Hi everyone, I'm new to AR's, but picked up my carbine a few weeks ago. Out of the box, I shot 3 boxes of factory ammo out of it without a single problem. I took it home and cleaned it, and i took it back out, and it started to not load every 3rd shot or so...(by not load, I mean it ejected the previous round, but the bolt did not pick up a new round on it's way back to the chamber.) when I would try the next shot, just "click". When I pull back the bolt manually, a round would feed into the chamber properly. So, I took it back home and cleaned it again....Now it does this everytime. I've taken it back apart and cleaned it again, consulting the manual this time. Before I take it back out, I thought I would consult you guys to see if there is anything else I should look for, or do.
1. I've read the posts about new rifle syndrome, but since it shot fine before I cleaned it, I'm suspicious that this might be self inflicted.
2. I used rem oil as a lube for the moving parts (I saw the video with wheel bearing grease, but really?)
3. on the last cleaning, I found that the rings on the bolt were staggered 20-30 degrees apart instead of 120. It didn't look like any gas would escape, but I have re-staggered them now
4. Since it feeds fine when I manually pull the bolt back, can I dismiss the magazine as being the culprit?
Thanks,
Mark