Talking Bolts

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  • tracker12
    Warrior
    • Dec 2017
    • 163

    Talking Bolts

    Was Reading another post that talked about breaking a bolt which brings up a point. How often does a bolt break and is it recommended to have a spare lying around.
    AR's make shooting fun again!
  • Redomen
    Warrior
    • Jun 2016
    • 568

    #2
    I carry a spare bolt just in case. Haven’t needed to use one yet but I have heard tell of extractors breaking. It’s much easier to throw in a bolt in the field.

    Comment

    • grayfox
      Chieftain
      • Jan 2017
      • 4295

      #3
      Others with more experience can chime in here, I haven't broken a bolt per se but in general believe breaking one depends more often than not on how you treat it. Max charges, over-limit charges -- Grendel is not designed as a high-pressure load. And all mechanical things have their limits.

      That being said it's always good practice to have some on-board spares so yes, I recommend having a spare bolt. The $58 specials in group buys are a great deal (I'm a non-attorney spokesperson lol! -- don't make any money off this endorsement)...
      I did break an extractor late last summer so yes Murphy's rules apply.
      Always have a Plan B. Always! 1 is none, right? 2 is 1...
      "Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"

      Comment

      • brut28481
        Warrior
        • Mar 2016
        • 117

        #4
        I've broken two. After much analysis and a destroyed Barrel extension I think the root cause is hot loads and out of true Barrel extension to Upper. My takeaway from this is if you're breaking bolts you definitely have an issue and should revisit the build of the rifle and the tolerances combined with the load your running. Conclusion you shouldn't be breaking bolts

        Comment

        • LRRPF52
          Super Moderator
          • Sep 2014
          • 8569

          #5
          I've personally broken 5.56 bolts at the cam pin hole after 10,000rds. I think the gun was still running and then started malfing, or I caught it during disassembly and cleaning.

          Replaced with new bolts and continued on until the barrels were toast.

          I run my Grendels pretty hard, no broken bolts after 9 years shooting the cartridge.



          I turn a lot of these....






          Into these....




          I'm thinking about how I could try to break a bolt without doing something stupid, so just compressing my shoot schedule, but I have a lot of really accurate barrels that I don't want to hose early since they shoot so well.

          Maybe a little beater run rapid fire would do the trick.

          I use quality bolts. One way would be to run 18" MLGS suppressed I guess. That combo seems to love breaking bolts in 5.56 and Grendel. I would just put the new Surefire BCG/buffer/spring combo in it though or the LMT enhanced carrier.
          Last edited by LRRPF52; 01-31-2018, 03:33 AM.
          NRA Basic, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, RSO

          CCW, CQM, DM, Long Range Rifle Instructor

          6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbooks & chamber brushes can be found here:

          www.AR15buildbox.com

          Comment

          • Tex Nomex
            Warrior
            • Dec 2017
            • 185

            #6
            I have never actually broken a bolt. Have worn them and barrel extensions out, though.
            If you want your bolt to last:
            Lap your receiver.
            Don't shoot hot loads.
            Run the longest gas system the barrel/cartridge will reliably support.
            Run a heavier buffer.
            Use an adjustable gas block.
            "The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed."
            -- Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers at 184-188

            Comment

            • sneaky one
              Chieftain
              • Mar 2011
              • 3077

              #7
              I have never broken a Grendel bolt. I have been pushing the limits on LFP's for 9 years. Just have some respect for the loading charts. I was maybe close in "2010 to being the Hot Rodder of the year on a few LFP's. All is fine. Years later I connected to a few on here with Quickload systems . It is somewhat conservative by pressures- JASmith and I went back and forth on this. Mseric also.

              The Grr brass is rated to be safe- to fail at 57K.-- Blown primers. Bolt is ---- many versions of 54-55 K fail .

              I know that I have hit the high points in the past,,,, but it's only a few shots. Repetitive, and full auto would have destroyed the bolt. , at those charges that I oooopes tried.

              Stick with known data . If in doubt on the LFP's... contact me- plenty of data here. I only send out safe data start points. I would never hand over bad dangerous data.

              We are trying to add new Grendel guys, and gals- not eliminate them.. Make sense?
              Last edited by sneaky one; 01-31-2018, 04:15 AM.

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