Noveske makes a good barrel, and the rest is average. Their BCG is not as good as BCM, Colt, or DD. Like LaRue they use a blue insert even on carbines which is supposed to be black.
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You can tell a Noveske blem by looking at the shelf inside behind the trigger, hammer/disconnector, the shelf where you would stick an accuwedge if you needed one, the blems have a big "2" marked there.
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So, because Noveske doesn't upgrade a part that probably costs less than 5¢, their BCG's are not as good? Those cheap jerks. :)
I asked Noveske about the 'insert" before I bought a gun from them and was told they found their rifles didn't need the black insert.
I know that they want their guns to be reliable (and they are reliable), so if they thought their rifles needed the black insert, don't you think they would spend the 5¢ and put one in?
Also, I was told Noveske rejects about 40+% of the receivers that come in because of cosmetics. If Noveske uses CMT (or LAR or Kaiser), and rejects such a large percentage, do you think these companies reject 40% of their own receivers before they put them in their own guns? Most probably not. And this is dealing with just cosmetics, I wonder how many are rejected because of fit or machining or whatever.
I think this "culling" of parts is one reason Noveske's cost more and are held in high regard. I know there are a lot of quality rifles being made BUT there is a lot of junk being made too.
But maybe it's just me...
To be fair (according to The Chart) Noveske also batch HPTs their bolts whereas (according to The Chart) Colt, BCM, and DD HPTs every bolt. So it's somewhat more than just a 5¢ part...
That said, I think there's a certain level of quality after which the answer to "Which one's the best" becomes "You can't go wrong with any of them." And I think Noveske has a level of quality past that level.
And if HPTesting every bolt is what does it for you, then you can always buy a Noveske and then toss a BCM, Colt, or DD BCG in it (or just buy a complete DD, BCM, Colt).
Re the blue insert: I called Noveske and asked about this awhile back since I had (on advice from someone here) removed the O ring from my 16" N4 upper. They explained the overall balance of the entire system is what's important - not the color of the specific parts. Also, there a differences in the weights of the O rings.
I reinstalled the O ring, btw - I've never had a malfunction with it installed and did have (just) one without it. Each way has ~500 rounds fired.
And FWIW - a spare bolt I recently bought from Noveske has a black insert. I was disappointed about that since it was destined for my 18" SPR build. After some function checks I swapped it out for a new BCM bolt I had on hand - the tension on the BCM seemed not so tight.
I bought a Noveske 16" LoPro Recce a couple of months ago. The extractor had a black O ring installed. Noveske may have found that as far as the function and durability of the O ring are concerned that it doesn't make that big a difference which one's used, if at all.
I also have a Noveske blem lower with the 2 stamped on the inside. SN starts with a C.
Scoby