M&P 15 Sport. 1st outing, very hot barrel normal?

[lokiju]

Hello all,

I made a introduction thread and posed the question in there but thought it might get more visibility here.

I bought my M&P 15 Sport back last November but wasn't able to get it out to the range until this past Saturday (2-4-2012).

Everything went overall pretty well for it being my first time using a AR-15 but I did have to concerns.

1st concern was how extremely hot the barrel got. It was so hot it was smoking some and untouchable for a good 15 plus minutes after the last round was fired.

The guy I was there with brought his home built AR and within moments after using it he was able to touch the barrel and put it away in his bag without issue.

As this was my first outing with it, I'm not sure if this is expected or if something was off with it.

I put probably 120 or so rounds through it while there.

2nd concern is I feed issues. I had on more than one instance what seemed like it was trying to double feed. A live round was chambered and for some reason it got to a point where it was trying to put a second round in to soon.

I'm inclined to think it was because of the flex of the stock plastic mag and it being the first time being used. I have 3 Magpul mags same as the stock mag and 2 of the 3 had this with the initial few rounds being fed.

I've since taken them apart and cleaned them out really well and made sure they have clean and proper movement. I'm hoping that was a 1st time being used thing and won't show up again.

 

[Walker181]

The barrel does get pretty hot if you steady fire alot of rounds. The smoking makes me wonder if you cleaned the shipping oil off really good before taking it to the range (you should). If you didn't, that same eccess of oil is in the gun and can cause feed problems after several rounds because of fowling build up in and around the chamber. Clean the gun real good, oil appropriately only and go back to the range. I'm willing to be that would solve the problem.

 

[740 Turbo Brick]

How fast were you firing it? If I mag dump mine it will be too hot to touch for quite a while, if I take my time aiming between shots I can go thru 30 rds and grab it, and it will be hot but not burn my fingerprints off.

Not totally sure on the feed issue..Maybe try a metal mag and see if it does it with that? Mine has never had an issue with the Magpul mag but its the only one Ive used.

 

[MPDC]

Normal.

 

[Dragon88]

The heat issue has been covered. AR barrels get hot, totally normal.

As for your malfunctions, was it leaving a fired case in the chamber, then trying to chamber a new round? If so, that is an extractor issue, not a feed issue. First off, did you completely clean your rifle before taking it to the range? The extractor needs to be removed from the bolt, and you need to clean off the extractor and also clean out the recess it sits in. Make sure the spring is present along with a little black or blue buffer which sits inside the spring. Do you know how to disassemble your extractor? Put some downward pressure on the rear portion of the extractor with your thumb, then push out the small pin with a punch or the tip of the firing pin. Don't loose the pin, and reassemble in reverse order. There are plenty of videos on Youtube if you need more help with that.

Magpul Pmags are extremely reliable. Your problem is very likely elsewhere.

 

[lokiju]

The heat issue has been covered. AR barrels get hot, totally normal.

As for your malfunctions, was it leaving a fired case in the chamber, then trying to chamber a new round? If so, that is an extractor issue, not a feed issue. First off, did you completely clean your rifle before taking it to the range? The extractor needs to be removed from the bolt, and you need to clean off the extractor and also clean out the recess it sits in. Make sure the spring is present along with a little black or blue buffer which sits inside the spring. Do you know how to disassemble your extractor? Put some downward pressure on the rear portion of the extractor with your thumb, then push out the small pin with a punch or the tip of the firing pin. Don't loose the pin, and reassemble in reverse order. There are plenty of videos on Youtube if you need more help with that.

Magpul Pmags are extremely reliable. Your problem is very likely elsewhere.

Was a live round in the chamber but after firing a successful few rounds.

I think you're right though, I didn't clean the extractor and recess very well before the initial use.

I cleaned everything out really well after my trip though and was surprised at the amount of black, buildup that I removed.

Thanks for the replies!