Gunsmithing Bushmaster 1st Gen .308 AR Charging Handle Issues

[EvilWoodchuck]

Hey Guys,

Was wondering if anyone out there has seen this happen before and knows how to fix it? I think what happened is that the duracoat the guy who had it before me painted it with wore off and isn't providing enough resistance to keep the charging handle in place while firing. It comes back and hits me in the nose

...

Any ideas would be appreciated!

EvilWoodchuck

View of charging handle latch hole inside top of Upper. Note the "channel" dug through the duracoat finish by the button on the charging handle.

Another angle

Charging handle locking button which caused this mess

 

[2156SMK]

Re: Bushmaster 1st Gen .308 AR Charging Handle Issues

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EvilWoodchuck</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hey Guys,

Was wondering if anyone out there has seen this happen before and knows how to fix it? I think what happened is that the duracoat the guy who had it before me painted it with wore off and isn't providing enough resistance to keep the charging handle in place while firing. It comes back and hits me in the nose

...

Any ideas would be appreciated!

EvilWoodchuck

View of charging handle latch hole inside top of Upper. Note the "channel" dug through the duracoat finish by the button on the charging handle.

Another angle

Charging handle locking button which caused this mess
</div></div>

Quoting so I can clean up the img tags and try and read the first post...

 

[Eagle1899]

Re: Bushmaster 1st Gen .308 AR Charging Handle Issues

Give Bushmaster call and see what they say. It's worth a try....

 

[EvilWoodchuck]

Re: Bushmaster 1st Gen .308 AR Charging Handle Issues

Sorry about the tags

Wasn't sure how to do that right with UBB I haven't used forums in a long time. Thanks for the suggestion, I will call Bushmaster and post how that goes.

 

[EvilWoodchuck]

Re: Bushmaster 1st Gen .308 AR Charging Handle Issues

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Eagle1899</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Give Bushmaster call and see what they say. It's worth a try.... </div></div>

Called Bushmaster, the customer service rep told me that they no longer have uppers for this gun and I should take it to a smith and see what they can do.

Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[EvilWoodchuck]

Re: Bushmaster 1st Gen .308 AR Charging Handle Issues

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EvilWoodchuck</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Eagle1899</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Give Bushmaster call and see what they say. It's worth a try.... </div></div>

Called Bushmaster, the customer service rep told me that they no longer have uppers for this gun and I should take it to a smith and see what they can do.

Anyone else have any ideas? </div></div>

What do you guys think about filling the channel shown in the pictures with Marine Tex or JB Weld or some other kind of liquid filler?

I was thinking about trying that first and if that doesn't work then I would order a "normal" style charging handle with latch and machine a triangular catch for the latching mechanism?

 

[EvilWoodchuck]

Re: Bushmaster 1st Gen .308 AR Charging Handle Issues

Bump. Anybody? I could really use an opinion here.

 

[mtrmn]

Re: Bushmaster 1st Gen .308 AR Charging Handle Issues

I have one of these as well. My charging handle had the same habit-usually on the last round in a magazine. I chose a drill bit which seemed to be the best fit and drilled the hole a bit deeper for the latching (or in our case-nonlatching) detent. It has not been a 100% fix, but it has greatly reduced the occurrence of the charging handle hitting me in the nose. In fact since I made the slight mod I can only remember 1 offense.
Probably been through a couple hundred rounds since then, and before the mod it happened on about every other magazine load.

I just last week had to replace my BCG with a RRA version. My BM bolt broke and BM said they no longer had any parts for the old 308's. They told me to contact RRA, and RRA told me their bolt would work but I would have to purchase the entire BCG. The new bolt has a larger tail diameter so it should last the rest of my BM's lifetime. During all this runaround looking for parts I also learned that RRA's upper assemblies will pin right up and work on my BM lower without any mods. This means that we COULD get an RRA stripped upper receiver and charging handle and do away with the mickey mouse design on the charging handle latch. It's tempting to me to go this route so I could also ditch my A2 upper for a flattop. I hope all this has helped you, and there is a thread covering my journey and others on AR10t.com forums.

http://www.ar10t.com/index.php?option=co...&Itemid=270


Edit to include: I forgot to tell you I also used a dremel with a grinding stone to slightly round off the sharp tip on the charging handle detent. It was cutting quite a deep groove in the upper receiver.