Daniel Defense AR15 refuses steel case ammo?
PMC ammo works fine. But with steel, I'll load a round, fire it, it ejects, loads the next round in the chamber, and then just clicks. I recock the gun, the same round goes back into the chamber, it fires. This process repeats. It will shoot the ammo. But only AFTER I've reloaded the round into the chamber. Almost like the chamber isn't closing all the way. I keep my gun cleaned and oiled religiously. Not to mention I paid over a thousand dollars just to have such a high quality AR15. I've seen cheaper AR's fire this stuff. Why wont mine?
Comments
I used Daniel Defense parts in my SBR upper. I am extremely tickled pink at how accurate and reliable it has been, even with a suppressor.
Shame you did not mention which barrel you have and which stell ammo you were using - because - there is really only one thing that can cause your situation. And for the record - I am gonna 'assume' you are a very smart person.
Most Probably - Your steel ammo might not be sending the bolt far enough to the rear. (Your rifle is optiomized for 62gr greent tip ammo. Not 55gr - and - certainly not the dirt cheapo stuff) Firing 55gr stell in a 62gr optiomized - this would make the bolt a bit wimpy when it comes to chambering a round. The way you test this - stagger a mag with 1rd of steel, 1rd of brass, 1rd steel, 1rd brass, etc and see what happens. If the steel fires and brass also fails to load - but brass and brass works fine - you have nailed it down to an ammo or buffer spring issue. You can try a different buffer spring. If that does not help - you may just have live with the rifle doing this until you've put several hundred rds through the barrel and broken it in some more.
My guess - you have a 1:8 or 1:7 twist DD barrel designed for firing the heavy 69-100gr ammo - and your DD rifle has a slightly stronger buffer spring to prevent the bolt from slamming home hard during cycleing. Go buy a standard buffer spring and I bet it works fine with the steel stuff ........... however ....... you really want that original buffer spring when firing the 62gr green tips and heavier. So - figure out a way to mark or label them. Like cold blue the new lighter one.
Good Luck.
Adam,
To be honest with you, AR's are ammo finicky. There are some AR's which shoot steel cased ammo just fine, and others barf it up. In many cases, it is lack of cleaning which is the culprit, but you state that you keep your weapon very clean. So we'll rule that out. I have a quotation from a May 2010 article which can explain some of the problem :
" Steel cased ammunition is generally loaded lighter than standard military loads, so it’s important that your gas system runs well. Some AR rifles have smaller gas ports and won’t cycle well with the reduced power loads found in some steel cased ammunition. If you find this is a problem, switching to higher power steel cased ammunition such as our Wolf Military Classic may resolve this issue. Using a lower weight buffer or a lighter buffer spring can also be necessary when shooting steel cased ammo."
Also :
" The best way to avoid extraction problems due to stuck cases is to use an AR-15 with a 5.56mm chamber. Differences in headspacing between 5.56 and .223 chambers can cause steel cased .223 or 5.56mm ammunition to get stuck as the metal heats up. Even Wylde chambers and other .223/5.56 hybrid chambers have been known to have issues with stuck spent steel casings. Stick with a true 5.56mm chamber and, as we mentioned above, remember to scrub the chamber out every 500-1000 rounds to ensure reliability."
Hope this helps you.
DD put out some junk barrels with M4 feed ramps added as an afterthought. It could be that you have one of them. Check the ramps to see if they are not lined up correctly, and therefore slowing the process of stripping and feeding the round enough that your bolt does not lock home. If you have another barrel for comparison that might help, but otherwise you can use the picture in the link below, it has exampes of good and bad feed ramps.
Either way, call daniel defense but the more information you have about the issue the faster you are likely to ge it fixed. They have had some occasions when they have taken someones weapon back for months only to not fix it.
Edit: If the click you hear is the normal hammer drop click, then go with what Metropol said and ignore what I said. If the click is not the normal one, check the feed ramps. Don't buy a new spring. It is not the problem.
I have to agree with Metropol on this. It sounds like the firing pin is not striking the primer hard enough. Some steel ammo's are notorious for having hard primers. If your trigger springs have been changed to "reduced power" for a better trigger pull I guarantee that's the problem. CCI ammo is also known for hard primers. You may have to find the brands that will shoot with your gun or go up in power on your springs.
Since I see this is the second time you are asking, have you actually called Daniel Defense about this? Perhaps you have a defect that they can repair. They have excellent customer service. I believe I saw his issue on an AR-15 forum (you might try googling it) and an actual customer rep responded with a recommendation to give them a call.
Just because you spend more on a rifle, does not mean that it will function any better. It sounds like it is not going fully into battery but allowing the hammer to drop. Make sure that the bolt and cam pin is cleaned and lubed properly. If cleaning and proper lubrication does not fix it, call DD.
The firing pin is NOT striking the cartridge primer hard enough the first time........
Surprise...