The day before election I picked up a new Bushmaster M4 rifle.
Yes I know a lot of people here don’t like BM. Let me explain to you why I made that choice and then you can offer any advice you want.
I was looking for a M4 rifle that would be reliable in any kind of SHTF scenario and not have a lot of toys added to it. A KISS rifles so to speak.
There are a number of reasons I went towards the BM.
I wanted a 1/9 twist barrel instead of 1/7.
I wanted a Gov. Profile Chrome lined barrel
I didn’t want to build it
I wanted something that would not cause my bank account to cry.
The Bushmaster provided all of this and I was able to pick it up for under 900 with a couple extra USGI magazines thrown in.
And honestly while I don’t deny there are better rifles out there I can also honestly say that my Glocks, M&Ps, and XDs are not MPI or pressure tested and they have done just fine at safeguarding my life. Maybe I am wrong but 600 bucks is a lot of ammo. I figure anything else that needs to be changed I can easily do.
Also, apparently BM does not use M4 handguards so this was annoying but the shop swapped them out at no cost for me.
So of course the requisite photo. Please forgive the dirty workroom floor!
Now here is the bolt. The key looks like it is staked ok but I may take a whack at it just to make sure. Hmm the Photos make it look like it isn’t’ staked at all but it is.
I went and put a couple hundred rounds through it today to make sure it functioned ok. There were no problems but of course that was only a few mags.
No one “hates” Bushmasters. Most of us do hate that such a well known weapons manufacturer would cut corners on quality control to sell barely reliable rifle to the uninformed public. Read the “Knowledge Base” thread and in particular, this https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=7376 You will get better reliability out of your weapon if you send it off to Grant at G&R Tactical, a site sponsor. He will do everything Bushmaster should have done while they were producing them. He is a Bushmaster dealer that tweaks the rifles he gets into his shop at little or no charge, to sell his customers a “Quality” Bushmaster.
Yeah I read over that thread and got some good ideas. I know there is another one floating around of a gentleman who went over his with a fine tooth comb and made some changes. I just need to find it.
Also, somehow I posted this in the wrong forum. Sorry about that guys. I meant to put this in General AR Discussion.
I can almost guarantee that if you do not stake the carrier key screws they will come loose. I have seen it time and time again. As long as you are happy with your carbine that’s all that matters as none of us will be using it if the SHTF.
Find the shortcomings, make the corrections and you should be good. If not, you will find out first hand why things are important.
BTW- Your Glock and XD don’t need to be MPI / pressure tested. Completely different stuff going on there as well as the stress points.
How much should the staking be pressing into the side of the screws. On mine the left side seems to make good solid contact while the right side is just touching them. Like I said I am gonna take a whack at them anyway but I don’t want to over or under do it. Honestly this is the first time I have had to mess with the bolt. My DPMS and Rock Rivers all had it done right from the factory (Isn’t that irony)
Although there is no talk of Bushmaster being a good rifle company I have never met anyone who actually had any problems with them either. Though I am not arguing with ANYONE here as you are all more knowledgeable then I. I am simply stating an observation on my part. Grats on your new rifle. I just got the BM ORM a few weeks ago.
