Where can I find information on broken AR15 lower receivers?
How tough are they? (Primarily Colt and Bushmaster).
Do the pin holes ever “wallow out” so new over sized pins are needed?
Have the two pivot pin bosses on the front ever broken or cracked?
Some are cut kinda thin.
I would really like to have a broken receiver, so I could conduct my own tests.
Where would I find one?
Any info is greatly appreciated.
Contact CapnCrunch on this board.
IIRC he has pins that walk and has broken the lower near the buffer tube more than once.
I saw many broken ones in the Army.
Your just the guy I want to talk to!
What did you see broken the most on lower receivers?
How did it happen?
They’re pretty damn tough. I had to break an unregistered Bushmaster receiver because the owner didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I had to pound pretty hard with a 5# sledge to crush the mag well.
As for breakage during real use, I’ve seen a few older A1 style receivers break on the top of the receiver loop for the extension where the A2 is strengthened.
sure it happens
BUT here in Italy you can find some M16 Model 613 made by Colt in the '70 for Malaysian Army (those are so worn that most of the receivers are shiny as a mirror :eek: ) but they still work great and the pins still stay in place
please don’t forget to keep us updated if you are going to do your own tests 
Mine was too strong, so I cut it in half! :eek:
Actually, the pinholes will wallow-out when using the blowback pistol calibers, which are pretty tough on the pins. You have to shoot them alot, though, before it will happen. Breaking pins is pretty common with them. Ramped bolts help.
BUT here in Italy you can find some M16 Model 613 made by Colt in the '70 for Malaysian Army (those are so worn that most of the receivers are shiny as a mirror
I’ve seen pictures of M-16’s from Vietnam where the finish was worn completely
away.
Soldiers would carry them with their fingers wrapped around the mag well
and a thumb through the carry handle. (most comfortable carry method).
The sweat from their hands would errode the metal around the mag well.
The result was a serious case of pitting in front of and around the the mag well.
The recievers I saw broken were mostly from training weapons in the Ranger unit I was assigned to. Those weapons were used for interesting thigs uch as ladders, slingfs and who knows what? The damage was around the front or rear take down pin holes.
ladders???
I have seen them used by troops to stand on, it dosent get any dumber than that.
I’ve only heard of lowers breaking (during use) on the old M16 and M16-A1s breaking at the back end when doing bayonet training. I don’t know if the military has been able to break the newer reinforced A2 lowers.
I’ve seen an lower with a broken off ear of the triggerguard (this was on a cast Essential Arms lower). (if you don’t support the ear when hammering in the roll pin, you can break it).
I’ve also seen transferable full-auto lowers that had the hammer pins go out of round. There are a few Class II manufacturers that can repair these.
I’ve also seen transferable full-auto lowers that had the hammer pins go out of round. There are a few Class II manufacturers that can repair these.
Thanks. My primary concern is the 2 pivot pin bosses on the front of the
receiver that the pivot pin passes through.
I’ve seen pictures of the new polymer framed AR-180B breaking those bosses
off. Then I wonder, “could that happen to an AR-15”?
I guess not. I can’t seem to turn up a case of an AR-15/M-16 breaking at that
point.
The AR-15 seems to be, one tough little rifle.
