View Full Version : Kaboom! My magical exploding Ar15
Morgan338LM
11-01-2010, 10:47
So here's my brief story, I promised I'd post about my out of battery discharge that blew my bravo rifle apart. As a preface, I always used a dedicated upper for my cmmg 22 kit, and my buddy never did. We both went shooting and he was using the EXACT same upper I was, running his 22 kit in his normal upper without fail on many shooting trips. I figured I'd try using my kit in my 556 upper, since my friend never had an issue with his. All was well until I switched back to 556 and fired the usual two rounds to clean out the rifle before storage. I'd done this with other ARs I've owned over the years and Matt did it all the time with his current rig. I pulled the trigger on he first full power round and the rifle hadn't fully chambered the round. Needless to say I was not expecting The report to be similar to that of a damn hand grenade. Resulted in a mild concussion, the bolt fused in place around the broken case, the ejection port cover bent out and broken, and the magazine shell stayed in but the spring baseplate and follower were launched into he ground. I'll see if I can dig up some pics to post, but in the meantime be wary of 22 kits. I never thought this would happen to me![Bang]
http://imgur.com/hwI5H.jpg
Never ever, ever....ever take this woman shooting. She fired my Glock, and it broke. Then she fired my AR and it exploded next to my head. Needless to say we no longer speak! [ROFL1]
http://imgur.com/9EcIZ.jpg
This is the rifle immediately after exploding. I was still a bit jittery.
http://imgur.com/T590El.jpg
What happens when the bolt is fused in place and you're still determined to get it out
http://imgur.com/uTpm7.jpg
Looking through my bell-bottom magazine. It's the latest black rifle fad.
http://imgur.com/nub0O.jpg
And finally, my new rifle! A Yugo M70AB2T, and my buddy's friend modeling it for your amusement!
StagLefty
11-01-2010, 10:54
Damn-Glad your okay [Coffee]
Shooting 223 rounds after 22LR ammo does not clean a thing other than maybe the gas port/tube. It just presses all that gunk into the lands and grooves.
Always clean a 223/5/56 upper within an inch of their life after shooting 22 LR ammo through them.
Is the lower ok?
Glad you are ok.
Troublco
11-01-2010, 13:44
Glad to hear you weren't hurt worse.
This is why I have a dedicated .22 upper, and don't own a kit to convert one of my 5.56's.
ChunkyMonkey
11-01-2010, 13:48
Glad you are not injured. [Beer]
SA Friday
11-01-2010, 15:22
You don't even want to know how many M16's the USAF did the same thing to at Lackland AFB in the late 80s until they figured out what Hoser is talking about. I was never a fan of the 22lr conversion kits on an AR and still issn't. [Tooth]
funkfool
11-01-2010, 16:05
Ok - now I am thinking about a dedicated .22 upper...
Let me search for a thread...
Morgan338LM
11-01-2010, 16:57
Holy bad luck, lost two firearms that day. I'm all healed and using AK's now! Thanks for all the kind words guys, enjoy the pics!
[Coffee]
Oh yea, the lower was immaculate, like nothing ever happened. Sold the upper a couple days ago for $40 to a guy who thinks he can salvage at least some stuff from it.
theGinsue
11-01-2010, 17:54
If your buddy's friend wants a friend with benefits, sent her my way!
Sorry to hear about your horrible bad luck, but I'm glad to hear that the injuries were fairly minor.
Morgan338LM
11-01-2010, 18:19
If I see her again, I'll let her know [Tooth]
OgenRwot
11-01-2010, 20:37
Your buddy needs to be more than friends with her.
glad you are okay. makes me certain the only .22 upper I ever get will be one designated for it. I am getting the complete spikes .22 upper soon[Beer]
Morgan338LM
11-01-2010, 21:10
Thanks! Yea, I'd really try to talk you out of just slapping a 22 kit in your upper. My buddy is a retired ranger, so I think he's getting the job done
[Coffee]
jscwerve
11-01-2010, 21:51
This is interesting because I have been looking at .22 conversions lately. So was the bullet not being fully chambered caused by it simply being gummed up from the .22 rounds? Do you believe that had you cleaned the chamber prior to switching back to 5.56 that the same issue would have occured? What ammo were you shooting (.22) was it lead bullets or copper jacketed?
Sorry for so many questions, but if I do purchase a kit, I want to be as well informed as possible.
Thanks
Morgan338LM
11-01-2010, 23:15
I wouldn't run it at all. You can clean it thoroughly and then check to make sure the round seats fully with the forward assist. That would work, but at the risk of detonating one, from a dude that literally just did this, use a dedicated upper, or one of the 22 AR's. They're only $500 or so, and no issues. I only fired about 100 .22 rounds through the rifle, and all were federal, fully copper jacketed.
Byte Stryke
11-01-2010, 23:23
More Pictures of the friend!
Oh, yeah, include the Yugo if you must.
:D
Morgan338LM
11-02-2010, 00:40
Here you go, this outta make you all happy [Beer]
http://imgur.com/yLl4s.jpg
Birddog1911
11-02-2010, 00:58
Yep, convinced me as well to get a dedicated upper and avoid the conversion. Sorry you blew up a BCM, but glad that you're alright.
StagLefty
11-02-2010, 08:44
one of the 22 AR's. They're only $500 or so,
reinforced my decision to pick up a 15-22 last year. [Coffee]
First, glad you're ok. Second, how did the .22 conversion bolt cause this? This just seems to the be an unfortunate out of battery discharge. I still haven't consumed my daily allowance of coffee yet, so maybe I'm missing something? Not doubting you, just wanting to be educated and comprehend.
soo....um, can I go shooting with your buddy and his "friend"[Muaha]
StagLefty
11-02-2010, 09:30
soo....um, can I go shooting with your buddy and his "friend"[Muaha]
Hey Hey this isn't EHarmony sniper !!! [ROFL1]
More like MarriedFriendFinder.com ;)
Morgan338LM
11-02-2010, 09:50
First, glad you're ok. Second, how did the .22 conversion bolt cause this? This just seems to the be an unfortunate out of battery discharge. I still haven't consumed my daily allowance of coffee yet, so maybe I'm missing something? Not doubting you, just wanting to be educated and comprehend.
The .22 conversion literally inserts a faux 556 casing into the chamber (its functionally just part of the conversion's barrel) 22s are incredibly "Icky" (tech term) and the fouling is incredible, and it gets in between the 556 chamber and the .22 conversion 556 adapter. When removed, that cooked .22 ick remains, and unless its scrubbed out carefully it can become an obstruction for the actual 5.56mm round and keep it from fitting properly in an already tight toleranced chamber.
Shooting 223 rounds after 22LR ammo does not clean a thing other than maybe the gas port/tube. It just presses all that gunk into the lands and grooves.
Always clean a 223/5/56 upper within an inch of their life after shooting 22 LR ammo through them. Hoser put it really well, it packs a high pressure tight toleranced firearm with gunk that it's not designed to accommodate. Hope this helps.
Hey Hey this isn't EHarmony sniper !!! [ROFL1]
hahaha! he wasn't even nice enough to bring a girl with hot friends. Got me to go telling me his hot new girl 'friend' was bringing 2 of her friends; didn't mention her friends looked like trolls! What a good friend right? [Rant2]
The .22 conversion literally inserts a faux 556 casing into the chamber (its functionally just part of the conversion's barrel) 22s are incredibly "Icky" (tech term) and the fouling is incredible, and it gets in between the 556 chamber and the .22 conversion 556 adapter. When removed, that cooked .22 ick remains, and unless its scrubbed out carefully it can become an obstruction for the actual 5.56mm round and keep it from fitting properly in an already tight toleranced chamber.
Hoser put it really well, it packs a high pressure tight toleranced firearm with gunk that it's not designed to accommodate. Hope this helps.
hahaha! he wasn't even nice enough to bring a girl with hot friends. Got me to go telling me his hot new girl 'friend' was bringing 2 of her friends; didn't mention her friends looked like trolls! What a good friend right? [Rant2]
I'm not picky, if the trolls like guns and can cook I'm game~
how did the .22 conversion bolt cause this?
22 rimfire bullets are smaller in diameter (.222 vs .224) than centerfire 22 bullets. .002 does not sound like a lot, but it is huge.
In a nutshell, the rimfire bullets dont seal that well in a centerfire barrel and tend to build up a lot of crud. Some ammo/bullets like Remington Thunderbolt have horrible lube and will lead up even the finest rimfire barrels. Copper washed bullets are a lot better, but they still suck in a centerfire barrel.
When you shoot a 223/5.56 round after shooting rimfire ammo, that crud does not get pushed out the end. It gets swaged/squished in there while the bullet tries to get by. If there is too much crud, pressures skyrocket.
Easy fix, get a dedicated 22 upper like a Spikes, Tactical Solutions or Nordic if you want to shoot 22. They use rimfire barrels with the proper inner diameter and twist.
RYAN50BMG
11-02-2010, 15:44
Here you go, this outta make you all happy [Beer]
http://imgur.com/yLl4s.jpg
What were we talking about? Oh yeah, .22s or something.
Byte Stryke
11-02-2010, 15:51
soo....um, can I go shooting with your buddy and his "friend"[Muaha]
Hey Hey this isn't EHarmony sniper !!! [ROFL1]
More like MarriedFriendFinder.com ;)
Wait a Minute Sniper... I think I have your woman's phone number around here some-wheres ;)
SA Friday
11-02-2010, 15:55
Here you go, this outta make you all happy [Beer]
http://imgur.com/yLl4s.jpg
You can keep the AK. I want the gun rack. [Tooth]
Morgan338LM
11-02-2010, 21:30
You can keep the AK. I want the gun rack. [Tooth]
ha.hahaha.. HAHAHAHH!!!![ROFL1]
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