Stainless Steel bolt cam, your thoughts....

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

Spotted some stainless bolt cams and was wondering how they would work vs the milspec bolt cams.

Is there anyone here running one, and what is your impression?

Is there a down-side to stainless vs Carpenter 158?

Any other input would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

2

Are cam pins 158?

I have a Nickle Boron coated POF Roller Cam with a little over 6k rounds on it and no issues.

3

I’m pretty sure cam pins are not C158. I remember reading here that rsilvers was contemplating a cam pin made from S7 which is a tool steel known for its impact toughness - this or possibly another tool steel may be an improvement. Everyone in the know runs their BCG wet so corrosion is not an issue; I’m not sure there’s anything to be gained by making cam pins from any variety of SS.

4

My thought too…what is to be gained?

5

I’d forgotten all about those. The rivet never failed, then?

OP- It’s your hard-earned money… if you want a stainless pin in your AR, you should definitely buy one. Is it necessary, or beneficial? Probably not. But someone will surely come along and call a $25 cam pin “cheap insurance.” I only own one policy for my house, another for my cars… but I guess my AR needs 7 or 8.

Nobody will criticize. Not until you start trying to convince others there’s any reason beyond your own buying compulsions, anyway. I really wish people would learn to answer, “because I just wanted to,” instead of trying to argue a thin justification for buying the latest gimmick. Who hasn’t bought something just because? It’s a perfectly valid reason.

6

Stainless is usually not a good idea for a bearing/bushing material. Galling and lack of surface hardness are often problems.

7

Thank you John, that’s the answer I was looking for.

Not sure why people were assuming that I wanted one, I just wanted to know WHAT if ANY advantage there would be…and John confirmed my concerns.

8

Are you certain that they were stainless and not hard chromed? I’ve seen plenty of HC pins, but never a stainless one. Don’t get me wrong, though, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some out there.