Honestly, on the headspace gauge, I'm not sure precisely which one you might need. I'd presume that a GO/NO-GO would probably work. I've not had this problem myself, only read about it, so I'm not as well versed in the solution as I could (should?) be.
Trawl around the net on a search for "excessive headspace" and you'll probably find the info you need.
And it could simply be a problem with your brass, not your headspace (hopefully, this is the case). The 100 rounds trimmed to minimum specs is a very good starting point; shoot them, then reload as you normally would. If the problem recurs at this point, I'd start looking more seriously at headspacing.
A third solution that, quite honestly, didn't occur to me last night is dirt. If you've been shooting rather dirty loads, it's possible you've got dirt buildup in your bolt channel, specifically around the bolt lugs and the bolt lug recesses in the action. This buildup could also be causing your bolt to "hang up" on the cycle. While I've never personally had a jam along these lines, I've heard of similar malfunctions being caused by such.
Search found 2 matches
- Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:23 pm
- Forum: Reloading Forum
- Topic: click, no bang
- Replies: 16
- Views: 3795
- Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:43 am
- Forum: Reloading Forum
- Topic: click, no bang
- Replies: 16
- Views: 3795
It sounds to me as though your rounds are a little overlength. Rifle rounds normally headspace on the shoulder. If the body of the round stretches too far, that shoulder gets pushed forward enough to cause difficulty chambering, especially in semi-autos. Full-length resizing pushes the shoulder back to its "normal" spot (and also stretches the neck somewhat, but that's probably not an issue here).
It sounds to me as though you haven't fully resized some rounds, and the overlength cartridge is causing the bolt to fail to fully close. The "click" syndrome is caused by the hammer striking the firing pin and "punching" the bolt the last little way closed. The primer is not set off because most of the force of the hammer is transferred into closing the bolt.
I would also bet that your 3 rounds of 200 were NOT the only "problem" rounds; they were just the ones that were worst. Your bolt was probably "hesitating" on other rounds in that batch.
I would check two things. First, be sure you're fully resizing ALL brass for your AR; case-neck-only sizing is great for bolt actions, but causes problems in semi-autos and lever-guns.
Second, I'd check your bolt headspace, especially if these problems are cropping up after only or two firings per case. Excessive headspace (essentially, the distance between the bolt-face and the chamber) can allow a cartridge to stretch too much, making chambering that much harder on a neck-sized-only round. While it's unlikely that Rock River gave you a bolt/upper combination with bad headspace, it's certainly possible. Headspace gauges are available at many gunshops, Cabelas, Sportsman's Warehouse, and MidwayUSA.
It sounds to me as though you haven't fully resized some rounds, and the overlength cartridge is causing the bolt to fail to fully close. The "click" syndrome is caused by the hammer striking the firing pin and "punching" the bolt the last little way closed. The primer is not set off because most of the force of the hammer is transferred into closing the bolt.
I would also bet that your 3 rounds of 200 were NOT the only "problem" rounds; they were just the ones that were worst. Your bolt was probably "hesitating" on other rounds in that batch.
I would check two things. First, be sure you're fully resizing ALL brass for your AR; case-neck-only sizing is great for bolt actions, but causes problems in semi-autos and lever-guns.
Second, I'd check your bolt headspace, especially if these problems are cropping up after only or two firings per case. Excessive headspace (essentially, the distance between the bolt-face and the chamber) can allow a cartridge to stretch too much, making chambering that much harder on a neck-sized-only round. While it's unlikely that Rock River gave you a bolt/upper combination with bad headspace, it's certainly possible. Headspace gauges are available at many gunshops, Cabelas, Sportsman's Warehouse, and MidwayUSA.