New Rock River – Problem

[MikeHinds]

Like it says, a new Rock River (Tactical Operator 2, with new Eotech 512). Cleaned it last weekend, then took it out to the range today for initial firing, and to zero the Eotech.

Ran one mag through it, looks, sounds and feels great. (I can’t hit anything, but that’s a separate issue.) Dropped the mag, loaded second mag, and charging handle doesn’t charge. Feels loose, like it failed to grab the bolt. (New PMags. Retried the first one, same issue with the charging handle.)

I’m going to disassemble and clean it again. Experts and old-timers will likely know exactly what my problem is, which I’m assuming was in my reassembly after my first cleaning.

Becoming a target myself now – what did I do wrong, and what should I do to correct it?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[downzero]

Was the bolt already locked to the rear from firing the rifle empty? If so, just hit the bolt stop on the left side of the rifle and it will "charge."

 

[MikeHinds]

That was it! Glad to learn I didn't cause any damage by reassembling incorrectly.

 

[downzero]

You could have also pulled the charging handle all the way to the rear and released; it'd do the same thing.

 

[MikeHinds]

You could have also pulled the charging handle all the way to the rear and released; it'd do the same thing.

Thank you, sir! I'll be practicing both of those.

 

[remauto1187]

LOL Newbies! I was once one ....we all were!

 

[MikeHinds]

That's the whole point of learning and practicing where a beginner screwup is less likely to end in catastrophe, rather than under live fire in a fight for my (or someone's) life.

 

[Donnelly]

You could have also pulled the charging handle all the way to the rear and released; it'd do the same thing.

This will only work if you have removed the magazine from the rifle or if you have a magazine in place with rounds in it.

The bolt is designed to lock back on an empty magazine so the soldier/operator simply has to push the button on the right to drop the empty magazine, load in a fresh (full) magazine, slap the bolt release on the left side, and resume shooting.

With practice, one can accomplish this very quickly and get back into the battle.

 

[henschman]

haha... that threw me off too, years ago when I bought my first AR. The difference was, back then I didn't have internet forums to go to... I just had to do things the old fashioned way and figure it out myself!

 

[MikeHinds]

haha... that threw me off too, years ago when I bought my first AR. The difference was, back then I didn't have internet forums to go to... I just had to do things the old fashioned way and figure it out myself!

I had it "fixed" within an hour, thanks to the kind and knowledgable help available here. The only loss was the (nearly) wasted trip to a great range 40 miles away. Had 250 rounds available to shoot, and wound up only using 30 rounds.