Getting AR to run Wolf .223? Short-stroking.

[dkf]

Well it sounds like the gas port is too small for crappy steel cased ammo that does not form to the chamber well and is on the weak side.

If you want a less fubar solution, Wolf makes a reduced power buffer spring. JP also makes a tunable captured buffer spring with replaceable springs, but it is expensive.

[Lycanthrope]

Check your gas port alignment first. A lot come from the factory misaligned, particularly if you are using a low profile block under a free float handguard. They eyeball the spacing and neglect to use feeler gauges.


Lycaneasyfixthrope

[39flathead]

Is your gas block lined up for sure? Sounds like your gas port is small. What length barrel? I had a 7.5 with full auto bolt and h3 buffer and it ate anything

I have seen more than one AR come into the shop for this reason, homebuilds and factory jobs.

Seems to be more likely when someone marries a different brand gas block to a barrel, something does not line up, usually the gas port is partially blocked because the fancy block does not go back far enough on the barrel.

[Suburban]

It's a LMT Mk18 CQBR upper. 10.5" barrel with a shaved FSB, but I had this problem before I messed with it.

[Svickstc]

It's a LMT Mk18 CQBR upper. 10.5" barrel with a shaved FSB, but I had this problem before I messed with it.

Ya, cutting of the fixed FSB shouldnt cause and issue at all...id try a correct buffer and spring first, before cutting springs, modifying different buffers...

its 20 bucks worth of parts to give it a shot, also are your gas rings in good shape?

Ive run FA bolts in all my ar pistols, so im not seeing that "weight" be a factor..the gas issue could be onto something...but id imagine a good factory placed A2 FSB from LMT

[Suburban]

The bolt carrier doesn't have 1500 rounds on it. With the bolt extended, I can stand the bolt carrier group on the bolt head and it doesn't telescope. This is THE test for bolt rings, AFAIK.

I was able to get the bolt to lock back reliably, by using a cut down carbine buffer spring, but then when I went to use a fully-loaded aluminum magazine, the bolt carrier didn't have enough power to strip the first few rounds from the magazine. D'oh! I should have seen that coming.

Took apart a carbine buffer and replaced one of the weights with an some rubber bushings. This actually didn't help much at all. Would a wood or plastic spacer work better? I don't know.

I ordered a couple reduced power buffer springs from Wolff, but I think maybe it is hopeless.

I don't want to essentially optimize the upper for Tula ammo, and then have to run a H2 or H3 buffer for 5.56mm ammo, so I'm leaving the gas port as-is. If that means not being able to run Tula ammo, then so be it, I'll just shoot brass or Barnaul.

[Bang]

There is an article in the month's American Rifleman on this very subject, dealing with a Ruger AR15. Short synopsis. Firing Eastern Bloc military-spec ammo in SAAMI-spec Rugers is not a good idea. The things you are experiencing are typical of the reasons it should not be done in similar firearms.

[Suburban]

There is an article in the month's American Rifleman on this very subject, dealing with a Ruger AR15. Short synopsis. Firing Eastern Bloc military-spec ammo in SAAMI-spec Rugers is not a good idea. The things you are experiencing are typical of the reasons it should not be done in similar firearms.

I think it was a Q&A about steel-case 7.62x39mm in the Mini-30. I saw that. Kinda seems like a cop-out on Ruger's part to say that you shouldn't use the most common ammo available, but there are always compromises required when dealing with components not made to a set-in-stone specification. My WASR-10 will cycle plastic bullet practice ammo, but that means it's way over-gassed when shooting hotter military-spec ammo.

[daschnoz]

My brother-in-law bought some Wolf. He had the same short stroke problem in his Bushmaster. It was driving him nuts until we figured out what the problem was.

I took his mag with his Wolf ammo and put it in my AR build with the ARAK upper. Same thing - my gun short stroked. My gun has an adjustable gas block, so I opened it up and the gun ran fine. I gave him some of my reloads and his gun ran fine. I'll be buying it from him.

The Wolf sounds and feels weaker than even my loads - which are fairly close to max.

The Wolf ammo from 15 years ago was hotter than the current stuff. I remember buying some to run in a friend's AR. It ran with no problem and IIRC, sounded and felt hotter than the PMC he was running at the time.

[homedefender]

It's a LMT Mk18 CQBR upper. 10.5" barrel with a shaved FSB, but I had this problem before I messed with it.

From what I have read LMT has small gas ports. I know it sucks but I'd open it up a little so you can run standard parts or not run steel.