.223 reload jammed in AR

[mannydog]

I had an unfired round of re-loaded .223 jam in the chamber of an AR this morning. Bcg and charging handle wouldn't budge. Messed with it a bit and finally got it ejected by pulling back on the charging handle while tapping the buttstock with some force.

Not sure what happened here.

I've just started reloading rifle cartridges, been reloading for pistols for a couple of years but this was the first rifle ammo I've loaded. I loaded up 25 rounds each of 4 different increasing loads and shot some of each load through two different ARs last week without any problems. Today, I went to finish off the remaining of that first 100 rounds I'd made plus some re-loads I made last night after settling on the load I decided to go with.

The OAL of the problem round is 2.20 exactly with a 55 gr Hornady FMJBT, and the full-sized brass was 1.755. Used a Lee resizing die on an LNL AP. Rifle is a BCM. I'm thinking maybe an issue with the full-length re-sizing?

Anyone have any ideas on this? Thanks in advance. I'm heading off to work for a few hours will check in later.

 

[bpm990d]

Where did the brass come from? Was it all out of your rifle or was it range brass?

B

 

[RKG]

Could be sizing issue: brass for autos needs to be full length sized, and possibly also full length sized in a "small base" die.

Could be case length issue; 5.56 brass does stretch and requires trimming every 3-5 reloadings.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Look at the stuck casing and it should tell the story.

Wherever it was binding should have contact marks. My best guess is you are not trimming short enough and it was lodged in the throat of the chamber. This can be very dangerous if your rounds are being crimped into the throat upon loading. This can contribute to a very high pressure spike upon ignition.

Also, .223/5.56 should be trimmed at every reloading, not every 3-5 reloadings.

As long as you maintain the same setting on your trim die, those that don't need trimming will just go through the trim stage without being touched, those that have stretched will be trimmed. This proceedure eliminates the possibility of a long piece of brass being loaded and jamming as you've experienced.

If the case bound up at the base, you didn't guage your finished ammo after loading. This would have been caught immediately upon inserting the round into a guage.

If you don't already have one, get a case guage and guage EVERY round. I use Dillon guages for all calibers and they are excellent.
Most of my pistol ammo is submachine gun fodder and it is absolutely imperative to have ammo that is going to chamber when being used in open bolt "fixed firing pin" subguns, otherwise you end up with an out of battery detonation.

 

[mannydog]

Where did the brass come from? Was it all out of your rifle or was it range brass?

This brass was from one of my rifles but not necessarily the one it got jammed in.


Could be sizing issue: brass for autos needs to be full length sized, and possibly also full length sized in a "small base" die.

I full-length sized, but I'm wondering if maybe this round got short-stroked and didn't fully size. Don't know about "small base" dies.


As long as you maintain the same setting on your trim die, those that don't need trimming will just go through the trim stage without being touched, those that have stretched will be trimmed. This proceedure eliminates the possibility of a long piece of brass being loaded and jamming as you've experienced.

If the case bound up at the base, you didn't guage your finished ammo after loading. This would have been caught immediately upon inserting the round into a guage.

If you don't already have one, get a case guage and guage EVERY round.

I did trim so don't think it was a length issue but I did not gauge, sounds like that might be the issue.

None of the other fired re-loads showed any sign of over-pressure as best I could tell. I kept these loads fairly mild, mid-range in the Hornady book and below starting range in Speer.

 

[highscore]

My bet is that right beneath the shoulder the case was blown out, probably in the sizing die. What are you using for lube? Too much (sticky lube) and cases tend to swell out in all kinds of places. Are you crimping? Too much crimp (really excessive) can create problems as well. .223's don't need to be crimped. Go over the directions for setting up your sizing die and make sure the internals are where they should be.

 

[DrRansom]

If you don't already have one, get a case guage and guage EVERY round. I use Dillon guages for all calibers and they are excellent.

Huge +1 here. Do this. This does two things that are very important to me with reloads - tells you if it won't chamber correctly for some reason, and allows you to easily see if the primer is sitting too high, which can lead to slam-fires. Two of the worst consequences of bad QA on reloads, IMO. Case gauge _every round_.

 

[jasons]

If I gauged every round I'd never have time to shoot. If your sizing die is set up properly there's really no need.

I also don't trim after every firing. I trim to the minimum the first time and they'll last many firings before they stretch enough to need another trimming.

I full-length sized, but I'm wondering if maybe this round got short-stroked and didn't fully size.

Either that or you just forgot to resize it at all. Live and learn.

 

[Supermoto]

Probably didn't bump the shoulder back enough

 

[DrRansom]

If I gauged every round I'd never have time to shoot. If your sizing die is set up properly there's really no need.

I also don't trim after every firing. I trim to the minimum the first time and they'll last many firings before they stretch enough to need another trimming.

Shrug. Popping them in and inspecting takes about a second per round. Worth it to me, especially if I'm taking the rounds to a class or something - shooting time would also be impacted by getting a ****-you jam in the middle of paid training time...

Though, trimming wouldn't be the cause of that, more likely the shoulder, as Supermoto noted.

I'm more worried about slamfires than I am about chambering issues anyway, as the majority of those malfunctions are easily cleared.

 

[jasons]

Shrug. Popping them in and inspecting takes about a second per round. Worth it to me, especially if I'm taking the rounds to a class or something - shooting time would also be impacted by getting a ****-you jam in the middle of paid training time...

Though, trimming wouldn't be the cause of that, more likely the shoulder, as Supermoto noted.

I'll gauge the first two or three per session to confirm that my dies haven't spontaneously re-adjusted themselves since the last time I used them (they never have,) and then one every 50 or 60 or so after that.

 

[DrRansom]

I'll gauge the first two or three per session to confirm that my dies haven't spontaneously re-adjusted themselves since the last time I used them (they never have,) and then one every 50 or 60 or so after that.

Right on. I edited my post above, my OCD with gauging is more cause I'm afraid of slamfires and like the extra QC step. I wouldn't expect the sizing dies to get wacky either. Just noting that it may have caught the OP's issue.

Rereading the OP, I don't do my FL sizing in the AP - I use wax when FL sizing, and like to tumble after to remove it. I only use my AP for the charging/seating/cirmping stage.

 

[mac1911]

I'm guessing a short stroke.
I had a series of jams. Later I found out my wife tossed some cases from my pocket into the sized bucket......thank God they where a different head stamp!

I use rcbs decap lube die

 

[TZCHRIS]

If you don't already have one, get a case guage and guage EVERY round.

This, I had some issues even though I ran my brass through the sizing dies 2 times. Got a case guage and never had any issues since.

 

[gigabit]

Probably didn't bump the shoulder back enough

1+

if it jams in the chamber and cannot pull the chargin handle, the shoulder is too long.

are u neck sizing or full length? give the decap/sizer and extra 1/2 turn.

buy the hornady headspace gauge.

 

[bpm990d]

1+

if it jams in the chamber and cannot pull the chargin handle, the shoulder is too long.

Not necessarily. In some instances the ass end of the case near the head is too large. That is what the small base dies take care of.

B

 

[Steve Marshall]

Look at the shoulder. If there are shiny marks on it you crimped too much. You might not even realize you're crimping. You could easily have a die that is out od spec. In my experience somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% of factory dies for bottleneck cases are. A case gage will tell you where your shoulder is. (It checks the headspace fit) A max OAL empty case run up into the seating die will tell you if you're crimping or not. (With a caliper or micrometer, measure the diameter at the very end of the case before and after. If the diameter is smaller after you are crimping. Next, try seating a bullet. Measure the mouth of the case before and after. .223 does not require a crimp and many bullets don't have a cannelure any way. There is also nothing wrong in trimming a case shorter than what the manuals say. It is also possible that your barrel is out of spec. After sizing a bunch of cases, seat a few bullets on the longest ones you can find.

 

[EddieCoyle]

If I gauged every round I'd never have time to shoot. If your sizing die is set up properly there's really no need.

I also don't trim after every firing. I trim to the minimum the first time and they'll last many firings before they stretch enough to need another trimming.
.

This.

Probably didn't bump the shoulder back enough

And also this. In fact, I'd put money on it.