[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Questions/problems with my new BHOA (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 10/5/2010 8:10:43 PM EDT
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So my new BHOA arrived today! I've been tinkering with it and I have some questions/problems:
I'm using this with a Spikes st-22 dedicated upper and I have a blackdog machine mag that I'm upgrading with the BHOA follower. First the questions. 1) I noticed after installing the BHOA in the rifle, my mags fit really tight. This seems to be due to the little tab that extends from the bottom of the BHOA down the rear of the mag well. Is this normal? It's so tight I have to almost force the mags in and yank fairly hard to pull them out. Without the BHOA these mags slide in easily and free fall when I press the mag release. 2) When I separate the lower and upper receivers, the BHOA is wedged in the upper half and I have to use a screw driver to pry it out. Is this normal? 3) With the bolt locked back, if i just tap the side of the rifle the bolt slams shut. I even used the adjustment screw to raise the BHOA catch as high as I could without interfering with the bolt's free movement. Same result. Normal? Now for the problems: 1) I can't get the bolt to lock back on last round. When I eject the last round the bolt will close about 3/4 of the way, so the BHOA is sorta working. When I manually lock the bolt back, I can see the follower in the mag move up. It's almost like the mag spring doesn't have enough oomph to overpower the bolt catch spring. I think the follower is moving as freely as I imagine it can. I made the 45 degree cut in the back of the mag body as illustrated in the instructions. I've manually cycled 25 rounds at a time through the modified mag and it feeds them all through the rifle just fine (except for the last round. That problem is listed below) Of course that isn't the same as live fire testing, but I can't do that until I can get to the range. 2) Inserting the mag will cause the bolt to close sometimes. Maybe because I have to use so much force to insert the mag? Or is it related to the fact I can just give the rifle a good tap and the bolt will close? 3) With the BHOA follower, my rounds no longer sit slightly nose up when loaded in the mag. They sit level and sometimes even slightly nose down. This doesn't seem to affect function except for the last round. I've noticed 50% of the time the last round will basically stove pipe in the rifle. Prior to this my rifle never had any issues loading rounds. Do I need to modify something else with the blackdog mag to get reliable function? I know this was a bit long winded. Thanks for taking the time to read it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I'm anxious to get this working =) |
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Quoted: So my new BHOA arrived today! I've been tinkering with it and I have some questions/problems: I'm using this with a Spikes st-22 dedicated upper and I have a blackdog machine mag that I'm upgrading with the BHOA follower. First the questions. 1) I noticed after installing the BHOA in the rifle, my mags fit really tight. This seems to be due to the little tab that extends from the bottom of the BHOA down the rear of the mag well. Is this normal? It's so tight I have to almost force the mags in and yank fairly hard to pull them out. Without the BHOA these mags slide in easily and free fall when I press the mag release. 2) When I separate the lower and upper receivers, the BHOA is wedged in the upper half and I have to use a screw driver to pry it out. Is this normal? 3) With the bolt locked back, if i just tap the side of the rifle the bolt slams shut. I even used the adjustment screw to raise the BHOA catch as high as I could without interfering with the bolt's free movement. Same result. Normal? Now for the problems: 1) I can't get the bolt to lock back on last round. When I eject the last round the bolt will close about 3/4 of the way. So the BHOA is sorta working. When I manually lock the bolt back, I can see the follower in the mag move up. It's almost like the mag spring doesn't have enough oomph to overpower the bolt catch spring. I think the follower is moving as freely as I imagine it can. I made the 45 degree cut in the back of the mag body as illustrated in the instructions. I've manually cycled 25 rounds at a time through the modified mag and it feeds them all through the rifle just fine (except for the last round. That problem is listed below) Of course that isn't the same as live fire testing, but I can't do that until I can get to the range. 2) Inserting the mag sometimes will cause the bolt to close. Maybe because I have to use so much force to insert the mag? Or is it related to the fact I can just give the rifle a good tap and the bolt will close? 3) With the BHOA follower, my rounds no longer sit slightly nose up when loaded in the mag. They sit level and sometimes even slightly nose down. This doesn't seem to affect function except for the last round. I've noticed 50% of the time the last round will basically stove pope in the rifle. Prior to this my rifle never had any issues loading rounds. Do I need to modify something else with the blackdog mag to get relaible function? I know this was a bit long winded. Thanks for taking the time to read it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I'm anxious to get this working =) No worries, all this will no doubt be addressed many times over. First things first, the BHOA and follower assembly is a conversion to a conversion. We are going way beyond what the kit or mag was ever meant to do. Regarding the BDM mag, it sounds as if the clearance between the back of the BDM mag and magwell is a little snug. See if you can confirm this. If so, the mag may need a small amount of material removed where the actuator drops down. If this is where the tightness is coming from, the actuator will not work since the mag spring will not be able to get it to overcome the binding.  Hitting the mag to hard will cause the bolt to close, this is normal. We did everything we could to mimic the 5.56 but adding the actuator left a slight amount of play which made hard mag insertion result in the bolt closing. If the bolt is still 1/4" open that can mean one of two things, either the adjustment screw is too high or the radius at the back/center of the bolt itself is contacting the actuator. This radius seems to be pretty arbitrary and seems to vary a lot from kit to kit(all makes we have seen, ours included)  It is best to just install the BHOA with the adjustment all the way down. See if this helps. I will post a diagram tomorrow on the latter issue and the fix. I would definitely recommend running 3 mags with 15 rounds thru the kit first without the BHOA. This allows the mag to settle in. Hand cycling the kit is not a good indication of how it will run with live ammo. Once you have shot your three, install the BHOA and blast away. You should be GTG. Edited to add––The BHOA is beveled top and bottom and will self center when the kit closes. Some rifles have tight uppers or tight lower, loose uppers or loose lowers or some combination of all the above. With some set ups, the BHOA will fall out when the gun is opened, with others it will be stuck in either the top or bottom. This is all normal. It is all dependent on the tolerances of the upper and lowers. One other issue with some BDM mags is there is a little shelf on the inside of the mag on the rear that can impede the follower enough to cause problems activating the actuator.  |
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I believe this is some of what we will see. Different specs from different uppers, lowers, might require break in and some minor filing of the mags. Mine has worked in 3 of my 6 set ups that I have tried. One set up took a couple turns of the adjusment screw. One worked best at 0. One has the tight mag issue which I will fix today by filing a little of the back of the feed lip tower.
I believe most issues will work themselves out by running some rounds. My CMMG M$ LE BHOA set up was tight at first but after running 100 rounds is smooth as silk now. Even locks by hand. |
| Thanks for the info all. One more question. I'm only trying to retrofit my blackdog mags because at the time I pre-ordered there were no bhoa ready mags available, just upgrade kits. Now that compatible mags are available on the CMMG site, am I better off just ordering those? I'm assuming they'll probably fit/work better? My local dealer also has the older CMMG mags in stock. Do those mod seamlessly? If so I may just go pick one of those up and try my luck. |
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90% of the testing we did was with the CMMG mag and we never had to remove material in the rear. I am not sure what tolerances the BDM mags hold. Unless you magwell is tight, i wouldn't expect for you to have to to do any filing. Cool. Then I'll get a cmmg mag from my local dealer so I have something to play with this weekend. If that goes well I'll just order some bhoa ready mags from the site. Thanks again for the time and info. |
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My kit arrived as well. Im running it on a spikes tactical upper. Im running into some issues. I think they are going to be mag related though.
1. Like the op when I went to put the mags in they were super duper snug and you would have to really jam them in. I grabbed a file and removed material from the front of the mag. Not the body itself but by the feedlips at the top were the follower pops out. This freed it up a bunch. Problem #` solved. 2. I have a bunch of bdm mags so I bought 6 conversion kits to test them out. 1st thing I noticed is that with the new follower and the lip to actuate the BHO it binds going up the mag. So I took the mag apart and noticed there are some areas were this lip catches in the mag. Not really sure of a fix for this, maybe some dremeling? 3. Took the mag apart put the follower at the top with the spring put it back together. If functions properly and keeps the BHO. Loaded a mag and once you get the follower in the body of the mag it gets stuck. You could load the mag but the follower just sits there and has no spring tension. Anybody else running into this problem with BDM Mags. 4. Since I have 6 upgrade kits will the current CMMG 22 mags accept this with no similar issues. RS |
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I am having some issues with the BDM mags. My follower tilts back close to the top. In the Pics that CMMG posted, I believe is the fix. Just have not done it yet.
My BDM mag was hard to get in and out. I'll take some more off the feed lip tower and see if that free's it up. I'll keep you posted. |
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Not much I can add, that was very informative CMMG. if I see problems arise, I'll refer them to this write up. mutt11 did a good job of covering a lot of bases with questions. Dave / Spec Hey Dave, I run 15 round BD's in my Spike's ST-22's and have to ask a question regarding the CMMG BHOA follower spring. The stock BDM spring is much shorter than the CMMG follower spring, which is like threading a python through a garden hose when I load the spring into the mag body.  Is this extra spring length O.K. or should I dike it back to match the BD spring?
Full manual of arms function with no real sensitivity to knocks or on mag insertion or withdrawal. Magpul BAD lever works perfectly. If I load 15 (live or dummy), then the follower binds; if I tap the mag the rounds come up, but otherwise usually not on their own accord. I've run over thirty dry fire cycles using Pachmayr blue dummies, still only good for 8 rounds. Follower channel in mag is smooth and free of obstructions. CMMG instructions followed to the letter. I have no FTE's or OBD's (firing live) when loading up to 8 rounds, but it's the same with live fire as I encounter with the dummies when fully loaded. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Ted |
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3. Took the mag apart put the follower at the top with the spring put it back together. If functions properly and keeps the BHO. Loaded a mag and once you get the follower in the body of the mag it gets stuck. You could load the mag but the follower just sits there and has no spring tension. Anybody else running into this problem with BDM Mags. RS I have the same problem with the CMMG mags. It seems the back of the follower is spring loaded and it digs into the back of the follower channel. Probably needs some clearance dremeled out but I'm waiting to see if anyone else has a fix. |
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Looks to be 11 inches, there abouts. Sounds like you have the 25rd spring, you will need to shorten it to bit to get proper capacity. I'll find out exactly how much you will need to remove. Thank you. You guys obviously put a tremendous effort into this project, and I thank you for that. You're moving the sport forward with every chance you take, and we couldn't be happier. Ted |
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Well that answered one question should I use both springs. I guess that is a yes. I did notice with some of my older worn BDM when I did the conversion the extra tension because of the spring was causing the rounds to be pushed up through the feed lips. Just some FYI The new mags seem to work fine with the bad lever as well. Keep up the good work.
Also I noticed If you really work the follower channel over especially the first 2" and make sure its smooth and no ridges it really helps with any binding you may get. RS |
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3. Took the mag apart put the follower at the top with the spring put it back together. If functions properly and keeps the BHO. Loaded a mag and once you get the follower in the body of the mag it gets stuck. You could load the mag but the follower just sits there abind has no spring tension. Anybody else running into this problem with BDM Mags. RS I have the same problem with the CMMG mags. It seems the back of the follower is spring loaded and it digs into the back of the follower channel. Probably needs some clearance dremeled out but I'm waiting to see if anyone else has a fix. Only run 10-15 rounds at first. Two things break in with the mag. First the spring takes a set and the top half of the follower wears in. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Looks to be 11 inches, there abouts. Sounds like you have the 25rd spring, you will need to shorten it to bit to get proper capacity. I'll find out exactly how much you will need to remove. So I go to CMMG to order the 15 round mags I saw a few days ago and, SURPRISE! No 15 round mags. Maybe I missed it because they were moved some place else. Does this discovery mean no 15 rounders for the BHO? Any light you can shed on this would be appreciated. Thanks. |
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Looks to be 11 inches, there abouts. Sounds like you have the 25rd spring, you will need to shorten it to bit to get proper capacity. I'll find out exactly how much you will need to remove. So I go to CMMG to order the 15 round mags I saw a few days ago and, SURPRISE! No 15 round mags. Maybe I missed it because they were moved some place else. Does this discovery mean no 15 rounders for the BHO? Any light you can shed on this would be appreciated. Thanks. Here you go 15 rounders |
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Looks to be 11 inches, there abouts. Sounds like you have the 25rd spring, you will need to shorten it to bit to get proper capacity. I'll find out exactly how much you will need to remove. So I go to CMMG to order the 15 round mags I saw a few days ago and, SURPRISE! No 15 round mags. Maybe I missed it because they were moved some place else. Does this discovery mean no 15 rounders for the BHO? Any light you can shed on this would be appreciated. Thanks. Here you go 15 rounders Thanks, Rescue, but they aren't BHO ready. They those that were on page 2 of the Evolution tab. Ted |
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Update on the BHOA mag follower sticking.
I doubt this is a common problem but here's what I found on one of mine. I pulled the mag apart because it just didn't seem to have enough umph to activate the BHOA. The follower, which is quite a piece in itself, is spring loaded and has 2 roll pins holding the assembly together. One of the pins was out slightly, causing drag on the inside channel of the mag. Just enough resistance to keep it from working properly. I took a punch and tapped it flush. Mag worked great after that and activated the BHOA. Over time, I would imagine the pin would make it's own little channel, but I'm impatient 
Dave |
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Update on the BHOA mag follower sticking. I doubt this is a common problem but here's what I found on one of mine. I pulled the mag apart because it just didn't seem to have enough umph to activate the BHOA. The follower, which is quite a piece in itself, is spring loaded and has 2 roll pins holding the assembly together. One of the pins was out slightly, causing drag on the inside channel of the mag. Just enough resistance to keep it from working properly. I took a punch and tapped it flush. Mag worked great after that and activated the BHOA. Over time, I would imagine the pin would make it's own little channel, but I'm impatient I had mine apart waiting for CMMG's reply with the correct length for a 15 round mag spring. I closely examined all five of the BHO Follower Kits I recently received, lo and behold, every follower had this condition. Some pins were out quite a bit, tap tap tap tap tap, followers run great. Thanks for the tip, it helped remove one of the problems. I enjoy reading your posts, they always have some good stuff to share. Ted |
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I just talked to the one of the guys downstairs that have been doing a lot of work with the mags, and doesn't yet have a hard and fast rule for the 15 round springs, I'd suggest removing a good 2.5-3 inches then start taking smaller and smaller cuts until you find a good balance between capacity and catch actuation. One thing to note just hand cycling the bolt, the bolt will not lock back on an empty mag more often than not, so insert the empty mag and manually lock the bolt back using the bolt catch. Now while holding the bolt to the rear press the bolt catch and it should spring back into position and still be able to hold the bolt once you release it. |
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I just talked to the one of the guys downstairs that have been doing a lot of work with the mags, and doesn't yet have a hard and fast rule for the 15 round springs, I'd suggest removing a good 2.5-3 inches then start taking smaller and smaller cuts until you find a good balance between capacity and catch actuation. One thing to note just hand cycling the bolt, the bolt will not lock back on an empty mag more often than not, so insert the empty mag and manually lock the bolt back using the bolt catch. Now while holding the bolt to the rear press the bolt catch and it should spring back into position and still be able to hold the bolt once you release it. I had logged off when this post from CMMG was made. Prior to it, and not knowing what CMMG would recommend, I removed about 2" of spring (6 coils) and ran ten cycles using dummy rounds. The end of the spring (where you cut) should be bent to resemble the end of the factory spring (that contacts the follower) or the end will drag on the mag walls. Cycling dummies seemed to work just fine so I went to my range and cranked off 20 rounds, loading only five at a time. The system works exactly as it should; the follower has ample force to actuate the BHO catch. Now only one issue needs to be resolved and that concerns the tiny area where the bolt radius rubs on the catch. I'm thinking I'll Dremmel a tiny bit of clearance there to decrease interference which causes the bolt to stay back about .030" when in battery, with a live or dummy round. Even with this small gap I experienced no OBD, but nevertheless I'd be more comfortable seeing the bolt fully closed when in battery. The system does run better in live fire than dry using dummies. The BD mag that I was using as my first test subject was my oldest, and the feed lips were flexing under pressure from the more powerful CMMG kit spring. After realizing this, I made mods to a new BD 15 rounder, installed the shortened spring, and the few FTE issues I had went away. Thanks for the followup. Ted |
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So I was able to head out to the range today, cmmg mags fit much better than my bdm mags. They install easy and drop free without any sanding. I ran about 50 rounds through my mag with no issues. It fed every round fine, including the last one (no stove-piping). One problem solved.
However... The BHOA didn't work. It would not lock back on last round. I tinkered with the adjustment screw. All the way up, all the way down, same problem. I also noticed the bolt would slam shut at the slightest disturbance. Insert or remove a mag on a manually locked bolt and it would close on its own. Very frustrating. Then it started to rain. Figures. At home I decide to try the BHOA in one of my 5.56 ARs with a conversion bolt. To my surprise the bolt would lock back on an an empty mag and then stay open when I removed the mag! My dedicated upper would never do this. It's then I noticed the bolt catch on this rifle was much easier to actuate then the one on my dedicated 22lr AR. I checked my other ARs and they all seem to have less spring resistance on the bolt catch. So I popped out the bolt catch and trimmed the spring by 2 coils. Put everything back together and now the BHOA functions much better in my dedicated 22lr AR! Things that work now: 1) The bolt now locks back if I insert an empty mag and then pull the charging handle to the rear. I never got this to work before. 2) Removing and inserting mags no longer causes the bolt to close. Actually the BHOA doesn't seem sensitive to impacts anymore. Before the slightest tap on the rifle would cause the bolt to close. Now I can slap the rifle fairly hard and the bolt stays open. I still need to verify everything works under live fire, but I suspect it will. Maybe I'll be able to sneak away at lunch tomorrow. If you're having problems like mine, it might be worth checking your bolt catch. If it's fairly hard to push in you may have a bolt catch spring that's too strong for this application. Try trimming 1 coil and see if it helps. If not take off one more but DO NOT take off more than 2 coils. If you do the spring may become too short and you'll have no spring tension on the bolt catch. I found this out the hard way but luckily I had an extra spring in my bag o parts =) |
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Good information. Was this with a complete rifle from CMMG? No. This is on a Spikes Tactical ST-22 dedicated upper and a Spikes lower. The lower was a stripped lower that I assembled using a lower parts kit also purchased from Spikes. I don't know who actually made the parts kit. |
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I still need to verify everything works under live fire, but I suspect it will. Perfection. This is one slick little device. I ran about 100 rounds through it today and the bolt locked back every time. Trimming my bolt catch spring definitely solved my problems. The mag is still a little stiff, I had 2 mis-feeds, but that will work itself out as the mag and follower wear together. Having all the controls working on my .22LR rifle is just plain awesome =) |
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mutt11, I was doing some testing with different lowers and found the same thing you did.
Spikes and Bushmaster bolt catch springs are stiffer than Rock River and CMMG. I trimmed 2 coils off and both worked. On the Bushmaster lower I still had to turn the adjustment screw in 1.5 turns. Worked 100%. These are the problems we will figure out. Thanks for the input. Dave |
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Just got home from Knob Creek KY, where I picked up a magazine and adapter from John, I will be installing/testing this setup in both a DPMS lower with a Rick Khuel Precision (KP) upper and a colt M16A2 lower with a Ciener conversion/spikes dedicated barrel.
First issue was i could not get either receiver halves to close with the actuator in place, or a magazine to insert and lock, probably because the KP upper has a one piece barrel with no collar or adapter on the barrel, just a full diameter extention, or in the case of the Ceiner unit a different collar spacing than the CMMG unit it was designed to fit, no problem with this issue as a few passes with a dremel drum clearanced it enough to fit both uppers. Second issue, even though the two halves would now close, the back top step in the CMMG mag hit the underside of the bolt hold open insert just under the set screw, easy fix, a couple of passes with a small file provided the nessasary clearance to allow the magazine to fully seat. Third issue, even after adjusting the set screw the bolt would not close the last 1/4 inch, and if closed, would open with upward pressure on the magazine, this issue has already been covered by CMMG, but anyway, i put the bolt in a vice and put a small 1/4 inch bull nose mill bit in my drill press and cut back both the center rail and opened up the side angles to the rear of the bolt, tried again in the upper and it almost closed, so I trimmed the edges of the bolt hold open actuator untill it allowed full closure of the bolt. This is probably not nessasary with most conversions, remember this is a conversion to a conversion and in my case a conversion to a conversion to a conversion. And we expect this thing to drop right in and work, right ! Forth issue, my Ciener unit is a little long so there is barely enough room and hence time for the actuator to rise and block the bolt, so I cut the spring tunnel on the bolt back about .030 to give it more time and space to rise, this improved operation from 1 or 2 hold backs per 10 attempts to about 5 or 6 per 10 attempts. so on to the last issue. Fifth and last issue, it is very unrealistic to expect a little 22 magazine spring to overcome a standard mag catch spring, so I swopped out the stock spring, for what I think is a ruger 10/22 trigger plunger spring, but I'm sure any lighter spring will work, anyway the result were well worth the efforts, as now the bolt hold open works 100%, although I'm not sure you'd want to swap out the spring if you used the same lower for 223 as well. The only thing i'm concerned about now is the magazine capacity, as CMMG state that you should only load to 15-20 rounds as the max of 25 will shorten the life of the magazine. but I'll have to see what happens as 20 rnds is just too low ! |
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Please don't be put off by my experience as mentioned in the previous post, as I think my set up is probably the worst candidate for a drop in part, being that this is a CMMG conversion on a Rick Khruel conversion of a Ciener conversion of a 223 AR15.
In fact be encouraged by the fact that if I can get it to work on my conversion, it can be made to work on any regular conversion. but remember if you dont like to tinker of aren't mechanically inclined you might be better of just purchasing a complete CMMG dedicated upper or better yet a complete dedicated 22 rifle, as you just can't have too many AR's, and its probably still cheaper to by a complete CMMG 22 AR than it is to buy a conversion kit, a dedicated barrel and all the other parts needed to build one. Also just as a note, the polymer dedicated 22 chaging handle I got from CMMG is still going strong after shooting 1200 full auto suppresed rounds last weekend. After a quick wipe down it looks like new again. |
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Please don't be put off by my experience as mentioned in the previous post, as I think my set up is probably the worst candidate for a drop in part, being that this is a CMMG conversion on a Rick Khruel conversion of a Ciener conversion of a 223 AR15. In fact be encouraged by the fact that if I can get it to work on my conversion, it can be made to work on any regular conversion. but remember if you dont like to tinker of aren't mechanically inclined you might be better of just purchasing a complete CMMG dedicated upper or better yet a complete dedicated 22 rifle, as you just can't have too many AR's, and its probably still cheaper to by a complete CMMG 22 AR than it is to buy a conversion kit, a dedicated barrel and all the other parts needed to build one. Also just as a note, the polymer dedicated 22 chaging handle I got from CMMG is still going strong after shooting 1200 full auto suppresed rounds last weekend. After a quick wipe down it looks like new again. Blimey Limey! Great write up. You saved me the hassle of pulling my kheul upper. Btw, I did get to meet some great people at knob creek, but you took the cake. I really enjoyed cutting up. When I get back on Monday I want to give you a call if it is ok, as I am putting a trouble shooting guide together, input like this is invaluable. Thanks for taking the time to do a write up. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Great write up. I was doing some testing myself yesterday.
My BHOA would not function in both Bushmaster lowers and was hit and miss in a Spikes lower. It was perfect with no adjustment in the CMMG and Rock River lowers. After several combinations, I checked the bolt catch springs. The tension on the BM's and Spikes is stonger than the CMMG and Rock River. I cut 2 coils off the BM and Spikes, reinstalled and started getting positive results. I did have to turn the adjustment screw in 1.5 turns for the BM's. Spikes worked with no adjustment. I was suprised there was that much difference in BC spring tension. But we know the fix now. Maybe reduced power springs will be offered. All functioned perfectly with the small amount of ammo I ran. About 30-50 rounds each. I was testing in my basement 
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One other super simple fix for a tight bolt catch spring is a rubber o ring around the bolt catch. It cost pennies, can be left in place when running 5.56, and works great. We had kicked around including them with a BHOA early on. This eliminates the need for gunsmithing of any kind. Can't post pics from my phone but I think you will get the idea. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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One other super simple fix for a tight bolt catch spring is a rubber o ring around the bolt catch. It cost pennies, can be left in place when running 5.56, and works great. We had kicked around including them with a BHOA early on. This eliminates the need for gunsmithing of any kind. Can't post pics from my phone but I think you will get the idea. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Please post pics on the mod |
| Hi John/CMMG, hope my write up didn't come across as too negative, but as mentioned at the creek, I try and call things as I see them, I just emailed you my contact info and would be happy to provide any input I can for a trouble shooting guide, as I mentioned to you before I'm a retired military jet mechanic and flight engineer so nothing mechanical scares me to badly, and I have the time to tinker and test things that most people don't, which is probably why I'm testing the blackdog gen 3's currently. Anyway it was great talking to you at the Creek and hope to hear from you on monday or there abouts, Steve/Limeytwo |
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Hi John/CMMG, hope my write up didn't come across as too negative, but as mentioned at the creek, I try and call things as I see them, I just emailed you my contact info and would be happy to provide any input I can for a trouble shooting guide, as I mentioned to you before I'm a retired military jet mechanic and flight engineer so nothing mechanical scares me to badly, and I have the time to tinker and test things that most people don't, which is probably why I'm testing the blackdog gen 3's currently. Anyway it was great talking to you at the Creek and hope to hear from you on monday or there abouts, Steve/Limeytwo It was a superb write up. One note regarding the material removed at the rear, it was discovered that removal of material at the front of the bolt face will give the same room for the actuator to come up, as removing from the tail. Removal of material at the front also elimiantes any radius if it exists. Thanks again, I thought it very insightful and informative. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Limey brought something up. The mag capacity is something I don't much care for either. Not to worry, we have a new mag in the works that will blow your socks off. Can't give too many details until the patents are filed, but trust me when I say, it will be the coolest, most functional mag around. Our goal is to deliver a mag that you wont be able to wear out, built to suit your individual needs, and priced right. It will be the cherry on top for the. 22 evolution products. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I took my ST-22 out today with the BHOA installed.
The good news is that the bolt will lock back on an empty mag, and the bolt release functions as it should. The bad news is that my mags are fubar. All of these mags worked flawlessly prior to installing the new followers and now each one is having feeding problems. The feeding problem involves feedlips that are now apparently out of spec. It will hold rounds in place, however the round will occasionally stick straight up, rather than remain relatively parallel to the bore. This is what I think happened. I am running 4 BDM mags and 2 CMMG mags. Each one was retrofitted with the conversion follower and spring. I followed the instructions included with the followers and beveled the rear of the mags to allow the follower to operate smoothly. While filing that 45* bevel, I think I unintentionally removed a small amount of material from the feedlips of each mag. 
I have no one to blame but myself. Rather than do all six at once, I should have done one to make sure I knew what I was doing. I also ran into the 'sticky BDM mag" problem mentioned above. Anyway, I guess I'll be buying some CMMG mags to replace my old ones. Another issue I encountered when installing the followers was with my 10rd CMMG mag. The mag is molded to only allow the follower to move down far enough to accept 10 rounds, with a narrow gap to allow only the old, round spring. I had to grind that block out of the way to allow the new, wide spring to fit. |