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live round jammed in barrel

spotty bobekspotty bobek Member Posts: 219 ✭✭
in Ask the Experts
Having problems with a hand built ar 15 .223.  stopped  shooting at the range with live round in barrel that will not fire. 
Charging handle will not release the BCG. This happened before but my son didn't know there was a live round in it.  He just pounded the stalk into the floor and it came loose. Anybody know a safer way to remove a live round?
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    MobuckMobuck Member Posts: 13,779 ✭✭✭✭
    I'm no fan of "mortaring"(that's the common name for "He just pounded the stalk into the floor").  While it's maybe OK in a combat scenario, I don't consider it the best resolution. 
    First off as you probably already discovered, you can't just push out the rear pin and tilt the upper since the BCG isn't fully forward. With some jiggling/wiggling, it's often possible to get both pivot and takedown pins out and get the upper separated from the lower.  This is a bit easier if the hammer is still cocked but doable if the hammer is forward. 
    Once the upper is removed from the lower, you can look at the BCG from the underside of the upper and see that there's a gap between the front of the BCG and barrel extension. Stick a flatblade screwdriver in that gap to CAREFULLY pry the BCG rearward away from the barrel extension. If done CAREFULLY, this will not cause damage to any parts. 
    This technique is less stressful on the parts and ZERO danger of having the chambered round fire unintentionally.
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    chiefrchiefr Member Posts: 13,779 ✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    Mobuck said:
    I'm no fan of "mortaring"(that's the common name for "He just pounded the stalk into the floor").  While it's maybe OK in a combat scenario, I don't consider it the best resolution. 
    First off as you probably already discovered, you can't just push out the rear pin and tilt the upper since the BCG isn't fully forward. With some jiggling/wiggling, it's often possible to get both pivot and takedown pins out and get the upper separated from the lower.  This is a bit easier if the hammer is still cocked but doable if the hammer is forward. 
    Once the upper is removed from the lower, you can look at the BCG from the underside of the upper and see that there's a gap between the front of the BCG and barrel extension. Stick a flatblade screwdriver in that gap to CAREFULLY pry the BCG rearward away from the barrel extension. If done CAREFULLY, this will not cause damage to any parts. 
    This technique is less stressful on the parts and ZERO danger of having the chambered round fire unintentionally.
    Agree, With the sheer numbers of ARs, condition as OP described is not that rare. We do the same thing at the range, but tap stubborn pins out with a brass punch and use the punch and hammer to tap the BCG out from underneath always making sure rifle pointed in safe direction. If there is a better method, would certainly like to know. This is what was done when I was serving Uncle Sam. 

    Causes are interesting: Chambers that look like they have never been cleaned, case deformation, bullet seated with lip deformed, and brass that was not sized top the list.
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    nononsensenononsense Member Posts: 10,928 ✭✭✭✭
    This is not the time of year to be beating or pounding on a rifle while at the range surrounded by a crowd of people. If you have a failure you might have to give up your bench in order to perform some adjustments SAFELY away from the crowd. Chances are the failure is a fault of lack of routine maintenance.

    I carry a small version of the Black & Decker Workmate in my vehicle which is easy to set up for some of the jobs which occur while at the range or out in the desert. Move away from the crowd and position the small bench in a safe direction, hopefully aimed at a backstop. Carefully take down the rifle by removing the pins to separate the upper from the lower. This is a better idea since it removes the trigger from the potential of firing. Examine the 'jam' to determine where the case is hung up and carefully attempt extraction without damaging the rifle. If this is beyond your capabilities, leave the upper and lower separated and seek out the help of a gunsmith.

    Best.

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    MobuckMobuck Member Posts: 13,779 ✭✭✭✭
    Quite often, the first indicator of such a jam is "click" because the firing pin didn't extend beyond the bolt face which is a built in safety factor.  Sooner or later "mortaring" can/may defeat this factor resulting in an OOB firing which WILL cause serious damage and/or injury. As noted, this isn't an uncommon malfunction related to ammo misfit or combination of max tolerance ammo vs min tolerance chamber.
    I have several AR carbines that simply will not function with anything except clean factory ammo.  A chamber polish might be the answer but I'll just stick with the new stuff for time being.
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