The Necessity of Gas Key Staking
I was at a local shop today to pick up some items I had ordered, and spoke with their gunsmith about an AR build I was interested in. One thing I wasn't completely comfortable with was that they preferred YHM and some other less than top rung components, but some of their completed work on display looked like it was assembled with care and precision, so I wanted to inquire further. During the course of the conversation I asked if the BCG's they were using were properly staked, and I was told that staking of the carrier key was unnecessary and that red loctite was sufficient. I asked about the possibility of their gas key coming loose and why chance it, but they remained firm in their belief and I decided not to press the point. This had me baffled, as aside from their use of YHM, and large inventory of Bushmaster et al, they had some nice colts in stock and the young smith seemed to know what he was talking about beyond these issues. This led me to ask, has there been some sort of development in the past few years that I've missed? Is the staking of the key no longer necessary?