Anderson BCG after 200 rounds



vs. Daniels Defense BCG after 7000 rounds.



But Parts is Parts.....right?

Good parts means not buying off the bargain basement sale rack.

The last 5.56 AR I've built has a DD BCG and Barrel, the .223 wylde-chambered WOA SPR barreled rifle has a DD BCG, and I also have a DDM4 V7lw. I've come to trust their products.

I wouldn't hesitate to substitute the BCGs with a BCM.

Tag

For those of you who want the abridged addition,

The Anderson had 200 rounds through it and bolt had already stretched at the pivot pin hole to the point it was about 300 rounds from failure.

After 7000 rounds the tolerances on the DD were still tight, and the biggest issue was some slight pitting on the end of the firing pin.

He also stated that each was a sample of one, but I'd still expect better service/quality from a random BCM/DD than a random Anderson.

The parts with tighter QC standards will cost more, but with critical components, buy once/cry once.

Yes it makes sense but one does not know how the anderson was treated/lubed.

I have several bcg's from different folks and so far there has not been any wear or crap going on.

The first one i got was made back in the 70's and other than a cleaning every now and then as well as making sure it was lubed up,nothing has been wore out or changed so far.

When playing with the one piece gas ring i found out that it made no difference lubed or not they just suck.

Never heard of a bolt being soft enough to egg the pin hole.

Thanks, nice videos. I really liked the gauges.

According to the owner of the Anderson BGC, he only had about 200 rounds through it, so regardless of how it was treated, or lubed or not, that's just unacceptable.

If you ever read the thread on AR15.com from they guy who runs the machinegun business in Las Vegas he talked about bolts breaking in exactly the same manner as what was happening to this Anderson bolt, but with something like a DD bolt, that usually didn't happen until around 60,000 rounds. In other words, it's a known point of failure, but with quality parts required a round count most casual shooters will never reach.

That Anderson bolt reminds me of the bolts from Radical that were breaking around the 500 round mark. I have to wonder if these parts are of similar origin.

I have a cheap "AR-Stoner" upper from Midway with a BGC in it that looks very similar to the Anderson in the video. Needless to say, last night I tore it apart and checked it out. The pivot pin hole on it's still round, but it only has a few hundred rounds through it. It doesn't get used much since it's now a spare, but if it does see much use, I'll be keeping my eye on it.

I was taught that quality parts were just what you used. Back in the day, you had Colt and Armalite producing good parts and Bushmaster, dpms, later on Rock River making okay parts Olympic Arms, PWA, Model One sales, M&A Parts were a crapshoot and then companies like Hesse making pure crap.

Then came more companies making good parts like LMT, DD, BCM and the market exploded. In the past 5 years more companies have popped up making or buying the cheapest parts known to man and a plethora of satisfied customers that swear that "parts is parts" and they know cause their $400 AR has been flawless in the thousands (which truthfully is a hundred or two) of rounds they've put down range on their contractor jobs. I remember when a guy who went by hipfiredgun was all over arfcom talking up a certain companies piston guns, he and his special forces buddies just loved em. That company grew pretty fast with glowing reviews from everywhere until it was discovered hipfiredgun was an employee of said company with no SF buddies.

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

This is a good thread. Probably a reminder that we need to be checking our parts on a regular basis. Regardless of who they are made by or how many rounds we think we have through them.

Same guy tested a Toolcraft bcg and it was solid, FWIW

Let me ask a question. If a BCG is “mil-spec”, would they not all be comparable? I can see more money might get you a better part but $200-300 BCG seems to be kinda expensive.
Since I assume the military buys mil-spec BCGs, do they fail every 200 rounds? Was that Anderson an anomaly?
I’m new to this and sometimes it is confusing to read about early failures like this. There has to be a happy medium to buying an AR. Pretty sure most people can’t afford the best, but why wouldn’t mil-spec work?

Yep; good vids, AS.

The Anderson BCG sells for $80; the Daniel Defense BCG sells for $195...............most times with a differential like that there's a reason, maybe other times, not so much.

I'm in manufacturing, & heat treating to correct specs & machining to tight tolerance levels, lot to lot, day in day out, costs more money than operating to looser specs or tolerances or more lot to lot variability.

Not saying that's necessarily the case between Anderson & DD, but HT on bolts, whether it's made from SAE 9310 or Carpenter 158 is critical & expensive to maintain certs & quality, lot to lot.

The results of the evaluated BCG's, speaks volumes about process consistency & QC.

MM

It's hard to find a much truer statement...........................AR parts are no exception.

MM

Mil-spec, as the term is thrown around, does not necessarily mean mil-spec................for instance a 9310 bolt might be called "mil-spec" & it might actually be that, dimensionally, at least, but the mil-spec for a bolt calls for the material to be Carpenter 158, not 9310.

And you don't need to spend $200+ on a quality BCG either; Geiselle, Sionics, BCM, Centurion Arms, Rubber City Armory.................just to name a few, all make a high quality BCG & all stand behind their product, some with a lifetime warranty.

MM

This is why I use Whiteoak for parts... very high quality

Thanks for some clarification, MM.

The term mil spec comes from the Technical Data Package or TDP. It’s what the military demands it’s guns to be built to. It includes testing of parts and which materials parts are built with as well as assembly procedures.

Commercial companies are not held to any standard and use the term mil spec very loosely. Choose a BCG that runs $59 off eBay and don’t expect it to meet any Military standards.

On the other end spending $400 on an enhanced carrier with the latest coating on it might get you a better part or it might make the seller a big bonus. Reputable parts can be affordable.

I'll let you know how my RTBA BCG holds up. As of right now, it is holding up better than a Fail Zero BCG. At least the NIB is better. One thing I know about the RTBA is it gets very good reviews and is held to tight tolerances, said to "meet or exceed military specifications". According to RTBA. Here are the specs:

Coated Inside & Out With UCT's EXO NiB
Milspec Carpenter No. 158® Steel (Bolt)
8620 Tool Steel (Carrier)
Mil-Spec Extractor Spring, black extractor insert, Viton O-Ring
Tool Steel Extractor
Shrouded Firing Pin
Mil-Spec Gas Key (4130 Steel) attached with Grade 8 hardware and Properly staked
Bolt is shot Peened and MPI
Carrier is polished before plating for increased lubricity
Limited Lifetime Warranty

I know for a fact that this BCG has been ran for at least 5,000 rounds, since I've bought it about 3 years ago. I fired off the rifle 324 times on one range trip a couple weeks ago. I've never had any issues with it, since day one:


From day one, I was getting excellent accuracy and I've never had one malfunction with this rifle:

Its actually one of my favorite AR's. Its the one I reach for when we have local AR shoots. It points and balances perfectly for me, in all positions. I figure if the BCG is going to fail, it will do so in a lot more rounds than it has on it now, as it still looks new. Even after 5,000 rounds on it...This BCG also has a "lifetime warranty" according to the manufacture, but who knows what that means? My Noveske BCG also seems to be a good one, but I forget who manufactures them for Noveske. My new Colt BCG is nice, but how much better is it than all my other BCG's?

Here's another video you guys can watch. Chris does a good job showing how to clean and more importantly inspect the BCG:
Detailed dissassembly, cleaning and inspection

Except for the specific coating & the bolt being C-158 (most today are 9310), that is a more or less boiler plate description of 99% of the full auto BCG's you see spec'd out.



If it's nitrided, then it's made by Rubber City Armory (RCA) who is an excellent top tier producer. Not sure who is supplying Noveske's phosphated BCG's now

Toolcraft makes more BCG's than probably everyone else put together for guv contracts & private labels for lot of commercial suppliers as well as them being sold under their own name.

MM

I'm sure it's a good one, I'm also sure it wasn't cheap.

Coatings are probably good but I don't see anything about being chrome lined inside the carrier? I'm trying out a coated Sionics and it seems real nice.

For rifle gas, you don't need a black insert, 5 coil spring or O ring on the extractor. Probably proven in your setup by now but some issues were reported with O rings and rifle gas just FYI.

It also doesn't say anything about being MPI'd AFTER HP testing.

See how things can get loose on mil spec? Not that any of this matters but hopefully you get my point.

Another point my buddy likes to make about mil spec is "low bid"...

TWR, that’s the answer I needed. So the term mil-spec is becoming generic, kinda like, give me a coke. Buyer beware as always, talk to your friends, ask questions, find out what works.

Mil-spec simply means it will fit.

To marketers.


To engineers and manufacturing supervisors,

It means dimensions, materials, and every single process after
the raw steel is unloaded from the truck. Including not just the
testing, but the sampling. (Testing by the batch, or every single piece)

If 99% of the BCGs have that description, I’d bet 80% of them are lying.

If 99% of the BCGs have that description, I’d bet 80% of them are lying. [/quote]

This is the conundrum. Having all the go no go gauges & the knowledge & specs to use them is a good start, but a Rockwell hardness tester fills in a lot of blanks. Simply spending big bucks on big names is putting a lot of faith in a name.

Isn't it?

I like that dude in the videos...


Mike

It’s not putting faith in their name, it’s putting faith in the reputation they’ve built behind that name.

There are drawings available that will give you are the pertinent dimensions on the bolt & you can measure most of those w/o the go /no-go gauges.

As for hardness, most parts that are hardened like the bolt are case hardened, not full through hardened, so to know if the case depth is correct & at the right hardness at a given depth, you need to be able to cross section parts & check the hardness across the case.

MPI & HP tests are simply fail / pass tests.............I'm not really fond of seeing bolts I'm going to actually use be HP tested as it can weaken the bolt by subjecting it to abnormally high pressure..............OK as a spot / lot sample test, but I'd prefer my bolts not be HP tested.

Shot peening adds fatigue strength & helps prolong life due to breakage.

JMHO, other have differing views, I am sure.

As for who to buy from, just be careful & go with suppliers that have consistently good feedback from various sources & recognized names.

Certain parts are more critical than others.

No one wants to over pay but sometimes you get what you pay for.............or not.

I think TWR said it best "if it seems too good to be true, it likely is" or something to that effect.

Buy once, cry once.

MM













[/quote]

Probably a good idea when it comes to BCG's and barrels. Other parts like handguards, charging handles, grips and stocks may be a different story. I recently bought a lightweight handguard made by Matrix Arms. I wanted something similar to my Noveske NSR handrails, but I didn't want to spend $300.00 on a stinking handguard. I went to Joe bob's and found one for $62.95. This gave me a chance to swap some handguards around, IE: Put the 16.7" NSR on the 22" tubed 6WOA and pulled the ugly round hogue off. So since that handguard was on my Noveske, I pulled it off and put the 15" NSR from my Northtech on the Noveske. I then put the Matrix Arms foxtrot M-lok 15" handguard on my Northtech. I like how trim and lightweight it is. Although, not as trim or light as the high dollar Noveske, it gets great reviews and appears to be a good handguard. Pretty much exactly what I was looking for:


I like the idea of going M-lok on my next rifles. But I'll leave the older key mod's, that are on my other rifles, alone. I can see where M-lok has its advantages...

Thanks MM. It is nitrided. I like the BCG, as it is very smooth and doesn't get stained like my NIB bcg's. The finish on the Noveske BCG is of very good quality. Sometimes I wish I would have gone that route with the other BCG's, instead of NIB.

I did try an anderson receiver that had pin walk, fixed with KNS pins, but other than that I don't own any bargain basement guns, as a woodworker and the son of a carpenter I learned early "buy the best tools that you can afford". The Makita will still be running after you have thrown 3 Ryobi's in the trash. I also think its funny when people say "I am just buying a gun to have fun with, a range toy" a gun that is not reliable is never fun and often quite dangerous. You can buy2- 3 PSA's for the price of one DD, figure that one out at your leisure.

It isn't the gun, some people just have to buy something/anything. Men, it's guns; women it's clothes or shoes. I get customers like that all the time. They need the fix of the purchase more than the object itself. They don't really shoot their guns that much. It's sad, really.

What is your experience with cheaper handguards and muzzle devices? Like the handguard i recently purchased. It gets rave reviews, but only cost $62.95. I also bought a cheap muzzle device ("low concussion, competition muzzle brake") the other day, that i intend on trying on my M&P10 6.5 creedmoor. It cost $20.00, but appears to be machined nicely. I may try it out after work. I realize some parts is just parts, some parts you get what you pay for, some parts you are paying for the name and some parts just plain work, even though they are a great deal. Weeding through all the reviews, personal experiences from guys here, and your own personal experience can be pretty time consuming.

Well, those videos convinced me to at least upgrade one BCG while they are available. Got this Geissele from Primary Arms
https://www.primaryarms.com/geissele-automatics-m4a1-bolt-carrier-group

I've got a one of the first light weight BCM rails made from aluminum and magnesium blend that fortunately I got on sale but it was still expensive. A good light weight keymod rail that was warped. They traded it out for me then I saw a video of a guy smashing into a barrier for a shot and his dented.

Names and price doesn't always get you what you want. In this case, I wanted light weight and got it but I won't be throwing this gun around.

As for flash hiders I like Vortex. Brakes I don't like at all, in fact I've got a BCM mod 0 brake I'd sell cheap if someone wants to try one. It works for its intended purpose but does not reduce flash at all.

I had an A1 flash hider from dpms once that I stuck on my LaRue barrel, it shot like 3" groups. I scratched my head and swapped the A1 with a Vortex and groups came together, 5 under an inch. I had a witness or I wouldn't even tell this story.

There are parts that work and parts that don't. They come from both sides.

I believe installing a muzzle device will change group size. Ive seen it myself. Thats good to point out, for guys that have never experienced that. I guess ill probably find out tonight. If its garbage, ill probably know after the first 5 shots. I may look into the vortex you speak of.

Anderson makes a lot of lower receiver.

They were the number 1 maker in 2018:

https://www.shootingillustrated.com...-1-in-miscellaneous-firearms-production/

Of all his video's on BCG's I've watched so far, the Geissele did about the best:

I believe back in 2018 they were selling lowers for $29 on sale, maybe it was 2017 but I bought a couple along with everyone else. For that price they had better have sold a bunch.

We've sold hundreds at our store, none to me.

It should................that's their high end BCG & it sells for $300.

Geiselle Reliability BCG

Their more mundane version is plain jane, manganese phosphated & goes for $140.

Haven't used either version but most Geiselle stuff works as advertised, though most is on the very expensive side.

MM

MM,

If figure that Geissele BCG's almost good enough for you.

Yeah, ya got me cold.............................I'll admit to using several of their triggers, a couple of rails (before they became un-obtainium) & some charging handles, which I like better than any others.

As I said earlier, their stuff pretty well works as advertised.

As for BCG's, I really prefer the ones from Young Manufacturing as my 1st choice, especially the HMB bolts, but their stuff has also become un-obtainium over the last several months..................I suppose for the same reasons as Geiselle, other volume contracts on various parts, taking away production of their mainstream consumer items.

The Young HMB bolts have a blind hole such that the cam pin doesn't go completely through, thus greatly strengthening the bolt in it's weakest area.

MM

I dont know, but it took a loooooong time for me to finally buy an AR. My friends told me id love them because i like to tinker with my rifles. When i decided i was going to get one, i told them i was going to buy a Noveske because they are a top tier manufacturer and built here in Oregon. I hate to sound like a snob, but the thought of owning a PSA, Aero, Anderson, Delton, and even DPMS is very unappealing to me. In my mind, they just sound cheap. In all honesty, they are probably every bit as good as anything else if you put a good BCG and barrel on them. I also had a chance to try the cheap handguard and $20 muzzle brake lastnight after work. Both worked flawlessly. Except the brake is loud as hell. Recoil was reduced to about 223 levels from my 6.5cm. Accuracy was excellent, but it had a POI shift. That tells me the brake is slightly off centerline of the axis of the bore. Ill likely pull it off, but i like the looks of it far better than the factory cheap azzed looking thread protector. You'd think the Performance center would have put something nicer on it. Now for accuracy, it doesn't appear that switching the handguard on my Northtech Defense affected accuracy. It was shooting sub moa 10 shot groups and that was even with a switch to CCI41 primers. The performance center 6.5cm shot one .85moa 10 shot group and one 1.2 moa 10 shot group on a black rifle challenge thread target. So the 2 groups averaged close to moa. Im pretty happy with that rifle as a whole, but i cant imagine shooting it without the ear plugs stuffed in real tight. The concussion wasn't too bad for me, the shooter, but it did blow my cabelas hat off the bench next to me. Because of that, id never shoot that rifle in competition or when people are shooting next to me. It will be better to just pull the brake off. I just ordered a linear comp for it. So that will get rid of all the muzzle blast directed out the side, but recoil will be stiffer. Not a big deal since the AR10 6.5cm is really mild anyway. This is a good thread. Im wondering what other parts guys use succesfully, that are inexpensive vs. the high dollar big name guys' parts? Triggers, LPK'S, buffers, gas blocks, handguards, sights. Maybe that question should be asked on the other thread?

People would probably be surprised to learn that a single manufacturer fabricates the bolts, and many other parts, for multiple suppliers of AR-15s.

That's why the "parts is parts" opinion exists.

https://customar15.net/ar-15-faq/bolt-carrier-group-get/

While the industry has changed and expanded over the years and many companies are finishing receivers, making hand guards and turning barrels, there are still only a handful of companies actually producing bolt carrier groups.

This question comes up often. Here’s the short answer. Carpenter Technologies 158 alloy steel was selected as the ‘Mil Spec’ when the AR-15, chambered for the lower pressure .223 Remington round was upgraded to the higher pressure 5.56 NATO. This was many years ago and many things change in metallurgy as new testing, procedures and innovations come out. 9310 is a AISI grade of tool steel that is approximately 7% stronger than Carpenter 158 steel when heat treated and processed correctly. The companies we use have been in the business long enough to have seen both in action, and most are moving to strictly 9310, or using 9310 as a default unless specified.

Our thought on this – It’s much more important who made the bolt than the material used. Even if a new company called us and offered us BCG’s at $10 each, we would still stick with our contract shops we have dealt with for years. These are companies that produce BCG’s for the DOD as well as companies like Bushmaster, Stag, Armalite, Remington, LaRue, and many more. Rest assured when you buy a BCG from us, we will stand behind it 100% and you will simply be getting the best.

Basically, unless you give up large dollars for a "boutique" grade AR, you're buying an assembled conglomeration of parts from a small handful of various manufacturers.

The geegaws may be different. But the bones are the same.

ARs are modular firearms. The people who put the name brand on them are just the assemblers of parts that are purchased.

I got a Midwest Industries BCG.....worth a chit or not?

None of these companies are the tip tier AR companies that we've been talking about.

Maybe not. But people have been extolling the virtues of 9310 steel as if it's only a top tier bolt material. And the article states that it's become the default steel for even rack grade AR bolts.

I worked as a toolmaker my whole life. All the magic with steel was ironed out a long time ago. Unless you get into something really exotic, all tool steels are priced pretty much the same and the heat treating process for all of them involves about the same level of complexity.

Also, with the advent of CNC machining it's a fairly straight forward process to make multiple objects that are dimensionally identical while holding very close tolerances.

"Parts is parts". But there's always going to be people who respond to hype.

There's a huge amount of hype in the AR-15 market. They're modular,..the firearm equivalent of a lego set.

9310 is a far more widely used material in the metal industry than is C-158, & IF, & that's a REALLY big IF, it's heat treated correctly, it may be marginally better for an AR bolt than C-158..................but it is not mil-spec for a bolt, only C-158 is.

The issue is that since 9310 is much more readily available, basically a commodity, and not all of it is HT'd by the same HT'er with the same competency levels, there's much more variability in the stock than there is in the relatively lower volume, smaller supply based, C-158, which is more tightly controlled, but also more expensive.

And that is the reason to only buy bolts from proven & known reliable suppliers...............because they are only buying stock (or bolts) from known consistent & high quality steel suppliers.

Why do you think that companies like Anderson, Radical Firearms & Bear Creek products have a higher incidence of failure than do companies like BCM, Daniel Defense, Toolcraft, Rubber City Armory, etc., do?..................in big part, it's due to the consistency & quality of the steel.

And I ain't gonna buy jack-schitt from a company like Integrity Arms & Survival w/o a really, really good idea of who is making their parts. There's just too many other reliable options.

JMHO, YMMV

MM

“ That's why the "parts is parts" opinion exists.”

The “parts is parts” opinion exists because people don’t shoot enough.

“......companies like BCM, Daniel Defense, Toolcraft, Rubber City Armory, etc., do?..................in big part, it's due to the consistency & quality of the steel.”

While I mostly agree/don’t have any questions about your post, you kinda lost me with Rubber City. AFAIK (and, at least for me), they’re not in a ‘top tier’ conversation at all. JP is. Young probably is, but some debate that. I’m not saying I’m some bolt expert, but materials and specs just are. I’m (personally) not saying RCA isn’t good, I just don’t know that they’re proven ‘top tier’....then again, I don’t think Noveske or Colt are what they used to be, either.

RCA is a prime supplier not a re-marketer & makes Noveske's bolts & is one of the best black nitriding sources around & have a proprietary version...........they do lots of contract work for others like LMT; they are very transparent with what they do & make a full & complete line of BCG's at moderate pricing levels to very expensive for Titanium.

JP is fine, & make good products, but their guns are mostly for play & but get a lot of hype & are on the extreme high end, cost wise, for nothing you can't get elsewhere..............they also use Wilson barrel blanks, same as WOA. Also, they promote cryogeniclly treated barrels as a plus, but all that I know is that at best, it's never really been proven to be magic, so I draw the line at swallowing that much BS.

A good barrel from Craddock or CLE on any of their major blanks will equal any JP barrel for performance.

JMHO, YMMV

MM

Carpenter C-158 and 9130 are virtually the same steel. 9130 is the generic AISI designation and C-158 is Carpenter's name for their version of it. AISI specifies a range of content for all the significant alloys, and Carpenter may hold theirs to a little closer percentages in some cases, but it's essentially the same steel. It's the same with all the alloy steels, you can, for example, buy Carpenter's Vega, an air hardening tool steel, or you can buy generic A-6. We like to think we get a more consistent product with the name-brand steels...probably we do. Does it significantly affect machinability or final performance? Who knows?

MM, you hit on some great points, but some of these guys may not know metallurgical differences between different materials. You are correct about the heat treating and carpenter 158 vs 9310. 158 is mil spec, that is good and generally when manufactures say its c158, you can bet its good. Some say 9310 is better, but most times its heat treated all the way through, and C158 is surface hardened. In some instances surface hardening is better because it offers better impact resistance, where 9310 may be more brittle (depending on how and who heat treated it). Now, keep in mind, we are just talking about the bolt. The carrier is slightly different, as it doesnt need to be made from 9310 to be an excellent bolt carrier group (BCG). 8620 (as in the material used in the carrier i shared earlier) is a great material for use in a carrier. Surf the web or talk to anyone, and youll be hard pressed to find anyone that has ever had an 8620 carrier fail. Now, going back to bolts (The actual bolt itself), 8620 is less than mil spec rated and there have been failures associated with using it for the bolt itself. C158 is the only way to fly there. A while back PSA put out a run of 8620 bolts. Guys should check to make sure what they have in their ars. If you know you have a bolt that is 8620, keep an eye on it. Inspect it good after every cleaning, or just toss it and put a C158 in your carrier. That will add piece of mind and you'll have a far better BCG.

What he said. It wears me out to see a “I finally got an AR” post, followed two weeks later by “Y’all just listen up....”

Just like the "anyone can build an AR" threads...until they can't.

"Just listen up" m fer's....

Sorry, my dyslexia took over in the above post... I meant to type 9310, not 9130.

some parts are important. Some not so much.

Some need to be right, like a barrel. A bolt. And the work that goes with them. Others not really. I"d say off a quick thought... an extractor should be good too..

but there are parts that don't much matter as long as they fit. Float tubes are one.of course one of the last ones a friend gave me to assemble the tube was fine. The part that goes over the barrel nut.. way small. had to do some significant relief to get it to fit. Of course 30 minutes was cheaper than higher dollar. And a tube is a tube.

Those that rely on the guns for lives, or big matches rather than fun and plinking, you know who you are, and what you need to do.

Worth a chit?

https://palmettostatearmory.com/too...-with-carpenter-158-bolt-5165449729.html

Its a toolcraft bcg. I think the consensus here is they are good.

I have several. Yes, they are good BCG's. IMO very high on the "bang for your buck" scale.

After viewing several of the SOTAR video's I went through all my BGC's gauging what I could and giving each a through once over. The PSA premiums by all appearances are very nice examples.

To be clear, I'm not endorsing all PSA BCG's, but I do like their Premiums.

Much appreciated AS. Informative thread.

More generic is the description of what came with my PSA pistol kit. " Carpenter 158 Nitride BCG & Charging Handle". Hmmm. More mid-grade?

So, a cheapass generic unspecified material BCG, like I have acquired with Bear Creek uppers, should not be expected to last. Will it also cause premature wear on other parts?



Anyone care to briefly explain why an Anderson lower is a POS as has been stated on this forum many times? I'll have four. The two I've seen appeared to be machined without flaw. I guess they could be thicker in places, better material?

MB, I'm not sure that's really the consensus of the high volume shooters and builders on this forum. IMO the single most commodity part on an AR is the lower. It's just a piece of aluminum with some machining, some hole drilled, and a coating. So long as the dimensions are correct, it's pretty hard to screw up.

Generally, this is considered a good place to save money so you can spend more on the parts that matter, such as the barrel and BCG.

Right on. Appreciate it.

https://www.facebook.com/455901821208588/posts/1941116152687140/?vh=e

Yep. The receiver is definitely a good place to cut costs.






Not

What's funny is all the people who buy a stripped brand name lower, assemble it themselves with cheap parts and then think that it's that name brand. I see it all the time at the shop.

I don’t know if that’ll open without an account. But it’s SOLGW talking about the QC they do on every barrel and gas block that comes in their shop. You can’t watch that and believe the less expensive brands are paying people to do the same, or are paying for better parts.

Interesting video. Maybe you've mentioned it before, but what guns do you prefer? Are you shooting factory guns or guns you've built? What's the best factory duty/service gun in your experience, not a range toy?

I've got a mix. Currently for work I've got a Geissele built upper and a SOLGW upper (it's all their parts but I assembled it because I didn't want to wait on them) on lowers that I assembled (Aero lowers with SOLGW and Geissele LPKs and SOLGW / LaRue triggers). I'd be fine carrying a BCM or Sionics also.

I went with Aero lowers because I'm irrationally partial to integral trigger guards and they've got one with an American flag on the magwell. Sprinco springs in everything. Magpul MS3 slings and K2 grips.

If I had it my way I'd have JP triggers in both of them. It's on the list.

Outside of SOLGW, Geissele, BCM, and Sionics I don't really see a need to go looking for important parts from anywhere else.

I'd be fine carrying a complete gun I built. I went to a Will Larson (now deceased) armorer school and it opened my eyes to a lot of what's important and what can go wrong. I would have felt comfortable carrying a me-built gun before that class but only because I didn't know what I didn't know.

I don't know much about SLOGW other than what you've posted, but I use the other 3.

Geiselle stuff is pretty much all good, & I like to use it when I can, but most of their stuff (that they make internally) is & has been out of stock for 4-5 months or so...................think they got a big .guv contract, so their civilian business has been left to suffer, ditto to some degree for ALG, which they own.

BCM supply has been pretty good for the most part until just recently; haven't bought anything from SIONICS for a while.

MM

Forget about getting any BCM stuff right now. I'm on their list for a lot of stuff and have received zero email notices for "in stock".

Thats too bad about BCM. If parts are that hard to find, I have a BCM trigger I'd sell real cheap... Its a POFS though..

the Daniel Defense brand guns, their BCG,s barrels, general uppers have always worked for me. However I also have used Aero uppers, BCM, LMT, and Colt and so far have had no problems. Thinking of buying a toolcraft BCG as a spare if i can find one. .

I have a PSA BCG for a plinker gun. Paid 79.99 for it. Gun is a hodgepodge of parts. 2700 rounds through it without failure. Buddy purchased same BCG same day I did. His failed under 600 rounds.

If this gun was for anything other than plinking I would be worried and have purchased a much higher quality BCG or parts.

For that type of rifle( plinker) parts be parts

If my life depends on it, it won’t be PSA

Antelope Sniper and Bluedreaux,

Those are good vids.

Thanks for posting.

I've been studying up on those Young's BCG. On their National Match carriers the machine them with more material on the front rails. This results in the bolts riding straighter in the upper receiver and the bolt face aligning more square with the chamber.

Young's has the NM stripped carriers in stock but no national match nor HMB bolts.

It's also rumored that Youngs make at least the Nationl Match carriers for Les Baer. Les's website doesn't update it's inventory, but you might be able to give them a call and see if they have something you need (or just want).

Thanks, I got everything I need as far as parts go, still need one more scope so have to look a little to find something that will work.

Young's stuff is good & they're nice people..................they're just too busy with some big contracts.

HM Defense actually hold the patent on the HMB bolt, but they're way behind & out of them too, so I'm just using standard bolts for the builds I'm working on right now. Young makes the bolt under license from them.

HM Defense HMB bolts

MM