Quick question.
Is it normal to have some side-to-side wiggle/play/movement with the gas rings on the bolt? Today is the first time I really noticed the “movement.” Only have 100 rounds down the pipe.
The first three pictures are with the gas rings pushed to the right a little bit, and the last picture is with the rings “flush.”
Thanks in advance.
Yes. The gas rings provide a gas seal between the bolt and the bolt carrier and require that ability to compress and likewise enlarge when the bolt is taken out. If it came from a reputable manufacturer you have nothing to worry about with respect to the bolt. To test the gas rings, install the bolt in the BCG with cam pin, pull the bolt out and place on a table bolt face down. The gas rings should fit tight enough to keep the BCG from falling under its own weight.
Normal for the reason stated above.
That makes sense. Learning something new every day.
Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it. Glad to know about that gas ring test now too. It’s a DD bolt.
Thanks for the quick replies guys.
There is a setting on your camera called ‘Macro’. Read the manual if you are unsure about it.
You should use it when you are trying to take pictures of things up close if you do not want the picture to be blurry.
Yeah I was using an iPhone. You’re right though, the pictures are pretty blurry.
The iPhone has an excellent camera.
Forgot to mention, the gas rings passed the standing bolt test with flying colors. The BCG did not fall under its own weight, nor did it fall even when applying some pressure.
Many thanks again PlatoCATM and JimT.
ok, now that we know the gas rings are fine, let’s talk about the camera… 
Yeah it really does a pretty good job for what it is. I was fairly pleased with how the pictures turned out despite the camera’s inability to focus closely on the bolt/gas rings. It got the point across regarding showing how the rings could be pushed slightly to one side.
I was cleaning the rifle, had the iPhone in my pocket and decided to snap some crude pictures, hoping that it would help me find an answer on here. Once again the members here came through for me.
My iPhone 4 can focus close in. I just took a test picture of a knurled end of a flashlight held 2-3 inches from the iphone and it was mostly clear (finger in the picture is an extra inch or two away). You need good light and you need to touch the screen and tell the phone where to focus. I was able to clearly see the knurls in the end of the light when taken. (Sometimes you need to touch the phone screen to tell it where to focus a few times to have it retry and you need decent light – I had overcast rainy sunlight coming in a window for this. Sometimes you need to shift position)
Taken with iPhone 4 with flashlight and finger ranging from 2-5 inches from phone as a quick test. Saved as jpeg on my computer with about 75% level
That’s pretty impressive. I’ve still got the iPhone 3G from 3-4 years ago. I’ll try to test out the method you described above with it. Thanks for sharing the info.
here’s one taken with the iPhone 3GS:
But what I am really impressed with is the videos that are taken with the Droids. Droid indeed can.
Yeah. Pappabear is always taking NICE pics with his. Good videos too.
think of the gas rings on the bolt the same as piston rings in an engine