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First Time Out w/ M4 - Quick Question


burntorangefan

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Hi guys,

 

New to the forum. Installed a new FFT magazine, follower and hand guards and took the M4 out to shoot today for the first time. I started with 40 rounds of Hornady TAP 00 Buck and 10 rounds of Federal Flight Control slugs. After that, I mostly shot high brass 5s and 6s from Federal (2 3/4", 1 1/4 oz, 3 3/4 dram eq)...However, I did shoot a few low brass junk that I had in a bag just to see what would happen.

 

I had three occurrences where the gun would extract and throw the round out but not lift the next round into the chamber. I watched the lower power shells get thrown out of the corner of my eye and then CLICK, nothing happened because the chamber was empty. Is this a common occurrence in new M4s? I've read plenty about lube and break-in periods - whether you believe in them or not - and I hadn't seen anyone say that the cheap, light stuff extracted but didn't load/lift another shell...In total, I shot maybe 100 rounds total. The gun was cleaned and lubed before I took it out, but I was waiting on an order of TW-25B, so I just used the oil from the factory if that makes any difference.

 

I'm not new to shotguns, so I wasn't babying the gun, shooting from the hip or anything ridiculous like that. Please advise! I had no issues with 00 buck or slugs with this condition........Thanks!

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Assuming it's a new gun, run a couple hundred more full power loads through it. No matter what the advertisements on gas operated guns of any pedigree say, crap ammo gives you crap results. Yes it's possible for a light load shell to eject but not send the bolt back far enough to trip the carrier mechanism to feed the next round even though it has been released from the magazine. It's comparable to short-stroking a pump. Not that I've ever done that sort of thing.:rolleyes:

Edited by truckcop
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The bolt carrier isn't cycling all the way to the rear then. It's a low recoil issue. Sometimes a break in will cure the issue. Sometimes not. A lot depends on how you're holding the weapon.

 

That's good news. I wasn't super stressed about it because I don't plan on shooting lower power ammo anyway. I feel confident I was shouldering the gun properly, so I'll just stay away from low end stuff and should be fine. Appreciate the help...

 

Joe

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Congratulations and welcome to the Club. My M4 is several years old. Once you break it in you should be able to reliably cycle 2 3/4 Federal value pack (100 rds.) 7 1/2 or 8 shot from Wal-Mart all day long. Give it several hundred rounds to break in. Too much is made of M4's not cycling lighter ammo, I have never had a problem and have a buddy with an M4 who hasn't either. Any 3 Dram load shod work.

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Sometimes just leaning forward a few more inches will prevent limp shouldering and allow that cheap crap to cycle. I've run tests between myself and other people and myself and myself with different stances and there was a difference.

 

I cannot say that my M4 will reliably cycle weaker ammo but I can say I can reliably shoot my M4 with weaker ammo. I usually have to give some pointers to friends (experienced shooters as well) on their stance when the M4 fails to cycle. They'll have the gun shouldered correctly but they'll just not be leaning their body weight towards the front.

 

That's my 2 cents.

 

That being said, it never fails the OO buck or slugs. Ever.

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Sometimes just leaning forward a few more inches will prevent limp shouldering and allow that cheap crap to cycle. I've run tests between myself and other people and myself and myself with different stances and there was a difference.

 

I cannot say that my M4 will reliably cycle weaker ammo but I can say I can reliably shoot my M4 with weaker ammo. I usually have to give some pointers to friends (experienced shooters as well) on their stance when the M4 fails to cycle. They'll have the gun shouldered correctly but they'll just not be leaning their body weight towards the front.

 

That's my 2 cents.

 

That being said, it never fails the OO buck or slugs. Ever.

 

I typically shoot shotguns with my weight more forward than neutral - leaning into it - so I'm not sure if it was me, the gun, or some combination of both. I'll continue the break-in process and see if the issue stops over time. As noted above, it probably won't really be an issue because I'll likely not spend much time with anything other than defense loads - either in training or in the closet. Thanks for your time and input!

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Sometimes just leaning forward a few more inches will prevent limp shouldering and allow that cheap crap to cycle. I've run tests between myself and other people and myself and myself with different stances and there was a difference.

 

I cannot say that my M4 will reliably cycle weaker ammo but I can say I can reliably shoot my M4 with weaker ammo. I usually have to give some pointers to friends (experienced shooters as well) on their stance when the M4 fails to cycle. They'll have the gun shouldered correctly but they'll just not be leaning their body weight towards the front.

 

That's my 2 cents.

 

That being said, it never fails the OO buck or slugs. Ever.

This. Also I think the oil Benelli provides is perfect for break in use.

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