Overheating issues

T

twoblink

New member
A while back, I had a problem with my M1A in that when you rapid fire about 100 rounds (after shooting something like 2000 rounds); the barrel got so hot that even my polymer handles began to smoke, and the barrel turned a bit red.

Here's where the problem began. If I chamber a round and didn't fire right away, the barrel was so hot that the brass expanded in the chamber, and so when I finally did fire, there was a failure to eject, because the brass bulged a bit.

Is there any way around this, or do I just have to wait for the barrel to cool a bit?

My other question is, has anybody else experienced this??

Albert
 
twoblink

I`m nowhere near being an expert on your question but, if that is the same M14 you got from Springfield?

They may have the chamber sized to the minimum "or less" which makes for better groups, but not so good for rapid fire. Although metal dose expand when hot it maybe the brass expanded more than the barrel did.

Tell Springfield about it when you send it back for nasty gas piston.

Just my .02
 
Sheesh - while you're at it, you may as well get a new barrel...

The sticking wasn't from the brass expanding in the chamber. The sticking was from the loaded round COOKING in the chamber, getting extremely hot, and then when you fired it, you got HIGH PRESSURE enough to stick the brass in the chamber.

If the polymer smokes and the barrel is red, you've done a Bad Thing.
 
COOKING is the prime word here. The round in the chamber could have cooked off and sent a round out the barrel without you wanting it to happen. :(
 
I understand what you guys are saying, and when I send my gun back to Springfield, there will be a detailed letter accompanying it, you can be sure of that.

What you are saying is what I suspected, BUT, here's the situation.

When the barrel is hot, and I load a round, even if I don't fire it, I still can't extract it! So there is expansion on both the part of the barrel and the brass I'm assuming.

My fear is not so much that, but a detonation prematurely, without a pull of the trigger.

"Cooking" as you guys call it, is a concern, what's an acceptable temp for a bullet to be at before get a boom? What I call "PUF" (Primer Unassisted Firing). So nobody pulled the trigger but the barrel was too hot and it fired...?

Albert

B9mmHP, yes, it's the same gun (you think I can afford 2 M1A's???) that gas pistol is ugly huh?
 
You're kidding...I hope??

TB "THE BARREL EVEN GOT A LITTLE RED??".
Rapid firing 100 rounds, and it DO sound like you mean RAPID.......
Will KILL your barrel....if you already haven't ruined it.....:(
I would wager you have damaged it beyond hope at this point....you cannot shoot any rifle this fast, without damaging the barrel.
To the point of turning the barrel red.........
You should be waiting around 2-3 minutes at LEAST before firing, esp in the summertime
And, I figure you will have a cook off, IF you leave the round in the chamber long enough under these conditions......rounds should cook off at around 350 degrees.
Sounds like shake n' bake.........
My suggestion is back off.....and don't expect S A to foot the bill for a damaged barrel.......:rolleyes:
 
No, I'm not kidding, and I've checked the barrel, and I don't see any damage; or at least if there is damage, I cannot find it.

Albert
 
Yikes are you trying to slump the barrel? Just kidding ;) On the bright side you will know how far you can push it with the next barrel. Don't know what to tell you about the extraction problem let us know what springfield says.
 
I have seen an M1 fired about to destruction with about 12+ clips. Firing was from a cradle with finger bounce. The barrel turned red, then actually drooped. Not to worry too much, the barrel was shot out and the shooter (army ordnance) just wanted to see how much it would take to really wreck it.

Jim
 
Ever wonder why military M60 crews carry along spare barrels? When they rapid fire to the point of the barrel turning red, those extra barrels come in handy.

I fire 5 shots through my varmint barrels and cringe at the idea of firing another when it's hot. I couldn't imagine subjecting my rifle to that much abuse. You killed the barrel in your thousand dollar rifle.

You are kidding right?
 
I don't know... The barrel could be okay. Ease up in the trigger, Bro! I remember one time I went through about 5 mags of .223 through my M-16 all full auto and all very fast - out of 5 mags I only pulled the trigger 5 times. At night and I had about every 4th or 5th round a tracer...
The gas tube was so hot that it glowed like a neon light tube from under the handguard... quite brightly too.

I would NEVER do that to one of my privately owned guns...
Of course I wouldnt take one of my guns back down to Panama either - but thats another story.

Anyways - you doing that kinda thing to you .308 rifle? That would be a LOT of heat... Enough to boil water for sure.
 
I in no way put on a cradle trigger puller or something like that, and rapid fire in my M1A was fast taps, not the stuff I do with the rented AR15's (30 rounds, 7 seconds!! Repeated about 6 times!) That I know will trash up the barrel...

As much as I love my gun and as much $$$ as I paid for it, I also take the point of view of, if you buy a Porsche, don't drive it at 55 miles per hour only. It was designed to perform, and perform it should, so long as the maintenance is there.

What I am trying to figure out still though, is a good way to clean the barrel completely. I'm using a bore snake currently, but there is gunk I want to get out with a qtip in the corners, but I can't. So if you have suggestions, please let me know!

Albert
 
Thing is, are you going to pay any attention?

I'll wager you've got a LOT of copper built up, along with some serious scaling in your throat area... As far as gunk built up where you can see it, that's not your worst problem...

Spritz it with degreaser, then do it again. Then spray it with a light coating of oil, and order a new barrel...

AND DON'T DO THIS AGAIN! I just HATE to see people ruin perfectly good firearms in this fashion.
 
Not to put too fine a point on it

Let me get this straight. You shot 2000 rounds in your $1500 rifle in one sitting, without cleaning, and then fired an additional 100 rounds (five magazines) "rapid fire" until the barrel glowed red.:eek: How were your groups?

"Performance" from an M1A is about accuracy, not rate of fire. Just like a Porsche is not a good choice for an off-road vehicle.
 
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twoblink

On the extraction difficulty. Are you shooting reloads? If you are you may need to full length size them if you aren`t already.

I agree with George you may not have hurt the barrel. As to getting into the corners try using a piece of plastic that is pointed, cut down an old tooth brush.When you get it all clean take it out for a test drive, if it still holds groups like before the barrel is ok and hold your rapid fire down to one clip of 20. I brought smoke to my barrel after I had ran 40 rounds trough it rapid fire, but it was just some factory oil that I never cleaned, so now my limit is 20.

I know you said it was a NM M1A but if you can`t use it for rapid fire, why even have an M1A, the 100 rounds may have been a little much without a brake but you should still be able to extract the round.
 
I hope this is where we get the post that this was all a joke. I can't imagine a barrel that got hot enough to glow being worth anything, surely it's toast!
 
That happens all the time.
I had an M-60 that I had the barrel get red. Swapped barrels... Kept up the firing... the hot barrel was allowed to cool in a stream.
That barrel was back on in 10 minutes...
It fired fine.
 
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