I’ve been a Norgon Ambi-Catch user for more than a decade, it is probably the best add on ambidextrous mag release in existence (excluding lower receivers with built-in ambidextrous mag release)
The issue I’ve had with it is not all related to the Norgon Ambi-Catch design, it’s that the factory bolt catch’s bottom paddle is tiny and not easy to use, with or without the Norgon Amb-Catch. With the Norgon installed, the Ambi-Catch’s mag release button is on the same vertical plain as the tiny factory bottom paddle (bolt catch), it’s equally difficult to access either, especially with gloved hands.
We were in the process of creating a bolt catch that would address this issue. Even without the Ambi-Catch, the factory bolt catch’s bottom is very small.
Seekins Precision produces its enhanced bolt catch that features a larger top paddle, and more importantly, a taller profiled bottom paddle that’s easily twice the surface area of a factory bolt catch. Its taller bottom paddle profile makes it an excellent companion for the Norgon Ambi-Catch, with the Seekins bolt catch installed, it is now far more intuitive and less confusing as to which button a user’s pressing.
We have stopped development of our own bolt catch, and decided to simply use the best in class, Seekins Precision’s design does exactly what our own design set out to, and without being prohibitively expensive.
We now offer the Seekins Precision enhanced bolt catch as a stand alone product here, as well as a bundle that combines the Seekins bolt catch with the Norgon Ambi-Catch here
I just received my Seekins Precision bolt catch from you guys today. It took no time to install it. I used the existing spring, plunger and roll pin as I don’t have spares of these parts on hand (shame on me, I know). To say it’s a much better feel than the previous bolt catch is an understatement. My original bolt catch has always had a little more wiggle in it than I thought was appropriate, but I had nothing to compare it to. The Seekins catch has almost no wiggle to it. I haven’t shot with it installed yet but I’m very impressed with the quality of it. I think you guys did well by offering this particular part. The oversized paddle of the release is nice, but so far just from handling it and working my rifle (and comparing to the previous catch) IMO where it really shines is on the bottom where you push it in to hold the bolt open. I always hated the bottom part of my old bolt catch and that by itself is what sent me off in search of something better. I’m glad I found this. I can’t wait to try it out on the range.
While testing it out with several different Pmags (Gen M2, MOE) I have noticed that if I pull the bolt back very slowly, the follower won’t push the catch up and catch the bolt. I have no idea if it would do this with the original bolt catch or not as I don’t recall ever working it so gently. However, any time I pull the slide back with any amount of force like you would normally use when manipulating your rifle, it pops right up and locks into place. Obviously only shooting it will tell the tale, but I don’t foresee this being a problem as the bolt will never come to the rear as gently as I was pulling it back. It may also be beneficial for the new catch to wear in some in its slot in the receiver.
I suspect the symptoms you’re experiencing may have to do with our familiar friend: tolerance stacking. Different springs and receivers may exhibit different behavior.
That very well could be. The only thing I would be interested in swapping out is the spring (but I don’t think it needs it-besides a stronger spring would make it even harder to lock the bolt open). I might order the smaller parts from Brownells to have on hand as spares though.
The Seekins BC has a small amount of wiggle to it so I don’t think it’s too tight. The amount of wiggle it has is pretty much what I’ve always thought it should have. It also moves very smoothly in the channel when I work it by hand. Again, I don’t think it’s going to cause me any malfunctions, but the only way to know for sure is to go shoot the gun. I might make the trip out to Gateway and just put one or two rounds in several different magazines and test for the bolt to hold open on the last shot.
ETA: The more I think about it, the more I think I sourced the original bolt catch and associated parts locally and therefore I have no idea where they came from or who made them. They could very well be from DPMS or some other bottom feeder. Since that’s the case I went ahead and ordered a new Colt spring, plunger, and roll pin from Brownells. I don’t suspect changing them out will make any difference, but it’ll make me feel better knowing where they came from.
So I popped the Seekins BC back off just to make sure there were no burrs or anything I missed initially. Nothing to note on the BC. I inspected the slot it mounts into on my lower. Nothing to note here. I took out the spring and plunger and inspected them. Still nothing to note. I put the spring and plunger back in place, put a couple of drops of FrogLube on the new BC and put it all back together. Then I went through 10 unloaded Pmags putting them in the gun over and over and pulling the bolt back as slowly and gently as I could. The bolt catch popped up into place every single time with the exception of one magazine. I recently discovered a couple of Pmags I had that would not hold the bolt open reliably after the last round. I fixed those by filing out the U-shaped notch on the back where the follower comes up to engage the bolt catch. I widened the bottom of the notch and changed the shape from a U to a square. I performed the same modification to this mag and tried it again. It’s now working perfectly every time as well. I don’t know what the difference is. Maybe something wasn’t just right with the spring or plunger when I put it in the first time, but everything seems to be working perfectly now.
ETA: This has me really wanting to try out the Norgon Ambi mag release now.
Good to know, thanks Steve. It’s feedback (though we’re not the manufacturer of the bolt catch) that makes this place wonderful, and you a very good beta tester for us
Question regarding the Norgon Ambi-Catch: When you buy one, do you get a full assembly, or do you still need to buy a spring and right side button separately?
The Norgon Ambi-Catch is a direct replacement of the factory mag catch, it does not come with the mag release button (the right side button), or the spring
I made an order to Brownells a few days ago and just for the heck of it I added a Seekins Precision billet mag release button to my order. I figured since I just installed the Seekins Precision bolt catch that the two parts would compliment each other. It came in today and I installed it. It looks very nice and has a good feel to it, although I’m sure in the heat of the moment you’d never notice the difference. You certainly wouldn’t be able to tell any difference with gloves on. It doesn’t perform any differently than a standard mag release button, and for those who don’t care at all about appearance it really has nothing to offer. However, given the cheap price (~$6) and the fact that you guys offer the Seekins Precision bolt catch/Norgon ambi mag release combo, this might make a nice piece to add (optional maybe?) to round things out. Having said that, it might be a bit screwy to offer the Norgon ambi release and Seekins Precision billet mag release button without the necessary spring. Oh well, it’s just a thought. For anyone interested it now comes in several colors other than black as well (although I went with black rather than waiting on the special colors to arrive).
FYI the rifle as pictured also has the new EPS installed. I do not yet have the Norgon ambi mag release but I plan to add it and try it out in the near future.
Shiloah did send me their billet mag release a while ago while we were evaluating the bolt catch.
Ours will be a little different. It won’t have a blind hole, and the button’s surface will probably not be conventional, but we’re testing out our theory
