Wow, broke another bolt

204 AR

Well-known member
I was just messing around, reconfiguring my 264 lbc. Changed handguards taking the pink off since the girls have little interest and swapping out scopes. Zeroing it in, after the third shot the fourth didn't fire. I checked and the bolt wouldn't go into battery. Further investigation showed a broken lug on the bolt, and part of the piece was in the barrel extension and didn't allow the bolt to lock up. Probably a good thing.

This bolt has over 1k rounds for sure and how many more I don't know. It's from Surplus Ammo where the barrel came from. I don't know who they source bolts from.

Last fall I had a Radical bolt fail on the 243 lbc. That one with 1400 rounds maybe. That was a cheapy but I thought this one was better. Guess not. I have one bolt left between the two uppers, now I have to find some more or ditch these accurate barrels when the last bolt fails lol.

I read where Greg is using Rguns bolts? They are carp 158, is that better? I really didn't think my loads are hot, at the top of book but not over. Using adjustable gas to not over stress things.

The Grendel guys say broken bolts are not prevalent, but I either bought two inferior bolts or it's a design issue. At this point I can't recommend this line of cartridges any more even though it's phenomenal imo, esp the 243. I might try AR15performance barrel with the re-design 750 bolt.
 
I don't know where SAA gets their bolts from. Ritch and I have been getting 9310 bolts lately while waiting on the new Young bolts that are enhanced. I have one of the Youngs that was an early test run but have not put it in one of my new builds yet.

Between us we have fired literally thousands of LBC rounds and not broken any bolts. Many of them have been slightly more than warm. Ritch feels a major preventive step for long life and no breakage is making sure the receiver is squsred.

I know that Ritch just picked up some bolts recently that were made by Underground Tactical that he thinks look pretty decent. If Young gets them to market soon I'll post it up.

Greg
 
Thanks for responding. Curious how many rounds on the bolt used the most? Upper squaring is a big deal to me for accuracy reasons so these have that treatment. How are the Young bolts enhanced?
 
I've got one with around 2000 still going strong that was my first one. It is one of the nickel boron coated from RGuns that I use in my F-Class 243 LBC. I have another that I've run in a 20 and 243 LBC with about 1500 or so. It is a plain old bolt from Model 1.

The lugs are a bit thicker in width and are maxed out in diameter. They use their own extractor design.

Greg
 
I emailed SAA to see if they would stand behind it. I'm guessing Radical won't based on reviews I've seen but haven't contacted them about the first one.

This is really baffling because I'm not that guy that can break everything he touches. I'm the guy who's childhood toys are still in good shape. My 13 yo truck is nearly mint, and I run and maintain 70 yo tractors and they work as good as they did new. Heck I'm running Hdy brass in this 264 with 12+ loads on it and still holding primers so I know my loads aren't hot.
 
I'm the guy that things break on. I can sum it up though. In life sometimes the dragon wins. Most times I meet the dragon first.

Greg
 
Originally Posted By: GLShooter In life sometimes the dragon wins.
Greg

Boom, there it is, how true!
grin.gif
But, I'd have got him if my bolt hadn't broke!

On another topic, I have a Lyman borescope on the way. $207 at Midway and I couldn't resist. I should have a report on what some of these barrels look like after various round counts. 243 lbc is prob 1700 now. Seating depth measuring shows maybe 10 thou erosion, but that could easily be margin of error in my measuring technique.
 
The SAA bolts are made by Wiltec. It's a company owned by the same person as SAA. I personally won't use their bolts for the very reason you are talking about. They are made from Carpenter 158 and have a cheap heat treat.

Look for a bolt made from 9310 made by a reputable manufacturer and you should not have any worries. Underground Tactical make some of the best standard deminsion bolts out there.

Like Greg mentioned above the bolt from Young is the way to go if you are looking for a bolt that's industructable. The plus side of using the Young is it will work with any standard extension.
 
Thanks Ritch. So I'm looking at UT and they have 7.62x39 and a 6.5 G type 1 which is what I want I assume but wonder what the difference is.

Also what's your opinion on Maxim? They are in stock on the 7.62x39 also. I would go with the Young if they had any but not sure when that will be.
 
Go with the Grendel type 1. The 7.62 bolts are .010 shorter to allow the extra firing pin extrusion for the 7.63x39 ammo.

Nothing wrong with the Maxim bolt from what I've heard but I haven't used one myself.
 
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Ok. Going to order a UT. Thanks for the input. I've never heard of that place, they have some interesting stuff.
 
I ran into that same issue with a 7.62x39 bolt from Midway. Greg Krebaum designer of the 6rat suggested an enhanced bolt from Accurate and Reliable. I bought one it improved accuracy and I haven't had a problem since. Mr Wells is a bangup guy. I trust him.
 
To update I have a UT on the way, and SAA replied to my email and they are sending out a replacement as well. So I have a spare.
 
I got the UT bolt today, and it is visibly beefier. Thicker around the base of the case, and not as sharp a radius at the base of the lugs. This one should go the distance.
 
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