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barretcreek
11-21-2020, 10:05
Any armorers on board?

How common are bolt failures in a properly maintained AR? Do most failures occur in selective fire guns? Working on a new build.
lyman
11-21-2020, 03:42
not common at all,


a good quality bolt, and barrel with the proper extension, and you will not have any issues,


Dad had a Colt Commando with maybe a conservative 20K thru it, never a hiccup,

I have a few service rifles that have had nothing but relatively warm loads with heavy bullets and no issues with the bolt,

I do replace gas rings, and cam pins on occasion, when they show wear

my own M16 has north of 10K thru it with 0 issues as well
Sunray
11-23-2020, 11:14
A 'bolt failure' is kind of vague, but a weapons tech will tell you it depends on who made it and a bunch of other variables. Not all AR's are created equal. None of 'em are remotely like an M16 internally either.
"...Do most failures occur in..." Do a search on any AR forum and you'll find all kinds of failures that have nothing whatever to do with the action type.
fjruple
11-24-2020, 04:21
The only failures that I have seen are from home builders who forget to stake the gas key screws to the bolt carrier, failure to properly align the gas block and failure to clean the firearm. Most have been failure to properly clean the rifles. Most of the wear is on the t-lug, gas rings, firing pin and extractor.
lyman
11-24-2020, 05:58
The only failures that I have seen are from home builders who forget to stake the gas key screws to the bolt carrier, failure to properly align the gas block and failure to clean the firearm. Most have been failure to properly clean the rifles. Most of the wear is on the t-lug, gas rings, firing pin and extractor.

T lug?

you mean Cam Pin?
fjruple
11-25-2020, 06:20
Yea - What you said.
lyman
11-25-2020, 08:24
I replaced them in my Service Rifle about every other year,

none ever broke, but they did show some wear,
Hal O'Peridol
11-26-2020, 07:54
We could use a lot more info.

Is this your first build?

Where did you get the parts?

What version of the AR?

Most failures occur in high round count rifles that have not been maintained.

Down the 23&P manual, here is a link.

https://ia800906.us.archive.org/34/items/ArmyTechnicalManualforM16Rifle-Tm9-1005-249-23p/Manual-Tm9-1005-249-23p.pdf

Make sure carrier key is aligned before staking.

Same with gas tube, make sure it is centered and not misaligned to the key

Stagger the slits on the bolt gas ring openings are staggered.

Ant questions, post thhem up.