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Dano,
Many shooters have chosen to send a quality carrier to Robar to get coated with NP3.
Personally I personally use LMT/CMT/Colt parts. I’m debating getting my LMT carrier done in NP3 because it came pretty rough around the edges.
http://www.robarguns.com/np3.htm
You can also type in “NP3” in the search blank on the homepage of m4c and it will give you a list of all threads pertaining to NP3 (find out what others say).
Hope this can help,
Dave
+1 on NP3’ing a BCG. Robar did my Bushy BCG and it cycles slick as sh!t. Very easy to clean, too.
As far as the Young BCG, I have also heard good things about them. I plan on using one in my present CMMG middy build. Rainier Arms sells them, so they must be good. 
Did you guys NP3 the bolt too? How does that hold up, rd counts?
As far as round counts, I doubt it will last much longer than a BCG not coated with NP3. NP3 is a teflon based coating and I doubt has any affect on the punishment a BCG takes. I would still replace it a the “suggested interval”.
It will probably make your weapon more reliable under circumstances when you are firing a thousand rounds at a time and are unable to re oil/lube the moving parts.
It’s a toss up for me; I can’t afford to shoot 500 rounds every range trip. Right now I can only afford to shoot 500 rds a month. So for me, NP3 wouldn’t make any sense, I would rather spend the $130 on another MPI BCG; IMHO.
If you have the money- Try it and be sure to tell us your opinion on it.
The bolt carrier in my M4A1/Recce here is a Chrome one - cleans up slicker than snot - and runs really smoothly in the rifle.
The carrier has more than 17k rounds thru it and still going strong – bolt is a Colt that was had fitted to the douglas barrel when it was built.
I’m looking at getting a new shorty here – and when back on leave may looking into getting one NP3’s as the coatings look pretty good.
I had a semi auto Young NM bolt carrier - worked in a 20" gun but did not work in the 11.5 - I sold it shortly after so no real results.
Kevin,
Is the bolt chromed also?
Sounds like these are out of original USAF M16’s from back in the mid-60’s. These rifles had no forward assist capability.
I saw some of these no-notch/chromed bolt carriers still being used in active duty USAF rifles up through the mid-70’s, but most had been replaced with notched/parkerized A1 units.
I used to like the hard chromed BCG’s, until I found that they sometimes don’t work well with Billet upper receiver (LT and VLTOR). I have switched the JP Ent. Tactical bolt carrier.
C4
Sorry – I missed this (I am a bad Staff guy…)
Standard M4 (Colt) bolt - Crane O ring
Since when I got my first YHM hard chromed bolt carrier+bolt group many years ago I was never disappointed , nowday all my 5 ARs have those hardware inside.
PP out
I just ordered a Young Mfg. FA BCG- has any one else been using them? I couldn’t justify buying another BCG for $130 and sending it to Robar for another $130 for the coating. The Chrome Young BCG cost about $160, and extra $30 wont break the bank.
Let me know what you guys think.
The web site for Young Manufacturing is http://www.newriverarms.net/store.php?pg1-cid38.html
Their National Match carrier is suppose to be 1/2 heavier than a standard carrier, but I don’t know if they mean M16 carrier. It also has more contact area with the upper receiver. Service rifle shooters like heavy carriers for softer recoil and smooth operation which is why Young is marketing it. David Tubb also makes a system (CWS) so you can add/change weights of the and tune your carrier to where you like how it feels. 3gunners like lighter carriers because when combined with a muzzle brake and/or an adjustable gas system a rifle can be made to shoot very soft and fast with little or no muzzle rise.
I looked at a lot of different carriers for my 3gun rifle and finally decided on the very light JP LMOS carrier.
Here’s some weights of carriers that I’ve personally measured.
bolt carrier weights (w/o bolts but with carrier keys and screws)
JP stainless LMOS (lightweight) carrier 6.25oz
Young Mfg (lightweight) 8.60oz
Colt non-shrouded 1/2 circle carrier 8.63oz
Colt shrouded 1/2 circle carrier 8.87oz
Bushmaster non-shrouded AR15 carrier 8.92oz
Bushmaster shrouded AR15 carrier 9.26oz
CMT M16 carrier 9.46oz
Good info- I asked because I ordered one last night. I ordered the Young full auto carrier and an LMT upper and I’m sending both to PWS for their piston system to be installed.
It looks like they(Young) have 5 different carriers now and that’s what sparked my interest.
Check them out:
http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/manufacturer
Dave
Could you please clarify that? How a chromed BCG would not work well in a billet upper.
Sure. Billet uppers tend to me be much tighter (internally) and chroming tends to be thicker in some spots then it should be. Combine the two and you get drag.
C4
Aye,
thats the reason when I whent chrome using a MUR I used Ionbond to PVD chrome onto my BCM carrier.4k rds and still looks like new.the inside of the upper has the typical wear marks as any other would.
a lot of things are using PVD in coatings, magazines, AR recievers and I THINK S&W is doing slides like this also.
To be honest, I haven’t found a need for a chromed carrier yet.
I was going to say I think I would consider using W-DLC (ionbond) since the base layer of W-DLC is chrome, with a tungsten impregnated coating over it. Can’t really get much tougher then that. BCM has them.
The thing is though, I’m not sure which is “slicker” and less pourous, chrome or W-DLC. Can anyone compare the two for this application (internals)?
GI Park