AR parts & OCD(Sorting/Rebuilding New Bolts, Replacing/Restaking Carrier Keys

[Labayu]

Alright, time to get real.

I literally went through all of my AR pistols,Carbines, rifles, parts bins and yanked every carrier key, extractor/spring/pin, firing pin, gas ring I had and rebuilt them all whether they needed it or not. I know for a fact that the Colt and Daniel Defense stuff was probably just fine but way back in my mind I thought "what if it's not? How many rounds do I have on that extractor?".

This was no small feat and it wasn't cheap I used FCD gas key bolts, Colt gas keys, DD extractors, Sprinco springs, etc(22 BCGs in all) and my rational mind says this was a pointless and expensive sperg moment but I couldn't help myself. I have a decent collection for my family and myself and plenty of spares but I just couldn't let it go. It literally got me up from a sound sleep and had me online ordering parts a week ago and checking tracking numbers twice a day until I had all the parts sitting on my table so I could do this and now I'm actually thinking about unloading and stripping down over 200 loaded magazines and putting new springs and the latest followers in them because I know there's probably at least 2 sheety black ones hiding in there that I missed however many years ago.

I haven't had a weapon or magazine related malfunction for all of 2021 but I only got to shoot about 4k total for the year because of this friggin kung-flu nonsense but still I'm not seeing any particular moment that inspired this dicey behavior and I'm a little weirded out.

I'm not an uptight guy, I leave guns dirty, I'll hose down a new Noveske with So-Sure in a nanosecond, I'll even eat roadside horsemeat tacos south of I10.

This is new territory for me, am I okay?

[mRad]

No. You have a problem. If isn’t normal to rear things down for no reason. You didn’t mention about round counts or maintenance intervals on anything. You’re just doing it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Labayu]

No. You have a problem. If isn’t normal to rear things down for no reason. You didn’t mention about round counts or maintenance intervals on anything. You’re just doing it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, now that you mention it, not being able to remember any of that with any certainty is what started this crazy train back in November. This whole COVID thing has really thrown me off my normal schedule and I was keeping track of all of that in my head basically tracking usage of each rig based on my running ammo inventory as my only written point of reference.

I need to make a spreadsheet and keep up log entries from now on because that seems to have bothered me waaay more than I would have ever guessed.

[17K]

That was an expensive, unnecessary pita, and I bet your carrier key staking will fail long before Colt’s and DD’s.

[Labayu]

That was an expensive, unnecessary pita, and I bet your carrier key staking will fail long before Colt’s and DD’s.

My Voodoo is every bit as good as some clock puncher at Colt or DD and between dying my flats to check the sealing surfaces, the FCD castellated gas key screws and my staking tool perfectly squeezing the key material into the troughs of those castellaton notches I'll bet neither Colt nor DD have ever built a mass production carrier so precisely measured or carefully built.

You can keep all that mediocrity rattling around in your dome all to yourself partner...

[markm]

That was an expensive, unnecessary pita, and I bet your carrier key staking will fail long before Colt’s and DD’s.

I agree. I've had some non-COLT/BCM jobs (not mine) come loose.

[Inkslinger]

That sounds a bit overboard. I could see doing to a couple of my main rifles, but not ever single one I own. Hell, I don’t even have near as many as you went through!

[DG23]

Alright, time to get real.

I literally went through all of my AR pistols,Carbines, rifles, parts bins and yanked every carrier key, extractor/spring/pin, firing pin, gas ring I had and rebuilt them all whether they needed it or not. I know for a fact that the Colt and Daniel Defense stuff was probably just fine but...

To pull off correctly functioning gas keys 'just because' is beyond dumb. Those things will generally outlive bolts by a good bit and are not something that 'need' routine replacement like gas rings may require.

A fool and their money are soon parted. You just proved it...

[Labayu]

That sounds a bit overboard. I could see doing to a couple of my main rifles, but not ever single one I own. Hell, I don’t even have near as many as you went through!

Yeah, I was already neck deep in it and had them all broken down before I really realized how big a job that was. I normally just keep my HD gun and my main squeeze carbine tip-top and check the rest out after a big day at the range with multiple shooters playing musical ARs every year or two.

If I start eyeballing my Cummins I'm gonna go see a shrink..

[Inkslinger]

Yeah, I was already neck deep in it and had them all broken down before I really realized how big a job that was. I normally just keep my HD gun and my main squeeze carbine tip-top and check the rest out after a big day at the range with multiple shooters playing musical ARs every year or two.

If I start eyeballing my Cummins I'm gonna go see a shrink..

I hope you at least saved all your old parts. I’m guessing there are probably some (most) worth saving. If they worked before, I’m sure they would be good to have in an emergency.