Can someone help me with a Colt AR15 malfuntion?

[dusty3030]

If it's for lack of a better word a plinker I'd get a Palmetto complete upper and rock on. The lower is either going to work or not. The critical safety concern is the upper / barrel / bolt.
Complete ready to roll M4 style uppers with bolt carrier group and charging handle run in the $400 range and can be had even in this crazy time.

 

[beaverislander]

Thanks for that info.
So there would be no safety issue if I put that lower on a friends .223 upper... it would either work or not? I'd hate to buy another upper and then find out something was wrong with the lower too.

 

[dusty3030]

Thanks for that info.
So there would be no safety issue if I put that lower on a friends .223 upper... it would either work or not? I'd hate to buy another upper and then find out something was wrong with the lower too.

Exactly. You could whittle the lower out of a 2x4. The upper is what holds the dragon in.

 

[rwsmith]

Maybe the time for analysis is past...

....but I'm curious. Did you find any parts of a blown case? You may want to check your chamber and see if the case head blew off and left the cartridge shell in there.

Just thinking that maybe you (or someone) could salvage the barrel.

 

[ken158]

Any ideas what this would be worth as a "parts" gun just the way it is?

There are parts everywhere for AR’s and nobody wants parts from a kaboom gun. This upper is toast and not sure I would trust the lower. Chalk it up to thankfully nobody got hurt. You now have a wall hanger. If you sent it to Colt, I seriously suspect you will never see it again. Too much liability for them to send it back if anything is cracked, bent or in any way considered unserviceable.

 

[Golphin]

Not sure what happened there or what powder you used. From memory as I have not loaded any in a while loading 223 with a powder like Varget fills the case almost completely and some loads are even compressed . Not sure about other powders so maybe it is possible to overcharge one enough to blow up the upper. Also is it possible you had the wrong powder? If you think it could have been the ammo then don't use any more from that batch for sure.

 

[Ματθιας]

There's very little if any stress on the lower - The fact that lowers can be safely be made of plastic/polymer tells you how much stress is on a lower. The upper, where the barrel, bolt and bolt head take all the stress.

If it were me, I'd get the receivers apart, check the lower - any damage will immediately be evident - get another COLT upper and call it done.

 

[TX-Dennis]

I think the upper is probably toast. Your best bet is either to build a new one (difficult if you don't have the proper tools) or buy a complete upper to replace the ruined one. CDNN has some complete uppers at reasonable cost as does Palmetto State Armory.

 

[lrb1200]

Maybe just me,
But I wouldn't make any plans to do anything until
the "root cause" of the failure has been determined.

 

[Golphin]

Maybe just me,
But I wouldn't make any plans to do anything until
the "root cause" of the failure has been determined.

The root cause was the upper or the ammo. The upper is toast so no longer a issue. The ammo need to be trashed I think. I sure would not try any more of that batch for sure. I would pull the bullets and dump the powder and start over very carefully.

 

[beaverislander]

....but I'm curious. Did you find any parts of a blown case? You may want to check your chamber and see if the case head blew off and left the cartridge shell in there.

Just thinking that maybe you (or someone) could salvage the barrel.

I have not removed the BCG yet so I'm not sure what, if anything, is in there.

 

[rwsmith]

The kaboom wasn't caused....

Thanks for that info.
So there would be no safety issue if I put that lower on a friends .223 upper... it would either work or not? I'd hate to buy another upper and then find out something was wrong with the lower too.

The kaboom wasn't caused by the lower. You can check it for function w/o the upper and check to see if it's bent or damaged. Other than that, any upper should do.

 

[Kitgun]

I've read this hole thing and the OP states that the first two rounds did not fire (no dents on primers) the third explodes. Sounds to me like the cam pin was left out when rifle was reassembled after cleaning.

 

[mreracp2u]

Will I need any special tools to remove either the butt stock or barrel? I do have some small punches and regular hand tools but nothing specific for the AR.

And yes, these were reloads. Good question and while always a possibility, I don't think that's the problem here. These are from the same batch I put up 4-5 years ago and I have shot a couple thousand rounds with no issues.

This seems like the likely culprit. Two that didn’t chamber, then the boom.

 

[Doug M.]

If stored improperly, that ammo could be problematic. If an error was made while loading the ammo, that could be at least a contributor. If you had a genuine Colt milspec upper and BCG, they are less likely to be the problem, but there could be a flaw in them.

The best answer I have, and what I would if I lived in that area, is look up Ned at Michiguns and see if he has some insights and is willing to take a look at your problem. Even if it is a full day drive and you had to stay in a hotel, I would consider that worthwhile as a means of making sure your lower is not damaged and that the upper is safely dismantled/removed.

 

[beaverislander]

A friend of mine is taking it to a knowledgeable individual on Monday so I hope to learn something then. I'll report back if I find out what happened.

 

[beaverislander]

I just got the report on the AR15 and as many of you had expected, there was no damage done to the lower receiver, however the upper is toast. I was told that the old style bolt had failed which was why they replaced them with a newer version. I haven't decided what I'm going to do next but at least I have options.

 

[WR Moore]

If you finally decide to replace the upper, don't go cheap. Doesn't mean you've gotta blow a grand on an upper, but price point products have those low prices for good reason. Out of spec parts frequently being the reason.

 

[beaverislander]

If you finally decide to replace the upper, don't go cheap. Doesn't mean you've gotta blow a grand on an upper, but price point products have those low prices for good reason. Out of spec parts frequently being the reason.

I don't really need a 20" barrel and am considering going with a pistol upper and brace if the barrel is damaged. Any suggestions?

 

[dusty3030]

I don't really need a 20" barrel and am considering going with a pistol upper and brace if the barrel is damaged. Any suggestions?

Can't do it legit without making it a SBR.
Crazy as it is if it started as a pistol lower you can make it a rifle.
If it started as a rifle lower you can't make it into a pistol configuration without making it a SBR.