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To give some background, last time I shot my AR, in the process of cleaning it, I got some cotton stuck in the bolt key. I had to remove the bolt key from the bolt assembly to get the cotton out. I had put it all back together and just took it out today for the first time since.

I was just getting ready to sight in a new optics kit and took some quick pot shots to see where I was and how much I'd have to sight. Well, about the first 10 or so rounds were great. After that, I noticed that it wasn't ejection rounds. I took a shot while watching the bolt assembly through the ejection port. It barely moved. I thought I may have some bad ammo, so I tried different ammo. Same issue.

So now I'm freaking out wondering if I had somehow ruined the gas ejection system. Has anyone run into this issue before?

Any help will be much appreciated. I don't want to take this to a gunsmith.

pbwalker wrote:To give some background, last time I shot my AR, in the process of cleaning it, I got some cotton stuck in the bolt key. I had to remove the bolt key from the bolt assembly to get the cotton out. I had put it all back together and just took it out today for the first time since.

I was just getting ready to sight in a new optics kit and took some quick pot shots to see where I was and how much I'd have to sight. Well, about the first 10 or so rounds were great. After that, I noticed that it wasn't ejection rounds. I took a shot while watching the bolt assembly through the ejection port. It barely moved. I thought I may have some bad ammo, so I tried different ammo. Same issue.

So now I'm freaking out wondering if I had somehow ruined the gas ejection system. Has anyone run into this issue before?

Any help will be much appreciated. I don't want to take this to a gunsmith.

If you DID "ruin" the gas system, at worst, you'd need a new gas tube. It's not that difficult to replace.
Instructions are from a friend's site here
(Note, this link has a bit of profanity in it, but nothing most 10 year old daughters havn't heard at least once from somewhere.)

You do NOT have to take the barrel off, butthese pictures show you where the pin for the gas tube is, and how to pull it out. You might want to try cleaning it with pipe cleaners.
If that doesnt work, it might be gunsmith time, unless other members might have ideas.

Well, after stripping it down, I found that the bolt key was loose. I am pretty sure that I had tightened it when I last put it together, so I am hoping that firing it doesn't loosen it.

Is Lock-Tight something I should stay away from? I would assume so, but was wondering if there are any other types of thread sealers I can use (that would allow me to remove it in the future if need be).

So this time around I used my German-Calibrated Torquing Right Arm (Guttentight) to set the screws down again. I'll try to take it out tomorrow or during lunch one day this week at work and see if she holds tight.

Phew...I am somewhat relieved...

The heads of the gas key screws should have been staked in place. You should NEVER EVER take the bolts loose. A little bit of cotton wouldn't have caused a problem, it would've harmelessly burned away.

Restake the bolts and hope that they don't come loose again.

HighVelocity wrote:The heads of the gas key screws should have been staked in place. You should NEVER EVER take the bolts loose. A little bit of cotton wouldn't have caused a problem, it would've harmelessly burned away.

Restake the bolts and hope that they don't come loose again.

Well, I guess this is one of those 'live and learn' moments...

I'll have to take it to a gunsmith to have it restaked...I don't have the dough to fork out for a MOACKS. Any idea what a restake runs?

Edited to add: After some research, this actually looked pretty easy, so I used some tools and lightly staked it and it is a much better stake than Bushmaster had originally.

pbwalker wrote:

HighVelocity wrote:The heads of the gas key screws should have been staked in place. You should NEVER EVER take the bolts loose. A little bit of cotton wouldn't have caused a problem, it would've harmelessly burned away.

Restake the bolts and hope that they don't come loose again.

Well, I guess this is one of those 'live and learn' moments...

I'll have to take it to a gunsmith to have it restaked...I don't have the dough to fork out for a MOACKS. Any idea what a restake runs?

Edited to add: After some research, this actually looked pretty easy, so I used some tools and lightly staked it and it is a much better stake than Bushmaster had originally.

A properly “staked” gas key should look something like this.




It is easily done with a good punch and careful application.

flintknapper wrote:A properly “staked” gas key should look something like this.




It is easily done with a good punch and careful application.

After looking at the original stacked key, it wasn't even close to looking that good. After further research, this appears to be an issue with Bushmasters. I was able to do exactly what you said and just tapped it a few times and it's pretty close to what the image looks like. I also went ahead and used some locktite (small dab). I'm going to give it a few days to adhere and give her an try once again.

pbwalker wrote:

flintknapper wrote:A properly “staked” gas key should look something like this.




It is easily done with a good punch and careful application.

After looking at the original stacked key, it wasn't even close to looking that good. After further research, this appears to be an issue with Bushmasters. I was able to do exactly what you said and just tapped it a few times and it's pretty close to what the image looks like. I also went ahead and used some locktite (small dab). I'm going to give it a few days to adhere and give her an try once again.

Good work!

Yes, Bushmasters (in the past) have had a reputation for less than stellar quality in this area, some of the older examples were nothing more than chisel marks across the tops of the Allen head bolts and the gas key.

More recent manufacture shows more attention paid to that issue. Anyway, you have determined the most likely cause...and taken measures to fix it.

Excellent!