This might be a part of milling in the manufacture process, or I might have a defective Bolt carrier, Bushmaster experts please help.
I can email a picture if my description doesn't give you the idea of the problem.
I just put 120 rounds through my Bushmaster yesterday after it was returned from the factory- had to have the front sight re-indexed, and a new barrel put on (original one didn't have chrome lining all the way to the crown) and the gas tube had soot around the front sight, making me wonder about a gas leak. Not a good start, but I am trying my best to love this rifle, and Bushmaster has been very cooperative in fixing my original problems.
Anyway, with a total of ~300 rounds through it, I decided to give the bolt carrier it's first good scrubbing with a toothbrush and CLP to get the built up crud out. As I was cleaning it, I was able to remove the soot from all but one area. As I peer down into the chrome lined hole of the bolt carrier where the bolt lives, with the carrier key at the 12:00 position, I notice an odd 2mm divot at the 3:00 position, right where the bolt carrier tapers down to a smaller size. The size of metal that appears to be missing could best be described as about the size of one of those super large salt crystals you get on a pretzel- small, but my concern is it will be the birth point of a stress fracture and failure after enough use.
I only would expect to see a divot where a retaiing pin or screw passes through on the outside of the bolt carrier, but there is nothing on the other side of the bolt carrier at this point, making me wonder if this is a chip from original manufacture or blown out after a few hundred rounds. Again, I can mail a picture if my description is not adequate, but would like to know if this is a common mark in all Bushmaster Bolt carriers, or mine is damaged.
Thanks in advance.