AR15 Headspace Issue

Finish reaming the minuscule amount that I suspect is necessary here is no more than a 30 minute job for an experienced gunsmith - providing they have the headspace gauges and don't have other jobs on the bench.

Although not recommended, it can even be done with the upper fully assembled and still attached to the lower.



I had some headspace issues with a Black Hole Weaponry 6x45mm barrel last year. Even though I just wanted the barrel fixed, they insisted on cutting a new barrel for me.
Turnaround was pretty quick and they put a custom finish on the barrel as "compensation". But...
Hey, guess what? They used the same worn out chamber reamer for the second barrel, too! :rolleyes:

We went back and forth for a while about potential resolution, finally culminating in them stating that there's no way they could cut TWO bad chambers, and the barrel was now my problem.
It wouldn't have cost me much to rent a reamer, but I have future plans for more 6x45mm rifles, so I bought one. ...Easy fix, and now I get to share the stupid experience with BHW, at every applicable opportunity. :(
 
Haha, what a nightmare! I just spoke with AAC, they are paying for me to ship my upper to them. They are either going to fix the barrel or replace it and reassemble it for me.

Can't wait to get it back!
 
ingEneer22,

Good, I'm glad to hear it.

AR-15 barrels, if made around the original idea and design, should be interchangeable, in that they all fit when placed on a upper. The government couldn't have ordnance reaming every chamber when they changed a barrel. Especially, if the barrel needed to be changed in the field. I could see doing it to a match barrel, but not any other.
 
That is somewhat true. The locking area is part of the barrel and set for a "Go" headspace reading. We still used headspace gauges to check if the bolt was compatible with the new barrel. Going in to a chamber that is already cut by a different reamer is not usually a good idea. The variation in diameters on the two different reamers could give you problems. I did it once and got kind of a "Step" in the neck area. Not really a problem, but people that reload see that kind of thing.
 
I am a reloader, my dies and presses have threads, threads make it possible to adjust my dies to the shell holder. I have shell holders that are loose by design, when sizing a case for a short chamber I can shorten a case .012" from the shoulder to the head of the case. When cutting a chamber I can form short cases for short chambers from the shoulder to the head of the case, when cutting a chamber I never say "Check often because no one knows how close they are to finishing a chamber".

And I can measure the length of a chamber from the inside of the chamber or on the outside of the chamber.

F. Guffey
 
AR 15 head space issue

is this a factory reciver or did you build it . ? the fact that it passed plunk test is the tell's me you need to space the barrle out . start with a .005 shim between the barrle and the receiver . test action . add more until smooth cycle of the bolt . we see a few new builder who file the front of the receiver to clean it up not a good idea spacing is critical . about the only othere thing that could couse a simular problem is a bad gas tube . good luck with it
 
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