Geez. I’ve been crazy lucky building ARs! Why hasn’t everyone?

[Arik]

Curious additional question that I just thought of as I made this post - can anyone find a thread where a Colt 6920 (barring it being driven over by an SUV...) failed to function?

I posted one a few years ago. Would get weird double feeds when one round would jump up over the bolt

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[Eurodriver]

I posted one a few years ago. Would get weird double feeds when one round would jump up over the bolt

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No way! Factory gun? Did you send it back?!?

[Arik]

No way! Factory gun? Did you send it back?!?

Factory. OEM but used. More like pre-owned. No I didn't send it back since it seemed to be a problem with only one type of ammo.

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[Coal Dragger]

I have assembled no fewer than 15 complete uppers and 4-5 lowers since 2009. I have...wait for it...never, ever, not once experienced a malfunction with any of them.

Some of them only got 200-300 rounds before I sold them. Some of them have 15,000 rounds of hard suppressed used. Some of them have gotten brand new milspec (Colt, DD, BCM) BCGs, some of them have gotten Surefire or Gemtech suppressed carriers with milspec bolts, and some of them have gotten used bolts. One of them had a laser accurate 20” Krieger barrels, and one of them had a shitty 12.5” BCM that couldn’t hold a decent group. Some of them have been 10.3”, 10.50, 11.5”, 14.5” with pinned muzzle devices and 14.5” without.

All have been Swiss watch reliable. I’ve shot M855, M193, Wolf gold, Wolf, Tula, handloaded precision ammo and handloaded M193 clone ammo. They’ve shot it all. (Although the overwhelming majority, 95%+ has been M193 or equivalent)

That sounds impossible, but it’s true. I always use quality parts, but based on what I’ve read here all parts are exactly the same. I’ve shot cheap ammo, but they’ve cycled. I’ve always used a torque wrench and appropriate tools but based on what I’ve read here it’s just plug and play and you don’t need any of those tools.

What’s the deal? Why is this forum consistently full of posts troubleshooting failures to feed, failures to eject, and even crazier malfunctions (lower pins walking out, barrels loosening from barrel extensions, front sight posts loosening up)? What is everyone doing wrong?

Curious additional question that I just thought of as I made this post - can anyone find a thread where a Colt 6920 (barring it being driven over by an SUV...) failed to function?

See your problem is you haven’t been adventurous enough to do what Bubba would do: cut corners and do your build as cheaply as possible.

I suggest conducting a relatively inexpensive experiment: buy the lowest price parts you can find, then assemble them without a torque wrench or any regard for proper assembly techniques like staking of castle nuts, carrier keys etc.

I think you’ll have fun either way.

[The_War_Wagon]

Other than getting the right buffer (H3+) in the one carbine-length upper (It was finicky about FTE until I did) I've built since 2010, I've had the same success. Must be all those BCM parts I used, that everyone (on other forums) told me were "too expensive."

I wonder if their "JUST as good as" WAS, over that same decade?

[Eurodriver]

Factory. OEM but used. More like pre-owned. No I didn't send it back since it seemed to be a problem with only one type of ammo.

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Interesting. My reply wasn’t sarcasm btw (seems like that now that I reread it). I believe you. That’s just crazy.

What type of ammo?

[Eurodriver]

See your problem is you haven’t been adventurous enough to do what Bubba would do: cut corners and do your build as cheaply as possible.

I suggest conducting a relatively inexpensive experiment: buy the lowest price parts you can find, then assemble them without a torque wrench or any regard for proper assembly techniques like staking of castle nuts, carrier keys etc.

I think you’ll have fun either way.

That does sound pretty fun. I’d love to do a few things but unfortunately I don’t care enough nor have the time or funds to do it:

Buy factory 6920
Assemble w/ quality parts & tools a 16” carbine
Assemble w/sub par parts & quality tools a 16” carbine
Assemble w/ quality parts & sub par tools a 16” carbine
Assemble w/ sub par parts & tools a 16” carbine

Test all for reliability. Who knows? Maybe those parts really are just as good as but the demographic that buys them aren’t knowledgeable enough to assemble them properly.

In order to find out what parts to use, I’d make a thread on TOS and copy the typical format of:

“hurr durr I’m looking to build my first AR to defend myself from 2 legged CRIMINALS. I need parts ideas that are just as good as BCM and Colt but I only want to spend $300 including optic. (even though my truck costs $65,000, I have a $15,000 Harley that I never ride next to a $25,000 side by side, and my wife and I make well into the six figures I don’t really value my safety that much and I’m a cheap mf’er)”

[AndyLate]

I have a 11.3 pistol I build on Anderson receivers, KAK RE, Toolcraft nitride BCG, and a PSA FCG. It has never bobbled.

BUT - the odds of building a trouble free AR with budget parts are much lower than building one with quality parts.

In truth, an AR built with decent parts (i.e. not those listed above) should be very reliable whether it is well assembled in a factory or at home.

Andy

[Arik]

Interesting. My reply wasn’t sarcasm btw (seems like that now that I reread it). I believe you. That’s just crazy.

What type of ammo?

I knew what you meant. If I'm not mistaken 55gr fmj Independence IMI in the white and blue boxes

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[Coal Dragger]

That does sound pretty fun. I’d love to do a few things but unfortunately I don’t care enough nor have the time or funds to do it:

Buy factory 6920
Assemble w/ quality parts & tools a 16” carbine
Assemble w/sub par parts & quality tools a 16” carbine
Assemble w/ quality parts & sub par tools a 16” carbine
Assemble w/ sub par parts & tools a 16” carbine

Test all for reliability. Who knows? Maybe those parts really are just as good as but the demographic that buys them aren’t knowledgeable enough to assemble them properly.

In order to find out what parts to use, I’d make a thread on TOS and copy the typical format of:

“hurr durr I’m looking to build my first AR to defend myself from 2 legged CRIMINALS. I need parts ideas that are just as good as BCM and Colt but I only want to spend $300 including optic. (even though my truck costs $65,000, I have a $15,000 Harley that I never ride next to a $25,000 side by side, and my wife and I make well into the six figures I don’t really value my safety that much and I’m a cheap mf’er)”

Well I can understand one guy not wanting to take on that much financial hit for experimentation, but what if a few of us got together and each did one build to each "spec" or budget? Might be tough to organize, but interesting nonetheless.