Hello, I'm mtdawg169 and I'm a parts snob.

[mtdawg169]

Good thread mtdawg169 . Tons of good info here.

What issues with QC or reliability/function have you seen from Spikes?

Honestly, not a lot. Back in the day, there were a lot of questions about their materials specs and exactly what they were selling. That seems to have been settled a while ago though. I'd be curious about their gas port sizing methodology and and I've seen issues with the quality of the coatings for their NiB triggers and carriers in the past (flaking and chipping off). But outside of that, the products seem pretty squared away.

Personal dislikes: the STT2 buffer is a gimmick.

They tried to rape the market by doubling stripped lower prices overnight several years ago as a response to a gun panic. I personally will never forgive this.

At times they've exhibited extreme douchebaggery towards other manufacturers on arfcom.

They also heavily associate themselves with other douchebags within the gun industry. That's not something I want to support.

And I can't look at a spider logo, without seeing this...

 

[jeffk14]

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.

Ugh, text. If anybody asks me a question via text that requires much more than a one line answer, my reply is usually "call me".

FWIW, I have a friend who bought a new Radical Firearms (yeah, I know, I know) carbine that was doing pretty much the same thing. Bolt override or stove pipe every other shot. I had him check bolt lock back and it was fine. Turns out, the buffer spring was way short, under spec. I really don't know how that happens with a brand new gun.

I'm probably coming off as "Captain Obvious" to you, but my abridged advice to folks is to always check lock back first. If that's fine, check buffer spring length and start climbing the ladder with buffers until it runs. If the bolt doesn't lock back, I start looking for leaks or sources of excess friction.

 

[haymons22]

Honestly, not a lot. Back in the day, there were a lot of questions about their materials specs and exactly what they were selling. That seems to have been settled a while ago though. I'd be curious about their gas port sizing methodology and and I've seen issues with the quality of the coatings for their NiB triggers and carriers in the past (flaking and chipping off). But outside of that, the products seem pretty squared away.

Personal dislikes: the STT2 buffer is a gimmick.

They tried to rape the market by doubling stripped lower prices overnight several years ago as a response to a gun panic. I personally will never forgive this.

At times they've exhibited extreme douchebaggery towards other manufacturers on arfcom.

They also heavily associate themselves with other douchebags within the gun industry. That's not something I want to support.

And I can't look at a spider logo, without seeing this...

Good to know. I recently traded into a Spikes with the crusader lower and thus far everything seems fine with it. I haven't tried to measure the gas port or anything for that matter but it has functioned properly. Gas tube alignment was all I've checked and it seems to be fine (I'm no expert by any means).

Did not know of the general douchebaggery from Spikes. I will likely steer clear of them in the future for that reason. I am currently attempting to save up to eventually buy a DD. I hope that once I'm able to, it will be my "be all, end all" AR.

 

[KingTuna]

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.

Yeah, i'm glad I was lucky and haven't had those issues. I would like to mention though that both of my guns have an a2 front sight. I did this because I've heard of others having issues with the low profile gas blocks being misaligned, or the barrel not dimpled properly. Does the PSA you were texting about have a low profile block?

 

[mtdawg169]

Yeah, i'm glad I was lucky and haven't had those issues. I would like to mention though that both of my guns have an a2 front sight. I did this because I've heard of others having issues with the low profile gas blocks being misaligned, or the barrel not dimpled properly. Does the PSA you were texting about have a low profile block?

I don't know. Didn't see any pictures of it. But I've never seen a PSA barrel that was dimpled for a low pro gas block, ever.

Curious, are your PSA front sight bases, F marked or no?

 

[Old_School]

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.

Overgassed? I would suspect undergassed (gas block misaligned) is more likely (although you can't be sure until personally examining it).

My second AR (also 2nd hand) would eject, but would choke on low-pressured ammo like Wolf, not driving the bolt carrier back far enough to pick up the next round.

While sighting in, I had to adjust the rear sight to the right an extreme amount.

Taking it back to my "shop", I put a level on the receiver and one on the front sight block.

Looking closely, it was obvious that the left front sight protective wing was bent, indicating the rifle had been dropped.

Removing the Yankee Hill front gas block/sight (factory-installed) immediately showed the problem.

The gas block had hit something so hard, it had rotated on the barrel, obscuring about 30% of the gas port (you can see the carbon buildup on the gas block where the port was blocked).

Cleaned everything up, Red Locktite on all mating surfaces, and blew compressed air down the bore while moving the gas block around. When the sound of the air changed, I knew the gas block and barrel port were aligned and locked it all down with new screws. It's been flawless in operation for the last 1000+ rounds and is my favorite shooter.


Sent from my Droid Turbo using TapaTalk

 

[mtdawg169]

Overgassed? I would suspect undergassed (gas block misaligned) is more likely (although you can't be sure until personally examining it).

My second AR (also 2nd hand) would eject, but would choke on low-pressured ammo like Wolf, not driving the bolt carrier back far enough to pick up the next round.

While sighting in, I had to adjust the rear sight to the right an extreme amount.
View attachment 1102113

Taking it back to my "shop", I put a level on the receiver and one on the front sight block.
View attachment 1102116
View attachment 1102117

Looking closely, it was obvious that the left front sight protective wing was bent, indicating the rifle had been dropped.

Removing the Yankee Hill front gas block/sight (factory-installed) immediately showed the problem.
View attachment 1102130
View attachment 1102123

The gas block had hit something so hard, it had rotated on the barrel, obscuring about 30% of the gas port (you can see the carbon buildup on the gas block where the port was blocked).
View attachment 1102131

Cleaned everything up, Red Locktite on all mating surfaces, and blew compressed air down the bore while moving the gas block around. When the sound of the air changed, I knew the gas block and barrel port were aligned and locked it all down with new screws. It's been flawless in operation for the last 1000+ rounds and is my favorite shooter.


Sent from my Droid Turbo using TapaTalk

The rifle I was referencing had already been checked out pretty well. The person I was discussing it with, was pretty confident that he had ruled out any gas flow issues or blockages. That's all the info I had to go on. So if it's not a gas flow issue, you move on to more complex probabilities.

In the event that a gun is severely overgassed, it is possible for the carrier velocity to outrun the magazine follower. This used to be very commonplace with Bushmaster guns. But, like I said, I was not able to get my hands on it for a correct diagnosis. Whatever the issue was, it was a brand new PSA upper, unfired. And it was a single shot gun right out of the box.

 

[jeffk14]

I don't know. Didn't see any pictures of it. But I've never seen a PSA barrel that was dimpled for a low pro gas block, ever.

Curious, are your PSA front sight bases, F marked or no?

I know the question was not for me, but of the two that I currently have access to, both are "F" marked. One is dead-nuts straight alignment wise, the other is mehhh, just o.k.

 

[freedom]

I don't know. Didn't see any pictures of it. But I've never seen a PSA barrel that was dimpled for a low pro gas block, ever.

Curious, are your PSA front sight bases, F marked or no?

I've had 2 and both were f marked.

 

[Wallace's]

My Premium carbine and all other premiums I have seen have been F marked.