Anyone have experience with Rguns nickel boron 5.56 bolt carrier groups?
I bought one last year from Aim Surplus that I only recently started using. I’ve used it for about 400 rounds (high estimate) and noticed that there is wear on the bottom of the bolt that can be felt with you finger nail. Upon a closer look, the bolt’s finish appears to be flaking off in the magazine catch area. See images below.
This is on an all new rifle that briefly used a standard phosphate bolt carrier group. The previous bolt showed no signs of similar wear.
I can’t see how this is normal. Isn’t the NiB finish supposed to be one of the better, stronger, semi-self-lubricating finishes? At the time of purchase the rguns Nib bcg’s had good reviews. Looking now I’ve noticed a few complaints, but not like this.
Anyone have similar issues with the Rguns Nib bolt carriers?
I don’t suppose other NiB BCG (Spikes) have the same issues?
exactly.
Some companies that apply NiB do not post heat treat. That NiB is only around 53-55 rockwell. Post heat treated NiB is around 70 rockwell.
Also if the bolt goes through gas carburizing but does not get a bead blast after the NiB will not stick to the steel. The residue left from the carburizing prevents good adhesion. Dirt and oil even coolant residue from a CNC machine can prevent adhesion.
Is it even worth having the nickel boron finish then, even on a better quality piece like Spike’s? Or just go with a high quality phosphate finish?
Wow. I saw those advertised on AIM’s site a while ago and was wonder why I haven’t see them since. I wish I only paid $100. unfortunately the Rgun’s bolt that I have was one of the more expensive problematic ones at $150.
I sent AIM Surplus an email about this including pics and here is the response I got “Sir, I hate to hear this. This is the first I have heard of this issue with an RGUNS BCG. Unfortunately we do not carry these anymore. You will need to get in touch with RGUNS about getting that replaced. Here is their contact information. Thanks, Joshua”
Based off some other threads I’ve found I’m not the only one with Rguns bolt issues that has contacted AIM, so the fact that they straight up lied to me kind of has me pretty PO’d. I’ve spent quite a bit of cash there in the past 5 years so I’m not a happy camper.
We use NP3 on our BCG’s and we have yet to see an issue. One of our demo BCG’s has had 3K plus rounds through it, just in the last 5 months or so. No flaking, carbon build, up or other problems. The tried and true BCG’s are also good to go and I have them in several guns.
Duly Noted. However, the intent of this topic is not a discussion of NIB effectiveness or NIB’s being better or worse than other finishes. The topic is whether others have run into issues with this specific brand/manufacturer.
I have not either in my experience with other parts. I guess I should of kept it that way but I was looking for a bolt setup that would clean easier
Whats your impression of their quality and ease of cleaning?
Mine doesn’t seem to be porous like you describe but more of a polished finish that wipes down. Though I have not shot enough to clean every nook and cranny to find out how it is as a whole. The pictures posted by Junkie above seem like a more porous finish though.
Anyway, I called AIM today and was able to discuss my concerns in better detail and come to a mutual understanding. Joshua offered to contact Rguns if I did not get a response after a few more days. That’s more like it.
I have no experience with your brand. If you look for another, I’m running an Ares Armour nib that is flawless. It’s a great finish, runs slick as hell, and cleaning it up is never more than running a rag over it. It’s so slick, you can feel the difference when you run the charging handle. Maybe those of you with bad experiences got some poorly plated ones but I would hardly say the nib is for suckers.
Sorry to read of your bad experience. As stated though, RGuns does not have a good reputation. Glad to read that AIM will try to help you out though.
FWIW, I have been using a Rainier Arms Precision Match NiB BCG in one of my ARs for quite some time now and have not experienced any flaking or discoloration problems. The tail of the bolt does still get crusty and still needs to be scraped, but it is still much easier than my phosphated BCGs and the rest does still wipe off with a rag and a little lube. I’ve actually bought another one for my next build because of this.
NiB is very slick to the touch, but is very porous on a microscopic level. MarkMs bolt was black, but still very slick (and slightly hydrophobic).
If you have anything plated, have it done by someone who knows what they are doing. Many people think they do, but (as we can see), they don’t - or their QA measures suck.
Flaking plating = complete failure. Like anything else-buy quality and avoid issues.
