldn't twist and didn't feel loose, with the screws backed out would it lose enough gas that the bolt wouldn't cycle?Yes, it definitely could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Thanks. My weekend is looking up. It's clean, well lubed and should run now. Another related question. If the screws were slowly backing out and losing pressure could it cause the bolt to short stroke and not strip a round from the mag? That happened sometimes a short time before it decided to turn into a bolt action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washguy Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hi Pepper Yep a loose gas block will cause short stroking.....the function check on these ar's is one cartridge in the mag...fire and then check to see that the bcg is open/held back.....if it is...then you are gtg .One thing...grease on the lugs on a new build first time out is okay,but then you will find that grease...even gun grease like gun butter will find its way into the chamber and can cause shells to stick in the chamber from the burnt grease residue....so if it aint brand new dont grease the lugs.... :) Wash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 It isn't new. When I lubed it I just wiped an oily patch on the lugs using Break Free. It isn't the best lube, but it is a heavy oil and I have some on hand. My wife is a surgical nurse so I have a lot of hemostats. I use them to clean and lube- fold a patch, get it wet and I can wipe in hard to reach spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unforgiven Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hemo's aren't just for roach clips :o <lmao> just sayin <laughs> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washguy Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 It isn't new. When I lubed it I just wiped an oily patch on the lugs using Break Free. It isn't the best lube, but it is a heavy oil and I have some on hand. My wife is a surgical nurse so I have a lot of hemostats. I use them to clean and lube- fold a patch, get it wet and I can wipe in hard to reach spots.Hi Pepper I like breakfree clp....it never lets me downi think you just answered your own lube prob..not that you really have one <laughs> you say you use hemos to clamp down on a patch to wipe/apply to the area....that tells me you are too dry... a wipe of a oiled patch isnt lubing up an ar.....taking the breakfree and dripping it on the parts like the bcg and areas in the inside of the upper is lubing an ar :) Wash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepperbelly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I used the oily patch to reach into the lugs on the barrel. I use them to wipe areas I can't reach any other way. I put oil on the bolt and smeared it with my finger. It is wet as is the carrier. Can someone show a pic of how wet it should be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 an easy test, with out visuals, is cycle the bolt using the charging handle, if you hear any noise or grittiness, add lube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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