AR-556 suddenly wont eject casings today

[llymphs17]

Stock gun. Hasn't been shot in about 1 year. But am using same ammo that has never caused an FTF or ejection failure. High quality PRC ammo. Some red tip, too.
Nothing has changed since last shot, cleaned and stored.
Help?

 

[hittman]

Cleaned and stored a year ago or cleaned and lubed again now?

 

[Jeepnik]

Clean and lube It’s been sitting a year. Or better question, why do you let firearms sit an entire year without cleaning?

 

[llymphs17]

Cleaned last year, everything seems fine, no changes.

Sat because of life/death and other unplanned events...and, it's not the only firearm. Actually forgot I had it lol.

 

[hittman]

Lube it.

 

[llymphs17]

Will do. Thanks.
It crossed my mind earlier that the lube may have degraded over time.
Will repost at later date the outcome.
thanks again

 

[The Norseman]

Bolt/Ejector installed incorrectly. Ejector
Claw is not facing outward. When the Bolt
face was reinstalled, the Claw was accidentally
facing toward the inside of the receiver.

 

[RC44Mag]

Use a chamber brush and give it a good scrubbing and clean it out real good and a very light coat of oil and see it improves. Chambers can get sticky, gunky or maybe a little rusty and can be an easy fix.

 

[Mobuck]

Won't eject? Case stays in the bolt face? Is the bolt cycling fully? Did you try to cycle a few unfired rounds by hand?
Ejector might be sticky. Gas tube might be clogged.
'Or better question, why do you let firearms sit an entire year without cleaning?'
I see no reason a rifle cleaned a year ago shouldn't function today.

 

[KurtC]

Try cycling the rounds by hand. If all is well, you are probably not getting enough gas. Carbon in the tube attracts moisture, which turns it into muck.

 

[the_leper_colony]

Bolt/Ejector installed incorrectly. Ejector
Claw is not facing outward. When the Bolt
face was reinstalled, the Claw was accidentally
facing toward the inside of the receiver.

Perfect place to start looking, because we're all human & Murphy's Law never sleeps!

 

[llymphs17]

Won't eject? Case stays in the bolt face? Is the bolt cycling fully? Did you try to cycle a few unfired rounds by hand?
Ejector might be sticky. Gas tube might be clogged.
'Or better question, why do you let firearms sit an entire year without cleaning?'
I see no reason a rifle cleaned a year ago shouldn't function today.

Don't judge. You may not have made it thru my last year unscathed in some way. God is merciful.

 

[Mobuck]

"Don't judge. You may not have made it thru my last year unscathed in some way. God is merciful."
Begging your pardon, I did not intend to be judgmental. FWIW-My comment was directed toward Jeepnik's post. "Or better question, why do you let firearms sit an entire year without cleaning?"
A firearm is mechanical so unless there's some sort of environmental factor, a stored gun is no different than any other mechanical object.

 

[Hvymax]

Did you check the gas block? A lot of guns have set screws instead of proper pins holding them.

 

[Jeepnik]

Sorry if I upset anyone. But, would you expect a car to be parked in a garage for a year and start right up? Most likely the battery is dead, today’s gas may have gone bad and most certainly all the lube would have drained off the internals. And that’s if mice haven’t eaten the wiring insulation.

 

[kmoore]

Here's one some miss when I checked others cleaning the ARs at the dept. The gas rings on the bolt. The three must not have the openings aligned together. Offset them.

 

[Hvymax]

I've had guns sitting in my safe for over a decade without issue.

 

[s4s4u]

Clean and lube It's been sitting a year. Or better question, why do you let firearms sit an entire year without cleaning?

You clean guns that are clean, just to clean them again? I often have guns sit for some time after use, after cleaning, some for more than a year. I do agree that lube might need to be freshened.

 

[Jeepnik]

Perhaps I was raised wrong. My teaching is that you clean firearms after use. You clean firearms that have been sitting since you used them during the last season. If a firearm arm hasn’t been cleaned and lubed for some time inspect, clean and lube as needed before use.

 

[s4s4u]

I agree. But I do not spend time cleaning guns that have already been cleaned and lubed after use, just for something to do.

 

[The Norseman]

Did we ever come to an conclusion why
the AR is not firing correctly?

 

[Jeepnik]

It’s an AR. I expect them to fail even when clean and lubed. Sure as heck aren’t going to count on one that’s sat around for a year with the lube draining off.

 

[bear007]

Did we ever come to an conclusion why
the AR is not firing correctly?

I don't think @llymphs17 has been back to the range yet to give it another try. Sounds like he has a lot going on right now.

My 2 cents, run an AR bolt a little wet. If it ran fine a year ago it should be a fine again after a little TLC.

 

[Mobuck]

I carry AR's full time in vehicles and/or farm tractors. They don't get cleaned often while being subjected to far more dirt, dust, trash, and debris than would expected anywhere other than full on combat. Typically, I confirm zero with a couple shots every 2-3 months and refill the mag. I can't remember the last time one of these rifles failed to operate as expected. For a couple of them, the only cleaning for months on end is a bore snake if they get rained on.
It's a personal choice whether one cleans after every firing session BUT don't believe those claims that's it's a necessity.