New AR question??????

[d-buck]

OK so Uncle Sam gives me this nice tax return and being single with no one to stop me off I go to pick out a new AR . It's an Armalite M4 variant with quad rails, collapseable stock, flattop upper with detachable carry handle. So yesterday I am at the folks house where my dad, son and i are having a blast turning tin cans into swiss cheese . Shot over 200 rounds with no feeding, firing or ejecting issues at all. But when i was picking up brass i noticed that well over half were cracked. The crack were either very small on the neck or they extended down into the tapered shoulder area of the case. As I said the gun ran great and was very accurate. I spent over 10 years in the Army and have fired thousands of rounds from this platform but have never noticed this. Then again i can't ever remember having looked either. The ammo i was shooting was some that I bought from a guy at work that was loose in a bag so i'm thinking that maybe it was reloaded brass that wasn't in good condition to begin with? For what it's worth all of that ammo is now gone and i will be taking it out again to run some new factory ammo through it to see how it performs. Just wondering if anyone here may have had this issue or might have an idea as to what may be the cause. Thanks guys. P.S. yeah I know this post is worthless without pics but it was either a camera or the AR and the new .45acp i got too keep her company.

[KimberPB]

Cracks in the neck are normal, especially if they are reloads. .223/5.56 is a high pressure round and, depending on the brand of brass and how hot the loads, I normally get two to three reloads on a case before the neck splits. Try running some new production .223 through it and see if it has the same issue. Probably not.

If these were reloads I'd check for other signs of pressure. The reloads may be loaded to hot causing above average pressures and causing the cases to split. I'd hate to see you mess up your new rifle or get hurt.

Lastly, what is your rifle chambered in? If it's .223 make sure you are not firing 5.56. 5.56 is slightly bigger and can cause high pressures when fired through a .223 chambered rifle. If it's chambered in 5.56 your good to shoot either.

Hope this helps....

[KimberPB]

One last thing. If when shooting new production rounds though it it still splits on ever case I'd be worried. At that point I'd take it in and have the head space and chamber checked.

[Red Hat]

KimberPB is correct. It definitely sounds like reloaded ammo that has been reloaded too many times without annealing. You will find out once you fire some factory ammo. If it cracks with factory ammo then it's time to send it back!

[d-buck]

Thanks Kimber and Red...The rifle is chambered for 5.56 so no problem there....don't see any signs of any overpressure damage....no bulges cracks ect. Hopefully this was just the older ammo that i ran through it. Like I said I got it from a guy at work....actually got just over 1200 rounds for $300.00 all nib except for the ones I shot this weekend that were loose but thats all gone now so everything from here on will be new stuff. I guess if the problem still exist with new ammo then i will get to check out Armalites customer service and liftime warranty???

[SpaceFrank]

I've never heard of an AR platform that was only chambered for .223 (not 5.56), but then again I haven't seen everything.

[Red Hat]

I've never heard of an AR platform that was only chambered for .223 (not 5.56), but then again I haven't seen everything.

There is a difference between the two. You can order a barrel chambered in either round. Here is some good info on the differences. The Gun Zone -- SAAMI on 5.56 v. .223 Remington

[SpaceFrank]

I understand the differences between the two. All I was saying is that I'm pretty sure factory-assembled ARs are usually rated for the NATO round. It's certainly important to make sure, though.

[d-buck]

Ok sorry this took so long but things have been crazy here with work and all. Anyway a couple weeks ago I decide to try and run some new .223 rounds through my AR. I picked up a box of Remington .223 and head to one of my favorite shooting spots. After firing all 20 rounds i find that 7 of them have spit down the neck. SO I head home and place a call to Arma-LIte. Tell the tech whats going on and he says he would really like to see my rifle. That was on a Friday afternon so first thing Monday morning I am at the UPS counter shipping my rifle back to be checked out and repaired. The guy I spoke with said that the turn around time should be about 2 weeks. So I go home and wait, and track it via UPS until it is signed for that Wed. (good job UPS LOL). so time drags by........then this past Sunday I get a call from UPS saying that they had a delvery that would require an adult signature.....and I know what that means.....yippie...... So when i get my rifle back the invoice is a little unclear so a call to Arma-Lite confirms what I think....Barrel replaced, headspace checked, test fired...no problems. I can only assume....yeah I know what that means....lol....that they found some problem with the barrell,maybe chamber or something else and replaced it. All in all even though I had to send it back I am very grateful that everything was taken care of. Got the weekend off so I plan on test firing it myself this weekend. I have to add that the test I mentioned of Arma-Lites customer service and warrenty was passed with flying colors. They were very freindly and timely. Heck they even refunded the price to ship it back to them. Great Job Arma-Lite. And to all you here that posted thanks for your help. Kimber and Red....sounds like you may have been right on as to the problem. Hopefully I won't have to test out my warrenty anymore but it is nice to know that if I do it will all be handled well. And also that I can come here for some good sound advice. Thanks guys.

[KimberPB]

Ok sorry this took so long but things have been crazy here with work and all. Anyway a couple weeks ago I decide to try and run some new .223 rounds through my AR. I picked up a box of Remington .223 and head to one of my favorite shooting spots. After firing all 20 rounds i find that 7 of them have spit down the neck. SO I head home and place a call to Arma-LIte. Tell the tech whats going on and he says he would really like to see my rifle. That was on a Friday afternon so first thing Monday morning I am at the UPS counter shipping my rifle back to be checked out and repaired. The guy I spoke with said that the turn around time should be about 2 weeks. So I go home and wait, and track it via UPS until it is signed for that Wed. (good job UPS LOL). so time drags by........then this past Sunday I get a call from UPS saying that they had a delvery that would require an adult signature.....and I know what that means.....yippie...... So when i get my rifle back the invoice is a little unclear so a call to Arma-Lite confirms what I think....Barrel replaced, headspace checked, test fired...no problems. I can only assume....yeah I know what that means....lol....that they found some problem with the barrell,maybe chamber or something else and replaced it. All in all even though I had to send it back I am very grateful that everything was taken care of. Got the weekend off so I plan on test firing it myself this weekend. I have to add that the test I mentioned of Arma-Lites customer service and warrenty was passed with flying colors. They were very freindly and timely. Heck they even refunded the price to ship it back to them. Great Job Arma-Lite. And to all you here that posted thanks for your help. Kimber and Red....sounds like you may have been right on as to the problem. Hopefully I won't have to test out my warrenty anymore but it is nice to know that if I do it will all be handled well. And also that I can come here for some good sound advice. Thanks guys.

Always sucks sending a gun in for repair but glad to hear the customer service was good. It sounds like they did find an issue with either the head space or the chamber specs. Hopefully now that it's all fixed up it'll run flawlessly for many years to come. Let us know how you're next range trip goes.