Has anyone one run into any issues with ammo jamming in their Saint AR's? I've had issues with 1 brand only, thought it was a fluke type of thing but at this point have decided to avoid that brand altogether. I've never had any issues with any other brand, just this one brand. It is Armscor 55gr FMJ and bought it because it was on sale at a local farm and ranch store. Armscor has been great to work with. The round gets jammed and won't fire, and I have to "mortar" the round out. Not my favorite thing to do. I've noticed that this style of their ammo that the neck of the casing is slightly thicker than the other brands that I have like Frontier, Winchester and Federal, thus probably getting stuck in the chamber.
Any ammo issues with Saint AR
- Thread starter Bobcat93
- Start date
I would recommend contacting Springfield to service your AR if it's new and having issues. I had an issue with a brand new Ruger mini-14 to which I sent back to them and they contacted me 2 weeks later to tell me my rifle was defective and they were going to credit me a new one. AR's are usually known to run like a champ with all ammo. I have a Sig VTAC and Aero AR with hundreds of rounds through each without a hiccup.
Well, one brand giving you issues may not be the gun. Thats why ammo manufacturers use lot numbers to keep track of things like that. I own probably 8 saints of different flavors and they usually are not fickle about ammo. Even the 308 just ran, I am a cheap date so they all get the cheapest ammo I can buy at the time. Unless it is my carry riffle it gets some expensive stuff. You said you noticed the neck of the case looked slightly bigger....life’s to short move on to extra ammo. If you send it back all SA will do is test fire with their house ammo and most likely will not be able to recreate your problem.
Wrangler jk
Alpha
I haven't had a single issue that I can remember. I reload so I can't say about different ammo issues. It just runs. I have a few other ar and find myself picking the Saint when I go to the range.
I have a Saint rifle that I've only run 300 or so rounds thru and the only hiccup has been my fault. I'm using Pmag 30's and if I don't make sure they stack straight when loading the mag, it'll try to feed 2 rounds and one round will get jammed by the bolt carrier and dent the shell casing. I'm using American Federal 5.56 45. I was surprised by the recoil, I figured the Saint would feel like a 22lr but not so. The adjustable butt stock isn't long enough either.
RandomHero
Custom
I have the Saint gen2 free float handguard rifle. I personally have never had an issue with the ammo that I run in it. However, I always stay with and run Federal, Winchester, Hornady, Remington, and any ammo that is SAAMI rated.
Boccat93, unless your gun is problematic with either -ALL- or a majority of varying brands and grain weights (lengths) of .223 and 5.56 ammo out there, I honestly wouldn't worry about it.
Why?
Because of tolerance stacking.
While both the gun and the ammo which is fed are products of exacting modern manufacturing, they do each have their own tolerances both as mechanical systems themselves and as to how they are each manufactured. As a result, the very real-world phenomenon of tolerance stacking - which is what we in this hobby describe as the combination of various parts' dimensional tolerances interacting in a way that ends up causing a problem
- will occasionally rear its head. Search around on various gun Forums or other social media, and you'll routinely find reports of unique weapons "not liking" a unique make/model of ammo.
What do I mean by "unique weapons?" I don't mean all Springfield Saint X or Y model. Rather, I mean that specific and unique Springfield Saint Victor Rifle that you own (I'm not sure if this is what you own, I'm just using this as a specific example) - not the Springfield Saint Victor Rifle that your brother-in-law owns. Not the Springfield Saint Victor Rifle that your local shooting instructor owns. Not the Springfield Saint Victor Rifle that's still sitting on the rack at your local store where you bought yours. Your specific copy, the one with that unique serial number which you filled out a 4473 for.
I have four 9mm XDms. One of them does not function well with Magtech 115 gr. range-fodder - it sometimes fails to cycle far enough to strip another round off the mag. Another one locks up so tight when I do malfunction-medley drills with once-fired American Eagle 115 gr. brass case that I literally have to mortar the gun to extract that piece of spent brass.
Similarly, when my buddy put together his Gen3 G19-based Roland Special, I met him at the range with 16 (sixteen!) different makes and models of new factory 9x19 - of that, his gun only misbehaved with one: and at that it wasn't even a functional problem, it just failed to group well with that one ammo out of the sixteen I brought along to test.
AR-wise, my Daniel Defense is perhaps the most ammo-tolerant of all of my ARs - to the point that it'll even reliably function brass-case after having shot hundreds of rounds of steel case immediately prior, and then back again. Meanwhile, one of my BCMs actually loves bulk 55 gr. ammo, often shooting it better than comparable 62 gr.
It's honestly completely OK - and actually, truthfully, not at all unexpected - that any one unique gun may have issues with any one or even a few specific makes/models of ammo. Just make a note of it, and not feed this particular gun that/those ammo, unless, of course, you *do* specifically want to practice reducing spontaneous stoppages.
Keystone19250
SAINT
I have the same Saint 5.56 and it shoots anything I put in it. I will say the first 40 or so rounds I had a couple minor feed issues but that went away the more rounds I put through it. Awesome AR.
obewunkonebwe
Alpha
got a 300BLK in March, and played around with a bunch of ammo, S&B/hornady/Magtech/Minuteman/Gorilla I would always need to mortar to clear, first day with Remington UMC had to disassemble and clear, fun gun but I sent it back hopefully they can fix it, if not I'll cut my losses and get a DD or a sig in 300 cause I'm truly disappointed at the issue, wanted a truck gun and didn't turnout to be a happy experience. fingers crossed.
nighttrain
Alpha
I had an issue with armscor .223 jamming and being loged in the chamber of my brand new Victor multiple times in one trip to the range. No other issues with other ammo so far.
nighttrain
Alpha
I had an issue with armscor .223 55 grain jamming and being loged in the chamber of my brand new Victor multiple times in one trip to the range. No other issues with other ammo so far.
I have the exact same issue with my saint Victor and I sent it back for repair just to try to shoot it again and it does the same thing. I tried another brand of ammo and had no problem but with the armscor 223 Even after factory repair it's still jams. It's like it's just a fraction too big to go into the chamber so it will partially go in and then misfire or it will go in all the way and fire but then won't eject
nighttrain
Alpha
I had same issue my Saint Victor and armscor .223. I sent my rifle back to springfield for service. The polished my chamber and replaced the bolt carrier group. Upon receiving it back its still jams with the armscor .223. Everything else is like butter even reloads. Springfield should put out a notice regarding the use of this ammo in relation to their rifles.
HansGruber
Ronin
Hmm.
We have a sample size of how many rifles that have issues with this ammo? Single digits? Out of how many rifles made?
Is it just one particular lot number of Armscor?
There is no reason to downcheck a manufacture's entire line because a few rifles have issues.
This is why you check if ammo works in your rifle; it might work just fine in the next rifle that came off the line...acquaint yourself with the condition known as “tolerance stacking” and you'll see why.
Talyn
SAINT
I think the bottom line is if everything else runs fine except for Armscor then don't use Armscor.
And Springfield doesn't test every rifle with the plethora of different brands out there, and IMO doesn't need to. IMO, that's the responsiblity of the user/operator to determine what works best in their rifle.
And Springfield doesn't test every rifle with the plethora of different brands out there, and IMO doesn't need to. IMO, that's the responsiblity of the user/operator to determine what works best in their rifle.
Last edited:
I am running into the same issue. I have never been able to fire the weapon. I have tried to rack a round 3 times and each time I have to mortar the round out. It sucks. I have never fired the weapon, however, it seems to have been fired at the factory. I cleaned and oiled the weapon before I went to the range and got a bit of blackness in the CLP when cleaning it. I do not know the manufacturer of the ammo I am trying but it is .223. I am going to try 5.56 and other .223 brands on Thursday. There are some markings on the feeder ramps. Maybe some brass from the factory rounds? Markings from feeding wrong? I have attached the photos. There is also a bit of scarring on the tip of the rounds, photo attached.
Does anyone have any ideas? Could it really just be a certain type of ammo? Does tolerance stacking play that big of a problem? A friend also bought the SAINT when I did last month and has had no issues. I do not know what ammo he is shooting.
It looks as it could be chambering a bit off maybe? Would a specific type of ammo cause this? Buffer spring not feeding it enough force? It seems to be jammed in there pretty good for that when it gets stuck. Any ideas?
Thank you all so much. Very disappointing but it is what it is. Cheers!
Does anyone have any ideas? Could it really just be a certain type of ammo? Does tolerance stacking play that big of a problem? A friend also bought the SAINT when I did last month and has had no issues. I do not know what ammo he is shooting.
It looks as it could be chambering a bit off maybe? Would a specific type of ammo cause this? Buffer spring not feeding it enough force? It seems to be jammed in there pretty good for that when it gets stuck. Any ideas?
Thank you all so much. Very disappointing but it is what it is. Cheers!
Attachments
BangBang
Professional
It looks like the marks on the bullet could be from the feed ramps. I’d be curious if your bolt is unlocking. Your saying you are having to mortar the rifle but are you able to see or tell if the bolt is unlocking? I would definitely try some different ammo and check that off my list. I would also invest in a chamber brush as they are cheap and you would be surprised at how cleaning your chamber could fix simple issues.
It could also be your gas block causing issues. I’m not saying it’s it but starting with the easiest and most common, being the ammo I’d start there and check that off.
It could also be your gas block causing issues. I’m not saying it’s it but starting with the easiest and most common, being the ammo I’d start there and check that off.
HansGruber
Ronin
He says he hasn’t fired it, so I doubt it's the gas block...but the rest is solid advice.
And I’m gonna add something, here (not aimed at you, @BangBang ; more just a general observation)...
I NEVER use live rounds for non-firing function checks. This is precisely what dummy rounds are designed for.
Jacking live rounds into/out of your chamber is a one-way ticket to a UD (Unintended Discharge—covers both negligent and “accident”)...maybe not this time, but some time down the road.
Additionally, it prevents damaging live ammo which, right now, is a very precious commodity.
Amazon.com : Magpul 223 Dummy Rounds (Pack of 5) : Sports & Outdoors
Amazon.com : Magpul 223 Dummy Rounds (Pack of 5) : Sports & Outdoors
www.amazon.com
$6.09 is mighty cheap insurance to prevent it...and they really aren’t that much more expensive than live rounds right now, anyway.