Help/advice desperately needed

[Pentalgin]

Hello Everybody.
I hope somebody can help me here.

I am a newbie. I recently bought my first AR-10 6.5 Creedmoor. I built the lower and I got a complete upper (I got all the parts from Palmetto Armory).

The rifle had some extraction/ejection problems and was putting a lot of scratches on the brass. I oiled it really well and then decided to take the bolt apart. Unfortunately through my my inexperience and stupidity I bent both ejector springs ( bolt has double ejector )

The BCG that came with my Palmetto Armory upper is Toolcraft AR-10 6.5 Creedmoor. Unfortunately folks at Toolcraft did not respond to two of the emails that I sent them asking what is the spring size for the springs I need to replace and where to get them.

I got Large frame ejector replacement kit from JP Rifle. It has both spring and ejector pin. Both spring and ejector are too large (diameter wise). I asked JP Rifle about it and they responded :"Our large-frame extractor spring is the same for .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor. It is a DPMS LR-308 compatible spring. The small-frame extractor spring is a mil-spec style."


I have no idea where to get the replacement for these springs. I searched the internet high and low and I cannot find AR-10 ejector springs for 6.5 Creedmoor and I am not sure why JR Rifle springs did not fit. Any advice? Should I just buy any AR-10 308?

I found Sprinco AR308 ejector spring but it says it is incompatible with DPMS bolts

27308 - Sprinco AR-10 / AR-308 Enhanced Ejector Spring - AR15Discounts

Just like their buffer springs, the Sprinco AR-10 Ejector Springs are made from high quality Chrome Silicon wire stock that has been heat treated, stress re

ar15discounts.com

PS. I also heard that AR-10 safety selector spring and ejector spring are the same. Is that true?

 

[loclass]

If you bought the upper complete including bcg, why wouldn't you go to them for parts?

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

Sounds like PSAids strikes again.

I’d send it back to them to get sorted out.

 

[Pentalgin]

If you bought the upper complete including bcg, why wouldn't you go to them for parts?

I will continue to try contact Palmetto. They have somewhat inconvenient customer service hours from 9am-5pm Eastern and I am on the West coast. I hope I will get in touch with them in a few days depending on my schedule.

They do say on their website "If you're contacting us about product inventory, we cannot assist you. Please check our website daily for inventory information."

 

[Pentalgin]

Sounds like PSAids strikes again.

I’d send it back to them to get sorted out.

I would send it back if the springs were defective from the start but I know I did bent them when I drove the pin in the wrong holes when trying to take the bolt apart. ;(

 

[msgriff]

If you strike out with PSA/TC, I would try KAK. who have replacement springs for their LR308 dual ejector bolts. No guarantees on if they're the same. You might need more parts than that to actually fix your problems, though.
KAK Ejector Spring

 

[Pentalgin]

If you strike out with PSA/TC, I would try KAK. who have replacement springs for their LR308 dual ejector bolts. No guarantees on if they're the same. You might need more parts than that to actually fix your problems, though.
KAK Ejector Spring

Thank you very much for this find. I will definetly try them if I cannot get the straight answer from PSA.
As you noted KAK also uses double ejector so I think my chances with them are somewhat higher.
$3 for couple of springs and $10 shipping is a minuscule price to pay for the grief it was causing to me.

You are right that I will probably need to troubleshoot it more after I replace these ejector springs but at this point I will be happy to get my AR to the state where it was at least somewhat functional.

 

[msgriff]

I would also recommend a bolt vise if you're not already using one.

 

[Precision Underground]

The(AR10) rifle … was putting a lot of scratches on the brass.

Welcome to large frames!



I’d guess this will work unless they have a custom spring size. I doubt toolcraft does but would have guessed that JP has a custom size.

27308 - Sprinco AR-10 / AR-308 Enhanced Ejector Spring - AR15Discounts

Just like their buffer springs, the Sprinco AR-10 Ejector Springs are made from high quality Chrome Silicon wire stock that has been heat treated, stress re

ar15discounts.com

For future reference- large frames beat the hell out of brass. So that can be normal. If you were having issues with the gun functioning, it’s doubtful that the ejectors needed to be pulled. That would have been toward the end of the list of things to do for me. Post up a pic of the brass and explain what it’s doing and you’ll likely get an easy answer next time

 

[Pentalgin]

I would also recommend a bolt vise if you're not already using one.

Thank you. I 3d printed one. It worked surprisingly well through it is obviously not as durable as manufactured vise.

 

[Pentalgin]

Welcome to large frames!



I’d guess this will work unless they have a custom spring size. I doubt toolcraft does but would have guessed that JP has a custom size.

27308 - Sprinco AR-10 / AR-308 Enhanced Ejector Spring - AR15Discounts

Just like their buffer springs, the Sprinco AR-10 Ejector Springs are made from high quality Chrome Silicon wire stock that has been heat treated, stress re

ar15discounts.com

For future reference- large frames beat the hell out of brass. So that can be normal. If you were having issues with the gun functioning, it’s doubtful that the ejectors needed to be pulled. That would have been toward the end of the list of things to do for me. Post up a pic of the brass and explain what it’s doing and you’ll likely get an easy answer next time

Once I broke these springs, I had a little more quiet time to read on the subject.
I read that you need to run AR-10s extremely lubed and shoot them a couple hundred rounds to break in.

The reason I decided to inspect ejector was that one of the ejectors was stiffer the other one.
In the retrospect I should have left it alone and wait for it to break in.

I also had problems with bolt getting stuck(only with the round) so I had to mortar it out.
Once I restore the functionality of the AR-10 and if I continue to have problems with ejection/extraction. I will post some photos and videos.

 

[Precision Underground]

Once I broke these springs, I had a little more quiet time to read on the subject.
I read that you need to run AR-10s extremely lubed and shoot them a couple hundred rounds to break in.

The reason I decided to inspect ejector was that one of the ejectors was stiffer the other one.
In the retrospect I should have left it alone and wait for it to break in.

I also had problems with bolt getting stuck(only with the round) so I had to mortar it out.
Once I restore the functionality of the AR-10 and if I continue to have problems with ejection/extraction. I will post some photos and videos.

One of the best first pieces of info you can learn as a newb is to take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt if you don’t know who the author is. A lot of guys who appear to know what they’re talking about (they have a YouTube channel or blog or website about guns) will post videos or other info that is only partially correct or that is completely wrong. I don’t run any of our gas guns extremely lubed. I’ve seen videos of guys literally pouring motor oil or slathering grease on every part of their BCG because “you gotta run it lubed”. You really don’t need to do that if the gun is put together correctly.

Did you clean out the chamber/barrel before loading rounds? Grit in a chamber can cause rounds to stick and can scratch brass. It could possibly cause ejection issues as well.

 

[Pentalgin]

One of the best first pieces of info you can learn as a newb is to take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt if you don’t know who the author is. A lot of guys who appear to know what they’re talking about (they have a YouTube channel or blog or website about guns) will post videos or other info that is only partially correct or that is completely wrong. I don’t run any of our gas guns extremely lubed. I’ve seen videos of guys literally pouring motor oil or slathering grease on every part of their BCG because “you gotta run it lubed”. You really don’t need to do that if the gun is put together correctly.

Did you clean out the chamber/barrel before loading rounds? Grit in a chamber can cause rounds to stick and can scratch brass. It could possibly cause ejection issues as well.

It is hard to disagree with you. I frequently see videos made by "youtube experts" in my professional field and they can be very misleading or just plain incorrect. I will keep your suggestion in mind.
It is just there is not a lot of reliable information that is readily available for modern AR-10 rifles ( especially considering manufacturers' quirks) but it appears that these forum can be very helpful.

I did not clean the chamber or barrel since it is a new gun that I haven't shot. I did inspect the chamber with the light and magnifying glass and I did not see any burrs. Maybe AR-10s are supposed to be rough like this. I just assumed that it should cycle as smooth as my AR-15.

On the bright side, instead of trying to call PSA, I sent them email yesterday and once I woke up these morning I had email from their repair department waiting in my mailbox. They are sending me these 2 springs free, UPS. I am stupid.

Contacting PSA should have been the first thing to try. Even though they do not list these springs as an item that you can buy, I should have guessed that PSA being a big firearm retailer must have a stockpile of various spare parts.

Thank you, everybody. I appreciate your help.