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Posted: 1/22/2014 5:54:44 PM EDT
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Hi Everyone. I am very new to the AR 15, and I'm looking for some guidance on a replacement BCG for my new rifle. I started researching manufacturers back in mid-2013 with the hopes of buying my first rig. Based on my readings I was convinced I should buy a Daniel Defense, Bravo Company, Yankee Hill, Colt or S&W.... Call me a brand whore - I can take it. Anyways, my wife caught notice of my new interest and took it upon herself to surprise me with a Christmas present (I'm convinced that I married the perfect woman!). She did a little research of her own, and now I'm the owner of a DPMS RFA3-REC Panther Recon. Chambered in 5.56, 16" 416 SS barrel, magpul furniture, and so-on...
So what do I do to thank my very thoughtful, wonderful (and sexy, by the way) wife for making Christmas awesome? I start reading reviews on the rifle. That pissed her off a little, but hey, I gotta know what I own, right? I've been through all the things to look for like properly staked gas key, castle nut, M4 Feed Ramps, MP inspection, 158 carpenters steel bolt, etc. From what I can tell visually, the DPMS has all these things pretty well covered. I understand they batch test their barrels / BCGs so I guess I will just hope for the best as far as that goes. I've had the gun out a couple times and have put about 500 rounds through it with zero malfunctions (Federal American Eagle 5.56x45, 55grain ball). It seems to shoot accurate, but I haven't done any structured testing to verify. I can consistently hit a 6" square target at 200yds. I'm looking to buy a new BCG (stocking up for the zombie apocalypse) and I had a short back-and-forth email exchange with the guys at Daniel Defense. The feedback I received was this: "Ours will certainly fit but you might experience a head spacing issue due to the tolerances on their rifles." How should I interpret this?? Is he telling me that DPMS would build a barrel/extension that doesn't meet the requirements for 5.56x45 ammo and then "work" the BCG to make it fit? Or, is he telling me that my brand new gun may not have the proper headspace now? I've looked into headspace measurements a bit, and it seems that the measurement is done with the BCG and the barrel/extension with a little add-in gauge... So, IF I check the headspace with the original DPMS parts and then change out the BCG should I expect to have a different headspace measurement? If so, why wouldn't I question the new BCG? Thanks for your replies. |
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I built a 3gun upper with a 18" BHW barrel and decided to run a wmd NiB bcg..
Well I shoot Tula at matches and never had an issue... I decided to take my rifle on a coyote hunt, went to chamber a Hornady 55g vmax and the bolt wouldn't close all the way took some effort to eject it... Took it to my shop to see what the deal was. Bolt wouldn't close on the smallest go gauge.. Tried a jp bolt in the carrier and closed just fine on same gauge.. Called wmd and they said I had to get the chamber fitted for My bolt... I have built several uppers and this is the first time I have had this happen... |
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Daniel Defense makes a great BCG, I have 4 of them. You can take your upper to a local gunsmith, and have him drop a field gauge in it, and check the headspace. Or, you can order the gauges from Brownells and do it yourself, who knows, you may be in for several more AR builds. Likely, it will be just fine, but you never know. There have been some posts here about DPMS chamber issues, so if you can get a local smith to check it for you, you will have peace of mind. Good luck. |
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I suppose my path forward is this:
1) Get a headspace gauge and test with my current rig. 2) Get the new BCG 3) Test headspace with the new BCG 4) Figure out what to do if the new BCG doesn't work maybe get a new upper from DD or Bravo Co :-) |
| You can get the Brownell's copy of the Colt 5.56 Field Gauge for like $23. You'll probably be fine, but if you don't have correct headspace you don't have to buy a whole new upper. You may be able to get the barrel extension adjusted by a gunsmith. You can also try a different bolt or barrel. A barrel swap is not hard to do, especially if you already have a vise and a foot pound torque wrench. Then all you need is a roll pin punch set, upper receiver vise block and barrel nut wrench. |
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For practical purposes it is cheaper to buy a new barrel assembly than to pay someone to ‘adjust’ a barrel ext.
A regular gunsmith would be unlikely to be able to do the job properly. OP: New barrel/bolts usually fail on the Go gage. If the original barrel and Bolt pass the Go gage and if both bolts are in spec then the normal wear from firing will at some point enable the new bolt to pass also. |
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