I recently built a noveske AR15 using this BCG (I will not name the manufacturer, as I only began contact with them earlier this evening). I went to my range and shot 200 rounds of American Eagle 223 through my gun, and everything functioned perfectly (noveske 18" SPR barrel intermediate gas system and Vltor A5H2 + sprinco green spring). After getting home and cleaning my gun, I noticed the chip off on my bolt’s ear. My question is how common is this kind of chip on the ear of the bolt (see below picture) after normal function? What could have caused this problem? The BCG was never dropped accidentally.
I have carefully inspected my barrel’s bore, the chamber, and the feed ramps using a flashlight, and as far as I can tell, nothing else was damaged, but the tiny piece of metal had to go somewhere… Which has me a bit worried, as the gun parts were very expensive.
I have to say, from the pictures you have up here… WHOEver did the deburr work, they sure Didn’t clean up of the edges of the Bolt very nice at all? IMHO Looks like CRAP, around acouple lugs anyhow. :eek:
If I was you, I’d definitely check the extensions lugs real good too?
The bolt looks rough, kind of like it maybe was over looked in Quality Control. Other bolts I have do not show any kind of that wear and definitely no chips on the corners of the locking lugs. They will wear more smooth over time but they should not look like that on a new bolt.
I think that folks would be able to tell more about the bolt’s overall condition (ref - remarks about deburring) if you would wipe it down to get rid of the lube and take another picture.
What do the back of the lugs look like? They take the most abuse.
I’d check the extension closely to make sure there aren’t any manufacturing defects on any surfaces and clean it up real good to make sure any chips aren’t in there.
This is just me, but if the mfg doesn’t replace it, I’d make sure there wasn’t any burr from the chip and continue to use it, checking it closely to make sure it doesn’t worsen. Although, I completely understand if you are hesitant to do so.
Looks to be quite a bit of chipping on many points that could potentially come in contact with the barrel extension lugs.
Given the apparent depth of the chips, i’d say it goes beyond the NiB coating and in my experience, steel that’s brittle enough to chip off like that means the piece was heat treated, but not tempered.
I would discontinue using the bolt completely and send it back to the manufacturer ricky-tic. The chances that it’s going to develop stress cracking on the locking lugs, especially on either side of the extractor, are very high.
Just wanted to update. I sent in the BCG to the manufacturer for warranty.
Luckily I have another brand new BCM BCG, so I went ahead and put the BCM BCG into the same gun and tested 200 rounds of the same ammo. See the result pictures below. Not 100% sure, but I think this gives more credence to the fact the original BCG was likely defective from the factory.
Brand new unshot BCM BCG (Before Picture):
BCM BCG after 200 rounds of the same ammunition (American Eagle 223):
BCM has an outstanding reputation for quality, and their bcg is no exception. I especially appreciate that their pricing is very competitive compared to other name brand bcgs (DD and Colt), which are routinely priced $15 - $25 more.
