Was halfway through the second day of a four day class with Daryl Holland today and had a bulged case get lodged in the chamber.  Totally locked up the gun.  So i went to the side and "mortared" the rifle by slamming the butt down on the ground while pulling the charging handle.  Well...i learned the hard way that if you dont mortar that stock completely flat it will break that Gunfighter stock in half.  I must have gotten all of the force onto the toe of the stock cause it wedged the two pieces apart and broke the tabs that lock it together.  Luckily i won the next challenge and Daryl was nice enough to throw a new Gunfighter stock into the prize basket.  

Not a knock on BCM by any means.  I love their stuff.  Just a heads up for those of you running it.  Be cautious when mortaring if you have to

Not that it would necessarily matter based on your description, but did you collapse the stock fully first?

 

 

Yes i did.  Im one of those people that constantly runs with the stock fully collapsed.  I think i just put too much force on the corner or toe and it was too much for the single bolt to hold.  Surprisingly though when i got home i was able to take it apart and remove the broken bits.  It went back together and you wouldnt know it was broken inside but it certainly is not nearly as durable now.  

I'm sure BCM would love to hear more about this. They're always looking for feedback to improve their products, especially issues that occur out in the field. In the event that I ever have to mortar my gun (only once) I make sure to hit either totally flat or on the top part so the pressure is mainly on the buffer tube, not solely on the stock.

 
Ive thought about contacting BCM but i dont want to come off as complaining.  This is only the second time ive had to mortar a rifle and i knew to target the buffer tube in line with the rifle but in my haste to get back on the line i misjudged the angle.  


 

ETA:  I guess what im getting at here is that it was my fault and not an issue with the stock.  I mean its just some plastic held together with a screw.  Just a reminder to be careful.  I am curious though as to whether a GI stock could have taken the impact.  I think it could have to be honest.

I highly doubt the M4 issue stock would take the impact. I've seen so many broken ones over the years and honestly I'm surprised I haven't seen more. Also, at least on the qualifying ranges around here, mortaring the stock is not authorized and they want any rifles with bulged cases brought center line to the armorer.

Ok... not rocket surgery... M4 or any stock.  Receiver extension "heal of the stock' NOT "toe of the stock"!

Contact BCM they may want to look at it to see how it broke. They spent a lot of time trying to develop a strong stock.


They may even send you a new one.


Don't be ashamed I've seen it happen a lot. People just don't practice it. It's an extreme but its something to know. You can bet your ass next time you will do it right. The hard part is over, progress has been made.

What is the stock healing?

Check out this buttstock comparison by Gear Scout way back in 2012. One of the tests was a drop test and although not quite the same as "motaring an M4", it's as similar a test I could find. This was the reason I went with the Magpul STR stock and replaced all the ACS ones I had.

http://gearscout.militarytimes.com/2012/02/01/buttstock-bashfest-gearscout-finds-out-just-how-far-tough-talk-goes/

Obviously the BCM Gunfighter stock wasn't available back then. I would contact them and let them know what happened. I'm sure Paul would be interested in hearing about it.

I've broken stocks the same way. Trying to mortar it so that the butt impacts flat doesn't give you any room for error--just slightly too forward puts all of the impact on the toe. Instead, try to keep the rifle perpendicular to the ground which will keep the impact over the receiver extension which is the strongest part of the stock.

Also, collapse the stock before mortaring. Learned that the hard way too.