I just bought a DPMS Panther Lite 16 today. I got tired of waiting on my Wilson M4 Tactical. Well, I went to shoot it and after about 12 rounds it started to not load a round. It ejected the spent round, but did not reload. I was shooting PMC 55s and then put in a new mag loaded with Hornady 55s. I had to re chamber every time to get it to shoot. It would not grab the round out of the mag. I would hear a click when I pulled the trigger......then have to pull whatever you call it to chamber it. I oiled it just a little before I went out. I hope this is not a bad situation with this gun. I am an avid 1911 shooter, but have never owned or shot a AR 15. Please someone tell me what to do. I'm sure I'll hear some pros and cons about this line, but I just need info to get it running smoothly.
DPMS Panther Lite 16 Problems
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Welcome to the Forum rb -
Kind of difficult to diagnose from what you have written, but I will give it a try.
What kind of mags were you using? And what is the condition of the feed ramps in questions?
You said after about 12 rounds you started to experience problems, now, I can't see your weapon, but from the on line pictures, it would appear that the unit you have has an extremely short gas block on it, so more powder and "gunk" is getting back into the chamber because it is bleeding off closer to the point of ignition.
If this is the case, I would suspect that some oiling of the BCG and internals of the upper receiver in question would do you wonders towards getting it running correctly.
The AR basically operates by taking hot, gunpowder and residue gas and bleeding some of that gas back into the chamber to unlock the lugs and recoil the weapon, then the buffer and buffer spring, in the stock, compress and return the bolt and carrier to battery, picking a new round out of the magazine along the way.
if you have a bad, cheap mag that doesn't have the green follower and isn't lifting the round high enough, it MIGHT not be in line to be pushed by the BCG upon return to battery.
If your buffer spring isn't strong enough, and your feed ramp is a disaster of rough edges and dirty, the combination MIGHT be enough to cause the weapon not to be able to return to battery.
It's just too hard to give you a one answer fits all based on what you have told us.
Can you give us a little more info?
And, for what it is worth, I like the DPMS stuff. They are a little over-priced because of who they are, but they turn out a good product and usually stand behind it. That said, everyone turns out a lemon some time and it needs to be sent back, or touched up, to make it run right...
JD
Kind of difficult to diagnose from what you have written, but I will give it a try.
What kind of mags were you using? And what is the condition of the feed ramps in questions?
You said after about 12 rounds you started to experience problems, now, I can't see your weapon, but from the on line pictures, it would appear that the unit you have has an extremely short gas block on it, so more powder and "gunk" is getting back into the chamber because it is bleeding off closer to the point of ignition.
If this is the case, I would suspect that some oiling of the BCG and internals of the upper receiver in question would do you wonders towards getting it running correctly.
The AR basically operates by taking hot, gunpowder and residue gas and bleeding some of that gas back into the chamber to unlock the lugs and recoil the weapon, then the buffer and buffer spring, in the stock, compress and return the bolt and carrier to battery, picking a new round out of the magazine along the way.
if you have a bad, cheap mag that doesn't have the green follower and isn't lifting the round high enough, it MIGHT not be in line to be pushed by the BCG upon return to battery.
If your buffer spring isn't strong enough, and your feed ramp is a disaster of rough edges and dirty, the combination MIGHT be enough to cause the weapon not to be able to return to battery.
It's just too hard to give you a one answer fits all based on what you have told us.
Can you give us a little more info?
And, for what it is worth, I like the DPMS stuff. They are a little over-priced because of who they are, but they turn out a good product and usually stand behind it. That said, everyone turns out a lemon some time and it needs to be sent back, or touched up, to make it run right...
JD
I took it back to my gun dealer where I bought it today. He sanded some on the bolt and he oiled I think where you were talking about. I went out soon afterwards in 45 mph winds to test it. Well, it ran great with the factory mags and the easy load mag I bought while there, but as soon as I put in a Brownells 30 mag it started not loading the next round. All the other mags were 30 also. I guess it's that particular Brownell mag. It finally double fed. I've got two other Brownells which I'll try to shoot Sunday. Hopefully we have detected the problem.
Panther Lite
I was wondering if you cleaned the chamber and bore when you first starting breaking it in? I was told to clean once after every shot for the 1st ten rounds fired thru it and then clean the chamber and bore once for every 10 rounds after that for the 1st 100 rounds. I'm new at this but i have a DMPS LR-308ap4 and that was one of the things I had to do to get the best break in procedure and to make the rifle shoot more consistently. Hope that helps, Lindy.
I was wondering if you cleaned the chamber and bore when you first starting breaking it in? I was told to clean once after every shot for the 1st ten rounds fired thru it and then clean the chamber and bore once for every 10 rounds after that for the 1st 100 rounds. I'm new at this but i have a DMPS LR-308ap4 and that was one of the things I had to do to get the best break in procedure and to make the rifle shoot more consistently. Hope that helps, Lindy.
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209 Posts
I had the same problem with my DPMS Lo Pro. It worked fine (brand new) with the DPMS magazines provided, but with PPP Mil-spec mags .......FTF! I asked my buddy to try them (PPP'S) in his Bushy M4 and same...FTF. These PPP mags were brand new right out of the wrapper.
I returned the suspect magazines to my local shop where I purchased them (and the rifle). The owner substituted with two brand new Bushmaster mags and ...presto! no more issues. (Hats of to Woody @ Sure Shot, Alexander City AL).
I am not an armorer, but I would look real close at the magazines.
regards,
Steve
I returned the suspect magazines to my local shop where I purchased them (and the rifle). The owner substituted with two brand new Bushmaster mags and ...presto! no more issues. (Hats of to Woody @ Sure Shot, Alexander City AL).
I am not an armorer, but I would look real close at the magazines.
regards,
Steve
Joined
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11,374 Posts
Mags are the main culprit in AR problems. Eliminate the mags by changing to a different mag. Have some one else try the mag in their AR.
Try to learn a bit more about the care and feeding of your AR. It is a fairly complex operating system. Training on the system pays huge dividends.
Try to learn a bit more about the care and feeding of your AR. It is a fairly complex operating system. Training on the system pays huge dividends.
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1,318 Posts
this is a really old post, try starting a new thread, or use the archives as i'm sure it has been answered.
BUT, some do, some don't...............break a rifle in. my personal choice: shoot five rounds with 30 - 45 seconds between, swab barrel with cleaner soaked patch 5 times FROM BREACH TO MUZZLE END (the direction of bullet travel). DO NOT USE WIRE BRUSH! DO NOT PUSH AND PULL SWABS! PULL FROM BREACH TO MUZZLE END ONLY! swab barrel, one at a time, with 5 clean patches (each successive patch should appear to get whiter/cleaner).
shoot five more rounds............do this until you've shot about 50 rounds.
the point is that after the machinery has cut the lands and grooves (riflings) into the barrel, you need to get any metal filings, shavings, rough edges smoothed off/out. by doing this it will "set" the pattern of riflings.
AGAIN, REMEMBER, ALWAYS MOVE WITH THE DIRECTION OF BULLET TRAVEL!
BUT, some do, some don't...............break a rifle in. my personal choice: shoot five rounds with 30 - 45 seconds between, swab barrel with cleaner soaked patch 5 times FROM BREACH TO MUZZLE END (the direction of bullet travel). DO NOT USE WIRE BRUSH! DO NOT PUSH AND PULL SWABS! PULL FROM BREACH TO MUZZLE END ONLY! swab barrel, one at a time, with 5 clean patches (each successive patch should appear to get whiter/cleaner).
shoot five more rounds............do this until you've shot about 50 rounds.
the point is that after the machinery has cut the lands and grooves (riflings) into the barrel, you need to get any metal filings, shavings, rough edges smoothed off/out. by doing this it will "set" the pattern of riflings.
AGAIN, REMEMBER, ALWAYS MOVE WITH THE DIRECTION OF BULLET TRAVEL!
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