AR15 - Question for you

I have a couple of questions for those more familiar with this kind of rifle, please:

I have an adjustable gas block and the empties are ejected in what I believe to be the correct place - pretty much between about 20 degrees either side of perpendicular from the ejection port. The rifle shoots well with no issues to date.

1. I note a number of cases have a small dent in the sidewall (refer to top 3 cases in photo below) and I assume this has occurred during ejection. Of course it might not be.. it might have been my daughter reloading the magazines as she is used to loading rotary 10/22 magazines. Any thoughts?

2. The empty cases are bloody dirty. Is this normal for a .223? I get that there is going to be gas moving past the case as it is pulled out of the barrel but I was expecting the cases to be... a little cleaner.


Attachment 102304



Cheers.

You have a suppressed AR.... that's how it is...the cases get dirty, the first one not as much as the rest..

The cases are being dented after firing unless you have a really anemic load

that is seriously not normal. factory ammo or reloads?

Attachment 102319

Attachment 102320

More than likely the brass dings are because they bounced off the shiny worn bit here.

Which bit is not normal? The dirty cases or the dents? Or both?

These are factory rounds - Belmont 55gr. Nothing fancy... would assume they're not anaemic though.

And yes, it is suppressed. Sorry, I should have mentioned that.

@Kiwi_Greg when you say "after firing"... do you mean as part of the ejection process or are you talking about rough handling when I pick them up and throw them in the box afterwards? I'm open to all possibilities.

So break it down into two questions:

Dented cases: Pop a bit of foam tape over the case deflector, then try again to see if it's still denting the cases. If you're using an adjustable gas block, you can basically dial it open until it's locking the bolt back ( one round loaded each time ), then one click or half turn further open.

Dirty cases: Yes they shit where they eat hahahaha

Based on that very pretty picture, we're talking between 2:50 (I noted one or two going forward of the 3:00 position) through to 3:30/4:00. Nothing aft of 4:00 for sure and I would say 90% are around the 3:30 mark. Thought that was pretty good as I nailed the gas opening on my first attempt.

Witha normal gas block, cutting 1 turn off the ejector spring will drop the cases about 600mm away at the 1.30 position, just incase you want to give it a try...:-)

When your bolt unlocks, all the gas trapped in the can finds the newest path of least resistance - back down the bore. This is why your cases end up extremely filthy. Believe it or not, AK's and some other patterns are even worse.

I like a dirty bitch from time to time.

Actually... maybe I just like the thought of a dirty bitch from time to time.

:)

Dirty AR bitches are good, until she squirts (gas) in your eye when running a can. :O_O:

LOL.

Ok... some good news I think....

I checked the other empty cases (87 so far... still new!) and only half a dozen have dents with the rest just being dirty. I checked with my PMLA (Personal Magazine Loading Assistant) and she informed me she was using the "push n' slide" loading technique she's familiar with on the 10/22, not the "just push 'em in from the top" technique available on these magazines. I think she may have been denting the cases in this way... the base of the case being loaded pushing against magazine spring pressure on the top round.

So all good, I think. Just the dirty bitch to deal with. Not my daughter, my AR.

Thanks for the excellent advice team!

I reckon it is far more likely that the dents have occurred after firing as if the case was dented before firing the case would very likely be reformed after the firing.

Thats normal for a suppressed AR(carbon on the spent cases) . I get small dents in my brass as it hits the case deflector. Play around with the settings i have mine ejecting at 4 oclock at just over a metre.

Some AR15 owners use a piece of stick on Velcro loop patch on the deflector to make the case dings less of a problem.

Attachment 102394

Following up on this - for those who were wondering - I've been able to confirm that the dents were definitely due to "finger trouble". Out of the 100-odd rounds fired to date it turned out there are only 5 dented cases so this was unlikely to be something caused by the rifle itself. I placed a couple of the dented cases in the magazine and sure enough, the dents were located just in front of the magazine lips where you would push down another case to "push and slide" it into the mag.

I sat down with my PMLA and gave he some her some guidance and tuition... and now we're all good.

Thanks for the good ideas though guys. Some great info on this forum.

I doubt the dents were there before firing

Agreed, the dings have happened after firing.

Forget about the bloody dents, dont go chopping stuff like somebody has suggested and dont pay too much attention to where its ejecting to. If its cycling well just shoot the dam thing :)