BCG and charging handle frozen after several months of storage, seeking advice...

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Took my AR-15 out of the safe this morning to get it ready for a class I have coming up in 12 days. I last used the rifle in March in a 4-day class. Upon returning home from class I disassembled, cleaned and lubed the rifle, did a function text and then put it back in the safe and haven't used it since. I keep all my long guns in silicone gun socks.

Upon taking it out today I was unable to cycle the rifle. Charging handle is not moving. Dust cover is closed and can't open it. I took the rifle apart and cannot move the bolt.

Wondering what I should do to free the bolt? Do I just try to bang it out on the underside of the upper with a mallet and wood dowel? I sprayed a bunch of ballistic in there and let it sit with no improvement.

Not that it matters, but the rifle is a Springfield Saint Victor. All stock aside from a Radian Raptor charging handle.

[rlewpolar]

Took my AR-15 out of the safe this morning to get it ready for a class I have coming up in 12 days. I last used the rifle in March in a 4-day class. Upon returning home from class I disassembled, cleaned and lubed the rifle, did a function text and then put it back in the safe and haven't used it since. I keep all my long guns in silicone gun socks.

Upon taking it out today I was unable to cycle the rifle. Charging handle is not moving. Dust cover is closed and can't open it. I took the rifle apart and cannot move the bolt.

Wondering what I should do to free the bolt? Do I just try to bang it out on the underside of the upper with a mallet and wood dowel? I sprayed a bunch of ballistic in there and let it sit with no improvement.

This is going to sound like a silly question but did you put a snap cap in there when doing a function test? I use some A Zoom snap caps for all my rifles (including my ARs) even though it?s unnecessary. Wondering if you are an anal weenie like me and if so, maybe the snap cap might be stuck in the chamber.

Also, did you lightly lube the inside of the upper receiver when putting the rifle back together and did you lube the outside of the bolt carrier? Sorry, not much help in trying to get your bolt carrier unstuck, I?m just trying to figure out the cause.


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[nate76239]

Try tapping in the side opposite of the ejection port, the cam pin might be sticking or the firing pin broke.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

This is going to sound like a silly question but did you put a snap cap in there when doing a function test? I use some A Zoom snap caps for all my rifles (including my ARs) even though it?s unnecessary. Wondering if you are an anal weenie like me and if so, maybe the snap cap might be stuck in the chamber.

Also, did you lightly lube the inside of the upper receiver when putting the rifle back together and did you lube the outside of the bolt carrier? Sorry, not much help in trying to get your bolt carrier unstuck, I?m just trying to figure out the cause.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

No snap cap in there!

Im usually pretty liberal with the lube when I put them back in storage, including spraying some extra into the chamber and BCG. I'll even spray some extra in there right before I put it back in the sock.

[protohyp]

Did you take apart your BCG when you cleaned it and forget to put the firing pin retaining pin in? Now your firing pin is lost like that sock in the laundry and the cam pin is jammed unable to unlock? I'm sure stranger things have happened.

[tuna quesadilla]

Have you tried mortaring it? Collapse the stock to the shortest position, hold the rifle vertically (muzzle up), get a firm hold on the charging handle, and then simultaneously pull on the charging handle with all your might while you slam the butt of the rifle into an immovable surface.

Video example of mortaring:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbDPNbg2QpM

Note that the guy in the video is doing it with the stock extended, which theoretically puts needless strain on the stock/buffer assembly and risks getting his fingers crushed if the stock pin should give way.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Have you tried mortaring it? Collapse the stock to the shortest position, hold the rifle vertically (muzzle up), get a firm hold on the charging handle, and then simultaneously pull on the charging handle with all your might while you slam the butt of the rifle into an immovable surface.

Video example of mortaring:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbDPNbg2QpM

Note that the guy in the video is doing it with the stock extended, which theoretically puts needless strain on the stock/buffer assembly and risks getting his fingers crushed if the stock pin should give way.

That was the first thing I tried.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

just freed it. Haven't figured out what the heck the problem is/was yet though. Took a wooden dowel and a few whacks from the rubber mallet and it came free. Was also still coated in oil, so I have no clue what the issue is. No corrosion or rust on anything. Also worth noting I never had one issue with the rifle before the class when I took it to a local range to zero it and not one issue with it during that previous 4-day class.

[jarhead714]

Mortar that f’er!!! Like you mean it.!!

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Mortar that f?er!!! Like you mean it.!!

Trust me, I tried! Took the optic off and mortared it. DIdn't help. The Wooden dowel and mallet did the trick.

[FNGGlock]

I assume you disassembled the BCG to make sure everything is in place.

When things get stuck I sometimes tap it in the opposite direction to see if it frees something up. Glad you got it resolved, I would have hit the forward assist first to see if it frees something up.

Does it have a forward assist? May be worth double checking something didn’t go wonky with it.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

I assume you disassembled the BCG to make sure everything is in place.

When things get stuck I sometimes tap it in the opposite direction to see if it frees something up. Glad you got it resolved, I would have hit the forward assist first to see if it frees something up.

Does it have a forward assist? May be worth double checking something didn?t go wonky with it.

I hit the forward assist, then tried to mortar it, then took it apart to see what the heck was going on. Only thing that worked was the dowel and mallet. The BCG was lubed, but will admit it was a bit gunky and sticky. I may not have done that great of a job cleaning it last time. Now all the parts are either soaking in Simple Green or Hoppes right now. Not going to be any grime or carbon anywhere when I'm done.

[FNGGlock]

What do you normally use to clean and lube?
I just stick to Break Free CLP. I’m not the best anymore at cleaning ARs after shooting and sometimes they can sit for months or longer.

[Barang]

What do you normally use to clean and lube?
I just stick to Break Free CLP. I?m not the best anymore at cleaning ARs after shooting and sometimes they can sit for months or longer.

a combo of break free and grease for cleaning and lubing for me. i have 2 that were put back in the safe for 5 months or more without cleaning and still function fine.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

What do you normally use to clean and lube?
I just stick to Break Free CLP. I?m not the best anymore at cleaning ARs after shooting and sometimes they can sit for months or longer.

Hoppes #9 for bores, and Ballistol for cleaning. Usually use Hoppes oil or Lucas Extreme Duty gun oil for lubrication.