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Posted: 2/22/2008 7:31:46 PM EDT
| Who carries them, how important are they (for which applications), is there any reason not to run them exclusively. Thanks much! |
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Most bolt carriers are chrome lined, that is, inside where the bolt inserts into the bolt carrier. It is important. And you do not want a non-lined carrier. As far as who carries them, every reputable supplier I have ever done business with has chrome lined carriers. |
| O.K., now I'm confused. The vendor I'm getting my CMMG from says their carrier is not chrome lined. I figured I would have noticed in the plethora of CMMG threads if they were not up to current standards. If only el cheapo companies have non-lined carriers, why would CMMG? I'm fairly certain, after a 400 round cleaning, that the (new)DPMS carrier in my safe gun is not CL. What gives? |
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carbinero, we should probably clarify the original question. Are you asking about Chrome Lined carriers, where the inside of the carrier has chrome in the areas where the bolt rides, or are you talking about Chromed carriers where the entire thing is chromed? A quality carrier should be chrome lined. Both of mine are. My carriers are not fully chromed, they have the standard black finish on the outside. fully chromed carriers are, or at least should, be easier to clean, but I haven't had an issue with the ones I have. Some people believe chromed carriers will last longer because certain chrome finishes have higher lubricity, but I don't expect my carriers to wear out before the rest of the uppers. A couple thousand rounds and a couple years on one of them and no significant wear. To really answer your question I guess the only good reason to run a fully chromed carrier is because you want to, and the only good reason not to is because you don't want to. Buy a quality carrier of either type from a known company and you should be good to go. Pay attention to the staking on the carrier key though, even good companies let one go by from time to time with light staking. |
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Yes, I originally meant CL only on the inside. I saw another thread where a guy said his Oly had a non-CL carrier (inside) and people responded that's crappy. I read here CMMG's BCGs are GTG, but lots of guys prefer to get an LMT. So I'm still waiting for my CMMG upper and thought to email my vendor: are CMMG bolt carriers CL? are their bolts MPI'd? His answer was: no, and no. I'll email his to confirm my original question was re: inside lining only and post back here. Thanks for the heads-up. Edit: everytime I look at BCM, they're on BO |
All of the carriers that came with my CMMG's are CL'd. They appear to be of CMT manufacture (properly staked as well) & I've not had any issues negative issues with them after a few thousand rounds. The bcg's were new & included with the new upper & complete rifles I purchased from the factory a lil less than a year ago. They do offer MPI bolts. I use BCM bcg's as well & can't tell the difference so far. No doubt, nice piece of mind & quality manufacture with BCM products though. Heck, my salty non-lined/non-MPI/non-shootpeened/non-HPT Oly is still going strong & I have more rounds through it than the CMMG's. Maybe it'll KB on me eventually. 
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He's either confused, or doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't like CMMG, but they wouldn't sell crappy bolt carriers. |
I have a Young's chromed carrier and MPI bolt in AR#2. Nice package. Shiny wow factor is second to none. Cleanup is a breeze. Got mine at Dennys. Now to CMMG. I have a 20" CMMG upper. Much to my wife's chagrin, I'm taking apart the upper in the living room on a TV tray. The outside of the carrier is the usual parkerizing or whatever finish that is. The inside where the bolt rides is chromed. Checking my no-name Del ton spare BCG, the inside of that carrier is chromed as well. ZM |
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O.K. I think the mystery is solved, but an accompanying question... My vendor was likely mistaken, and says the inside of his CMMG carrier is a dull grey and much harder than the exterior. I recalled reading somewhere  this is the typical color, so we surmise the CMMG is indeed CL. So I look inside the DPMS, and in the less-than-perfect light when I cleaned it, I also missed this coloration. (Sorry, DPMS!)This raises the question, why does Young's make their carriers shiny chrome on the outside if the dull finish is industry standard? Does this make them even harder? Even easier to clean? Just flash? This would be superfluous knowledge for me right now, but ya never know... |
Is there a vendor that chromes your current BCA ? |
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This is better than chrome plating IMO and it's thinner and more uniform too... www.ionbond.com/standard.cfm?ID_n=54&unter=54&haupt=50&language=1 
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The Young BCGs are very easy to clean. |
"Superior" can mean a lot of different things. Superior to preventing dings and scratches and rust on teh outside of a barrel is not the same as superior at handling friction and heat and corrosives on the inside of the barrel. There's also the question of how to apply a perfectly even coating along the full length of a narrow rifle bore. Perfectly even in every way, with no heavy spots in the lands of the rifling and no thin spots on the edges of the rifling. ETA: I did have one completely non-chromed bolt carrier about 10 years ago from a bottom feeder. I got rid of it long ago. |
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