Unfired rounds often get stuck in the chamber.

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  • Grendel-Gene
    Unwashed
    • Nov 2014
    • 9

    Unfired rounds often get stuck in the chamber.

    Forgive me if this topic has been raised a lot before. I haven't been here for a while. I have a Grendel with an old 2009 Satern Rifle Cut barrel and I often am not able to pull the UNFIRED rounds from the chamber. I have maybe 500 rounds through it in total.

    At first I figured it was just a bad round or something... but now I have noticed that it happens very frecuently (although I havent shot it in years until yesterday when it did so again).

    I am wondering if this is a "known issue" with these barrels?.... or if its "just mine"? ... And if a "known issue", what has been the cure?

    Thanks.

    Gene
  • Kilco
    Chieftain
    • Jan 2016
    • 1201

    #2
    Sounds an awful lot like your bullets are getting jammed in the lands... if you yank the charging handle back, will the bullet come out of the case and stay lodged in the rifling? If not, can you see marks on the bullet from being lodged? Are these handloads, or factory ammo?

    Comment

    • Jakal
      Warrior
      • May 2014
      • 376

      #3
      If your sizing die was not screwed down far enough to get the last portion of the case, you might have a swell and may need some small based sizing dies to bring your brass back in. Got a chamber gauge handy? Run your rounds against it if so.
      ""Come taste my Shillelagh you goat-eatin bastard!""

      Comment

      • Grendel-Gene
        Unwashed
        • Nov 2014
        • 9

        #4
        The bullet itself is not affected. After mortaring the rifle the round comes out intact, This happens with both handloads AND FACTORY ammo. I truly believe it is something related to the chamber, but I wanted to find out for sure if this was a more common problem and whether it took sending the barrel back to fix it,

        By the way I emailed Satern... How is their customer service?

        Comment

        • Rickc
          Warrior
          • Aug 2016
          • 311

          #5
          Originally posted by Grendel-Gene View Post
          The bullet itself is not affected. After mortaring the rifle the round comes out intact, This happens with both handloads AND FACTORY ammo. I truly believe it is something related to the chamber, but I wanted to find out for sure if this was a more common problem and whether it took sending the barrel back to fix it,

          By the way I emailed Satern... How is their customer service?
          How much has the barrel been shot?

          Could be as simple as the chamber needs a good scrubbing. A good carbon solvent and a chamber brush would be my first step.

          Comment

          • LRRPF52
            Super Moderator
            • Sep 2014
            • 8569

            #6
            This was pretty common with Satern if you got the barrel from Satern, though not all of them.

            I've finish-reamed 2 of them that I was building uppers with or doing Cerakote work, using a Manson SAAMI Grendel reamer.

            Very few shavings came out, barely noticeable. I used cutting oil, then polished the chambers afterwards with a mop and some bore paste, then cleaned thoroughly.
            NRA Basic, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, RSO

            CCW, CQM, DM, Long Range Rifle Instructor

            6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbooks & chamber brushes can be found here:

            www.AR15buildbox.com

            Comment

            • Grendel-Gene
              Unwashed
              • Nov 2014
              • 9

              #7
              L52, can I borrow your Manson Reamer to fix my issue???

              Thanks!!!!

              Let me know how to proceed if you agree.

              Gene

              Comment

              • Grendel-Gene
                Unwashed
                • Nov 2014
                • 9

                #8
                Well, I decided to order a Manson finishing reamer. I figured it was a must to have.
                .... Hope this will fix my problems. I may need some guidance on how to actually use it without ruining my chamber....

                Comment

                • Grendel-Gene
                  Unwashed
                  • Nov 2014
                  • 9

                  #9
                  Originally posted by LRRPF52 View Post
                  This was pretty common with Satern if you got the barrel from Satern, though not all of them.

                  I've finish-reamed 2 of them that I was building uppers with or doing Cerakote work, using a Manson SAAMI Grendel reamer.

                  Very few shavings came out, barely noticeable. I used cutting oil, then polished the chambers afterwards with a mop and some bore paste, then cleaned thoroughly.
                  LRRP52,

                  Is this more or less what you did??



                  Thanks
                  Last edited by Grendel-Gene; 04-20-2017, 05:37 PM.

                  Comment

                  • Grendel-Gene
                    Unwashed
                    • Nov 2014
                    • 9

                    #10
                    Well, I think I fixed my problem and here is how I did it:

                    I got my very own Manson Finish reamer. It cost me 136 bucks delivered, but I figured that if it fixed my favorite gun, that then it was well worth it!!!

                    As a lubricant I used CRISCO which I was told is an excellent lubricant for this type of application my an old time machinist friend of mine.

                    I secured my upper vertically on vice and gently dropped in the reamer into the chamber. I turned it ONE full turn without applying any real downward pressure, just letting it scrape up axially whatever it might find WITHOUT cutting any deeper.

                    After that one turn I removed the reamer, cleaned out the lube and shavings, and lightly polished the chamber with 0000 steel wool on a brass patch holder on an aluminum rod in a drill.

                    I put the gun back together and chambered and unloaded 5 factory Hornady rounds and I could feel that it was easier, but still too hard; I was making progress,

                    So I repeated the process two or three more times but on one pass I actually made two turns of the reamer instead of one!!! BUT like I said, I never applied any real downward pressure.

                    On one pass in particular I did see some minute shavings and a lot of what I gather was CARBON on the cutting flues of the reamer.

                    I stopped the process once the rounds ejected "normally" and very smoothly.

                    I have yet to test fire the gun but I hope that I did not alter significantly the head space because I do not have gauges for this caliber....


                    But after seeing all the carbon on the cutter, I thought about some issues that I have had with this gun early on which might explain my current problem:

                    When I first built it, I only shot that cheap and MILD Wolf ammo. It worked fine. BUT AS I STARTED TO RELOAD for this caliber, I started having issues because (as I eventually figured out), my gun was WAY OVERGASSED by the hotter reloads. I would find the top end of my ejected cases covered in powder residue that was now blowing back into the chamber... and I guess this stuff was never really cleaned up properly and was left there to build up for a while...

                    So I got an adjustable gas block (which fixed that over gassing issue), but it was too late because the chamber was now pretty fouled - although it looked clean and I did clean it every time I shot the gun.... but apparently not well enough!!!

                    This created the roughness to not allow the unfired cases to eject easily.

                    Anyway, that's my current thinking.

                    I hope my experience will help others with similar problems.

                    Gene

                    Comment

                    • Troutguide
                      Warrior
                      • Jan 2017
                      • 380

                      #11
                      This sounds very similar to an issue I had with Wolf ammo in my Howa 65G. After shooting a bunch of Wolf rounds started sticking, I was told by some it was melted lacquer but more research showed it must be carbon from the steel neck not expanding and preventing blow back. A good cleaning helped but carbon deposits are tough I need to get a better brush just for the bore. The reamer might be useful if you were very careful not to remove metal, just carbon. There are a few threads about stuck rounds lately, all have one thing in common: Wolf steel ammo. It is nice at the price but a pain to keep clean. Glad you got it cleaned up and shooting well again.
                      "I rarely give a definite answer" - TG

                      Comment

                      • LRRPF52
                        Super Moderator
                        • Sep 2014
                        • 8569

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Grendel-Gene View Post
                        LRRP52,

                        Is this more or less what you did??



                        Thanks
                        Yes, but I polish when finished. You don't want a chamber with radial tool marks in it. Make sure to only go clockwise in the direction of the cutting flutes. I kept measuring with a dummy cartridge loaded to 2.260" COL with a 123gr AMAX, and a 123gr SST loaded to 2.245", until there was no land engagement with either. Before I started, there was pronounced land engagement.

                        Pat Rogers kept finishing reamers on hand in his courses even for carbine blasters because enough chambers that were marked "5.56 NATO" were way short, and would jam the lands like a short .223 chamber.
                        NRA Basic, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, RSO

                        CCW, CQM, DM, Long Range Rifle Instructor

                        6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbooks & chamber brushes can be found here:

                        www.AR15buildbox.com

                        Comment

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