An AR15 is an AR15 is an AR15 .................................

[cmshoot]

It doesn't bother me on the cheaper guns cause you almost expect it. Saves me an end plate when I Cerakote it. It is however a sign that the assembly process wasn't taken seriously.

Exactly!

A company that builds AR’s should be expected to, at a minimum, build to spec. If the castle nut isn’t staked, I’ll usually find that the gas key has the wrong bolts and either they aren’t staked, or are improperly staked. Using the wrong bolts makes them more difficult to stake. Then it usually goes downhill from there with a bunch or other cut corners.

PSA is a prime culprit of this nowadays.

 

[Wallace's]

The TM calls for Aeroshell 33ms/64 for RE installs to prevent thread galling. Loctite doesn’t adhere to grease...

I’m not going to be nice when I say this. Using Loctite on a castle nut is the cheap ass poor way of doing it.

If you don’t want to stake, buy an SR15 end plate and lock ring and the Brownells tool to install it. They don’t require staking...

I have 3 PWS ratcheting castle nuts. First one failed after swapping from Carbine, to Vltor A5 and removing to inspect after it didn’t feel right. The first install felt ok, the second and 3rd wore the pin out flat and no longer engages the castle nut teeth. PWS sent me a new one, and claimed their testing yielded nearly 50 installs before wear. I say all this as yours will likely be ok, but be sure to inspect the pin if you ever remove it and reinstall.

ETA: I used one on my AR10 as well with only one install to see how it holds up. At this point, with PWS’ shaking QC or lack there of recently, I don’t recommend them.

 

[greg vess]

The only thing that concerns me there is the feed ramps. The roll pin can be corrected in t 10 seconds. The sticky mag release can be addressed with little effort. If that's all that is wrong then ship it back for the feed ramp problem or step up to a better barrel. Then the gun will be a shooter.

 

[Fatal_Bert]

The only thing that concerns me there is the feed ramps. The roll pin can be corrected in t 10 seconds. The sticky mag release can be addressed with little effort. If that's all that is wrong then ship it back for the feed ramp problem or step up to a better barrel. Then the gun will be a shooter.

Sure the roll pins and castle nut can be easily fixed, but if those aren't done right are you going to trust the barrel nut is properly torqued? At this point you're rebuilding the whole rifle, which is fine for those with the tools and know how but people are recommending these rifles to newbs stating "it's just as good as muh Colt derp derp".

Also a new barrel doesn't mean the feed ramp issue will be fixed as there's no way of knowing what's off, the barrels ramps or the m4 extension on the receiver. The upper and lower receiver do go together nice with very little wiggle and we all know that's what's most important anyway.

 

[albatros43]

Sure the roll pins and castle nut can be easily fixed, but if those aren't done right are you going to trust the barrel nut is properly torqued? At this point you're rebuilding the whole rifle, which is fine for those with the tools and know how but people are recommending these rifles to newbs stating "it's just as good as muh Colt derp derp".

Also a new barrel doesn't mean the feed ramp issue will be fixed as there's no way of knowing what's off, the barrels ramps or the m4 extension on the receiver. The upper and lower receiver do go together nice with very little wiggle and we all know that's what's most important anyway.

Accuwedge bro

 

[greg vess]

No wiggle is a plus but it's not the absolute. You need a properly built rifle with properly machined parts. Given it's a S&W it's very surprising to me that this is allowed to get through. Was it a improperly programed machine or what. That is what disturbs me. Surly to God quality control caught the problem and corrected it. If it is their designed to begin with and works correctly then who are we to say it's incorrect. There is a lot of missing information here. Like I said before the roll pin is nit picking. The mag release could be a bur on the part or something as simple as needing another rotation to keep it from protruding to much when the mag release button is depressed. You can't spend 500 dollars and expect to have a LWRC or Daniel Defense.
Make no mistake about it, I have had to correct Daniel Defense parts that where defective straight from them namely a 6.8 Bolt Carrier Group but that's another story. Errors can get by and do more often than we care to think about. I would have to look at the rifle, bring it to the range and put it through it paces and then make an accurate assessment of the rifle as a whole and not just damn the rifle due to a roll pin, a mag release and what I think may be a problem. I am not knocking your expertise I am just saying I would need to fire the rifle before I make the final judgement.

 

[greg vess]

Exactly!

A company that builds AR’s should be expected to, at a minimum, build to spec. If the castle nut isn’t staked, I’ll usually find that the gas key has the wrong bolts and either they aren’t staked, or are improperly staked. Using the wrong bolts makes them more difficult to stake. Then it usually goes downhill from there with a bunch or other cut corners.

PSA is a prime culprit of this nowadays.

This man speaks Gospel. Please abide by these principles.

 

[greg vess]

Also a lot of guys speak of staking the castle nut. I use caution when saying that. There are a lot of members on here just dabbling in the works of an AR15. Don't tell them to stake the castle nut and leave it at that. Too many guys might just start hammering on the tightening lugs of the nut. Use a pic to illustrate the proper place to stake the castle nut and give a short instruction on how to do so. You are dealing with a mass of proper builders and need to know exactly where this is done and exactly what tools to use to do it. If you just say stake the castle nut some are going to get a hammer and punch and start pounding the nut. It's a very delicate process and one can totally miss exactly where it should be done.

 

[Fatal_Bert]

Also a lot of guys speak of staking the castle nut. I use caution when saying that. There are a lot of members on here just dabbling in the works of an AR15. Don't tell them to stake the castle nut and leave it at that. Too many guys might just start hammering on the tightening lugs of the nut. Use a pic to illustrate the proper place to stake the castle nut and give a short instruction on how to do so. You are dealing with a mass of proper builders and need to know exactly where this is done and exactly what tools to use to do it. If you just say stake the castle nut some are going to get a hammer and punch and start pounding the nut. It's a very delicate process and one can totally miss exactly where it should be done.

There's pictures in this thread of what a proper staking job looks like.

There's a sticky at the top of the Gunsmithing forum with a very detailed guide to lower assembly
https://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/ar15-lower-receiver-assembly-guide.1167622/

Or a simple google search

So if someone starts hammering on the back of the castle nut their ignorance was by choice.

 

[Radar363]

There's pictures in this thread of what a proper staking job looks like.

There's a sticky at the top of the Gunsmithing forum with a very detailed guide to lower assembly
https://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/ar15-lower-receiver-assembly-guide.1167622/

Or a simple google search
View attachment 1482275

So if someone starts hammering on the back of the castle nut their ignorance was by choice.

...but do they emphasise how very delicate the process is?...