Crusader arms backland
- Thread starter Deathrawt
- Start date
My new "Elite" showed up yesterday so today I tried it out. Using one of the supplied mags I managed to get of 3 rounds before it jammed. Everyone says that those mags are junk so I made an adjustment to the magwell and tried out Cross, MFT, MRA and factory mags. Total failure.
What seems to happen is the BCG is dragging. Even without a magazine in it can get hung up like this:
If I poke my finger through the magwell and poke the bcg it will then continue and close.
So what's the problem? I'm not sure but I recall someone having problems with the pin that held the tail in place. This is the Gen 2 bolt carrier so maybe there are some differences but mine protrudes out one side....
And doesn't make it all the way to the other side:
Here is the next thing:
The bolt release is supposed to stay depressed until the magazine is empty and then pop up once the rounds are complete. For example here is an AR with ammunition in the mag and an empty mag. You can see how the bolt release pops up into place.
Here is the crusader with a loaded and unloaded mag
So it appears the main problem is that something is causing the BCG to drag. This makes chambering a round hit or miss. Because giving it a nudge through the magwell causes it to close I'm thinking that the bolt catch is the real problem. The bolt release just seems like a standard AR one so maybe I'll do some measuring and comparing. I knew buying one of these was risky due tot he feedback but I had been optimistic that these Gen 2 Elites were going to perform better.
What seems to happen is the BCG is dragging. Even without a magazine in it can get hung up like this:
If I poke my finger through the magwell and poke the bcg it will then continue and close.
So what's the problem? I'm not sure but I recall someone having problems with the pin that held the tail in place. This is the Gen 2 bolt carrier so maybe there are some differences but mine protrudes out one side....
And doesn't make it all the way to the other side:
Here is the next thing:
The bolt release is supposed to stay depressed until the magazine is empty and then pop up once the rounds are complete. For example here is an AR with ammunition in the mag and an empty mag. You can see how the bolt release pops up into place.
Here is the crusader with a loaded and unloaded mag
So it appears the main problem is that something is causing the BCG to drag. This makes chambering a round hit or miss. Because giving it a nudge through the magwell causes it to close I'm thinking that the bolt catch is the real problem. The bolt release just seems like a standard AR one so maybe I'll do some measuring and comparing. I knew buying one of these was risky due tot he feedback but I had been optimistic that these Gen 2 Elites were going to perform better.
yeah no schit...!!!!!
I was really hoping they’d have sorted this out by now.My new "Elite" showed up yesterday so today I tried it out. Using one of the supplied mags I managed to get of 3 rounds before it jammed. Everyone says that those mags are junk so I made an adjustment to the magwell and tried out Cross, MFT, MRA and factory mags. Total failure.
What seems to happen is the BCG is dragging. Even without a magazine in it can get hung up like this:
If I poke my finger through the magwell and poke the bcg it will then continue and close.
So what's the problem? I'm not sure but I recall someone having problems with the pin that held the tail in place. This is the Gen 2 bolt carrier so maybe there are some differences but mine protrudes out one side....
And doesn't make it all the way to the other side:
Here is the next thing:
The bolt release is supposed to stay depressed until the magazine is empty and then pop up once the rounds are complete. For example here is an AR with ammunition in the mag and an empty mag. You can see how the bolt release pops up into place.
Here is the crusader with a loaded and unloaded mag
So it appears the main problem is that something is causing the BCG to drag. This makes chambering a round hit or miss. Because giving it a nudge through the magwell causes it to close I'm thinking that the bolt catch is the real problem. The bolt release just seems like a standard AR one so maybe I'll do some measuring and comparing. I knew buying one of these was risky due tot he feedback but I had been optimistic that these Gen 2 Elites were going to perform better.
Please let us know what your findings are.
I was seriously considering pulling the trigger on one of these.
My new "Elite" showed up yesterday so today I tried it out. Using one of the supplied mags I managed to get of 3 rounds before it jammed. Everyone says that those mags are junk so I made an adjustment to the magwell and tried out Cross, MFT, MRA and factory mags. Total failure.
What seems to happen is the BCG is dragging. Even without a magazine in it can get hung up like this:
If I poke my finger through the magwell and poke the bcg it will then continue and close.
So what's the problem? I'm not sure but I recall someone having problems with the pin that held the tail in place. This is the Gen 2 bolt carrier so maybe there are some differences but mine protrudes out one side....
And doesn't make it all the way to the other side:
Here is the next thing:
The bolt release is supposed to stay depressed until the magazine is empty and then pop up once the rounds are complete. For example here is an AR with ammunition in the mag and an empty mag. You can see how the bolt release pops up into place.
Here is the crusader with a loaded and unloaded mag
So it appears the main problem is that something is causing the BCG to drag. This makes chambering a round hit or miss. Because giving it a nudge through the magwell causes it to close I'm thinking that the bolt catch is the real problem. The bolt release just seems like a standard AR one so maybe I'll do some measuring and comparing. I knew buying one of these was risky due tot he feedback but I had been optimistic that these Gen 2 Elites were going to perform better.
Someone else DM'd me reporting the exact same issue on their BLH "Elite", so I'm hoping it's not a common issue.. The company doesn't exactly seem to care about out-the-door quality in my experience, and in my opinion would rather get them sold first and then deal with potential warranty claims afterwards.
I don't think the bolt catch is causing the hang up, because it can really only stop the bolt in 3 positions, but yours is getting stuck around the purple line:
I'd be curious to see what the inside of your upper receiver looks like. Look for any long silver lines/streaks to give you an idea on if it's getting caught up in a particular area.
Did you give it a good cleaning to remove the factory oil? Do that if you haven't, and then lube it up really well and cycle the action a few times nice and hard/fast. Maybe it's just a break-in period. The new BCGs are pretty small inside the upper receiver and tend to wiggle a lot, so it's really odd that it would be getting caught up like this in the first place.
The retaining pin for the firing pin seems to be loose on the new BCGs as well, and also sticks out a bit. Look at that being a potential contact point if it's rubbing on the receiver, including the rat tail retaining pin you already pointed out.
Please keep us posted.
Another place the bolt drags and hangs up is over the hammer
I thought they put in a different trigger group on the “elite” model but maybe not
Run about a hundred rounds through it and see if it gets better
I ended up sending mine in for warranty work because of the not wanting to go into battery issue. It got better after 50-75 rounds but was still hanging up
They said they would look at it so I sent it in
My bolt catch quit working too but then it started to work so maybe it was sticking or something
I thought they put in a different trigger group on the “elite” model but maybe not
Run about a hundred rounds through it and see if it gets better
I ended up sending mine in for warranty work because of the not wanting to go into battery issue. It got better after 50-75 rounds but was still hanging up
They said they would look at it so I sent it in
My bolt catch quit working too but then it started to work so maybe it was sticking or something
I took some of your comments here and tried a couple of things
I took out the bolt release and tried it- no change
I removed the trigger group with the hammer, put the upper and lower back together and cycled it a few times. The bolt did not dive downwards and jam halfway when I did this. Put the trigger group back in and problem is back. Plus the hammer absolutely has wear on it, it's bright and shiny where the BCG has gone over it. I expect a certain amount of wear but that seems quite a lot very quickly.
The inner top of the upper does have some wear but it looks more like the type you see on every semi when it's brand new.
I don't know what to do about the retaining pin sticking out or even if it's wrong. It looks wrong to me but I tried a couple of taps to seat it deeper and nothing happened and I tried inserting a punch from the other side and nothing happened there, either.
So summary: I think the hammer is potentially pushing up on part of the BCG which causes the bolt to nose dive and cause a number of problems.
And the retaining pin might be a problem but I have no idea what a properly inserted one looks like.
I took out the bolt release and tried it- no change
I removed the trigger group with the hammer, put the upper and lower back together and cycled it a few times. The bolt did not dive downwards and jam halfway when I did this. Put the trigger group back in and problem is back. Plus the hammer absolutely has wear on it, it's bright and shiny where the BCG has gone over it. I expect a certain amount of wear but that seems quite a lot very quickly.
The inner top of the upper does have some wear but it looks more like the type you see on every semi when it's brand new.
I don't know what to do about the retaining pin sticking out or even if it's wrong. It looks wrong to me but I tried a couple of taps to seat it deeper and nothing happened and I tried inserting a punch from the other side and nothing happened there, either.
So summary: I think the hammer is potentially pushing up on part of the BCG which causes the bolt to nose dive and cause a number of problems.
And the retaining pin might be a problem but I have no idea what a properly inserted one looks like.
That's a real shame. I thought they fixed the issue with the bolt getting hung up on the hammer by using the new, stronger recoil spring.
If it's getting hung up on the hammer, maybe there is something different with the "Elite's" trigger group.
The retaining pin on yours looks the same as on mine though, and I haven't had any issues with that bit specifically. But it definitely still seems wrong to me too, to stick out that much.
Max Owner
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Really a long shot, but could the pins that hold the trigger group in; could be drilled “out of spec”?
Or try another trigger group in the rifle?
On Edit; is it a proprietary trigger group on these?
Or try another trigger group in the rifle?
On Edit; is it a proprietary trigger group on these?
My new "Elite" showed up yesterday so today I tried it out. Using one of the supplied mags I managed to get of 3 rounds before it jammed. Everyone says that those mags are junk so I made an adjustment to the magwell and tried out Cross, MFT, MRA and factory mags. Total failure.
What seems to happen is the BCG is dragging. Even without a magazine in it can get hung up like this:
If I poke my finger through the magwell and poke the bcg it will then continue and close.
So what's the problem? I'm not sure but I recall someone having problems with the pin that held the tail in place. This is the Gen 2 bolt carrier so maybe there are some differences but mine protrudes out one side....
And doesn't make it all the way to the other side:
Here is the next thing:
The bolt release is supposed to stay depressed until the magazine is empty and then pop up once the rounds are complete. For example here is an AR with ammunition in the mag and an empty mag. You can see how the bolt release pops up into place.
Here is the crusader with a loaded and unloaded mag
So it appears the main problem is that something is causing the BCG to drag. This makes chambering a round hit or miss. Because giving it a nudge through the magwell causes it to close I'm thinking that the bolt catch is the real problem. The bolt release just seems like a standard AR one so maybe I'll do some measuring and comparing. I knew buying one of these was risky due tot he feedback but I had been optimistic that these Gen 2 Elites were going to perform better.
Not good.
Can you strip the back end to the point that the recoil spring is removed and you can manually push the bolt forward with the rat tail looking rod (ie by hand) with everything else in place as normal?
Would let you see / feel where it is free / tight? Could be tight in more than one spot (ie have more than one singular issue).
The extra wear on the hammer is concerning and the pin not all the way through raises an eyebrow too (feels like a "It is stuck so hopefully it is good enough" moment). Pretty sure there have been other people with the pin issue that had to drill it out to correct (believe I have read about this before somewhere), guessing it is just a roll pin that isn't seated well due to sloppy out of line drilling?
I am not even sure how to get to the recoil spring. I assume it's via the big nut that holds on the pistol grip but getting at that nut seems challenging in itself. The pistol grip is slightly loose but I don't think that effects the function.
Some video, maybe those that also have this rifle can tell me if this is normal as I don't have any experience with this style of rifle. I think it's weird for an upper to just allow the BCG to drop like that, even without a lower attached. usually there will be a rail the BCG can run on and be supported. The BCG doesn't even make contact with the lower anyway, but I did two videos.
In the win column I grabbed an old IMI magazine and it slid in very nicely. I was able to get off 5 consecutive rounds prior to jamming. So maybe I just need to keep "breaking it in." I miss the good ol days when guns ran smooth rigth out of the box.
I've probably annoyed my neighbors enough over the last couple of days so I'm going to sit it down until I get to the range tomorrow or Saturday.
*****EDIT**** Emboldened by my success I decided the neighbors had endured a few dozen rounds over the last two days so they would handle 10 more. All 10 ran fine. Was it the mag? Is it finally "broken in?" I don't know but I'll take it. Tomorrow I'll go to the range and see if it's going to run.
I've probably annoyed my neighbors enough over the last couple of days so I'm going to sit it down until I get to the range tomorrow or Saturday.
*****EDIT**** Emboldened by my success I decided the neighbors had endured a few dozen rounds over the last two days so they would handle 10 more. All 10 ran fine. Was it the mag? Is it finally "broken in?" I don't know but I'll take it. Tomorrow I'll go to the range and see if it's going to run.
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That really doesn't look right but then I haven't handled one of these so maybe that is ok?
