AI feeding problem

[243LPR]

No,it's not anorexic. My new 223 AI shoots great but I'm having a heck of a time to get it to feed from the magazine. It was a standard 223 before I rebarrelled it and it feeds regular 223 loads just like it should. The rounds hang up on the breech face about half way in and I have to mess with the bolt or start it the rest of the way by hand.This is the first AI I've had problems with. Any suggestions?

[snowgetter1]

I have a 22-250AI. Out of an aics mag it feeds fine until about the 8th round. Then, it jams up like yours is doing. I have not been able to figure it out other than wanting to adjust, stretch out, the magazine spring. Just haven't been brace enough to do that yet. I did have a 25-06 AI that feed perfectly from a standard savage centerfeed mag.

[Robinhood]

Feed cone and ramp mod?

[243LPR]

Feed cone and ramp mod?

???

[sharpshooter]

.223 AI will not feed because it only has .010" case taper. The case is too cylindrical to funnel into the chamber, ain't much you can do except feed each one in by hand.

[Evlshnngns]

I ASSume Robinhood is suggesting notching the edge of the camber to help it feed. Could you go into detail on your barrel? Maker, twist, bullet, powder and velocity?

[Robinhood]

Close. A chamfer at the edge of the chamber. I'm not sure but 30* sounds right. Als at the bottom of the action where the round feeds and maybe the front end of the magazine. You would have to look and observe.

I am guessing the situation you are describing is the nose of the bullet is not going into the chamber. If this is correct observe the cartridge as you push forward on the bolt and the cast gets pushed forward. What is guiding the nose of the bullet away from the hole? If this is not correct, my apologies.

[243LPR]

It's not the bullet. I think it's the sharp shoulder of the case hanging up going into the chamber. It's a Mcgowen barrel.

[Robinhood]

Jr. has a McGowan 223 rem that does the same thing. It has had 3 rounds down it and pulled because of it. If you look at most barrels they have a chamfer on the end of the chamber. Not his 223 McGowan. the bullet sticks right at the edge. Been meaning to fix that. The barrel is not smooth on the end and has a sharp angle leading into the chamber. Good luck with yours.

[243LPR]

I think I'm going to have to contact them. It also leaves rings on the brass and chamber looks rough.

[TXRoadlizard]

I have the Choate Tactical Stock with CDI Bottom Metal on a 12FV .223. It also feeds intermittently as described above. Most rounds will feed just fine, although some may require a double-clutch of the bolt. It is almost like the bolt doesn't catch the round right. Then the last several will pop up and the bolt pushes them above the chamber at a steep angle. I'd thought maybe it was the MDT magazine, but sounds like it may be one of those "is what it is" things. Still vastly better than feeding a 4-round blind magazine in the factory stock.

[243LPR]

I also have a Mcgowen in 243AI and it feeds perfect from the DBM in the LRP.

[Scott Evans]

Single stack MDT plastic AICS style mags fix pretty much all 223 case based AI feed woes without any other modifications, if you are talking about a std stagger feed setup. Needs bottom metal installed properly, most of the time it is NOT. Adjust front and/or rear pillar height to get the thing going into the breech face in the correct position, ignore recommended pillar heights. If you already have the bottom metal in, you can shim it with washers to get the mag pointed in the correct direction for the loss of case taper going to AI.

I also have a stagger feed SA in 223AI it could use some help, you CANNOT be gentle with it, slam it in quick and its 90%, try being gentle/slow and its about zero %. Not gonna bother fixing this one once the barrel is gone its probably going to get the caliber changed. Love the stagger for varminting its just waaaay too easy and convenient to top off the mag while looking around instead of dealing with a damned hard to load DBM.

There's been many days I'd rather deal with a single shot than a hard to load DBM or feed challenged unit. SS makes things easier than one would think. Try a SS mag insert first, unless you absolutely have to have a functional repeater.

Think twice about bending the lips of that nearly irreplaceable 223/204 stagger feed mag to try to make it work better, if you aren't comfortable with junking one to figure it out.

[TXRoadlizard]

Single stack MDT plastic AICS style mags fix pretty much all 223 case based AI feed woes without any other modifications, if you are talking about a std stagger feed setup. Needs bottom metal installed properly, most of the time it is NOT. Adjust front and/or rear pillar height to get the thing going into the breech face in the correct position, ignore recommended pillar heights. If you already have the bottom metal in, you can shim it with washers to get the mag pointed in the correct direction for the loss of case taper going to AI.

I also have a stagger feed SA in 223AI it could use some help, you CANNOT be gentle with it, slam it in quick and its 90%, try being gentle/slow and its about zero %. Not gonna bother fixing this one once the barrel is gone its probably going to get the caliber changed. Love the stagger for varminting its just waaaay too easy and convenient to top off the mag while looking around instead of dealing with a damned hard to load DBM.

There's been many days I'd rather deal with a single shot than a hard to load DBM or feed challenged unit. SS makes things easier than one would think. Try a SS mag insert first, unless you absolutely have to have a functional repeater.

Think twice about bending the lips of that nearly irreplaceable 223/204 stagger feed mag to try to make it work better, if you aren't comfortable with junking one to figure it out.

Not a bad thought. I'll remove the bolt and see what the alignment between the mag and the chamber looks like. Shimming the bottom metal might be just the ticket. Thanks for that suggestion.

[J.Baker]

As Fred noted above, it's a combination of the limited body taper and the sharp shoulder angle. The case goes into the chamber at a slight angle. Due to the lack of taper there's very little clearance or wiggle room for the case to align and slide in. What's happening is the body-shoulder junction is hitting the top of your chamber while at the same time the bottom side of the body of the case is sliding along the bottom edge of the chamber edge and it basically wedges itself there causing it to stop. When you take forward pressure off the bolt and move it back slightly it takes the tension off the case so it can tip and properly align with the chamber (front tips down/rear comes up) allowing you to then easily push it home and close the bolt.

The feed cone Robinhood referred to is the common solution when the tip of the bullet (usually hollow points) hits the breech face of the barrel just below the chamber and jams things up because of the .223's small diameter. It's the same feed cone that's cut into every M16 barrel that's ever been made for the same reason. Whether it will help in this case really depends on the angle at which the case is at and how far it is into the chamber when it jams up on you.

This is also why most who go to an AI (especially a small diameter AI) make them single-shots - they can be a bit fickle when it comes to feeding from a magazine.

[243LPR]

Yes,it doesn't like hollow points either. Won't feed at all. Looks like this one will need a little work. Thanx for all the replies. Glad to know it's just not me!

[GaCop]

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[GaCop]

+1. I ended up using a single shot sled for my 223AI because of poor feeding.

[Scott Evans]

I had time to revisit my mod 10 stagger feed 223AI, played with the mag lips, bent them out maybe .010" per side and put a very small flare at the chamber end of the lip, feeds almost 100% now with 50g-55g tipped bullets and Speer 50 TNT's. Did nothing to the action feed ramp or chamber, didn't even bother to remove the mag box. I love the stagger feeds for varminting.