My question is whether this last bit of resistance that the bolt carrier encounters at the point the claws start engaging with the barrel assembly is the cause of what I am seeing and whether it is normal?
The situation is that with no magazine installed, when I hold the bolt carrier to allow it to slowly move from the full rearward position to the forward position, the carrier stops such that it is about 1/2 inch from its fully forward position (at the point the claws start engaging with the barrel).
If I release the carrier and let it fly forward from the rearward position, the ca