Castle nut staking, why the big deal?

[Robb Jensen]

I have mostly converted to the cult M4carbine.net but this is one things I am still not 100% convinced is all that important.

Don't get me wrong I see no reason NOT to do it. But still don't see it as a sign of poor quality.

Then again what do I know. /shrug

That is why I am here, to learn and become a better shooter.

An AR with a carbine stock and an unstaked castle nut is indicative of someone who thinks they are 'smarter' than the engineer who wrote the book. It's also a sign that the AR owner is either ignorant, stupid or just lazy or some combination of the three.

Castle nut comes lose = stock becomes lose, turns during operation and can make the AR inoperable, buffer retainer and spring auto eject into the upper and lower locking up the gun and normal clearance drills don't get firearm working.

End result = a bad day at the range. A 'THAT GUY' moment during a training class. Losing a match/stage. Or worse, your death because your firearm didn't work in the heat of the moment and you didn't have a secondary.

[Iraq Ninja]

If you ever have to go to prone fast and hard and then notice your stock canted at a 45 degree angle, well, its a SOP changing event for most people. Its one thing to have your weapon go down while putting rounds down range, but it feels worse when it goes tits up while the safety is still on. .

One analogy would be military parachuting. Some pins on your gear go in certain ways and then bent down. They could stay straight, but experience has shown that they may cause a problem. Why take the risk?

Stake it, don't mistake it...

[Gentoo]

It is an indicator of quality and care more so than anything else.

If the person / manufacturer who made the thing can't take a miserable 30 seconds with a $10 tool to properly stake the castle nut, what else did they skimp on?

[rob_s]

If you've never had, or witnessed, an unstaked castle nut come loose then you're either lying or not shooting/training enough.

This is one of those "why the hell wouldn't you do it" kinds of things. There is no good reason not to do it, and doing it from the factory is an indicator that whoever built the gun has at least some semblance of a clue.

[HAIL-CAESAR]

If you've never had, or witnessed, an unstaked castle nut come loose then you're either lying or not shooting/training enough.

This is one of those "why the hell wouldn't you do it" kinds of things. There is no good reason not to do it, and doing it from the factory is an indicator that whoever built the gun has at least some semblance of a clue.

Exactly what he said!

[Iraqgunz]

Saginaw,

You replaced your stock and lower receiver extension and that's great. You have had no issues with it either. That's great too. But, what if someone buys a carbine and decides that they will leave it stock? It's about consistency. I have seen many a Bushamster lower receiver extension come loose some of them while TCN guards were shooting on the range. Personally, I think not doing or cutting corners tells me alot about the company and those who use them.

[mark5pt56]

Well congrats for them...

and to refresh your obvioulsy short memory, I did say "I think people get too wrapped up in it myself"

Hope that helps clear it up!

DON'T GET TO WRAPPED AROUND THIS BUD

[mmike87]

If you've never had, or witnessed, an unstaked castle nut come loose then you're either lying or not shooting/training enough.

This is one of those "why the hell wouldn't you do it" kinds of things. There is no good reason not to do it, and doing it from the factory is an indicator that whoever built the gun has at least some semblance of a clue.

Along those lines, I have has my ACE SOCOM come loose on me at the range. It was one of those WTF moments when you notice the stock is spinning on the rifle.

I had blue lock-tited the screw, but apparently I did something wrong, as it came loose anyway. It would have been nice to have had an option for something as positive as staking the screw on this stock. You can see the staking, and you can see with your own eyes that the nut isn't coming loose, and that's a Good Thing.

[trunkmonkey]

Personally I'm tired of hearing about both staking gas carriers and castle nuts.

Invest 20 bucks in an automatic punch and stake them to your little hearts desire for the rest of your days.

So do it because it's smart..........and easy............and cheap. End of story.

It's in no way something that would determine if I did or did not buy a particular rifle. Concentrate on the things you can't do in 2 minutes at home.

[SHIVAN]

It's in no way something that would determine if I did or did not buy a particular rifle. Concentrate on the things you can't do in 2 minutes at home.

So if the simple things that take 2 minutes to do at home were neglected at the factory, what things you can't readily see were also neglected at the factory??

Hmm, were the bolts really MP tested per spec? Is the steel really 4140 or 4150 or 416SS or whatever they claim? Is the anodizing really type III? Are the pins and such really hardened properly?

Once you cut the corners on the most mundane "2 minute" job, all the other things you CAN'T check as a hobbyist or LE or grunt come in to question.