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Dwight Stearns

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Posts posted by Dwight Stearns

    LubriPLATE No. 105

    in Introduce Yourself

    Posted · Edited by Dwight Stearns

    I use a varity of lubericants depending on the job including slide glide lite but my favorite use of SG lite is on the recoil buffer spring on an AR 15. It totally eliminates the spring twang immediately after the shot and does not affect function even in cold weather. I know that the twang is not a problem but it drives me nuts. :goof: Yes I know it's a short drive.

    Dwight Stearns

    ar 15 doubling

    in Rifle - Technical

    Posted

    Ok I think we have the problem finally figured out (along wit the help of Ronin Coleman) (thanks Ronin) :cheers: . The Rock River BCG appears to be a little under spec and (you were right Wap wap) the hammer was not being cocked all the time. The BCG on any ar 15 does not fit very snug in the upper reciever. There is a lot of room for play as the BCG cycles. When we were cycling the bolt by hand, the charging handle was pulling down on the carrier which was putting pressure down on the bolt so the hammer was cocked without problem. But when the rifle is fired there is no downward pressure on the carrier. Add in the built in tolerances in the fit of the carrier to the upper and the carrier was riding up over the hammer enough to fail to cock the hammer. Replacing the Rock River BCG with a Saber bolt fixed the problem. And as a bonus, the RockRiver BCG appears to work just fine in the Saber.

    Thanks to everyone.

    Dwight

    Oops, accidentally shot a bunch of 9mm through my 38sc

    in Open Pistols

    Posted

    I can't say I reccomend the practice of shooting 9mm cases in a 38sc but it won't hurt the chamber. It would be like shooting .38 specials in a .357 revolver. Especially if the loads are mild. The worst that happens is a build-up of lead and carbon in the chambers at the front of the .38 special case making it hard to seat the .357 untill the chambers are properly cleaned. Same situation with the 9mm in the 38sc camber. My biggest worry would be function since the 9mm is slightly tapered and the sc chamber is stright wall. It will definately overwork the 9mm brass.

    ar 15 doubling

    in Rifle - Technical

    Posted

    We received the fire control group back from AR Gold today and took the rifle back to the range. With the original bolt carrier group (rock river) the rifle doubled in the first 15 rounds. We then took a bcg out of a back-up rifle and have close to 100 rounds without a problem. The rock river bcg was then put into the back-up rifle and no problems in around 50 rounds so far. Something in the Rock River bcg was tripping the hammer but only in one lower. We will put more rounds through both rifles when we have access to a better range so we are getting in some good practive while we test for problems.

    Still don't understand it but so far the problem seems to have been corrected. Time and ammo will tell.

    Thanks to everyone for helping the ignorant.

    Dwight

    ar 15 doubling

    in Rifle - Technical

    Posted

    Good idea but we have already checked that. I'm still thinking the hammer is being tripped. Examination of the brass involved in the "extra Shots" shows identical firing pin hits to the intentional shots (first shot). We will recheck the fcg when it comes back from AR Gold with the replacement bcg. We fired about 30 rounds with that replacement bcg with no problem before we sent the fcg off to be double checked.

    Thanks for the help.

    Dwight

    ar 15 doubling

    in Rifle - Technical

    Posted · Edited by Dwight Stearns

    Hi all;

    We tested the bcg and the firing pin was not sticking and wasn't over length. I'm back to the suspicion that something in the bcg was tripping he hammer. A sticking fp might account for doubling but triples and quads seem impossible unless it is the hammer that is setting the round off. I can see a double from a stuck fp but it seems the second shot would push the fp back out of the firing pin hole and the third and fourth shot just wouldn't happen. We called Ronin Coleman about the AR Gold fire control group and he doesn't believe it is the fault of the fcg but asked to see it just to make sure. He said he would have the group back to us by the end of the week. The bcg is Rock River. Maybe the bcg is out of spec but I wouldn't know what to look for and have no idea how an out of spec bolt could even cause the problem.

    Thanks to everyone for the help. I'll report back if/when we figure something out.

    Dwight

    ar 15 doubling

    in Rifle - Technical

    Posted · Edited by Dwight Stearns

    Haven't had the opportunity to try the suggestions as of yet. The bolt seems to be fully cocking the ar gold hammer. We had thought about the bolt might not be fully cocking the hammer but that doesn't seem to be the case. If we dry fire then charge the bolt very slowly then open the receiver, the hammer is cocked on the primary sear where it should be. I still want to investigate the sticking FP. Will do that tomorrow hopefully.

    Thanks to everyone for the help but don't stop now. Keep the ideas flowing. This is a learning experience.

    Dwight

    ar 15 doubling

    in Rifle - Technical

    Posted

    Kurt,

    I'll bet it did scare you. You followed all the safety rules (safety on, finger out of the trigger guard, muzzle in a safe direction) so all it turned out to be was a loud noise. My squad was waiting on deck so it startled the heck out of us too. :surprise:

    I'll chedk the firing pin next week. That may be the culprit especially since it seems to be getting worse. Any other ideas, let me know.

    Thanks

    ar 15 doubling

    in Rifle - Technical

    Posted · Edited by Dwight Stearns

    While shooting at the Midwest 3-gun last week my shooting partner's ar-15 started doubling. It did it once on stage 6 and we thought(hoped) it was an isolated incident. Well he started stage 8 and had immediate trouble. The second time it did it the RO stopped him (good Job RO). We replaced his lower with the lower off my back-up so he could reshoot that stage. WE then went to the side range with an RO to try and figure things out. His upper/lower set-up (which included an AR Gold trigger) was giving him numerous double's tripples and even a quad. His upper with my lower (standard ar trigger) continued the parade of multiple shots. He finally decided to finish the match with my complete back-up rifle and did so with no trouble.

    Upon our return home we again tested his rifle with similar results plus one shot while on safe when he chambered the first round. (Sound familiar Kurt?) We finally changed to another bolt. So far nothing unusual in about 100 rounds.

    We are pretty sure we have narrowed it down to the bolt. The hammer is falling on all those doubles (full firing pin strike). My guess is that something in the bolt (or possibly the upper reciever) is out of spec.

    Please pass on any ideas on what to look for to finish diagnosing the problem.

    FNH USA Midwest 3-Gun NEWS

    in Multi-Gun, Rifle & Shotgun Match Announcements

    Posted

    This was my first 3-gun match so I don't have anything to compare it to. I gotta say though I had a blast. Will deffinately be back. I agree about squad 14, the RO's, Prize table and the cof's. I never had a plate spin on me... I guess you have to hit them first. My bad. I finally slowed down and used the sight for what it was intended. Note to self.... Thanks one and all for taking it easy on a new guy.

    Dwight

    Cold bore shot

    in Precision Rifle

    Posted

    Trapper,

    As the other posts advise, the rifle should be at normal room (storage) temperature. When I attended law enforcement sniper school a few years ago, we started each morning with a practice qualification which included a cold bore shot followed by the remaining 9 qualification shots. On qualification day we again started with the cold bore shot. If that shot was on, we were allowed to fire the remaining 9. If the cold bore shot missed, that was considered a failure and we were to put the rifle away but were allowed to retry after a 4 hour wait. I was lucky(?) and didn't have to retry. It did help though that I was shooting the most accurate rifle on the range that week.

    I may be superstisious but I will not deploy with a clean rifle. After cleaning I fire one round through it and then put it away. I find that with my rifle there is much less deviation between a fouled cold bore shot and a warm barrel than there is between a clean cold shot and a warm barrel.

    Dwight

    Recoil Spring for 40 S&W MINOR

    in 1911-style Pistols

    Posted

    Now you are talking fun. I love killing steel.

    Keep in mind that no two guns are the same. I would start with a #10 or #11 and see how the gun reacts. If you have access to a plate rack, run the rack a few times at or slightly beyond your ability. While doing this, keep track of what the sights are doing. If you see your sight picture seem to get higher on the plates as you shoot the rack, go to a heavier recoil spring. If you seem to come out low as you come across the rack, lighten the recoil spring. (of course, as long as your gun functions witht he change of springs) The mainspring can also be used to tune the gun but anything in the 17-20 pound range should work fine.

    Dwight

    Problem With 9mm Commercial Reload in STI

    in Miscellaneous BEginners

    Posted

    It sounds to me like the michigan ammo is somewhat under powered for the spring set-up on the Brazos. If it functions with WWB then it doesn't sound like a chamber problem.

    How far does the brass eject (the ones that cycled) compared to WWB?

    Under power ammo can partially extract and then be rechambered by the recoil spring. The expanded case can then grips the walls of the chamber. Tapered cases are the worse.

    It worked in the Glock but the dynamics of the spring set-up are much different.... That's a Glock for you.

    Stick with the WWB or other factory generic and have fun

    Dwight

    Glock 23

    in Glock

    Posted

    Hey Mark

    I have witnessed several tests put on by ATK (parent company for Speer,CCI, etc.) The ATK rep at these tests welcomed any other ammunition you wished to compare with Speer. The Speer Gold Dot ammo in either 180 gr. or 165 gr. won every time in the .40 cal. class. I don't believe you can go wrong with the Speer. Just do yourself a favor and run 150 to 200 rounds through your gun to make sure there are no function problems. There shouldn't be, but it increases the confidence level.

    Dwight

    Speer Gold Dot 165s were our issue ammo for quite some time. A recent series of test dethroned it soundly....the new ammo is Winchester Bonded (Q4355) 180s. I've shot 25yd groups under 2" with it out of my G23. This stuff actually out performs .45acp Remington Golden Saber 230gr JHPs!

    That's not to say the Gold Dot loads are a poor choice....I would be confident using them, but under the same test protocols, the Q4355 beats it by a significant amount.

    There have been some departments that experienced problems with Speer GD 180s (and a few other 180s from what I've heard) in Glock 22s and 23s. I appears to be more with the newer guns and more noticably with brand new mags...they'll get double feeds or a round that pops straight up like a stovepipe, but it's not fired. Glock is working on a fix to the mags and looking at a slightly different recoil spring. If you shoot 200 and the gun runs, you don't have to worry about it...it won't take that long to find if it's going to be a problem.

    For those folks still using Federal Hydra Shoks in any cartridge....move on man, there is MUCH better ammo available now and for not much more money. It was great when it came out, but it's nowhere near as effective as the newest stuff.

    This site has some really good info on self-defense ammo:

    http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm

    I haven't had the opportunity to test or observe testing of the winchester bonded round. I have read some non-favorable reports on that round when it comes to heavy clothing (failure's to expand), but that may have been some early production runs. Can't wait to try some myself. With that said, all pistol rounds can fail to expand in a given situation, so keep this in mind when social application is necessary. Assume the bullet will fail and shoot center and often (till the threat is gone). Remember, just like starting a business, location, location, location.

    Dwight

    Glock 23

    in Glock

    Posted

    Hey Mark

    I have witnessed several tests put on by ATK (parent company for Speer,CCI, etc.) The ATK rep at these tests welcomed any other ammunition you wished to compare with Speer. The Speer Gold Dot ammo in either 180 gr. or 165 gr. won every time in the .40 cal. class. I don't believe you can go wrong with the Speer. Just do yourself a favor and run 150 to 200 rounds through your gun to make sure there are no function problems. There shouldn't be, but it increases the confidence level.

    Dwight

    focus on front sight or target?

    in Handgun Techniques

    Posted

    I shoot a lot of steel and I found early on that the most dificult thing when focusing on the target was learning to fight the tendency to watch the plates fall (fire and forget). It would distract me from the next shot. I did find I could fire and forget better when focusing on the front sight. I was able to overcome the tendency by locking my plates on my rack in the up position and shooting and just ringing them. Well, that and several thousands of rounds.

    In fact, when I am in the zone, I see the bullet impact, watch the sights move to the next plate and watch the previously hit plate(s) fall all at the same time and when I get done it seems to have all happened in slow motion. All done with target focus. I love it, It's wild.

    I do see the sights though, just not in focus. A fellow shooter at the Big Dawg Steel Match a couple years ago asked me how i can make a follow-up shot on a missed plate so fast. I told him I just read the sights and call the shot. If I call it bad, I make an immediate follow-up.

    Good shooting all

    Dwight Stearns

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