I purchased a brand new Armalite M15A2 about a year ago. I took it home and detailed stripped it, cleaned it thoroughly then re assembled and put in my safe. Would you believe I finally got a chance to shoot it yesterday? (OK guys you can flame me all you want and I deserve it, I know a brand new gun in the safe for a year and not shooting it is a sin but read on). Here is the problem I ran into at the range. It functioned OK for about the first 60 rds and then started to jam occasionally. I tried magazines of different mfgs (including Armalite) and capacities and they all did the same thing. I also fed rounds in with no magazine in place and the same problem occurred. The problem got progressively worse (BTW ammunition did not make any difference I tried PMC, Winchester, PMP, Norinco, and some British SS109 ALL with the same result). At first I thought it was short cycling but then I figured out it was a total failure to EJECT. Extraction was OK, but the empty cases just stayed attached the bolt face and I had to take them out by hand. It was sporadic at first and the cases that did come out landed on the table only a few inches away. It is at the point now where every single round jams. Well obviously I gave up and put it away there was nothing I could do at the range. When I got home I took it apart and looked for any obvious problems and I didn't see any. So that's it guys. What do I have (besides a non-functioning weapon) what do I replace or fix? Weak ejector spring? As of right now everything on the rifle is stock. No aftermarket anything. I have to admit I am disappointed I figured I would get better performance than this from a brand new gun.
Problem with new Armalite M15A2
- Thread starter AR Man
- Start date
You also might want to post this question at Armalite's board - www.armalite.com
Destructo6
New member
Ejector plunger? Did you remove this when you detail stripped? If you did, then are you sure you reinstalled it correctly?
You could verify (if you haven't already) by putting a single round in the magazine, so that the bolt locks after each cycle.
You could verify (if you haven't already) by putting a single round in the magazine, so that the bolt locks after each cycle.
What you've got there is brass shavings jammed down in next to the pin ejector of your bolt. The ejector in the bolt face should move freely under heavy spring pressure, and I'll bet yours is dragging. It should move in and out with equal pressure, chances are yours is hard to compress and light on the return.
You will need a 1/16 inch punch to disassemble your ejector by driving out the roll pin, or call Armalite and see what they can do for you, they may just exchange your bolt. Chances are you'll need to replace your ejector(it's probably undersized) and roll pin(easily damaged while driving in/out), and a new spring wouldn't hurt you any.
Clean out the ejector spring hole in the bolt with a .110" drill bit using only your fingers to turn it, this will get all the gunk, shavings, or whatever out. Then blow it out with compressed air and reassemble.
This is the best way, but you might be able to cheat by letting the bolt soak in degreaser overnight and working the ejector until it moves freely, then soaking it in a cleaner/lube like CLP or Rem-oil and trying it again. You might get lucky. Hope this helps.
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With my shield or on it...
You will need a 1/16 inch punch to disassemble your ejector by driving out the roll pin, or call Armalite and see what they can do for you, they may just exchange your bolt. Chances are you'll need to replace your ejector(it's probably undersized) and roll pin(easily damaged while driving in/out), and a new spring wouldn't hurt you any.
Clean out the ejector spring hole in the bolt with a .110" drill bit using only your fingers to turn it, this will get all the gunk, shavings, or whatever out. Then blow it out with compressed air and reassemble.
This is the best way, but you might be able to cheat by letting the bolt soak in degreaser overnight and working the ejector until it moves freely, then soaking it in a cleaner/lube like CLP or Rem-oil and trying it again. You might get lucky. Hope this helps.
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With my shield or on it...
Go Chris! You B Da AR guru here!
Simple test we armorers do is to take a pin punch and push the extractor back. It should snap sharply back. The same for the ejector on an AR. If it goes in too easily, the spring may be weak. If you can't push the ejector in towards the bolt face, then it's like suggested above.
Heck, my AR would eject, but stupid me used a solid pin instead of a roll pin to hold the ejector in place. The solid pin walked, the ejector ejected, and I have a KALI legal single shot rifle! More follies of an old fool to follow in other threads...
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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
Simple test we armorers do is to take a pin punch and push the extractor back. It should snap sharply back. The same for the ejector on an AR. If it goes in too easily, the spring may be weak. If you can't push the ejector in towards the bolt face, then it's like suggested above.
Heck, my AR would eject, but stupid me used a solid pin instead of a roll pin to hold the ejector in place. The solid pin walked, the ejector ejected, and I have a KALI legal single shot rifle! More follies of an old fool to follow in other threads...
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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
More evidence of the design superiority of certain elements of the M1/M14 system. The extractor holds the ejector in, and spring pressure onto a ball riding in a groove on the ejector securely holds that thing in place.
With only a cartridge case, the things can be re-assembled by hand. Disassembly requires a combo tool, screwdriver, or edge of an enbloc clip if you're desperate. Are your tools more likely to become lost at the beginning or the end of the repair session?
I like the AR's ergonomics and what we've done with the round after 20 years of crappy M193 and 10 more years of finally getting long-range performance. But that gas system makes such a mess!
Your description sounds like the ejector problem cited above. Manual removal stinks. But if a single-loaded round also won't lock the bolt back, heed the advise to check your lube technique, and take a peek to ensure the bolt catch can move w/o a hitch, and check the buffer assembly as well.
With only a cartridge case, the things can be re-assembled by hand. Disassembly requires a combo tool, screwdriver, or edge of an enbloc clip if you're desperate. Are your tools more likely to become lost at the beginning or the end of the repair session?
I like the AR's ergonomics and what we've done with the round after 20 years of crappy M193 and 10 more years of finally getting long-range performance. But that gas system makes such a mess!
Your description sounds like the ejector problem cited above. Manual removal stinks. But if a single-loaded round also won't lock the bolt back, heed the advise to check your lube technique, and take a peek to ensure the bolt catch can move w/o a hitch, and check the buffer assembly as well.