To be fair, their website now claims review results of Sub-MOA to 3 FOOT groups. My god....I hope that is a typo of ' instead of "
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Hello, I'm mtdawg169 and I'm a parts snob.
- Thread starter mtdawg169
- Start date
To be fair, their website now claims review results of Sub-MOA to 3 FOOT groups. My god....I hope that is a typo of ' instead of "
Well the factory "match" barrel I bought guaranteed 1moa with factory match ammo.
As far as accuracy goes, I never tested it. It was acceptable with m193, but no better than my Colt or PSA barrels.
Edit
Yep, the match line of barrels doesn't exist anymore. I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up.
Alright, in tonight's episode of "I'm a parts snob" we'll discuss the Fail zero bolt carrier group that I had on my bench tonight.
BangBang
sent me a box o parts earlier this week to assemble for him. The base of the build was a sweet Colt M4A1 barrel. Very nice. When we were discussing it last week, he asked me to take a look at his carrier because he thought the gas key staking was weak. So, I got the upper assembled with no issues. His Mega upper was a nice snug fit on the barrel. The Mega is definitely a nice peice.
During assembly, after slipping the gas tube into place, but before installing the roll pin, I test fit the carrier. It slid in and out easily, but was making a little more contact with the tube than I like. There was a distinct "tick" when the key slipped over the tube. It was off by maybe a degree or so. So, I pulled the gas tube, loosened the barrel nut and retimed it to perfect dead center. No more metal tink. From there, I finished up the assembly and moved on to the carrier itself.
BangBang was absolutely right. The key "looked" staked, but really wasn't. There were basically four little dents in the key, with no metal displaced to hold the screws. And then I saw the screws. Cheap YFS junk.
The issue with these screws is that they have a rounded profile on the top edge. That's right where the stake is supposed to make contact. Well, I decided to replace them with correct grade 8 straight walled screws (knurled on the side walls). When I turned the wrench to remove the screws, it took almost no effort. I mean hardly any torque at all. That carrier was basically ready to fail at any time. They were barely screwed in and definitely not installed to the correct torque spec.
So I removed them, cleaned and degreased the carrier and key, applied red loctite and reinstalled the new screws to the correct spec. One thing I noticed when I removed the key, is that the mating surface on the carrier had some uneven machine marks. Not much I can do about that. But hopefully, with the new screws and correct torque, it will be fine. From there, the MOACKS came out and the key was restaked. Those screws are good to go now.
Earlier
freedom
asked about FZ. Aside from the fact that I'm just not an NiB fan, I'd have to say that I would not be very happy if I paid $100+ for what I saw tonight. But, about 5 minutes of work and two $0.05 screws is all it took to fix.
That is what gets me with some of these manufacturers. The cost and time difference for them to do it right is almost zero. And it's certainly cheaper in the long run than it would be to hire a staff of customer service / returns people and have to do it again when it fails and the customer sends it back.
All fixed up
BangBang
sent me a box o parts earlier this week to assemble for him. The base of the build was a sweet Colt M4A1 barrel. Very nice. When we were discussing it last week, he asked me to take a look at his carrier because he thought the gas key staking was weak. So, I got the upper assembled with no issues. His Mega upper was a nice snug fit on the barrel. The Mega is definitely a nice peice. During assembly, after slipping the gas tube into place, but before installing the roll pin, I test fit the carrier. It slid in and out easily, but was making a little more contact with the tube than I like. There was a distinct "tick" when the key slipped over the tube. It was off by maybe a degree or so. So, I pulled the gas tube, loosened the barrel nut and retimed it to perfect dead center. No more metal tink. From there, I finished up the assembly and moved on to the carrier itself.
BangBang was absolutely right. The key "looked" staked, but really wasn't. There were basically four little dents in the key, with no metal displaced to hold the screws. And then I saw the screws. Cheap YFS junk.
The issue with these screws is that they have a rounded profile on the top edge. That's right where the stake is supposed to make contact. Well, I decided to replace them with correct grade 8 straight walled screws (knurled on the side walls). When I turned the wrench to remove the screws, it took almost no effort. I mean hardly any torque at all. That carrier was basically ready to fail at any time. They were barely screwed in and definitely not installed to the correct torque spec.
So I removed them, cleaned and degreased the carrier and key, applied red loctite and reinstalled the new screws to the correct spec. One thing I noticed when I removed the key, is that the mating surface on the carrier had some uneven machine marks. Not much I can do about that. But hopefully, with the new screws and correct torque, it will be fine. From there, the MOACKS came out and the key was restaked. Those screws are good to go now.
Earlier
freedom
asked about FZ. Aside from the fact that I'm just not an NiB fan, I'd have to say that I would not be very happy if I paid $100+ for what I saw tonight. But, about 5 minutes of work and two $0.05 screws is all it took to fix. That is what gets me with some of these manufacturers. The cost and time difference for them to do it right is almost zero. And it's certainly cheaper in the long run than it would be to hire a staff of customer service / returns people and have to do it again when it fails and the customer sends it back.
All fixed up
I picked up a used S&W M&P15 a few years ago. Shot fine, but lower wouldn't accept a P-Mag magazine. Aluminum or steel mags were fine, but the magwell was a bit under spec (common problem their first few years when Stag was supplying their lowers). I also wasn't happy with the accuracy, so I called S&W and to their credit, they did an RMA and shipped on their dime. Got it back 2 weeks later, repaired under warranty.
Mags fit fine and everything was hunky-dory until I got to the range. They had replaced the entire upper in response to my accuracy complaint. About every other mag, the bolt would lock back with the last unfired round laying loose on top of the mag. After conversing with folks on ODT, Barfcom, and M4carbine, I decided it was overgassed, causing the occasional last round to be jarred loose from the mag and the bolt to lock open. Installed an H2 buffer and the problem went away, but still....
Sent from my Droid Turbo using TapaTalk
Mags fit fine and everything was hunky-dory until I got to the range. They had replaced the entire upper in response to my accuracy complaint. About every other mag, the bolt would lock back with the last unfired round laying loose on top of the mag. After conversing with folks on ODT, Barfcom, and M4carbine, I decided it was overgassed, causing the occasional last round to be jarred loose from the mag and the bolt to lock open. Installed an H2 buffer and the problem went away, but still....
Sent from my Droid Turbo using TapaTalk
First off let me thank you for assembling the upper for me. I can throw a parts kit in a lower and slap on a buffer tube no problem, but putting an upper together is a whole different ball game. I don't have the right tools or "know-how" to get it done. At least not to get it done RIGHT. So I really do appreciate you doing it for meAlright, in tonight's episode of "I'm a parts snob" we'll discuss the Fail zero bolt carrier group that I had on my bench tonight.
During assembly, after slipping the gas tube into place, but before installing the roll pin, I test fit the carrier. It slid in and out easily, but was making a little more contact with the tube than I like. There was a distinct "tick" when the key slipped over the tube. It was off by maybe a degree or so. So, I pulled the gas tube, loosened the barrel nut and retimed it to perfect dead center. No more metal tink. From there, I finished up the assembly and moved on to the carrier itself.
BangBang was absolutely right. The key "looked" staked, but really wasn't. There were basically four little dents in the key, with no metal displaced to hold the screws. And then I saw the screws. Cheap YFS junk.
The issue with these screws is that they have a rounded profile on the top edge. That's right where the stake is supposed to make contact. Well, I decided to replace them with correct grade 8 straight walled screws (knurled on the side walls). When I turned the wrench to remove the screws, it took almost no effort. I mean hardly any torque at all. That carrier was basically ready to fail at any time. They were barely screwed in and definitely not installed to the correct torque spec.
So I removed them, cleaned and degreased the carrier and key, applied red loctite and reinstalled the new screws to the correct spec. One thing I noticed when I removed the key, is that the mating surface on the carrier had some uneven machine marks. Not much I can do about that. But hopefully, with the new screws and correct torque, it will be fine. From there, the MOACKS came out and the key was restaked. Those screws are good to go now.
Earlier
That is what gets me with some of these manufacturers. The cost and time difference for them to do it right is almost zero. And it's certainly cheaper in the long run than it would be to hire a staff of customer service / returns people and have to do it again when it fails and the customer sends it back.
All fixed up
mtdawg169
As for the Fail Zero BCG, maybe they should rename the company "Fail Sometimes". LOL
I bought that BCG online right before the election and paid $149 for it. It was brand new in the factory packaging, so I know for a fact that nobody had messed with the gas key screws. The way it was when
mtdawg169
received it is how it came from the factory. Yes, I'm VERY disappointed in FZ and they'll never see another penny from me. I'm just glad that there was a member here with the tools and know-how to fix the problem, because I was pretty wary about sending it back to FZ considering what a crappy job they did on it in the first place.Hopefully the BCG will hold up OK now. I guess time will tell.
Anyway, this is a great thread. Lot's of great info in here!
Don't get me started about the GAADM stripped lower I bought right after Sandy Hook....
Anyone who says "all AR parts come from the same places" gets the stinkeye from me.
Anyone who says "all AR parts come from the same places" gets the stinkeye from me.
I had an Anderson lower last year that the front pin would not go in, holes out of spec. Same lower had jacked up threads for the grip, had it replaced under warranty by them.
I have two PSA uppers I got lucky on. Had a friend look them over, gas key staking was good and everything was installed properly and tight. One has around 500 rounds through it with no issues thus far. Both are the freedom line, one stainless/mid length and a nitride/carbine. I've been drooling over some AR 47 uppers to put to use come deer season...
I have two PSA uppers I got lucky on. Had a friend look them over, gas key staking was good and everything was installed properly and tight. One has around 500 rounds through it with no issues thus far. Both are the freedom line, one stainless/mid length and a nitride/carbine. I've been drooling over some AR 47 uppers to put to use come deer season...
I literally spent half a night this week trying to diagnose a factory built PSA upper via text. Failure to Feed. Gun was a one shot wonder. Rounds ejecting but not feeding. Suspicion: Gun is possibly WAY overgassed or the gas block is misaligned. But without getting hands on, I can't really say what was wrong with it.
