AR15 bolt not going into battery – a simple solution!

Thank you I will try that tomorrow

had issue with failure to chamber after firing first round, bolt would wedge into locking lugs.removed the 'o' ring no more issue, but i think after manually chambering the first round the gas block was not venting enough gas to the bcg thus not compressing the buffer spring enough for the buffer spring to push bolt back into battery, i have a fixed gas block so no way to increase gas..and its cheaper to remove the 'o' ring then to buy a new gas block or a different buffer spring.. fired thousands of 5.56 round in the army never remember seeing an 'o' ring on the extractor.

One of my cheapo uppers only had the spring and insert installed, I added the oring to help with extraction. No problems yet. I have another rifle with the stronger spring from BCM that only has the insert. With the Oring installed it was harder going into battery. With their spring they recommend one or the other when it comes to the insert and oring. I guess when it has too much tension it can push the extractor out farther making it difficult to go into battery.

love that olight pen how can i get the stuck shell out it wont extract

Good close ups thanks. Why is there an extractor O ring needed?

Great video! 👍

Use grease on the bolt.

How do you get the bolt to depress within the rifle? I cannot field strip because the bolt is extending past the charging handle.

I had a new build do that but not babying it either but a small amount of breaking it in shall we say wore it in and now have no problems.

like the forward assist the o ring is a jinky box fix if the extractor needs more tension have a stronger spring specified . the viet nam problem was fail to extract the forward assist was the fix? the o ring is there to fix the same problem of dirty gun.

I've never seen anyone put their flashlight and switch on the upper receiver rail

Never had a problem with the o ring, its there for a reason, if you have a problem look for other possibilities 😉

You should take a gunsmith course and read up on the AR platforms before making videos on how to “fix” a system that’s been around since the late 1950s. Any modifications to that weapon have been made and tested by the manufacturers and the military. That o-ring was added for a reason. Removing it will let you know why it was added if you put enough rounds down range. Fortunately it’s not something that will cause a catastrophic failure, just failure to extract. Course, that could be a life or death situation in a firefight. Good thing we don’t have to worry about anything like that.

Very good info, thx👌

Great info Skeet

WOE! Thanks man!

I’ve never experienced this problem after building a dozen AR’s, however I now know what to do if I ever run into this nuisance? By the way, you’re the best instructor on weapons and reloading on the internet! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise!

Cool 👍👍 new friend here sending my full support

Unless the pin hole on the extractor or the bolt is oblong, there's no way that o ring could be able to cause your bolt to not fully lock. I dont understand how that caused the issue.

Great tip Skeet. Blessing and have a good weekend. Be safe.

Well, well, well. Having seen your "fix" and having read some of the comments, I think I won't be wasting my money on an AR, and this is why.
You have a firearm that must have a rubber part to operate! A rubber part that has to be "broken in". I don't like what that says about the longevity of the firearm. 10 years from now after being stored for whatever reason, the oil dries out, the o-ring hardens and cracks and you have a gun that's basically a piece of pipe to hit the attacker over the head with. I have pieces of pipe that are easier to wield and do more damage than an inert AR.

On second thought, I have a piece of pipe that works and doesn't need rubber parts to function: My Benelli M4! I guess I'll just buy more ammo for it and skip having to buy 5.56 for a weapon with questionable reliability.

As far as a long range bullet, my guess is when the military's of the world go to using blasters, phasers or plasma rifles, the last rifle round made will probably be the 7.62×39 AK round. So I think I'll just get a bolt action 7.62×39, one that doesn't rely on rubber or plastic parts to work. lol

how the hell do you operate your light with the switch on top of the upper assembly? i have never ever seen that? i gotta know hoe that works.

The O-ring and the black Center Post that's rubber inside the stainless steel extractor spring was added when the M4 carbine was released to the military. The problem they were having was the shortened gas system was causing over gassing and not letting the cartridge case shrink down enough for extraction. This caused the extractor to Simply slip off of the case head rendering the firearm useless, with an empty un extracted cartridge case in the chamber.
Testing of silicone O-rings and Center Post to add pressure to the extractor on the case head were tried. A couple of different colors existed before the black Center Post one of them was blue when they were trying different polymers. This was finally accomplished with the black o-ring on the outside of the extractor spring with a black center polymer post on the internal center of the extractor spring. This all was done to Aid in extracting of cartridges on a short-barreled rifle system that is prone to over gassing.
So now that you know why the polymer Center Post and the black o-ring was added they should never be removed from the extractor system. If you have an issue with the bolt not going completely into battery, you simply fire 5.56 NATO cartridges one at a time until the extractor seats itself. Problem solved.
I've been building AR-15 weapon System since 1984, so I've run into a couple of hiccups along the way lol. Hope the info helps. Echo

Sounds like you have a weak buffer spring and buffer you should have those replaced. You shouldn’t be short stroking the charging handle with the bolt carrier group in it it should be racked to the rear and released on its own spring tension in order for it to sit properly. That black O-ring that you removed is there to enhance the extractor tension required on many AR15, M4, M16 short barreled rifles for reliability.

I might have to try that. My ar is having some similar issues. Thanks for the video

Great to see your showing something to do with Guns. I have been watching your reloading videos for years.
I actually have learned a lot from watching your reloading videos.
It’s been awhile sense I have seen you do a video on reloading.
Periodically I go back to watch you reloading of 9mm .
Just this last week I decided to pull out all my reloading equipment and started
Reloading 223 for the wife’s AR-15 and for both our Glock.
We both actually have reloaded 1000s of 9mm and 223.
We both have been looking for primers for going on 3 months but no luck.
So my wife wanted to start reloading more 223 and me more 9mm.
Great to see your video take care. Carla and Larry

What purpose does the O ring serve??? Never saw that before this…my M16 in basic June -Aug 71hsd no O ring, nor the blue plastic insert in the exractor spring…the blue insert came.much later ..dunno WHY an O ring is needed…I don't run one on.my uppers…

Skeet… Have you tested the bolt with the O-Ring after firing a few rounds. Shoot lots and stay safe.

How in the word did you know that the small o ring was the issue?

Love it

Removing the o-ring can help if your system is overgassed. Most Systems do not need the o-ring. However my 10.5 carbine and rifle length gass uppers run great with the o-ring. Test your system and find out. Great video. Thank you.