AR-15 BCG's

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: Ws6
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: Ws6
Rough bores will chew gas rings up, too, etc. Seen all sorts of issues from "cheap" BCG's.


Agree. Pretty much every low cost BCG has plenty of burrs and roughness that can be nicely cleaned up. If you can live without the nice coating and have the skills - a rough BCG can be deburred, the edges broken and polished without getting too crazy (DON'T GET THE DREMEL OUT!!). I was "forced" into this when the 10mm bolt supplied with my RMW was a hunk of junk (other than the extra machining for 10mm on the bolt face, extractor and base of carrier). There was a huge hunk of metal in the carrier bore. I had to use a couple carbon scraping tools and valve lapping compound in there, but it came out nice. I changed over to a one piece ring, mainly because the three supplied rings were ruined from the get go. Also the cam pin and the slot were terribly burred and nasty. The bolt would hardly move, now it's like butter smooth - like roller bearing smooth. So I did the same to a much lesser degree on my 5.56 and 6.8. All like butter - but seal great.


And what about the gas-keys and bolts? Staked properly with quality hardware? Are you going to replace that, or just let it surprise you when they shear? Really man, I get being frugal, but this is just being cheap when quality BCG's are so affordable and available.


I get what you are saying. You can't turn garbage into something decent with a little deburring. Nothing wrong with starting and using something known good quality. I was more or less forced into the situation with my 10mm BCG so I just am running the gas key parts as received - staking looks fine, unknown bolt quality - but not as much stress as a rifle cartridge. So far no shearing or backing out. Ditto my DD 5.56 BCG and 6.8SPC Superbolt, except good grade bolts on those.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: Ws6
Gas keys can come loose in a few hundred rounds if not attached with proper hardware, properly, etc. It's not just "long-term fatigue" type longevity at stake. Rough bores will chew gas rings up, too, etc. Seen all sorts of issues from "cheap" BCG's.


All of this talk about, "Properly Staked Gas Keys", amounts to a lot of nothing. Young's Manufacturing, who make some of the best, do not even stake them. And they have a good reason for not doing it.

"There has been a lot of talk about the pros and cons of staking the gas key on the carrier. Here is our opinion and why Young Manufacturing will not stake keys. We have been making carriers since 1991. The US Mil Spec. assembly drawing requires the carrier key to be staked. Contrary to some popular opinions staking does not SEAL the gas key. Staking keeps the screws from backing out Period. If you do not properly torque the screws to 56 inch pounds you will be staking a screw that is loose or one that is over torqued and prone to breakage. We have seen plenty of staked screws that are loose or broken. The Mil Spec. also calls for the gas key bottom surface to be SEALED with Permatex gasket sealer. Something no one does to our knowledge. Here is our procedure for installing a gas key.

First clean the oil from the gas key and the mating surface on the carrier. Then clean the oil from the screw threads. We use break cleaner for this. Next use a very light coating of Permatex high strength thread locker gel on the bottom of the key. PN 27010. This is much easier to use than the Permatex gasket sealer. It comes in a plastic twist dispenser. Make sure you dont use so much that it squishes into the gas port hole. The cure rate is 60 minutes. Next coat the screw threads with the same gel. Install the key and torque the screws to 56 inch pounds. Should you decide to remove the key for some reason dont use the old screws when you put the key back on! You will most likely break them during installation or when you fire the rifle. Go to the local hardware store and buy new 10-32 x ¼ SHCS. If you feel the need to stake the screws spend the money and get one of the staking tools from Brownell that uses a screw type system to swedge the material into the top of the screw. Dont use a hammer and a punch! You can stretch the thread on the screw and now you have a loose screw that will eventually break if the gun even fires. We will not warrantee a carrier with a staked key no matter who staked it. You will be charged for a new key and any labor required to remove broken screws."


https://youngmanufacturing.net/staking-the-gas-key-on-the-ar-15-and-m-16-carrier/


Young torques them precisely and correctly. This bargain basement stuff? Who knows? And if it IS staked...was it impact or squeeze displaced? How well? Did the gas key screw get sheared by overtorque or impacts from staking improperly? Dunno...
 
It appears most everything is capable of surviving the 500 rounds over the next 20 years that the typical AR is subjected to.
 
About 500 rounds of XM193 and XM855 through my PSA "freedom" carbine with stock BCG and ZERO problems. About another 500 rounds of XM855 through the same rifle with the "premium" boron nitrite BCG with ZERO problems and its easier to clean.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
It appears most everything is capable of surviving the 500 rounds over the next 20 years that the typical AR is subjected to.


I suppose 0W16 TGMO would make a great lube for them, with the as long as they are needed parts.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
It appears most everything is capable of surviving the 500 rounds over the next 20 years that the typical AR is subjected to.


Most people I know shoot that in a weekend. They may only have that weekend every now and then, but it's far from abnormal.
 
Originally Posted By: Ws6
Originally Posted By: hatt
It appears most everything is capable of surviving the 500 rounds over the next 20 years that the typical AR is subjected to.


Most people I know shoot that in a weekend. They may only have that weekend every now and then, but it's far from abnormal.
It's a small percentage. Probably similar to people that track their sports car.
 
I bought my 1st AR-15 in 2007, an M&P15. It has the 1/8 twist 5R barrel and adjustable rear sight, no dust cover, no forward assist. I paid $669+tax/call in at SHOOT STRAIGHT gun store in Tampa, FL. It currently has about 6K+ rounds through it. The ONLY thing I have done to it was add a BCM Extractor Spring Upgrade Kit to the bolt. I prefer shooting steel case ammo and it helps prevent FTE. My son seems to like it better than his AR-556. He's had it now since Christmas.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
Originally Posted By: Ws6
Originally Posted By: hatt
It appears most everything is capable of surviving the 500 rounds over the next 20 years that the typical AR is subjected to.


Most people I know shoot that in a weekend. They may only have that weekend every now and then, but it's far from abnormal.
It's a small percentage. Probably similar to people that track their sports car.

I'd wager it's not the vast majority, but certainly more than that.
 
I'm a pretty causal AR-15 shooter, I shoot handguns and my M1s much more frequently, and I still go through 500 - 1,000 rounds a year in mine.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
Originally Posted By: Ws6
Originally Posted By: hatt
It appears most everything is capable of surviving the 500 rounds over the next 20 years that the typical AR is subjected to.


Most people I know shoot that in a weekend. They may only have that weekend every now and then, but it's far from abnormal.
It's a small percentage. Probably similar to people that track their sports car.


It's $150 in ammo. Not a ton, but it's still a good amount of money for a weekend. I tend to shoot slower to work on marksmanship and technique, but 1000 rounds in a year is pretty doable for .223 and 9mm.
 
Thought this is an interesting data point. In this YouTube video, Iraqveteran8888 runs something like 840 rounds of fully automatic fire using a PSA M16 BCG and not one BCG related issue. I’m not sure but it could be the same BCG he used in his PSA upper meltdown video? Barring a random QC issue, which lets be real, all manufacturers have them, I don’t think your average weekend warrior or even the more avid enthusiast would ever have a problem with a Premium PSA BCG.
 
500 rounds on the original PSA BCG in my Freedom rifle, 500 rounds on the PSA coated BCG in the same rifle. Zero hiccups except for one bad primer (but it had a solid pin mark so I do blame the primer).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top