Help me decide which upgrade is the biggest bang for the buck?

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againstthagrane

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I have a DPMS M4-gery and I want to upgrade it a little bit.

1. Should I get the BCM 1/7 mil-spec chrome lined barrel to upgrade my stock (nonchromelined 1/9)?

2. Or should I get a BCM bolt carrier group to upgrade my stock DPMS one? My stock one is staked properly, but I've heard tale of them failing at carbine courses. This could just be internet folklore so I'd like you guys to weigh in on the subject.

3. Should I just replace the Bolt with an enhanced MPI inspected bolt from, you guessed it, BCM?

4. Replace the ejector spring with the upgraded one and be done with it until something breaks.
 
How about just #4? I've looked at the charts showing what twist rates are needed by various bullet weights because I own a Saiga .223 with a 1/9 twist rate. Your 1/9 twist is good for up to 68 grain bullets. There's lots of good bullets in that weight range, and as long as you treat it right, it won't rust. Honestly, none of these upgrades are going to give you a really noticeable difference in most cases. The barrel might help if you're planning to shoot some heavy loads, but I doubt you will need it. I'd say just wait and see if anything breaks instead of just throwing away money to replace something that's probably perfectly good.
 
If the rifle is working 100% I'd leave it alone.

Get the spare bolt. ARs break bolts, and it that happens at a class or range you can swap it out with minimal downtime.

Eventually, you'll shoot out the throat of the barrel, but that normally takes 10-20k rounds. Get a spare barrel if you want, but don't be surprised if you decide to get the upper and other parts to make it a complete upper. ARs are nice that way.

BSW
 
None of the above......biggest bang for the buck would be a custom trigger package.
 
a trigger kit is in my plans, but i fail to see how that would improve my reliability.

won't a chrome-lined barrel give you better reliability? or is that only true in adverse conditions?
 
What are you using the rifle for? If its something where the rifle HAS to work every shot I would replace the bollt. That said, even if its a carbine class rifle I may get the new bolt as a backup, but would run the current one to failure. The ejector spring is a good idea either way. Chrome lining gives you better wear and may extend how many rounds you can shoot before failure. Still, if you don't have problems with cycling issues with the current barrel you won't get better with a switch.

There is truth to the chart and there are conclusions that can be made by it. That said, you need to know what kis acceptable for your uses, how long the rifle will go between cleanings, how hard you run it, etc. If yo can clean it every 200 rounds and check wear at those times you are going to be on top of most issues to come up withb any ar. If you run it to failure consistently and your life is on the line the best of the best may mean the difference.
 
i don't plan on using the rifle for anything but a plinker and possible hunting rifle. i do however have this weird tick, when i feel like i have a setup that isn't the MOST reliable it can be. plus, you never know when you're going to need something bigger than a handgun to defend your home.

i have had a few failures, but they were all ammo related (out of spec brass). As far as i know the rifle itself is 100% not considering the ammo issues.
 
the rifle realistically probably won't ever go more than 400-600 rounds without a cleaning and that's pushing it.
 
biggest bang for the buck would be a custom trigger package
Click to expand...

I would disagree with that very much, as far as reliability and general target use go.

Lots of the aftermarket triggers get you better feel, at the cost of an increased number of parts to go FUBAR or screws to loosen. As long as sun-MOA ain't your game, I'd get 2-3 sets of FCGs and try out them out to see which trigger and hammer pair give you the best feel. No loss of reliability and you then have 2-3 spare sets of FCGs.

Plus you can buy the parts for swapping at less of a cost then most AR match triggers.

As far as the barrel thing goes: I only have hardchromed bores in my military pattern rifles. Hardchome gets you increased corrosion resistance AND longer barrel life AND easier extraction.

I also have the BCM extractor kits in the ARs. $12 for a 3 pak is way cheap insurance. The 20" AR never had any extraction issues but got the kit anyway, the 16" middy had 2 FTEx in the 1st 20 rounds I shot thru it. Never a problem since those 20 rounds, but it got its stock extractor spring replaced anyway.

BSW

BSW
 
Bang for the buck? None of them.

Get a new barrel when you fry this one.

Every AR upgrade that comes to mind suffers from the law of diminishing marginal rate of return, with a vengeance.

But if you must have something, I think that a $120 charging handle is THE must-have accessory.:D
 
a trigger was not on the list. stop suggesting it. how many times has a trigger failed?

i've never understood why so many people post unconstructive stuff just to raise their post count.

for the REAL suggestions, thank you.
 
I would get an extra small parts kit, and maybe an extra bolt for justin. Other than that, I would go for 4. I know what you mean wanting to tinker, but I would leave it as is. I haven't heard of DPMS carbines breaking a whole lot. Are you having reliability issues as it stands? If you are not having any extraction, ejection, or feeding issues, it sounds like you have a solid rifle...
 
Keep the barrel. A chrome lined barrel is required by the military due to the conditions the gun might get used in i.e. jungles. What has not been stated is that the non chrome barrels are more accurate in general.

I go with #4.
 
One person's "unconstructive stuff" is another's "no brainer". Why do so many people "need" everyone else's opinion on what to do with their guns? And then get upset when someone offers an opinion that was solicited? Is it some need to be socially accepted by someone else? Do your homework and make up your own mind... it then becomes more "your" rifle.
 
This IS me doing my homework. I already addressed the trigger. I just don't see how continually suggesting a trigger is constructive to this conversation. Sorry if you took offense.


So I think I'm going to get the BCM bolt and the enhanced ejector spring kit.
I'll keep my stock bolt as a backup since the eBCM should theoretically be less prone to the possibility of failing.
 
Do what you like. Nobody seems upset with a BCM bolt or the ejector spring kit. That said, the old idea of if it ain't broke, don't fix it also comes to mind. When I look at your use of the rifle, IE not something out in the field day after day with long periods between cleanings, I'm not sure you will gain anything switching bolts. The ejector kit is so cheap its hard to argue against it. The BCM is certainly quality and not overpriced, its just that the stock bolt works. You said the carrier is staked properly. I use my AR similar to you and there is no way I would spend the money on a BCM bcg to replace my functional stock unit. If something does go wrong my day at the range ends a little early so I don't worry about it.
 
I'd run the stock bolt (with the BCM extractor upgrade) until it breaks. It's already broken in with that barrel. The stock bolt might last as long as the barrel does, they often do.

You do know that you should be checking headspace when swapping bolts, right?


It's in the manual: http://www.box.net/shared/9qm9l5oplv

BSW
 
When I went through my 7 weeks of boot camp my M-16A1's bore throat was completely shot-out but I managed to earn a sharpshooter badge. As a Small Arms Repair Instructor we taught the Army reg that all firearms going overseas had to be in such condition as to endure 90 days in combat which included bore errosion, hence the chrome bores on GI rifles. If your AO is near salt water then I would recomend a chrome bore.
Otherwise I would recomend ammo, mags and web gear
 
The bolt should be in spec and headspace should be fine, but that doesn't mean it is. Some people are comfortable enough to not check it. If you are going to be anal enough to switch bcg for hopes of better reliability I don't see how you skip checking headspace as well. Any decent smith should be able to check it in 2 minutes. It takes longer to get the gages out.
 
The things I have always heard to improve reliability is, auto bolt carrier, good extractor springs, heavy buffer and good magazines/ammo.
 
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