Spare AR15 bcg

[Coon]

I have a couple of AR15s that I shoot quite a bit and I've always heard about keeping "spare" bcgs. First of all, how many of you keep a spare bolt around, and secondly, I still haven't been convinced on which is the best material bcg to get. I guess just having a toolcraft bcg is better than none, but would like some opinions. What do you guys say? Should I keep a spare? How many? What material? Thanks.
Coon

 

[baboon]

Every one of my AR's has it's own BCG. I recently bought a spare used Colt BCG, that replaced a semi auto BCG in one rifle. I mainly buy upper for my M-16 that end up becoming complete rifles.The ability to just change out the upper & not mess around with the BCG appeals to me. I wish buffers were as easy. SoI generally carry around several different buffer weights with me.

 

[zackmars]

I have 2 spare BCG's, both are colt.

I have a bunch more spare bolts, cam pins, firing pins, gas rings etc, though this is mostly for work.

The carrier itself doesn't really matter, it's not really a wear part.

 

[Eastexasrick]

I have a bunch more spare, this is mostly for work.

The carrier itself doesn't really matter

What you said

 

[Gordo]

I have a bunch more spare bolts, cam pins, firing pins, gas rings etc, though this is mostly for work.

The carrier itself doesn't really matter, it's not really a wear part.

Came here to say that.
Complete bolt may be necessary, especially for any 7.62x39, which have a reputation of failing,
But on a normal AR (223/556) you probably can get by with just extractor, firing pin, and cam pin, plus any of the small parts, like firing pin retainer, ejector, roll pin and spring, extractor spring and spring, gas rings if you still hold on to the idea that DI is better than piston driven.

 

[zackmars]

Came here to say that.
Complete bolt may be necessary, especially for any 7.62x39, which have a reputation of failing,
But on a normal AR (223/556) you probably can get by with just extractor, firing pin, and cam pin, plus any of the small parts, like firing pin retainer, ejector, roll pin and spring, extractor spring and spring, gas rings if you still hold on to the idea that DI is better than piston driven.

Who doesn't want a gun that has 5 extra parts and weighs an extra 2 lbs?

 

[Gordo]

Op rod, in place of gas tube.
No piston rings.
One, maybe two extra springs.
What am I missing?

 

[zackmars]

Op rod, in place of gas tube.
No piston rings.
One, maybe two extra springs.
What am I missing?

On ar180 style guns, the op rod is typically made up of like 3-4 parts. And you still typically have gas rings. I'll get some pics in like an hour

 

[Sam7sf]

I have a couple of AR15s that I shoot quite a bit and I've always heard about keeping "spare" bcgs. First of all, how many of you keep a spare bolt around, and secondly, I still haven't been convinced on which is the best material bcg to get. I guess just having a toolcraft bcg is better than none, but would like some opinions. What do you guys say? Should I keep a spare? How many? What material? Thanks.
Coon

Correct a few things if I can…

You say bcg then bolt. I would focus on breaking down what parts are more likely to be an issue or to have for preventative maintenance. So an extra carrier and bolt are never at the top of my list if your guns built right. Buy stuff like extra extractors, firing pins, cam pins, springs, and you really should be able to shoot a barrel out before something goes wrong.

I get having a bcg because you just slap it in; nothing to take apart and replace with tools. It’s just ironic that I promise almost no one would bug out or deploy with an extra bcg.

 

[Coon]

Correct a few things if I can…

You say bcg then bolt. I would focus on breaking down what parts are more likely to be an issue or to have for preventative maintenance. So an extra carrier and bolt are never at the top of my list if your guns built right. Buy stuff like extra extractors, firing pins, cam pins, springs, and you really should be able to shoot a barrel out before something goes wrong.

I get having a bcg because you just slap it in; nothing to take apart and replace with tools. It’s just ironic that I promise almost no one would bug out or deploy with an extra bcg.

The part about just slapping it in is exactly my thinking, but I wondered which parts are going to wear out. Thanks for the insight. I'm getting a clearer picture.

 

[Sam7sf]

The part about just slapping it in is exactly my thinking, but I wondered which parts are going to wear out. Thanks for the insight. I'm getting a clearer picture.

Most bolts aren’t machined correctly in the pocket for the extractor. It’s why you see o-rings under them. The industry will sell you on why these o-rings are there but no one wants to admit saving machine time.

Buy extra extractors, springs, pins, and extractor tool. That would be my first choice. Beyond that…I don’t know. I don’t own out of spec guns and have had no issues.

 

[zackmars]

The part about just slapping it in is exactly my thinking, but I wondered which parts are going to wear out. Thanks for the insight. I'm getting a clearer picture.

The bolt itself is a wear part. Once you break a bolt, you might as well replace the entire assembly. Ejector and spring, extractor, gas rings, etc.


Once you hit that point, I'd also get a new firing pin and cam pin

 

[Bozz10mm]

I have a couple spare carrier groups and a couple of spare bolts. And I think I have one BCM bolt rebuild kit. I mostly have PSA premium BCGs installed in my ARs, a couple of them are their Nickel Boron BCGs, and I have one Sharps Rifle Company BCG. The spare BCGs I have are Ruger semi auto BCGs that got replaced with PSA BCGs.

 

[unicom]

I had all the parts to build a new bcg as a backup for my main AR then I used it to start another build


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zackmars]

This is the gas piston on a Stirling AR180

Having gas rings means you get a much more efficient system, vs the SVT approach where you just over gas the thing and hope the guy using it dies before it breaks.

 

[Sam7sf]

This is the gas piston on a Stirling AR180 View attachment 408472

View attachment 408473


Having gas rings means you get a much more efficient system, vs the SVT approach where you just over gas the thing and hope the guy using it dies before it breaks.

Wow I see sig isn’t original.

 

[zackmars]

Wow I see sig isn’t original.

Nothing new under the sun and all that. The AR180 is one of the most influential modern small arms, but even it can be traced back to the mid 30's with the AVS-36, or back to 1891 with the Fosbery pump action shotgun for the bolt.

 

[TEXAS "All or nothing"]

Probably not going to have carrier issues, unless the bolt gets messed up by the gas rings? I'm not a phosphate bcg person, but do like the nitride carriers. NP3 is good if done correctly. Because it states "mil-spec" it doesn't mean it'll headspace correctly. I usually have 2 or 3 extra bcg's on hand that ends up in a later build.

 

[zackmars]

Probably not going to have carrier issues, unless the bolt gets messed up by the gas rings? I'm not a phosphate bcg person, but do like the nitride carriers. NP3 is good if done correctly. Because it states "mil-spec" it doesn't mean it'll headspace correctly. I usually have 2 or 3 extra bcg's on hand that ends up in a later build.

The great thing about phosphate is that it does a fantastic job of holding on to lube. Its the primary reason the government went away from full hard chrome carriers, well, that and cost.


I've never had an AR not properly headspace. It can be a concern if you are using extremely low quality parts, or swapping worn barrels and worn bolts, but otherwise it shouldn't matter

 

[TEXAS "All or nothing"]

The great thing about phosphate is that it does a fantastic job of holding on to lube. Its the primary reason the government went away from full hard chrome carriers, well, that and cost.


I've never had an AR not properly headspace. It can be a concern if you are using extremely low quality parts, or swapping worn barrels and worn bolts, but otherwise it shouldn't matter

Either I get a barrel or a bolt that doesn't headspace correctly. Not very often, but it has happened.