I have roughly 300 rounds through my R18 so far of mostly Barnaul 223 and have recently had constant jams. I constantly get double feeds now and failure to fire. Until my last 2 range trips, the rifle has been flawless and fired every time. I have cleaned the bolt carrier group once and lubed it before use every time, however I have neglected to clean the chamber. Could the barnaul be causing carbon build up in the chamber and the malfunctions? I have thoroughly cleaned the chamber with a chamber brush but have not tested it yet. Anyone have any insight into this issue? Any tips and tricks to keep it running with steel cased ammo?
Sterling Arms R18 Problem/Disappointment
- Thread starter Morgan20
- Start date
onetwentyish
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- East Central AB (AKA Northern Texas)
Could also very likely be magazine related. Make sure you're running good magazines and keep track of if one in particular is giving you trouble, number them if you have to.
double feed is an issue with the spent brass not getting out of the way quick enough before the bolt strips the new round and tries to chamber. an extraction/ejection issue. occams razor says dirty chamber is causing brass to stick. if that doesn't fix it examine bolt face - condition of extractor and ejector for wear/breakage.
DaveMachine
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- That one place with a cowboy complex
Are you using the green, polymer coated Barnaul or the silver, zinc (?) coated stuff?
I'm willing to bet 100% that it is a dirty/stickly chamber from the OP's failure to thoroughly scrub and clean that critical portion of the rifle. Clean the chamber and the problems will most likely disappear. You may have to use a chemical stripper such as Brake Cleaner to get the built-up lacquer out of the chamber so that you are down to bare steel chamber walls again.
The Barnaul Green Lacquer cases are notorious for gumming up chambers. Even a .223 Wylde chamber will gum up if fed a steady diet of lacquered steel casings. In this particular case, the problem is operator error and the disappointment is all on the OP for not properly maintaining his firearm. This is not the rifle's fault.
The Barnaul Green Lacquer cases are notorious for gumming up chambers. Even a .223 Wylde chamber will gum up if fed a steady diet of lacquered steel casings. In this particular case, the problem is operator error and the disappointment is all on the OP for not properly maintaining his firearm. This is not the rifle's fault.
Use of a solvent suitable for the laquer is required; typically something with denatured alcohol (methyl hydrate) or a mineral spirit (being careful of the rifles finish). It is going to depend on the laquer. You could try break cleen as suggested. Pair that with a mild/fine abrasive like JB bore paste on a cleaning patch or even a small piece of magic eraser in a jag placed on a short length of cleaning rod chucked in a cordless drill should do it. Won't need much work if the build up isn't too bad. Check your work with a bore scope (ideal), or mk.1 eyeball and a good bore light (less than ideal).
Ive never had lacquered steel case gum up a gun. I have rifles Ive been feeding cheap steelcase for at least 3000 rounds without cleaning.
If the rifle is honestly ####ting the bed after 200 rounds Id genuinely consider the possibility of tolerance issues
If the rifle is honestly ####ting the bed after 200 rounds Id genuinely consider the possibility of tolerance issues
Phat Eagle
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Fraser Valley, BC
Especially ones made to tight tolerances like a R18. Personally I never run anything but brass through my firearms.
I am willing to bet that your high-lacquer round-count firearms were Russian or Chinese-designed with a chrome-lined chamber and bore and (most relevant), chamber tolerances that you could drive a main battle tank through. That is one of the numerous reasons that Com-bloc weapons tend to be much less accurate than their western counterparts. Loose tolerances and chrome lining will go a long ways towards reliabiity with lacquered steel-case ammo. On the other hand, the SAI R18 Mk2 has much tighter chamber tolerances (Wylde chamber reamer), and is not chrome-lined. Shoot Western brass-cased ammo through your R18 with reasonably regular maintenance (including chamber cleaning) and you won't have any issues. Want to put regular unleaded in your Lambo or shoot lacquered ammo in your R18? Simple - step up the maintentance to deal specifically with the lacquer deposits on the steel chamber walls. That's it, that's all.
Comparisons between firearms designed to fire lacquered ammo and those which are not, are pretty much moot in my books. Obviously, YMMV!
300 rounds is less than a range session for many shooters... not ok, especially for a $2.5k rifle. If a chamber needs to be polished clean in the middle of an outing, it's not user error, it's rifle failure.
I'm afraid this rifle might have as many issues as other Canadian ar180 platforms, it just doesn't have the numbers out there to have as many reports. That's just speculation though, but definitely something to think about before spending that much on an unproven platform.
I'm afraid this rifle might have as many issues as other Canadian ar180 platforms, it just doesn't have the numbers out there to have as many reports. That's just speculation though, but definitely something to think about before spending that much on an unproven platform.
And I'm afraid that your speculation may be misplaced. Tight, unlined chambers and lacquer-cased ammo do not mix. Never have, and likely never will. If you want to run a rifle capable of <1.5 MOA you have to make some concessions to the ammo that you run in it. Want to shoot hundreds and hundreds of lacquer-cased rounds in a single range session? Clean your chamber half-way through. If you're unwillng to do that, then I recommend sticking with a T81 or SKS for your plinking pleasure and you'll likely have no issues. Mind you, your groups probably won't be less than 4 MOA, but your rifle will keep shooting....
You want something that will fire combloc ammo without choking, then buy something combloc. Or at the very least, by a mil-spec platform such as the CZ Bren 2. Otherwise you are just setting yourself up for disappointment by trying to fire ammo out of a rifle that was never intended nor designed to feed it.
I understand your point, however I would assume that if someone was to spend $2.5K on a semi-auto "black" rifle, that is based on an original mil-spec design, one would expect mil-spec results. Again I am only speculating based on the OP's issue, that might be a one off problem.
