You get what you pay for...PSA issue

[golfish]

Nice dissy. I just finished building one with a PSA upper, swapped out the hand guard too..

I like to make sure my ARs shoot steel. I had one that I had to drill out the gas port.
But I'd do that as a last resort. I'm curious what size buffer your are using? I haven't shot mine yet.

[Jimi Jah]

My Criterian barrel shoots anything I load.

[Epaphroditus]

At the risk of having AR15Barrels come point out how wrong I am I posit the following.

Seems your extractor is fine so the issue is more likely to be sticking case. Certainly a rough chamber can contribute to the issue so close inspection is called for. I routinely polish chambers because it's fun, relaxing and can't hurt anything.

Most importantly is timing and specifically dwell time. The longest dwell time possible is best in my opinion. Going with stiffer action spring and heavy buffer then adjusting gas block to bring the timing (as indicated by ejection pattern) solves a great many issues.

I also prefer FA or heavier bolt carriers which further slow timing a bit.

There a couple other minor things that can be done cheaply to aid reliability in general.

I do all these mods on all my AR pattern rifles - mostly due to OCD and incurable tinkeritis - but also as they are proven by folks far more vested in proper reliable function than I'll ever need.

I never cease to be amazed at just how robust the platform is given the wide variety of configurations and modifications that can be done (and done poorly) and generally still result in a functional rifle.

[CheapBloke]

Possibly the steel case runs better in barrels chambered for 556 rather than 223 Rem or 223 Wlyde due to the tightness of the caliber chamber. The 556 allows for better case expansion than 223 chambers.

Example. Encore/MGM 7.62x39 barrels, although they say never to fire Russian steel case, and people do anyways without short term issue... Brass case Ammo has bullet head as .307 or .308 as the barrel may be chambered for such, the Russian steel case 7.62x39 is a .309 I think.

(Also I could be dead wrong)

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[BucDan]

Well, cartridges that don't have a decent taper on the casing will more likely have issues. That's a given.

[golfish]

At the risk of having AR15Barrels come point out how wrong I am I posit the following.

LOL

[Experimentalist]

Steel doesn't relax from pressure as quickly as brass.

The steel was still stuck to the chamber walls when the bolt was trying to extract the spent case.

Stick with brass ammo, and you'll be fine.

[FeuerFrei]

The rifle is probably gassed for 556 NATO loading. 556 ain't commercial 223.
223 is a weaker loading.
To little gas and it will cause failures like the OP is complaining about.

OP needs to run NATO loads thru it and break it in (200 or more rds) and then try the weak stuff. PMC bronze is brass cased and causes AR clones to gag also.

Break it in with NATO stuff first!

[dC0m]

BCM says not to use crap ammo like wolf. Because, guess what.... You'll get crap results!

Its probably the steel cases, not the gun. Clean the chamber really really good before and after you shoot steel cased ammo.

I think steel cases tend to bulge as well.

^I'm with these guys. It doesn't have to be the build; I have nicer BCM builds that have the same issue with Wolf/Tula/Red Army Standard steel case. That's the price you pay for using "cheaper" ammo. So I say, that's pretty normal.

I would rerun the test after a good clean with a mix of brass and steel cased ammo.

[CheapBloke]

Better yet, get an AK y'all.

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[crufflers]

At least you didn't pay for a "Hodge" and have even worse luck with steel cased