im new to the ar scene but not to firearms. i recently acquired an m4 rifle for Christmas and had quite a few issues. i have had to replace the gas rings after about 25 rounds, which was a learning experience. now, this morning i discovered while at the range that the forward assr pawl broke and jammed the bolt mechanism. my question is…a) is this typical wear on a rifle that is so new and b) what causes a forward asst malfunction like this?
here are the particulars:
blackthorne upper
essential arms lower
tufforce rail system
bushnell mp trophy red/green optic
Welcome in, sorry to hear you are having problems!
Some questions to ask about an M4 before buying:
Is it Mil-Spec (military specifies parts dimension, material, hardness)?
Have you heard of the manufacturer before and how long have they been in business (if not ask around; places like this)?
Check out the AR Gen Discussion forum and the technical forum and there are several threads about choosing manufacturers and what items need to be checked out before buying and what to do if you have already bought a suspect quality gun.
Good Luck, I hope it works out!
Also, DO NOT spend ANY more money on it before doing some SERIOUS reading here!
bdub… this weapon isn’t going to be salvageable. i strongly suggest selling for what you can, and then taking a few weeks to read all the technical stickies here at M4C.
please dont take offense- the person who gave it to you didn’t know any better, or they wouldn’t have.
The difficulty is that even Yugo hired competent assembly people. The car was still 25 years behind the times and barely worth the money.
Don’t go overboard yet, an Essential Arms lower isn’t the end of the world, and the Bushnell optic may not be Aimpoint, but it will still work. Best thing to do is have a knowledgeable AR15 gunsmith (not everyone is) look at it and give an opinion on what parts are ok and what are less than quality.
I’d worry about the bolt carrier group and whether it’s milspec, particle inspected, etc. Then the barrel should be shot by a known good shooter to determine it’s MOA ability.
A broken forward assist isn’t so bad, not many ever use them, and just as many could be worried doing so would make a situation worse. Just fix that as is, if you do want to sell it, it has to be anyway.
As for the gas rings, you can check your self if they need replacement - remove the BCG, hold it down, the bolt should not pull down by gravity. Other than broken rings, that’s all you do - which brings up why they were needing to be changed anyway?
It may turn out buying a better assembled upper is a good bet - or selling the whole thing - but I wouldn’t get stampeded into dumping it, especially for a loss. Not necessary.
It may not be a Tier One Milspec SHTF zombie killer, but it beats not owing one at all. Be patient, all said and done you’ll have the real scoop on what is better and be the go to guy on it in the long run.
I am sorry to say you have a rifle from a company considered by all to be the worst in the business. Two people arguing over Bushmaster Vs. Colt will stop and agree 100% on how bad blackthorne is. The company has had to change it’s name many times to stay in business. It used to be called Hesse, also called Vulcan at one point, and I think a completely new name now.
My suggestion would be to scrap the entire thing and start over. I also wouldn’t recommend wasting money on chi-com knock off ACOG’s either. Get the real deal or just use iron sights. If this lower is good you may be able to start with that as a base.
well it’s boxed up and going back…the whole upper that is…the builder is going to contact the manufacturer and lay the blame on them pretty hard…if anything i’m guaranteed a new upper…im hoping from a new vendor…
those that are interested i’ll share what BT response is…
read read read, my friend- get as up on the technicals as you can before deciding what new upper to get. you could end up with something totally different but still totally gay.
The Essential Arms lower is good to go. This is a perfectly fine lower. I have two of them and they function flawlessly. I have a Larue Stealth upper mounted on one and have put over 800 rounds through it without a hiccup.
da fuck? this is why you DONT buy Model 1 Sales… we’ve had more threads like this come through here on M1S than on hesse/vulcan/blackthorn combined, i’ll wager.
stocks, sights, optics, handguards- people use these on cheap ARs, but not action components. i’m sure receivers and receiver parts are totally different in design, as well as construction.
