Who cares what some range-schlub thinks about your rifle?
Shoot it well, and ignore the fanboys.
Most of the schlubs I encounter are flat range bench shooters. The Fanboys like me run our rifles a little a little harder. We shot on the move in either recreational or sanctioned settings. I suck at it compared to my peers, but I still have fun.
If something on the rifle needs attention, you will know about it before anybody else.
No advice here to "Go buy this-or-that" is going to help anything.
Okay, one person said to buy a new barrel. Several others, myself included, recommended that the OP obtain a spare bolt assembly (bolt assembly, not complete bolt carrier group), because it's the area where a part - be it a bolt lug, gas ring, extractor, extractor spring, ejector, or ejector spring - is most likely to fail on an AR as the round counts increase, even on the high end ones. Which is why most of us fanboys keep a spare bolt assembly on hand. At a whopping $70 it was the most expensive of the commonly suggested upgrades.
The other consensus suggestions were to:
1. Have the chamber checked to make it's in spec (some brands are known for tight chambers, many of us have seen it, and it has nothing to do with fanboism). That will cost just a few dollars. If it's not in spec, a few more dollars for a while you wait quick run of the finish ream will correct this.
2. Check the buffer tube castle nut to make sure it's tight & staked on. You can do this yourself with a stock wrench, hammer, center punch, and a vice with the jaws padded. I know we don't all keep a tele-stock wrench on hand, but you get them for under $10 online - it's a good investment for any AR owner. Most of us have a hammer. Many of us have a vice & set of punches. If you don't have the vice & punches they're inexpensive & readily available at the local hardware store.
3. Check the carrier key screws to make sure they're tight & properly staked. You tighten them with an SAE Allen or Hex wrench. While the superb MOACKS tool from Michiguns is the best way to stake the carrier key screws, it can be carefully done with a center punch while the carrier is clamped in a vice. Again, many of us have a set of Allen wrenches in our tool boxes. If you don't they're not expensive, and you should get a set while at you're at the hardware store picking up the vice & punches.
None of those three things cost much money. Numbers 2 and 3 will cost little to nothing depending on what tools one already owns. Numbers 2 and 3 are things I check as a part of my normal cleaning & maintenance.
So, the fanboy range schlubs (as you call us) suggested preventive maintenance which may require $50 at most for someone who owns no tools. All but the $8 stock wrench are universally useful for maintenance of other firearms, and even minor household upkeep tasks. We also hypocritically suggested a spare bolt assembly (the one assembly which contains almost all of parts most likely to fail) that most of us keep on hand even for our high end rifles.
How dare us fanboys recommend preventive maintenance and critical spare parts. Would you go on a car forum and tell people to just drive their cars until something breaks, and then get it fixed? If someone there recommended checking lug nuts for tightness, changing the oil regularly, and keeping a properly inflated spare tire would you call that person a fanboy schlub who's just trying to get you waste money at the service station or car parts store?
