I got the gas tube off, and removed the piston.i then rotated the lever without paying attention and *PEW* my operating rod flies out, along with the spring.
obligatory "its saturday, im 100% sure there isnt a live round in sight, and im have nothing better to do now that i found the missing part and now im cleaning my gun" picture.
Happened to me the first time I took the stock off my AR. I didn't know about the spring that holds the buffer tube stopper thing in place and it jetisoned off somewhere...never found it, just had to order one from midway...glad you found your stuff!
obligatory "its saturday, im 100% sure there isnt a live round in sight, and im have nothing better to do now that i found the missing part and now im cleaning my gun" picture.