A gun post.....of sorts.

  I'm an AR novice of the worst sort.  I've shot lots a bolt and lever action rifle, shotguns of every variety, and just about every kind of handgun out there.  But when it comes to the AR I've sort of stayed away.  Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore the AR style rifle.  But I've successfully avoided them for many years, just to keep from developing an unhealthy lust for one.

  When I started as Reserve Deputy, (which actually hasn't happened in nearly 2 months) I was issued a Patrol Rifle.  A Rock River carbine.  A no frills workhorse.  My training was basically I went out with the Highway Patrol who happens to be an instructor for AR, and shot fifty rounds at a target at a distance of 75 yards, while leaning over the hood of the patrol pickup and also while standing.  All 50 rounds where accounted for and that sums up that training.

  About 2 months ago, I took out the rifle and ran few steel case training rounds through it, roughly thirty rounds, and put it back dirty.  An experiment of sorts.  Well last week I finally got around to doing some more training with it.  This time I decided to do some night time drills.  I need a better flashlight is the first thing I learned.  I couldn't light up the target enough to silhouette the sights over the target at a range greater than 30 yards.   But here comes the fun part.  Still using the steel cased training rounds, I fired off about 30 rounds.  Round 31 jams going into the chamber.  Tight.  As in no forward assist is going to move that sucker.  I try manually cycling the weapon, uhmmmm not happening either.  I also went so far as to use the grasp the charging handle and slam the butt on the ground method.  Still stuck.

   So there I sat, live round partially in the chamber, and no good knowledge on how to remove it.  Thankfully a net search turn up some practical tips on how to 1) Remove the upper from the lower without the bolt being fully forward(I had actually figured that one out on my own, but it was good to see that I was on the right tract. 2) Pour plenty of wd-40 or some other penetrating liquid down the barrel in order to loosen the seized round.  3)how to gently apply pressure with a brass rod to the bolt and presto it was out.  Upon a thorough cleaning and inspection this is what was determined to be the issue.

   The steel training rounds have a lacquer coating on them.  When fast cycling heats up the chamber, some of that lacquer will transfer to the chamber.  Causing tolerances to be exceeded as will as adding a very sticky finish to the chamber.  This in turn will cause your AR to jam and essentially leave you without a rifle.  Bad thing if it happens on the range.  End of your life if it happens in a combat situation.

  My lessons learned. 1) The AR is not a bolt gun and requires frequent cleaning, especially after non brass cartridges are fired through it. 2)  I was really surprised to see how much carbon build up gets into the firing pin area even after only 60 rounds. 3) An AR specific cleaning kit makes things a lot easier when it comes to cleaning this rifle. 4) The platform itself is very easy to operate and is very accurate. 5)  What was acceptable as a light for handgun use didn't cut it well with the extended range of the AR.  6) My gun course has a dip in it that will swallow you whole in the dark and cause you to think, where the hell did that come from! Right after you swear a lot.  6) And finally, I'm scheduling more training time with this platform. 

  Its been almost 3 months since I've shot any real quantity of .45 acp.  I've got 300 rounds waiting in the cupboard and a whole mess of targets waiting to be perforated.  I feel a trip down the hill is in order.  Where is my other flashlight?

Stay safe out there.