Charging handle popping loose Updated! Post #12

[chadwickz71]

Updated: scroll down to post with pick of charging handle post #12

Brand new AR10 308. V7 Harbinger. Gun is super nice and lightweight which is why i bought it etc. i wish the guys were still open i'd call them Joel is awesome.

3 quick questions as i was running some rounds through it today and tuning the AGB.

I've shot it about 50rds.

1. Typically i close the gas block and put one round in the mag... Shoot and open AGB 1 click at a time until it locks back then give it one more click... Is 1 click sufficient or should i go 2... At perfect lockback its ejecting about 3 o'clock. 1 click past its shooting about 1:30-2???

OK 2 things out of the normal are happening to me see below...

1. About 3-4 times while adjusting it would not cycle at all and the shelf was stuck in the chamber... It was about all the muscle i had to pull the charging handle back to get the round out, man it was stuck like realllyyy bad, thought i was gonna break something pulling then it would pop out... What am i doing wrong here? Shooting brand new PMC FMJ 150g ammo by the way, no reloads, and it also did it once with a barnes "reduced recoil" that i was trying for my daughter. so two different ammos this happened to.

2. Also Maybe 3-4 out of 50rds the charging handle maybe somewhat close to the last round in the mag if not sometimes the last,,, the charging handle pops loose and slaps me in the nose a bit. Not horribly bad but enough to make you flinch when it does it.... Should i look at something or take a picture of where its locking down? Ive not experieced this before on my other guns. Only thing i noticed on inspection was a lot of oil coming out of the gun in the charging handle area,,, so i just wiped that down really good and will go from there.


Thoughts on the above. thanks guys

 

[chadwickz71]

One thing on the chargin handle, when I lock the bolt back which allows the handle to be loose, when I lock the handle onto the upper it does NOT want to pop loose with me pulling on it pretty hard….

The little cavity it’s locking into does not have a sharp edge it is sort of rounded over but it is a new rifle and it does stay locked shut when I pull on it myself

It’s like the shock of the rifle is popping it loose sometimes

 

[bfoosh006]

Pics of fired brass.... both the case body and the case head.

And what brand Adj. GB ? ... what gas system length ?

And what buffer weight ?

 

[chadwickz71]

I had it shooting about 3:30 and it seemed to be sticking in the chamber. 2 more clicks of gas on the SLR and now I’m at 1:30 but it not sticking the shells anymore

 

[chadwickz71]

However see pic the charging handle is popping loose on last shot while I’m tuning quite a bit. Shouldn’t it stay locked on last shot regardless? Sorta looks like it’s wore the paint off which is probably normal but I never looked to see if that cavity had a sharp edge from new or was sorta rounded over like you see

 

[TonyAngel]

The charging handle popping loose could be a few things. The action cycling so violently that the handle won't stay put, the locking arm on the handle being worn or maybe the notch in the upper receiver not being deep enough. Regardless, on a new rifle, this shouldn't be happening. I'd quit diagnosing and start packing it up to ship back.

As for the stuck cases, typically, I'd say that was due to an insufficient closed bolt lock time caused by too much gas. Dont tune to get a good ejection pattern. Pattern doesn't matter as long as you're getting positive (not weak) ejection. Tune to hold the bolt open on the last round.

Being a new rifle, I wouldn't mess with it. Your asking these questions here suggests that you're better off just sending it back.

Im not trying to be rude, but ARs are all just adult legos to many, right up until something goes wrong and when something goes wrong it can often be any number of things. For example, a 4:30 ejection pattern is also indicative of a weak extractor spring, not just under gassing.

It sounds like you're tuning for ejection pattern and the adjustments on your system are pretty course. You may be over gassing it. Just tune to lock back on an empty magazine and see how it runs. If it still gives you problems, send it back.

 

[chadwickz71]

FYI when the cases stuck they looked ok just had a bent spot on the rim of the neck

 

[chadwickz71]

Tony

I completely understand what you’re saying and I’ve already sent an email to talk to them on Monday. But it appears the stuck case quit after I tuned it Two click past bolt lock back.

 

[TonyAngel]

The casing should look fine, except for maybe some deformation on the case rim. It sounded like you had to struggle a bit to get them out. Next time, use either a bore safe cleaning rod to knock them out or google "mortaring AR15." Mortaring the rifle is an easy method of removing stuck cases ... as long as the extractor doesn't let go.

 

[chadwickz71]

I broke the gun down yesterday and oiled the chamber area and bcg. Today the first two shots at my bolt lock back setting looked perfect…. Just for testing I closed the GB one click. Sure enough the next two rounds stuck but were not crazy hard to pull out. Went back open one click and didn’t do it again. That’s when I decided to give it the two extra open “insurance” clicks on the GB that most everyone does and not one case has stuck again.

All I see on the stuck cases was the bent area on the case neck rim and a scratch on the side of the neck.

 

[bfoosh006]

You might check for "battering" at the lowers buffer tube threads.

 

[chadwickz71]

Update:

No more stuck cases it just went away

However charging handle still popping out in last round and hitting me in that nose. I think I may have found the issue. Look at the pick of the bottom of my charge handle and see the two wear marks where the bcg is coming back and hitting it.

Does this look like the problem or is this normal. It is going it on last round of mag everytime

I pulling the charge handle out of a larue which is a precision reflex handle and that channel is milled all the way back where this V7 stops about 1” short. I’m tempted to swap them but I’ll wait and see what Joel says

 

[chadwickz71]

Wanted to update this for both parties involved. V7 sending a new charging handle, for whatever reason that channel on the bottom is a smidge out of spec of the gun is throwing the BCG back a smidge farther than spec... Either way i put in a different handle i had and no trouble. So V7 sending me a billet ambi charge handle free for my trouble... Great company

 

[hlee]

Wanted to update this for both parties involved. V7 sending a new charging handle, for whatever reason that channel on the bottom is a smidge out of spec of the gun is throwing the BCG back a smidge farther than spec... Either way i put in a different handle i had and no trouble. So V7 sending me a billet ambi charge handle free for my trouble... Great company

If the bolt carrier is moving too far to the rear, you might see evidence on the receiver extension “tower.” This evidence manifests as little triangular gouges at approximately 4 and 8 o’clock on the tower.

You can easily adjust how far the bcg travels by dropping a quarter into the bottom of the receiver extension. Generally one is sufficient.

 

[chadwickz71]

Dang, you lost me on the "tower" part. Can you expand on that location of that. I'd like to look. Would that be the end where its threaded?

 

[hlee]

Dang, you lost me on the "tower" part. Can you expand on that location of that. I'd like to look. Would that be the end where its threaded?

 

[LRRPF52]

Dang, you lost me on the "tower" part. Can you expand on that location of that. I'd like to look. Would that be the end where its threaded?

It’s also called the lower receiver extension tube thread boss, or RET boss for short.