NEA BCG issues

[Stevo]

How could something like this happen? They make parts for airplanes.

I mean really planes have to be built to spec no? I'm sorry I just don't see how you could in any way be telling truth. You are obviously making BS statements to slander NEA. I'm sure Jeff or Dave have sent you at least two emails threatening a lawsuit for slander by now. You should be ashamed. NEA is a perfect company with great public relations.

What's really surprising is how many issues with other companies never seem to come to the surface.

I guess if it's kept quiet and defective product is purchased back, no one needs to hear about it. Even if there are gross safety concerns involved. Right, RT?

 

[blaxsun]

Way to beat a dead horse guys. I'm no fan of the way NEA runs their business ,but at some point it would be nice to see members, particularly the ones who should know better, give it a rest.

I liked seeing though...

 

[5440fight]

Hmmm, I've decided to change the bolt to the NEA one and shoot it. If I never post again, you'll know why.

 

[*MALICE*]

I hope all the airplane parts they make are inspected independently.

I do think their method of cutting the magwells is a clever cost saving measure, though.

 

[misanthropist]

What's really surprising is how many issues with other companies never seem to come to the surface.

I guess if it's kept quiet and defective product is purchased back, no one needs to hear about it. Even if there are gross safety concerns involved. Right, RT?

Ouch! Zing...


This is exactly why I asked about the barrel. A go/no go gauge set will tell you whether the combination of barrel and BCG are safe or not.

But without knowing what the barrel is, it's not necessarily the BCG that is the problem (although of course that's possible).

If it's a known-good barrel, that's one thing. If it's a random barrel, that's something else. If it's an NEA barrel, then they ####ed up at least one of the two. But if it is, say, a Bushmaster barrel, it's quite possible that it's one of their many too-tight-to-be-legal-in-this-state barrels.

What should really happen is that the NEA BCG should be tried in a number of guns with the go-no go gauges. Then you would actually know whether the BCG was the problem, or the barrel.

There are so many barrels well out of spec for an actual 5.56 gauge that it's hard to tell exactly what this means without more testing.

 

[Chizzy]

Hmmm, I've decided to change the bolt to the NEA one and shoot it. If I never post again, you'll know why.

Good luck! We hope to hear from you again.

I saw this setup in another CGN post today, something to consider.

Regards,

Chizzy

 

[Claven2]

Also - oh, and in case it's not obvious, you're supposed to REMOVE THE EXTRACTOR before you use the gauge.

 

[Mystic Precision]

I am a little confused.

The OP has taken a different BCG, dropped it into an AR and is concerned the headspace is not perfect?

Did the orig BCG that was shipped with the rifle fit properly?

I understand that AR's are supposed to be modular and all but I would never expect ANY bolt to transfer from rifle to rifle and fit perfectly.

Try that with a Rem or even Savage. I doubt you will get good results. And if you got lucky and it worked, doubt it would do that everytime.

So unless I am missing something, checking the headspace with any bolt change WOULD BE a smart idea.

Needing to adjust headspace wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Now if the new BCG was sold as a drop in product, well, that is a different story.

Just a thought.

Jerry

 

[tiriaq]

Catch is that it is pretty hard to adjust headspace when assembling an AR from finished parts. If it is way too tight, a reamer could be used - provided the bore isn't chromed or the barrel hardened.
If it is a bit too tight, selective assembly is an option.
Excess headspace? Pretty hard to set the barrel back.
Lots of ARs get assembled from heaven only knows what parts. Often the cheapest to be found. With decent quality, on spec. parts, the results are generally good. If parts are Brand X, off spec, whatever, tolerances stack up, and there can be problems. Takedown pins don't align, trigger mechanisms don't function properly.
I have six AR barrels; one Colt, one NEA, and four that I have made up. Original barrel extensions on the first two, I installed the others. No headspace issues with the Colt; selective assembly for the NEA; the ones I machined were carefully fitted for correct headspace from the get go. Installing a barrel extension on an AR is very much like fitting a barrel to a receiver.

Of all the ARs that have been put together here, how many have ever had their headspace checked? Is it really necessary to do so? How many folks reading this thread have checked the headspace on an AR they assembled? Or was it just assumed that everything would be OK?
As Jerry pointed out, you wouldn't do this with a bolt action rifle.

 

[Mystic Precision]

ALL gun parts from any manf WILL have some tolerance allowable in their manf.

I am sure someone has a USGI engineering schematic of the AR 15. Every part has a +/- something or other.

Stack up the tolerances the wrong way (even though each piece is on spec) and you have a FUBAR.

Don't care who makes the parts.

I know it can work to randomly grab a bunch of AR parts and it goes together properly and it all fits. But I would be making an effort to confirm all critical component fitment before pulling that trigger.

Even if I had 100% Gucci US - SOCOOM parts.

Same problem going on for YEARs over in the battle rifle forum with shooters wanting to swap USGI bolts into their Norcs only to find a big world of grief.

Buy fully assembled rifles of a known make/manufacture. That should eliminate most of the problems.

But if the time comes to put Franken AR together, just check the fit.

YMMV

Jerry

 

[tiriaq]

Unlike a threaded prechambered Savage 110 replacement barrel, there is no practical way to adjust headspace if a finished AR barrel with installed barrel extension is purchased. Essentially the bolt fits the barrel or it doesn't.
Maybe it would be a good idea if barrel sellers were to give their customers the option of buying the barrel with a matched bolt.
Then again, the industry seems to operate on the premise that this isn't necessary.

 

[Farmboy]

I've taken apart my AR that I use all the time, multiple times.

It's had 3 different barrels and 3 different BCGs with the same upper and all used interchangably.

Never checked headspacing on them. Maybe one day the gun will blow up, but I doubt it very much.

 

[mg4201]

I've taken apart my AR that I use all the time, multiple times.

It's had 3 different barrels and 3 different BCGs with the same upper and all used interchangably.

Never checked headspacing on them. Maybe one day the gun will blow up, but I doubt it very much.

You are probably right. If you can find it on the net there was a detailed study done on the effects of excess headspace by a US general named hatcher. the book was called "hatchers notebook". He found that even with .060" excess headspace the cases did not seperate on the first firing.

 

[Farmboy]

....

 

[rivetc78]

I've taken apart my AR that I use all the time, multiple times.

It's had 3 different barrels and 3 different BCGs with the same upper and all used interchangably.

Never checked headspacing on them. Maybe one day the gun will blow up, but I doubt it very much.

THIS!

But then you are talking NEA...........

 

[easysauce]

and it will shoot fine, despite this... go shoot it, in a few k rounds i bet it fits

 

[X-man]

Generally, when it comes to assembling ARs they're pretty much plug-n-play...assuming quality parts manufactured to spec are used. I've got 8-9 ARs, some I put together myself and others that are factory stock. You can swap bolts and remain within established specifications. I know because I reload and I have a set of go-no go gauges, with a field gauge thrown in for good measure. Only caveat, make sure your gauges ALL come from the same company! Don't mix and match gauges!

It's really disappointing to hear of all the QC issues with NEA rifles. Perhaps a case of growing too big too fast? I know that I didn't hear a fraction of the complaints about QC when their focus was on manufacturing VZ-58/CZ-858 parts. Yet it seems that making those items, that gave the company its start, are no longer a priority. That's a shame. I hope Jeff and Dave can work out their issues with the production line and get things back on track.

 

[suprathepeg]

The theory behind the at platform is that all parts are interchangeable because the tolerances for each part work within a set spec. So although there is variance between each part , so long as those variances are within spec the total variance should never result in an out of spec gun. This unlike many previous rifles such as the m14 where individual part tollerances are looser because they expect to custom fit each bolt etc when finally assembling a complete rifle. So eithe the bolt from nea is out of spec or the barrel /ext on your rifle is.

 

[jdman]

Ouch! Zing...


This is exactly why I asked about the barrel. A go/no go gauge set will tell you whether the combination of barrel and BCG are safe or not.

But without knowing what the barrel is, it's not necessarily the BCG that is the problem (although of course that's possible).

If it's a known-good barrel, that's one thing. If it's a random barrel, that's something else. If it's an NEA barrel, then they f**ked up at least one of the two. But if it is, say, a Bushmaster barrel, it's quite possible that it's one of their many too-tight-to-be-legal-in-this-state barrels.

What should really happen is that the NEA BCG should be tried in a number of guns with the go-no go gauges. Then you would actually know whether the BCG was the problem, or the barrel.

There are so many barrels well out of spec for an actual 5.56 gauge that it's hard to tell exactly what this means without more testing.

It is a brand new 20 inch DPMS barrel from wolverine. i will try the BCG in another rifle with the gauges, report back.

 

[jdman]

Also - oh, and in case it's not obvious, you're supposed to REMOVE THE EXTRACTOR before you use the gauge.

yup did that.

I am a little confused.

The OP has taken a different BCG, dropped it into an AR and is concerned the headspace is not perfect?

Did the orig BCG that was shipped with the rifle fit properly?

I understand that AR's are supposed to be modular and all but I would never expect ANY bolt to transfer from rifle to rifle and fit perfectly.

Try that with a Rem or even Savage. I doubt you will get good results. And if you got lucky and it worked, doubt it would do that everytime.

So unless I am missing something, checking the headspace with any bolt change WOULD BE a smart idea.

Needing to adjust headspace wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Now if the new BCG was sold as a drop in product, well, that is a different story.

Just a thought.

Jerry

new build. parts are suppose to interchange. new BBL, new BCG. i assumed it would work.