Releasing bolt on AR15. Bothers me in this respect...

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Tallbald

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From childhood 50 years ago I was taught that using the slide release on a semiautomatic handgun or rifle was potentially damaging to the releases mating surfaces from wear. Made sense and still does. Was taught also that releasing a slide or bolt to slam home on an empty chamber was hard on the extractor.
All my life, I eased the slide or bolt on a gun forward IF on an empty chamber. And would pull backward the slide to release it forward under full spring pressure if chambering a round.
My AR, as a new platform to me, allows me neither choice. I always have to use the bolt release.....unless.....I'm missing a technique I'm unaware of. I hate hearing that bolt slam forward on an empty chamber, and it bothers me to use the bolt release to chamber a round.
I don't apologize for my care in handling a firearm. It's who I am.
Please educate me on these issues. Thanks.
Don.
 
Using the slide release would take a LONG time to cause any issues, unless there is a problem that would manifest itself anyways. You could also pull the charging handle back and release it. It will pull easy, as it is not pulling the locked-back bcg, then just let it go on a round, or ease it forward on an empty chamber.
 
Won't hurt it at all. If it bothers you though, pull the charging handle back and ease the bolt home. You can use the forward assist if needed to get it all the way into battery but that is usually only needed if there is a round in the chamber, to get the extractor snapped over the rim. This is a good way to quietly load an AR if needed just be sure its all the way into battery.
 
I have been using the M16/AR/M4 for over 50 years. The correct way to release the bolt is with the bolt release or pulling back on the charging handle and letting the bolt go forward under full spring pressure if it's chambering a round or not. I have been around these firing for at least several hundred thousand rounds. I can remember only one extractor catastrophic failure on a range. Usually the extractor will chip but still work okay. The chipped extractor was discovered during cleaning (another reason to clean your firearm on a regular basis if you want to keep it reliable).

The forward assist is one of those things added in case you need it. This was added as guys were riding the bolt forward as you do. Early M16s didnt have the forward assist.

One part that will wear fast if not lubed liberally is the cam pin that holds the bolt to the carrier. ARs need to be run wet. Some think this is a new discovery but we knew this in 1968. Don't use grease as the grease tends to hold all the fouling. You can use anything to lube it but something like a liberal dose of Break Free is better. I like Dri-Slide to lube the innards on a AR.
 
Won't hurt it to use the release. But be aware that the bolt is considered a wear item. As an armorer on the M16A1back in the 70's we were taught it was not an issue of if a bolt/extractor would breach, but when. I personally keep spares.

The forward assist was an afterthought. If you ride the bolt and the cartridge needs a little shove, that's what the scallop in the bolt carrier is for. Just saying that if a round dosent chamber, and an easy nudge will not convince it to, I want that round out of there. Certainly I am not going to force a round into the chamber.
 
Ignoring the design and operating the rifle contrarily to its design isn’t care, it’s ignorance.

The rifle is designed to have the bolt dropped by hitting the bolt release, and you’ll run into more issues in feeding by riding the charging handle forward to chamber a round. You’ll also run a greater risk of bending/warping the charging handle by running it incorrectly in this way.

Run it how it was designed. You didn’t straddle the seat of your car simply because you learned how to ride a bike before learning to drive.
 
Varminterror said:
The rifle is designed to have the bolt dropped by hitting the bolt release, and you’ll run into more issues in feeding by riding the charging handle forward to chamber a round.
Click to expand...
He said he only rides it in an empty chamber...

OP,
Using the release, like others have said, is a non issue. If it wears out it's cheap and easy to replace. You can use the charging handle to drop the bolt but if I'm shooting and moving, and moving and shooting it is way faster and easier to use the release. I have thousands of rounds through my AR and use the release all the time. No issues. But your rifle is yours, do as you see fit. Just know it won't hurt the rifle.
 
Thank you folks for taking time to respond and teach. I do only ride a bolt or slide down on an empty chamber. And rather than "ignorance", it's a matter of "mechanical respect" for a machine that I was taught by my father. No, I do not use the bolt release to release the slide on a 1911, CZ75B, Smith model 41, or any other semi-auto handgun. I retract the slide to allow the bolt hold open to drop and the slide to come forward under full spring pressure when chambering. A way to allow this same "respectful" way of dropping my AR bolt to chamber a round was my concern.
Don.
 
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Rather than "ignorance" it's a matter of mechanical "respect". As taught by my father, I do not use the slide release to drop a slide or bolt when chambering a round if that approach is possible. Rather, I retract the slide or bolt by hand and allow spring pressure to drive the slide or bolt forward on a round after inserting a loaded magazine. I ride a bolt or slide down ONLY on an empty chamber. As a tool maker I know pressing a slide or bolt release will work. But I prefer to use the method I was taught, thus avoiding a measure of wear on the release, or the slide/ bolt hold open notch. That's also how I, myself, choose to handle others firearms.Admittedly though , at times only one hand is available, or time is of the essence and the release must be used. It's a cost of doing business.
I do appreciate that by design, replacement parts are rather inexpensive and easily installed. This is the first platform I've ever owned with such versatility, and it's rather exciting!
Again, my thanks to those taking time to respond. First range trip today with my newly assembled pistol. Don
 
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Tallbald said:
Rather than "ignorance" it's a matter of mechanical "respect". As taught by my father, I do not use the slide release to drop a slide or bolt when chambering a round if that is possible. Rather, I retract the slide or bolt by hand and allow spring pressure to drive the slide or bolt forward on a round after inserting a loaded magazine...
Click to expand...
True. There are a couple reasons not to use the slide lock lever to release the slide on a handgun:
  • Maximum slide travel to load the cartridge. Handguns are small, and maximum slide travel and slide velocity is important. On some compact guns, I have seen 90% failure to feed from slide lock, but 100% reliability when pulling the slide to the rear. It matters.
  • Slide stop notches are often (not always) cut with very positive engagement, so pushing down on the slide stop to use it as a release is also pushing the slide BACK a small distance. This is quite a bit of extra force for the shooter, as well as unpleasant forces on the slide stop components, the hole it passes through in the (thin, soft) frame, etc.
  • Slides are made of softer material than you may expect (for good reasons: the slide is very long, has to flex under action or it will crack). The fairly small engagement area for the slide stop can begin to become deformed, especially if you are applying the extra force of using it as a release instead of just as a stop.
Further down the list is using the same method every time, so your stoppage drills are better, etc. I am a big fan of this, but there are also mechanical reasons.

Want more proof: look up parts lists or instructions in manuals. Most everyone I know of that does label the part at all calls it a slide stop (or similar), not a slide release. If you find a gun where the slide release is hard to actuate, that's not a design flaw, but is likely on purpose.

(A small number of firearms are exceptions to this, like squeezing an open P7 to release the slide and keep firing).


Rifles (most of them) operate differently. The bolt and carrier are much stiffer matterials. The bolt stop is engaging in a different way, so using it to release is not an issue, and it may be designed that way. The bolt stop is (usually) placing it's stopping force on a boss of receiver material and any pins are not under the full bolt/spring stress. There is plenty of bolt travel from the catch point, and the manipulation of the charging handle is much slower than the bolt release lever. I have done the lever on the FAL for years, and it was okay but the AR is quite not good in this respect.
 
In the Marine Corps we constantly dropped the bolt on an empty chamber using the bolt release. That’s how it was done. You’re handing a rifle to someone else? Lock the bolt back, inspect the chamber, hand it over; they check the chamber and smack the bolt release. Heck, dropping the bolt on an empty chamber using the bolt release was even part of a drill movement called “inspection arms” taught to every Marine recruit.

Considering the M16/M4 has been in service for almost 60 years, if dropping the bolt on an empty chamber using the bolt release was an issue we’d probably know about it by now.
 
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Ain't much of a gun if moving parts break it! Consider the load on the slide or bolt when the gun fires, and you somehow think overcoming a bit of friction on a hold open will be an issue?
 
Military arms are built to operate under extreme conditions that civilian sporting rifles or handguns are not.

The proper way to operate the AR action is to slap the bolt release and go on. Even if you are simply function testing it on an empty chamber--it will not hurt it in the least. It is designed to operate in such a fashion. A failure of parts in normal use is the result of using a part beyond its expected lifetime or product defective in construction. Whatever force on these components introduced by simply working the action pales before its designed job to fire 50000 psi cartridges, strip and eject the empties, in continuous motion.

As mentioned above, bolts/extractors/ejectors/gas rings/springs/firing pins are designed to be expendable in the AR. And as a result, these are easily replaced. Spare bolt parts kits are recommended and cheap to have on hand. Even complete bolts are now.

Another example is military bolt actions are designed to operate the action briskly--not gently. Operating gently often introduces feed and ejection issues. A Yugo 48 Mauser works best when you operate the action like you hate it as does the Ruck Zuk m95 Steyr or the various models of Mausers. Even the Enfield and Springfield with smooth actions work better on ejection and loading when operated briskly and have no problem if you are practicing working the action without a round. No military ever trained basic recruits to operate these rifles' actions "gently" even in training.
 
GRIZ22 said:
I have been using the M16/AR/M4 for over 50 years. The correct way to release the bolt is with the bolt release or pulling back on the charging handle and letting the bolt go forward under full spring pressure if it's chambering a round or not. I have been around these firing for at least several hundred thousand rounds. I can remember only one extractor catastrophic failure on a range. Usually the extractor will chip but still work okay. The chipped extractor was discovered during cleaning (another reason to clean your firearm on a regular basis if you want to keep it reliable).

The forward assist is one of those things added in case you need it. This was added as guys were riding the bolt forward as you do. Early M16s didnt have the forward assist.

One part that will wear fast if not lubed liberally is the cam pin that holds the bolt to the carrier. ARs need to be run wet. Some think this is a new discovery but we knew this in 1968. Don't use grease as the grease tends to hold all the fouling. You can use anything to lube it but something like a liberal dose of Break Free is better. I like Dri-Slide to lube the innards on a AR.
Click to expand...

Straight up, 100%
 
An AR15 is not a 1911. You will encounter much less problems using the bolt release than easing it down. The bolt cam system on an A15 needs to be moving fast to reliably get in battery, the spring pressure is not enough. As for letting it down on an empty chamber your just moving the wear from the bolt catch which is a very tough robust steel part, to the charging handle which is a rather flimsy aluminum part. Its not going to make any difference to the extractor, its not touching anything.
 
No harm will come to the AR by using the bolt release or dropping the bolt on an empty chamber. In fact, dropping the bolt with the bolt release is the preferred method as it's a more positive method than using the charging handle.

In fact try both methods for yourself. The following assumes you're right handed
-Lock open the carrier and check that the weapon is unloaded and the action is clear.
-Hold the grip with your right hand, muzzle pointed up, magwell rotated slightly to your left.
-Grip magazine in your left hand so your fingers wrap around the front of the mag and your thumb is pointed up.
-Insert mag in the magwell firmly. Then firmly try to pull the mag back out. If the mag pulls out, firmly push in and pull again. This will insure mag is locked in place.
-Once it's verified the mag is locked in, let your thumb slide up the magwell to the bolt release. Press bolt release firmly with thumb until the bolt is released.
-Shoulder the weapon, align sights on target and dry fire/fire.

Next, repeat the above, but instead of pushing the bolt release with your left thumb, reach back to the charging handle with your left hand and pinch the charging handle release between forefinger and thumb. Pull the charging handle all the way to the rear until it reaches the end of its travel. Release the charging handle like you would a slingshot. Then Shoulder the weapon, align sights and dryfire/fire.

When you compare the two methods, you'll see for yourself which is more efficient.

Remember- 90% of your mag changes will be when the bolt locks back on an empty mag.
 
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Oh -- another point. If you inspect the mating surfaces of the bolt and bolt catch, you'll notice they are significantly more robust than on something like a 1911 where the slide stop is engaging a little matchined notch in the thin metal of the slide. The metals involved are also likely much more tough than a 1911 slide. I'd be far more concerned about wear, tear, and peening of the bolt lugs than the bolt catch, but even then as someone mentioned the bolt is considered a wear item.
 
if you look at the way the bolt stop works, there is really no wear going on. On that rifle, rather than fitting into a notch, its a fairly large plate that touches the bolt face. You really cant wear out the boltface, being hardened steel and all, as well as being the non locking side of the lug. The steel plate seems pretty hard to damage as well. My hardest used rifle still has its phosphate finish on the release, despite being dropped hundreds of times. Worth noting, releasing the bolt using the charging handle WILL put wear on your upper, where the retainer rides over to the cutout it rests in, and indeed on that same rifle, its finish is worn, but still fine. I do not personally drop the bolt on an empty chamber, because the high pitch ring from doing so is loud enough to cause hearing damage. As far as the extractor goes, that model is push feed, and the round is already in the chamber before the the bolt closes, forcing the extractor to move around it. That is far more stress than dropping on empty, and they last thousands of rounds. The AR is fairly insensitive to mishandling, except one thing. Forgetting the cam pin after cleaning fairly dangerous. The nice thing about the model is that all parts are widely available, cheap, and easy to install. As far as you habits, you won't break an AR by sticking to what you know, so no reason to change. FWIW, the only thing I have actually seen break extractors is Mauser 98 actions ejecting live rounds repetitively, and lots of hot ammo. My 100 year old Spanish .25 has enough wear on the slide stop that it no longer holds reliably, but it took a lot of time.
 
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