Guess the AR manufacturer by these pics.

[longdayjake]

one is dpms and the other is rock river.

 

[RyanM]

Oh, wait, wasn't paying attention.

Anyway, about the only companies that stake like that are Colt, BCM, LMT (sometimes, most times the staking is narrower), and CMMG. I still guess Colt and CMMg.

 

[railroader]

colt and dpms.

 

[ugaarguy]

It's SHvar, so one is a DPMS. I'd love to see better pics of the feedramps - without oil - so we can see if the one with the M4 ramps had them dremeled in after the receiver was anodized. As for carrier key staking, you can do that yourself (but you shouldn't have to when you buy from a quality manufacturer).

 

[Kurt_D]

On the bottom one, unless it's oil, it has shinny feed ramps. It's probably RRA.

The other could be 1 of a 100 others. See the thing with bolt barriers is there's only a few places making them for everyone. They could both very well have the exact same carrier. The staking job is good on both, but so are my Bushies. The thing is conisitancy, I've seen some that aren't.

ETA: I know what you're trying to say/do. A lot of the differences you'll never see. Example: You'll never be able to tell the difference between 4150, 4140, and vandium steel barrels. You'll never see the proof load, shot pinning and MP testing. You won't know your threads aren't prefect.

What you will see are the proof marks saying it's done and the lower failure rate and a undamaged surpressor.

 

[no.5enfield]

BCM and DPMS
BTW: My RRA has feedramps but the staking was so poor I don't understand why they even bothered. I did it right and fast with minimal tools and no experience. So why don't they?

 

[Coronach]

The phenomenon of improperly staked keys is something that has always struck me as annoying, but not terrible. Annoying, because it is an obviously cut-corner that can cause the weapon to fail, and you would expect a maker to do it right (and, it makes you wonder what else they screwed up). I say it is not terrible, however, because it is easy to see and easy to correct.

Mike

 

[RyanM]

I say it is not terrible, however, because it is easy to see and easy to correct.

Ah, but you're forgetting torquing. If my memory is correct, the specification is 55 +/-2 in-lbs of torque. A lot of manufacturers seem to just hand-tighten the bolts. I believe I read about someone using a torque wrench and gradually increasing the torque until the bolts in his Bushmaster BC came out (staking didn't even touch them). One was in the low 30's in-lbs, the other low 40's.

Sure, it's not that big a deal to wang on the key with a screwdriver, but you want to be sure they're torqued correctly first.

 

[Coronach]

I still file this under "not terribly hard to do". I'm much more concerned about mystery parts like the bolt. That can look just fine- until it doesn't.

Mike