223 is almost impossible to feed. 300 seems a tad better. I’m hoping that feed ramp polishing will fix that. The BCG is super smooth in the upper before lowering it onto the lower. I’ve watched videos of guys shooting their SOLO builds and the effort they’re using is nothing compared to what I am. I’m assuming that this thread is pretty much the only source for info about these builds. I don’t want to give up on this project BUT I am getting pretty frustrated. I’ll look for a Duramag magazine
Thanks for the help and advice
Don't give up on it, there's really nothing that shouldn't be pretty easy to address. There's nothing magic about them and everything is actually pretty simple.
Like
@Taudisio said, it's hard to assess issues over the internet, but there shouldn't be anything too complex to address.
My first question would be if you have any previous experience with AR platforms to have some sort of comparative baseline(?). The Solos are obviously much more similar to an AR than a traditional bolt rifle.
It's best to address each potential variable one at a time. I'd start with pulling the barrel and addressing any rough feeding as I posted earlier. If that remains an issue, feeding will never be as smooth as it could be. That's step one.
The other issues you've mentioned, the trigger on the bolt carrier and the "speed bump":
Try greasing the hammer face a little, but it's unlikely there's anything really out of spec.
The speed bump sounds like you're just riding the bolt and carrier over the magazine follower with the mag inserted. That's going to be rough, especially with no bolt release installed, or depressed, but isn't a functional issue and has nothing to do with feeding when you're running the magazine with ammo loaded. The follower is designed specifically to help hold the bolt open (pushing up the bolt catch) with an empty mag, running it over would create what you describe.