please advise of your experiences with AR BOLTS

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grayhambone

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I would very much like to purchase another bolt other than the stock rock river bolt (even though it's solid). I want a harder metal or more reliable bolt. I have had no reliability issues with the stock bolt but any considerations???
Is DPMS a good solid bolt for an ar15?
 
Armalite, Daniel Defense, Bravo Company, LMT, and a couple of others make/sell mil-spec bolts. If you're going to replace the bolt "just because" go ahead and get a mil-spec bolt.
 
grayhambone said:
will the mil-spec bolt fit in my commercial rockriver lra15
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It should.

Beyond milspec, there are only a handful that I can think of. There is AR Perfomance's "Super Bolt" with enlarged webbing at the lugs but still functions with a standard barrel extension. It uses standard extractors and ejectors. http://www.ar15performance.com/inc/sdetail/3255/336

Or, the LMT bolt with proprietary extractor. http://www.lmtstore.com/bolts-carriers-groups/556-enhanced-bolt-assembly.html
 
I have had no reliability issues with the stock bolt
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then why?

edit: scratch that. get a colt, bcm, or daniel defense and i think the problems you have probably been having will be solved.
 
what's more reliable than having no reliability issues? really, if you haven't had a problem, why swap?

i understand wanting to have a spare on hand. however, i would go with a BCM, colt, DD, LMT, and would steer clear of dpms.
 
Pass on DPMS. The DPSM Panther Lite I bought 2 years ago, did not have a properly staked gas key.As others have suggested-Daniel Defense, Bravo Company are great choices.
 
Do you want a new bolt or a new bolt carrier group?

Besides all the ado about staking (which you can do yourself with minimal expense and 20 seconds) and the various opinions (mostly without anything to genuinely support them other than "more is better", specious logic at best) about what constitutes "proper" staking and the tangible difference between a semi-auto and M16 carrier (both are legal in your semi-auto) a bolt carrier is pretty much a bolt carrier. Make sure that the carrier key is installed correctly (staking is more a fail-safe to cover an improper install) and a carrier is a carrier.

The bolt is a different story. It is the part that takes all the stress, does all the work and is prone to failure. Even the highest quality bolts fail eventually and there is no guarantee that a more expensive bolt with all the QC steps done will outlast a batch tested bolt though the likelihood of getting a bad bolt straight away is essentially nil on the fully tested bolt. The bolt and the firing pin are the two things that I would keep a spare around for. I wouldn't bother replacing the bolt until it fails, though.

If the rifle is working fine, I wouldn't swap an M16 carrier in "just because", either. Spend the money on ammo. Practice can make you a better shooter. A new shiny (or better, dull) bolt or bolt carrier won't make the slightest difference in that regard.
 
helotaxi said:
Do you want a new bolt or a new bolt carrier group?

Besides all the ado about staking (which you can do yourself with minimal expense and 20 seconds) and the various opinions (mostly without anything to genuinely support them other than "more is better", specious logic at best) about what constitutes "proper" staking and the tangible difference between a semi-auto and M16 carrier (both are legal in your semi-auto) a bolt carrier is pretty much a bolt carrier. Make sure that the carrier key is installed correctly (staking is more a fail-safe to cover an improper install) and a carrier is a carrier.

The bolt is a different story. It is the part that takes all the stress, does all the work and is prone to failure. Even the highest quality bolts fail eventually and there is no guarantee that a more expensive bolt with all the QC steps done will outlast a batch tested bolt though the likelihood of getting a bad bolt straight away is essentially nil on the fully tested bolt. The bolt and the firing pin are the two things that I would keep a spare around for. I wouldn't bother replacing the bolt until it fails, though.

If the rifle is working fine, I wouldn't swap an M16 carrier in "just because", either. Spend the money on ammo. Practice can make you a better shooter. A new shiny (or better, dull) bolt or bolt carrier won't make the slightest difference in that regard.
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jeesz THANK YOU! I was starting to think one could not buy a bolt for an AR anymore without filling in a questionnaire!!!

I imagine the OP was worried about the cracking that shows up in bolts at high round counts.

While I agree you should not put a new bolt into worn barrel extension - I am all for spare everything. 2 is one, 1 is none..

Personally if I was worried I would just get another complete upper.

Lets say for a second that one Bolt Carrier Group had a Bolt in it that was the wrong color...I would purchase a new Bolt Carrier Group with a new bolt in it....not much price difference I dont think really. - But If I was replacing that I would replace the barrel and the barrel extension while I was at it since I had so many rounds through anyway, and let the parts break in together...
 
You'd have to essentially wear a barrel extension out to have to worry about having a headspace problem with a new bolt in a used barrel. You've just eliminated all the wear on the bolt lugs so if the rifle was within headspace tolerances before the bolt was replaced and the bolt is in spec, you've actually reduced the headspace dimension.

Expected bolt life is in the 8k round range, barrel life is about 2x that depending on the barrel and how it is treated. Bolt may fail earlier. Abusing the barrel can shoot it out sooner and babying it can allow it to last longer. The barrel will significantly outlast the bolt regardless.
 
Again, shouldn't be an issue. Military armorers replace bolts much more often than barrels without issue. If the bolt is correctly built and hardened, it really won't wear perceptibly anyway.
 
Consider a complete BCM BCG, Check your chamber, to make sure it's a TRUE 5.56 as well. RRA is one of those mfgs known to let out-of-spec chambers slip through production routinely. :eek:
 
RRA is one of those mfgs known to let out-of-spec chambers slip through production routinely.
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Is that because most of their guns are Wylde chambers and not 5.56 chambers?

Amongst whom is it known they routinely let out of spec chambers go through? Any details, surveys, actual chamber measurements? Or just another internet story?
 
I replaced my bolt with a BCM, due to extractor problems. The new bolt came with upgraded extractor and spring installed.
 
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