PSA team... a quick question!

Is the only difference between a milspec bolt catch and the JAKL's proprietary bolt catch the front to back thickness of the paddle?

Asking for someone who owns a dremel and would love to install a PDQ on his incoming JAKL.

Thank you!

I'm not on the PSA Team, but from the look of pics it appears to be a regular bolt catch with some material removed from the rear. I have a PDQ but no JAKL yet, sadly. I am interested in how much effort you have to put forth to make that PDQ work with it, so please post some awesome results Take a good look at the backside of the paddle here...

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-jakl-bolt-catch-with-roll-pin.html

Also using a PDQ..

From what I've read, it's just the front to back paddle thickness that's different.

I'm assuming I'll have to thin the the left paddle and narrow the right a bit.

I'll know for sure once UPS gets my JAKL here. Was supposed to be tomorrow but now showing Tuesday the 6th

Yes

Awesome. Thanks for the response!

@Karter14171

PDQ is a no go for me.

After looking at the JAKL paddle, I would have to thin the PDQ left paddle by 50-60%. Also, the right-side paddle would have to be narrowed considerably and the edge beveled in order to clear the protruding rounded edge of the upper. Doable? sure but not worth the effort IMHO.

Also, the JAKL catch was TIGHT and didn't pivot correctly in my NFA G4 Gen II lower, this lower is factory cut for the PDQ and it worked fine...
I scraped using my billet NFA G4 Gen II lower and ended up using a poverty pony the JAKL catch fit fine in this lower.

That's a bummer to hear but glad you posted this before I got ze dremel spun up.

My motivation for the pdq conversion was so I could more easily lock back for malfunction clears. It can be a huge hassle on the FM15.

After getting my JAKL in hand, it seems (at least with the charging handle on the left side) you can one-hand pull the bolt back and actuate the bolt lock at the same time which is super slick.

So in the end I guess an ambi setup isn't needed for me. I do appreciate the follow up though!

I have modified a PDQ for use with JAKL. There were no mods to the upper. I thinned the left paddle to a thickness of 0.060" like the one that came with the upper. I basically chopped the right side lever off, added material to the transverse length of the PDQ (this was probably 6 or so very quick welds with time to fully cool) and then welded the PDQ onto that (this was probably 10 or so very quick welds with time to fully cool). The thinned portion of the transverse section of the PDQ needs to be extended to clear the upper. Locks the bolt back with manual operation, but I have not tried it live fire. I'm waiting on some Rocksett to put a mount on this. Due to some health issues I can't handle firing this thing with no can. If I can remember to I'll update.

So, that puts that worry to bed...I worried this would be a part you had to buy from Palmetto, and then I would have to have different bolt catches for different weapons...So, then I just get a standard bolt catch and have to dremel it...I can do that... I am liking this more and more...

I’m wondering why they didn’t design the upper for a stock catch.  Seems a little odd. Heck, a cutout for a maritime would have rocked, or even the ADAC catch.

I don't like the pocket on the upper. BRN-180 has one too but at least it isn't as tight so you can use something like the Battle Arms catch.

That said, I've milled a couple of catches for them. They're easy to block up and hit with a ball end mill. The factory catch I had was about .088" thickness on the paddle. Running a Wilson Combat atm.

I installed a Phase 5 EBR version 3 on my Jakl last night. I had to thin the rear of the paddle for proper function. The design is the same as a standard release with a thinner paddle to clear the upper. Looks great on the Jakl, just need some FDE paint to touch up the back of the release.

Any insight would be appreciated. I can't pull the charging handle all the way back to the locked position. It seems way to tight just getting it back as far as it will go. Should I run a few rounds through it and see if it loosens up?

Is that both loaded and unloaded? What kind of mags?