Having feeding issues with my new BM C-15

[Speeter]

I recently picked up BM Carbon 15, and I am having problems getting the rifle to feed consistantly. With the factory mags i was having a FTF 1 in every 5 or so shots, and the further into the mag i got, the worse and more frequent it became. After talking to a couple people i know that own these, i swapped out the crappy factory mags, and picked up a couple Pmags. The gun got a little better with the new mags, but i would say I was still having about 4-5 FTF's per mag. i have tried about 10 different kinds of ammo, as well as a couple different brands of mags (i have the best results with Pmags) but I am still having problems and i am not sure what to check next.
I am out of ideas, and searching forum posts hasnt been that successful. I was told it could possibly be the bolt carrier, or possibly the spring may be too stiff/weak. I would like try all of the simple fixes before I contact Bushmaster and possibly have to send this one back to them. anyone have any ideas on what else i could check/replace to try and resolve my issues?

[crbutler]

The first thing I would do is take the bolt carrier and bolt, and REALLY clean the thing (ie take it down as far as you can then scrub the heck out of it, use pipe cleaners, etc. and get the factory gunk out) then (making sure the gas rings on the bolt are overlapping) reassemble and lube with Breakfree CLP.

Make sure the buffer and spring are OK (visual is fine for that)

Then fire with good factory ammo (not white box or surplus/remanufactured) in a warm place (indoors or on a day like today).

If it still isn't working, its probably going to cost money to fix, so I would send it back. Mags are by far the most likely to be the culprit, but you have looked at that.

[Speeter]

The first thing I would do is take the bolt carrier and bolt, and REALLY clean the thing (ie take it down as far as you can then scrub the heck out of it, use pipe cleaners, etc. and get the factory gunk out) then (making sure the gas rings on the bolt are overlapping) reassemble and lube with Breakfree CLP.

Make sure the buffer and spring are OK (visual is fine for that)

Then fire with good factory ammo (not white box or surplus/remanufactured) in a warm place (indoors or on a day like today).

If it still isn't working, its probably going to cost money to fix, so I would send it back. Mags are by far the most likely to be the culprit, but you have looked at that.

thanks for the tips, i took it apart somewhat last night, but i stopped before messing with the buffer tube/spring. i will break it down a little further and see what i can find.

I did forget to mention this in the above post, but when shooting the gun, 95% of the FTF's are happening when i delay in between rounds (most of the issues occured while trying to sight in my new scope). But i have almost zero issues when i rapid fire.

[yuppiejr]

If it's a fully factory rifle I'd exercise your warranty options, numerous types of ammo + mags = something else wrong beyond what an average user should be able to repair... even if you find the problem you're going to have to send it in to get it fixed, worst case by messing with it you end up voiding the warranty and have to replace parts yourself (not easy in the current market depending on what's messed up.. and why incur the out of pocket expense).

[Speeter]

If it's a fully factory rifle I'd exercise your warranty options, numerous types of ammo + mags = something else wrong beyond what an average user should be able to repair... even if you find the problem you're going to have to send it in to get it fixed, worst case by messing with it you end up voiding the warranty and have to replace parts yourself (not easy in the current market depending on what's messed up.. and why incur the out of pocket expense).

that has definately been in the back of my mind as far as the warranty goes. i was just hoping it would be something simple to fix. even with the issues, the gun has been a blast to shoot. i am assuming i should go directly to the manufacturer with the isses and not the place of purchase?

[solidgun]

If you have tried factory brass cased ammo of some quality and you feel that your rifle is broken in because you have shot enough, just use your warranty to get things fixed. Why spend the extra money and time? That is the reason for buying complete rifles from manufacturers.

I spend a lot of time and ammo breaking in, swapping parts, testing parts and have almost every tool spare parts for the AR, so I don't mind building them. But I also buy complete rifles because I may not always have time to put up with the effort and ammo when the manufacturer is willing to do this for me.

[FJ540]

How's the gas block alignment? Sounds like an under gassed issue to me.

[TTS]

Bushmasters Carbon 15 rifles have been known to have serious reliability issues.

I would send it back to them to get fixed and then sell it. Do a search and you will see tons of threads about broken carbon 15s. Everything from trigger pins falling out to threads on the upper receiver braking and barrels falling off.

[panzerr]

What type of buffer is it running? What type if ammo is it having issues with? Is it a semi auto or full auto BCG?

It sounds like it is short stroking. The BCG isn't consistently going back far enough to strip a round. Personally, I wouldn't bet my life on a Bushmaster, but if you feel the need to keep it you will need to make a few changes.

[Speeter]

If you have tried factory brass cased ammo of some quality and you feel that your rifle is broken in because you have shot enough, just use your warranty to get things fixed. Why spend the extra money and time? That is the reason for buying complete rifles from manufacturers.

I spend a lot of time and ammo breaking in, swapping parts, testing parts and have almost every tool spare parts for the AR, so I don't mind building them. But I also buy complete rifles because I may not always have time to put up with the effort and ammo when the manufacturer is willing to do this for me.

I have already contacted them, I was hoping for some simple fixes so I wouldn't have to send it back.

And as far as the sell it post, if you search any gun you can find people calling them crap for a variety of reasons. I have two friends that own these and have never had an issue. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky.

[Speeter]

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What type of buffer is it running? What type if ammo is it having issues with? Is it a semi auto or full auto BCG?

It sounds like it is short stroking. The BCG isn't consistently going back far enough to strip a round. Personally, I wouldn't bet my life on a Bushmaster, but if you feel the need to keep it you will need to make a few changes.

As far as the buffer, I have no idea. It's using whatever it had out of the box.

For ammo, I've only had it a couple weeks, and only put about 350-400 rounds through. I have tried 50, 55, and 62gr fmj. I have also tried some of the 69gr jhp, all had the feeding issues. Ammo was Remington / federal / fiocchi , all brass.

[grousemaster]

What type of buffer is it running? What type if ammo is it having issues with? Is it a semi auto or full auto BCG?

It sounds like it is short stroking. The BCG isn't consistently going back far enough to strip a round. Personally, I wouldn't bet my life on a Bushmaster, but if you feel the need to keep it you will need to make a few changes.

I would ONLY bet my life on a Colt AR-15. Maybe a LaRue or Daniel Defense.

[crbutler]

If your problems are only occurring when you shoot it off a bench, as in sighting in, make absolutely sure you have the butt firmly against your shoulder- no slop. Do not allow the magazine to rest on anything.

Also do the heavy duty clean of the bolt/carrier thing and lube with CLP.

Its probably not really broken in yet, but I've heard of lots of folks having trouble off the bench because the rifle is allowed to free recoil. Auto loaders all have issues with this to some degree.

[FJ540]

Ar's shouldn't have any issue with cycling based on being rested or not. The drill sergeant shot one off his chin and nuts in the first live fire demo we had in BCT. His point was that you had nothing to be afraid of with recoil.

The DI or piston simply unlocks the bolt from the barrel extension, and after that it's a blow-back operated gun. If the barrel's gas port isn't lined up, or is clogged, or simply not big enough - you end up with cycling problems because there's not enough pressure left in the barrel to cycle the action after the bullet is history and the gas system took too long to unlock the bolt.

[larson1122]

I would send it back to them to get fixed and then sell it.

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