So now that these BCG’s have been out for a while, whats everyones consensus on these? I had a failzero back in 2010 that i ran in an upper for 1500 rounds lubed with no problems. I sold the upper and BCG together and I never purchased another NIB BCG because it didn’t seem worth the price. i was also worried of possible issues that could arise at higher round counts and decided it was better to go with a proven BCM on my next build. I’m currently about to finish my latest build and I was wondering how these BCG’s are doing now? More reliable, less reliable, same?
The only “issue” I had with my failzero was the gun would almost lock up if I put it away without adding lube after a heavy firing schedule. I would literally have to mortar it to cycle the action. I never tried to keep a round it it and shoot it when it was “locked up” but I’m not sure if the gun cycle in that condition. Has anyone else had this problem? I have a BCM bcg ready to go, but this new rifle will be used strictly for home defense, shtf, etc. Not training or general practice, I already have a separate training gun for that. Would a NIB bcg be desirable for a strictly defensive weapon? I’m sure theres a lot more data/experience on these out there now than there was 3 years ago, I’m looking to tap into that.
Bottom line: They work, but the most important thing is the quality of goods that the finish/coating/treatment (whatever you want to call it) is applied to.
I personally have not had any problems, it cleans up nicely, but I would never sacrifice or risk quality components if it meant getting a fancy coating.
If you have the money and are getting from a reputable source, try it out, the worth of something varies from person to person, I do not think they are worth much of a premium as I would rather have high quality lube.
Just remember, it’s no miracle, it does NOT self clean or fix problems, it just HELPS with lubricity and makes it a little easier to clean (if you do that kind of thing).
I purchased one from AIM in 6/2011. It cleans easy but not worth the extra cost.
I am still using it and had one problem. After shooting around 200 rounds one hot afternoon and putting the gun away for a week the BCG was stuck tight. I had to force it open and did not find a reason for the problem.
I have a Spikes 5.45 upper that does this after sitting for a while. I fired a couple of mags through it once with no lube and noticed this when I went to clean it. Now it only does it when it’s sat with the
bolt closed for a day or so. There’s no galling to the BCG or inside the upper so I’m not sure what causes this.
I’ve used 2 NiB BCGs by WMD and 1 from Joe Bob Outfitters. All worked fine. No issues. The one that came in my AAC .300 upper has a NiB carrier, but a standard finish on the bolt itself. Worth the added cost? Maybe to some, but I’m happy with a quality bolt regardless of coating.
I used to use a Spikes NiB. I found that dumping some lube on it before putting it away meant it always cycled nice and smooth.
I have since transitioned to LMT Enhanced carriers and will not be returning to NiB unless LMT creates an NiB version of their carrier (and then, the cost difference must be minimal).
I’m more concerned with the quality of the bolt. I could not verify ANY of the NiB bolts I saw advertised as meeting mil-spec design requirements (i.e. shot-peening, heat treat, MPI, etc). I now use BCM, Rainier, and LMT bolts with complete confidence. A std LMT bolt rides in my E-carrier. I dig the under-cuts on the lugs.
For my personal AR’s I stick with a good quality chromed BCG for the ease of cleaning and corrosion resistance. I haven’t run into a situation where I think the NiB would be a requirement. However if a customer wants them, who am I to say no?
You’re not going to find a consensus on anything, let alone AR-related matters.
I have a FailZero BCG on one of my AR’s. Runs fine. I wouldn’t run it dry though. Can’t go wrong with a “regular” BCG, assuming it’s from a reputable manufacturer. My other AR has a BCM BCG. Can’t really tell a difference, aside from the blingy appearance of the FZ.
One man’s opinion: shoot your gun, clean your gun, lube your gun. Repeat. Any quality parts should not present any problems, in my honest opinion, the nb bcg is a luxury item, any one who lubes his weapon should not have any issues with a standard carrier group. Agreed with the above, it is hard to get a consensus on anything. Everyone has their own likes.
I have a Fail Zero BCG in the rifle I shoot most often and it has been great thus far. I half-assed wiped it dry one time before putting 300 rounds downrange just to see how it would run for myself(functioned normally). Besides that one instance I’ve treated it like any other BCG, well lubed. Like others have said, NiB isn’t necessary but it doesn’t hurt either. A super-slick wonder-coated turd is still a turd. Will my next BCG purchase be NiB coated? Probably not since high quality BCGs can be had for less money. For now I’ll just keep lubricating this Fail Zero as if it were a standard BCG and shoot the shit out of it.
Spikes for maybe 1k rounds over the last couple years. Yeah, I don’t get to shoot much and it’s in a somewhat precision upper so I’m not mag dumping.
Anyway, I treat it like my other bcgs and it’s always worked perfectly. However, I can’t say it’s really worth the premium since my regular Spikes, DD, LaRue, and BCM work just as well. I have an LMT enhanced bcg as well and I think that has a similar coating on the bolt. I have NOT witnessed any negatives as it functions fine when left unlubed after shooting sessions.