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  • Shotgun Jeremy

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    I've seen BCG's made out of a bunch of different types of metals. Does anyone know of any articles talking about the differences? Can anyone give me a run down of the differences off the top of their heads? I already know I want an M-16 style bolt carrier. I just need to figure out the different metals' pros and cons now.

    As I mentioned previously, I'd like to start a rifle build and am trying to do as much research into each part I buy as possible.
    Lynx Defense
     

    NOLA Jack

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    You want a 158 carpenter steel bolt with properly staked mil spec 8620 carrier. No fancy coatings required.
     
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    NOLA Jack

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    The chart is nice, but REALLY out dated. I'd use it as a general guideline, but there is a LOT more out there now than there was in 2009.
     

    Shotgun Jeremy

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    You want a 158 carpenter steel bolt with properly staked mil spec 8620 carrier. No fancy coatings required.
    What's the purpose of those different coatings? I've heard some people mention their carriers have fractured. Is that an issue found with 8620 carriers? I guess that's the overall thing I'm looking for is a good, strong carrier.

    Try this.
    080728arfeaturechart.jpg
    I remember seeing this about 6 months back, and have been looking for it again ever since! Thanks! I have it saved on my computer now. I've been wanting to see how my Windham stacks up to the others, as well as use this as guidance for picking out quality parts for my build.
     

    NOLA Jack

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    What's the purpose of those different coatings? I've heard some people mention their carriers have fractured. Is that an issue found with 8620 carriers? I guess that's the overall thing I'm looking for is a good, strong carrier.
    They supposedly to make the BCG easier to clean and more reliable. I haven't seen any improvement in reliability and to the contrary, there are so many NiB BCGs out there that are made like shit that I would say they are a liability. They do make the BCG easier to clean, but having seen a DDm4 go through 20K rounds of cheap steel 223 without cleaning, it isn't an important feature to me. Lube is WAY WAY WAY WAY more important than cleaning. Google BCM filthy 14 to give you a good example.

    I remember seeing this about 6 months back, and have been looking for it again ever since! Thanks! I have it saved on my computer now. I've been wanting to see how my Windham stacks up to the others, as well as use this as guidance for picking out quality parts for my build.

    The chart is okay, but it is old as shit, the material hasn't been updated in forever, and a lot of it is wrong.

    This will give you a better understanding.

    https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pwswheghNQsEuEhjFwPrgTA&single=true&gid=5&output=html
     

    Shotgun Jeremy

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    If cleaning is the only improved feature, I'll stick with my standard MIL-Spec BCG. I've never had a BCG that was all that hard for me to clean after each range session. Hell, even the carbon build up around the firing pin hole is manageable with a pick and plenty of CLP.

    That link has a lot of great info on the parts I'm going to be looking into! It's a shame they pulled all the info off of it. I didn't realize manufacturers were messing with what goes in their guns that much. I figured each one had their recipe for what makes their gun work and unique to their brand, and they stick with those internals.
     

    NOLA Jack

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    Do you think those manufacturers have changed the make of their components since then? Honest question.

    Yes, many of them have. That is also an earlier version of the chart, eventually the thing got bogged down with "available" as companies added optional upgrades and became more misleading.
     

    NOLA Jack

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    If cleaning is the only improved feature, I'll stick with my standard MIL-Spec BCG. I've never had a BCG that was all that hard for me to clean after each range session. Hell, even the carbon build up around the firing pin hole is manageable with a pick and plenty of CLP.

    That link has a lot of great info on the parts I'm going to be looking into! It's a shame they pulled all the info off of it. I didn't realize manufacturers were messing with what goes in their guns that much. I figured each one had their recipe for what makes their gun work and unique to their brand, and they stick with those internals.

    I wouldn't use a pick for anything on any of my guns. I'd be willing to bet that the pick gives your gun more wear than shooting it. You'll notice that lower quality companies will have a base line that is below standard with the option to upgrade to better components, while higher quality companies will have a higher baseline.
     

    Younggun

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    I somehow doubt anyone is going to wear out a part from using a pick to clean it.
     

    NOLA Jack

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    I somehow doubt anyone is going to wear out a part from using a pick to clean it.

    I should've been more clear in my wording, so I'll give it another go.

    There is no functional benefit to using dental tools on your rifle. Scraping metal with metal will lead to wear. How much depends on how anal someone is about cleaning and how frequently they shoot.
     
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    Shotgun Jeremy

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    I don't use a dental pick. I've always felt they are too sharp ans too hard of metal. I use mechanic picks. I haven't noticed any negative side effects from it. Thats just my opinion combined with my applied pressure and experience.

    Sent from my SGH-S959G using Tapatalk 2
     
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    Southpaw

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    I think he's just referring to a nice, solid deep set of crimps on each bolt.

    Sent from my SGH-S959G using Tapatalk 2

    The reason I asked was because it was included on the chart and I was wondering what criteria that was based on, if known. There just seems to be a lot of disagreement on it at times.
     
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