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Thread: Dropping hammer on separated lower

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by cvx5832 View Post
    Hello
    Hi

    Quote Originally Posted by cvx5832 View Post
    As the title indicates, one topic that caught my attention is dropping the hammer on a separated lower. Some say it's bad, some say it doesn't matter, but the threads I have read didn't seem to have "proof" other than the usual "that's not good, ask me how I know" and then fail to follow through when asked.
    Don't do this. It will break the bolt catch.

    Quote Originally Posted by cvx5832 View Post
    So I ask it here. Is it really that bad? What are your real world experiences? The reason I'm skeptical is because on an empty magazine, at least in my mind, you have the force of the action spring and the inertia of the BCG + buffer (H2 in my case) slamming against the bolt catch all the time. I haven't been in school in a while, but I'm thinking there's more force and inertia behind a BCG and buffer in full return than a hammer with a fraction of the weight. Do I have this wrong?
    Yes you have this wrong. The bolt and BCG aren't slamming against the bolt catch, they are slamming against the barrel extension. The channels at the bottom of the BCG allow the bolt catch to not snag on the BCG while it is firing.

    Quote Originally Posted by cvx5832 View Post
    As far as my own experience goes, I did it regularly on a third-world-manufactured M16 lower. I didn't dry fire on it, but I certainly did it once or twice every time I cleaned it. It's an A1, and between my Dad and me it's been "dry fired" on a separated lower quite a few times.

    Thanks for the input guys. If this has been discussed before please point me to the existing thread and Mods please close. I searched for a while but my Google-fu could be off.

    Paolo
    Don't do this. It will break your bolt catch.
    Quote Originally Posted by Coal Dragger View Post
    Marines love CLP. Chow, libo, pussy.

    Beyond that everything else is a crap shoot.

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by cvx5832 View Post
    I haven't been in school in a while, but I'm thinking there's more force and inertia behind a BCG and buffer in full return than a hammer with a fraction of the weight. Do I have this wrong?
    yes, that's wrong. it's not in 'full return'. the BCG is at the beginning of its forward travel when it gets stopped by the bolt catch on an empty mag, so there's very little inertia. it's mostly energy stored in the spring pushing it against the bolt catch.
    when the BCG contacts the bolt catch, it's steel against steel. the receiver doesn't get impacted - the bolt catch just presses against it in the slot.

    with a falling hammer and separated lower, it's got a lot of inertia as it's at the end of its travel, as it slams/impacts the thin aluminum wall. so, it's steel vs. alum, and an impact.

    take a steel hammer and press it against piece of aluminum without impact. just press the hammer against it with all your strength. you might scratch the aluminum a bit. now take the same hammer and hammer the piece of aluminum as you would hammer something normally, impacting it. that's the difference between the two.

    in other words, don't do it if you don't want to intentionally damage your receiver.

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by militarymoron View Post
    yes, that's wrong. it's not in 'full return'. the BCG is at the beginning of its forward travel when it gets stopped by the bolt catch on an empty mag, so there's very little inertia. it's mostly energy stored in the spring pushing it against the bolt catch.
    when the BCG contacts the bolt catch, it's steel against steel. the receiver doesn't get impacted - the bolt catch just presses against it in the slot.

    with a falling hammer and separated lower, it's got a lot of inertia as it's at the end of its travel, as it slams/impacts the thin aluminum wall. so, it's steel vs. alum, and an impact.

    take a steel hammer and press it against piece of aluminum without impact. just press the hammer against it with all your strength. you might scratch the aluminum a bit. now take the same hammer and hammer the piece of aluminum as you would hammer something normally, impacting it. that's the difference between the two.

    in other words, don't do it if you don't want to intentionally damage your receiver.
    Thanks for that answer. That settles it in my mind. The BCG is just starting to accelerate. So while it is heavier, there isn't much inertia.

    Paolo

  4. #34
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    I think we can close this now. It kind of falls into the category of "common sense". Kind of like not using live rounds for function testing a weapon.



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