Outlaw Man
Member
Which is cheaper and easier to replace: a Garand receiver or an AR-15 bolt?ARs have habituated people to the idea that rifle bolts break. But other rifles don't break their bolts. Barring overloads or other extreme abuse AKs, Garands, M1 Carbines, and M1As all typically run their bolts until the receiver is worn out
Designing the weapon to fail in a controlled, predictable manner after a moderate (10,000-15,000+) round count rather than a significant (and potentially catastrophic) failure sounds like good, not marginal, engineering.
Would you rather have to replace your engine and still have a pretty much brand new car after 100,000 miles, or would you rather have an engine that runs forever and have to start swapping car frames?
Sure, through some design changes and 21st Century metallurgy, you could have an AR-15 built like an Abrams tank. But who, including the US Government, is going to want to pay $3000-4000 per rifle in exchange for not keeping a couple spare $150 bolts/BCGs around?