I'm not much of an expert on black guns so I thought maybe those of you who are might educate me a bit.
Today I went rifle shooting with a buddy of mine who just bought a used, and supposedly perfectly functional S&W M&P 15. But the bolt absolutely would not close with a round chambered. It closed fine while empty, and we cleaned and lubricated the entire bolt and bolt carrier assembly, but when a cartridge was pulled from the mag it stopped dead 1/8" - 1/4" from allowing the bolt to completely close. I was leery of agressively using the forward assist because it was clear to me that something was way wrong, but I have no idea what it was. It seemed like insufficient head space or an obstruction in the chamber but nothing unusual was visible (at least not to my untrained eye). We had no gages and little AR expertise, so we decided to stop and consult a gunsmith.
Any chance this is a common problem that someone here could explain? I snooped online a bit, but no clear answers so far.
Thanks,
Gary
Today I went rifle shooting with a buddy of mine who just bought a used, and supposedly perfectly functional S&W M&P 15. But the bolt absolutely would not close with a round chambered. It closed fine while empty, and we cleaned and lubricated the entire bolt and bolt carrier assembly, but when a cartridge was pulled from the mag it stopped dead 1/8" - 1/4" from allowing the bolt to completely close. I was leery of agressively using the forward assist because it was clear to me that something was way wrong, but I have no idea what it was. It seemed like insufficient head space or an obstruction in the chamber but nothing unusual was visible (at least not to my untrained eye). We had no gages and little AR expertise, so we decided to stop and consult a gunsmith.
Any chance this is a common problem that someone here could explain? I snooped online a bit, but no clear answers so far.
Thanks,
Gary