Bent Bullet!!

[fltsrgn]

I was at the range, shooting American Eagle 5.56 at a slow rate, and had this problem. After changing my shorts, I shot a few more rounds without a problem. When I opened the viewing cover, the round was jammed over to the right of the bolt carrier.

WTF happened?








I'm going to say thanks to my Maker for not letting the round go off....

[djv38]

Never seen that before. My guess would be misfed rount and the bolt had enough force to do that, maybe coupled with weak brass.

[ick]

Looks like an act of terrorism to me. Ooops. I mean man-made disaster.....

Seriously though, the only force that could generate that much power would be the bolt coming rearward. Without knowing much about the rifle I would say that it chambered a round and the following round "popped up". Then after you fired the bolt came back and caught the tip of the next round bending it.

The movement of the round to where it ended up after that is all mechanics I guess.

[SgtStrykerUSMC43]

It occurred on the feed stroke. I'm more curious as to what the previous round did from a mechanical perspective. My money would be on the idea that the previous round was lower in power, but I can't rule out the following:

The magazine wasn't seated completely, or was faulty in some way.

Not likely, but the gun wasn't given as much resistance.

Of course these are my best guesses and certainly aren't meant to be the only causes that create this condition. The AR platform has shown me this time and again, and sometimes it was a magazine to blame, so take a good gander at the feed lips and make certain the follower isn't nosing down either. If this continues, I would mark the magazine, and try a different one. The other thing you may want to re-check is the gas ring gap alignment on the piston.

PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH

[djv38]

That could be, Ick. Is there anything on the bottom of the bolt that could catch it?

[HK SD9 Tactical]

It is the 'new and improved' ammunition that the government will mandate selling to us civilians shortly.

Seriously though (as if I wasn't already), I would have to agree that a FTF with weak brass. What is the headstamp?

[ick]

It occurred on the feed stroke.

Could the feed stroke generate enough force to bend a bullet like that? I mean it is only a spring that pushes the bolt forward..... does it have that force?

That is why I figured it happened during the backwards motion of the bolt. Now THAT is some force.... especially if the previous round was HOT or didn't seat properly allowing the bolt to come back out of time or with more force.

[SgtStrykerUSMC43]

Yes, it does have enough mass and speed to mangle the case and displace jacket material.

PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH

[imschur]

My AR can do that on the feed stroke. The cartridge wouldnt rise high enough out of the mag and the cartridge would hit the barrel extension and flip up at a 45 degree angle across the chamber rather then enter it. In the process the bolt would T bone the cartridge.

[2Blown98]

I had this exact problem! Same ammunition as well. I mangled a total of six rounds in the same manner. Problem turned out to a burr on the magazine which would cause a FTF resulting in a round that looks just like your pictures.