AR issue - Random Guy at Range

**Pyzik** · 22 December 2016, 19:00

So I had some time after work today and I went to the range (whew!).

So a guy had a Radical Arms .300 BLK pistol he was shooting. It shit the bed.
The bolt got stuck in the chamber. Wouldn't unlock.
I told him mortar it and he didn't want to try that. Had a cleaning kit in my bag and gave him the rod. He didn't want to try that either.... He packed up for the day.

What would have caused this? Just over expanded brass? Cracked bolt?

**Stone** · 22 December 2016, 19:15

Expanded case/stuck case. Possibly along with cheap ammo and a lack of lube. Alot of folks are afraid they are over lubing so they end up under lubing. Gotta run your rifles wet. More times than not malfunctions are a combination of things. You were spot on with your fixes, suprised he didnt want help.

**alamo5000** · 22 December 2016, 19:17

Depends. Too many variables to say.

Here are some random guesses.

His bolt carrier speed was too fast (over gassed). I had that happen to me before I dropped in a heavier buffer. My bolt would actually damage my brass in various ways. Some brass was gouged on the side of the case and others were bent banana shaped. But when the bolt slammed shut with these issues it result in sticking or failure to go to full battery. I had a little bit of both.

A heavier buffer and a stiffer spring solved the problem for me. I don't know how many rounds I've shot (relatively a lot) since I made those changes and not even a hiccup one since.

**alamo5000** · 22 December 2016, 19:28

Mine didn't look exactly like that but along the side of the body of the brass there was deep gouges and deformed case bodies.

I had a lot of brass that was looking like this bottom picture. In both cases it resulted in the same results. It's obviously been fixed but I put the pics up for reference. (note, not my pics... just found them on the net)

**SINNER** · 22 December 2016, 19:39

If it locked and discharged a round then got stuck carrier speed is not the issue. I've personally never seen any truly overgassed short barreled Blackout. My money is either over pressured ammo or improper headspacing.

**Thompson** · 23 December 2016, 06:29

Originally Posted by SINNER

My money is either over pressured ammo or improper headspacing.

That was my thinking too.

Well, hope the guy got it fixed.

**Joelski** · 23 December 2016, 07:30

My guess is a lug broke off the bolt and jammed up the works. Most people buy the Radical uppers without a BCG and CH, which makes it cheaper and following that logic, many buyers cheap out on those parts as well. It could be an off center gas tube and jammed, or broken gas key. I'm not sure there's an ocean of barrel extensions impacting quality. IMO, Radical is a decent budget brand, far above PA or BM.

**JHoward** · 23 December 2016, 08:34

If he didn't want to mortar it it could be as simple as a stuck case. I wonder what he thinks a gunsmith is going to do. LOL

I love people who are like "nah, I'm going to bring it to a gunsmith" like that's going to change anything. Like he's gonna sprinkle fairy dust on it to clean it up.

**Pyzik** · 23 December 2016, 08:39

Originally Posted by Stone

Expanded case/stuck case. Possibly along with cheap ammo and a lack of lube. Alot of folks are afraid they are over lubing so they end up under lubing. Gotta run your rifles wet. More times than not malfunctions are a combination of things. You were spot on with your fixes, suprised he didnt want help.

It didn't look like it was lubed enough. I did notice that. I should have asked to take a pic.

Originally Posted by SINNER

If it locked and discharged a round then got stuck carrier speed is not the issue. I've personally never seen any truly overgassed short barreled Blackout. My money is either over pressured ammo or improper headspacing.

Yeah, it fired.

Originally Posted by Joelski

My guess is a lug broke off the bolt and jammed up the works. Most people buy the Radical uppers without a BCG and CH, which makes it cheaper and following that logic, many buyers cheap out on those parts as well. It could be an off center gas tube and jammed, or broken gas key. I'm not sure there's an ocean of barrel extensions impacting quality. IMO, Radical is a decent budget brand, far above PA or BM.

He said he purchased it complete. I was unsure of their quality. Just know they're a "Budget brad".

Originally Posted by JHoward

If he didn't want to mortar it it could be as simple as a stuck case. I wonder what he thinks a gunsmith is going to do. LOL

I love people who are like "nah, I'm going to bring it to a gunsmith" like that's going to change anything. Like he's gonna sprinkle fairy dust on it to clean it up.

That was this guy. There was a gun shop with a smith a few miles away he was headed to.

**velocity2006** · 24 December 2016, 11:41

I have a radical 300 barrel in the Rainier wevo build but have had zero issues it with and it's a shooter. I also don't shoot crap ammo though so ymmv.

I would guess it was a simple stuck case from crappy ammo before improper headspace.

**Eric** · 24 December 2016, 16:48

Bad brass/ammo. Bad head space. Bad chamber. Primer or other debris in the locking lugs, or broken lug.

**dgod** · 26 December 2016, 08:27

I have the Diamondback AR Pistol, I load my own ammo, I have found that IMR-4227, 10.0 gr and 230gr bullets, will shoot suppressed very well, I have Chrony's 10 rounds,

Avg Velocity: 999fps, Std Dev: 14, Ext Spread: 44, functions well, no FTF, no failures to Lock Back.

Dan

**velocity2006** · 26 December 2016, 10:23

Originally Posted by dgod

I have the Diamondback AR Pistol, I load my own ammo, I have found that IMR-4227, 10.0 gr and 230gr bullets, will shoot suppressed very well, I have Chrony's 10 rounds,

Avg Velocity: 999fps, Std Dev: 14, Ext Spread: 44, functions well, no FTF, no failures to Lock Back.

Dan

Not sure how that is relevant to a thread about a guy with a Radical Firearms rifle.

**n4p226r** · 26 December 2016, 11:55

Factory new or remanufactured ammo? My uncle shot a noveske 10.5" 300blk and had the same thing happen was an ammo issue. I believe I posted about it here

**Joelski** · 17 June 2017, 07:02

I've shot almost 3,500 rounds through my radical barrel, which along with the upper receiver are the last remaining parts of a complete upper I got a few years back. I've run freedom 147 grain through it almost exclusively because it's affordable. Of the two failures I've had, exactly one was a bad primer. The other was a dry bolt.. My bad for not lubing it right after cleaning, and failing to check it before firing the next time out.

Radical is better than PSA, IMO, and has great customer service in terms of responsiveness. The Seekins Knoxx rails they use are of a higher cut than the Leapers/UTG stuff other budget vendors use.

Of course, for a few bucks more, you can get Aero, or Sionics, which a lot of guys on other forums hold as an equivalent to Colt.

Who knows? Maybe all it takes is some btdt cred and a forum presence?

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