AM180 help

[Dean]

Is there anybody else who works AM180s in Florida?  Had a new receiver built up at E&L and it still has weak hits to the .22 casings.  I really dont want to send it back and waste a lot of time.

[mike todd]

DEAN, when E&L made your receiver did they have the exact barrel you are using?  he has always been right on with everyone I know. IS it a semi or a POST SAMPLE?

[Dean]

I sent him a brand new transferable receiver to build up completely.  When it arrived it would only fire short bursts with the 18" barrel and wont fire at all with the 9" barrel.  I get light to no strikes on the casings.  We have spent several conversations trying to figure out with no answer.  It is clean, the barrel locks up, feed ramp down.  It wont even fire if I insert a round directly in the barrel and try to fire.  Same goes if I try from drum or feed block.  Very frustrating after $4000 & 2 month wait.

[mike todd]

DEAN , its important that he had the actual barrels your using when setting up the receiver. there is so much variation in rim thickness it cant be avoided. even when perfect the gun will have ammo it prefers.  I knew VAL long b-4 he even dreamed of a 180 and he has always been a straight shooter. we have done countless transactions since then and after he bought all the 180 stuff i never touch mine , just have him deal with it.

[Martin Seidler]

I would send it back to val.  He usually has a quick turnaround time.  I had similar problems with new barrels from val which I ported and suppressed.  They needed to be retapped to fit the lower and needed a new feed ramp with a different angle.  If they are too tight you might use a chamber iron to open them up a bit.  Mine would gum up afer a few thousand rounds. 

The new barrels did not properly align like the old barrels.  You might try a different barrel feed ramp and bolt.  See if you can borrow these from someone local.  Also check the bolt which changes the sear from semi to auto.  These bend and break and will cause firing problems.

[Ryo]

I would send it back to him.. I've only dealt with him as a purchaser of parts.. but when I had a issue with a winder.. he immediately shipped me a replacement the next day.

Mine runs perfectly on all 3 of my barrels.. I know that the one I have was serviced by him since the FFL I bought it from showed me the previous F3 coming from E&L.

Update: Do you need any photos of specific sections of your AM 180?  I can provide some.. but personally I still would send in everything to Val since he is the expert.

Edited June 6, 2020 by Ryo

[Dean]

I sent both barrels and the receiver back to him last week.  After I sent him pics he said the barrel is not going all the way in.  It's just frustrating that a "new" gun with all "new" parts wont run.  I may have him fit a 14" barrel while he has it so I wont have to worry about barrels for a long time.  What is the lifespan of a AM180 barrel?

[LTSWA]

My American 180 is a tight fit. I can see it fail if not fully seated. One of my barrels barely fitted so I had to file it down a bit. (Didn't fit because who ever worked on it has it slip on a lathe or mill which dented the part that slides into the receiver. 

[JECIII]

I had a similar problem but it was easily corrected when I sent it back.  Also every mg has some little quirk.  My 180 is a premay sample.  It will not run on the lexane bottom plate.  All my.mags have to have the aluminum and it runs like a top.  On the lexane plates it does a lot of what you are saying.  I never nailed the cause because it runs great with the metal bottoms.  That's just the way it is sometimes.  I have a beltfed I have to hand chamber the first round when it's cold to run.  After its warm no problem to just hk slap it normally.  Mabye you can find your 180s quirk.  But mabye try a metal base plate.

[Ryo]

I have the same problem with one of my barrels due to who ever made the integrated barrel slipped and dented it too. Did some filing and it fit so much better.

Edited August 8, 2020 by Ryo