I bought a new Anderson 300 Blackout upper. When placing a round in the chamber almost 1/3 of the round would not go into the chamber. When I called Anderson, they accused me of using the wrong ammo. I sent them pictures of the boxes of factory ammo from 3 manufactures clearly marked 300 Blackout. Sent them pictures that no brand would seat. They refused to make a new upper good. Brownell's agreed to make it right. They wanted it back so they could have a gunsmith check it. They said if Anderson was sending them uppers that could get someone hurt, they were going to have a talk.
I worked at Anderson from January 2021 to November 2021 and I can assure you they did indeed no have a good quality control. We would run uppers and lowers that had tolerances out of spec and were told to keep running them. Also had 50,000+ buffer tubes come back bad after anodizing
@@evanharvey7266 Sad the thing is Anderson is the closest firearms manufacture to my home. I wanted to love them but they were the worst place I have dealt with. I understand things happen and I don't easily bash a company. I have sent back firearms to Mossberg, Rock Island Arms and even Henry. 30 shots from a MAPP 22TCM9R the extractor broke. They not only fixed it. They had a gunsmith fine tune it and returned it with an extra magazine for the trouble. None of them hassled me like Anderson. I still have the Anderson BCG I bought for that 300 Blackout. I bought it straight from Anderson's website. It would not slide into the upper and they refused to stand behind it. The Anderson upper Brownell's returned was ok. The Anderson lower was ok as well. But I bought a Rock River Arms BCG to run in that rifle.
I bought my wife a new house key with a Disney character on it. Brought it home from Lowe’s and test fit it into the lock barrel. It bound up very bad and was difficult to turn. I painted it with Sharpie to find out where it was rubbing. Did some precision filing and it works fine now. A little denatured alcohol removed the remaining marker and we were good to go.
I wish I had a gunsmith like this man near me, he could confirm all my OCD thing I think that are wrong with my guns!!!🤣🤣 he is absolutely amazing with all those tools and gadgets and tons of knowledge, definitely got a subscribe from me. I have also come to appreciate that there is a difference in paying extra for quality as in a $100 barrel vs a $400 barrel does make a difference
When talking barrels the price and quality absolutely makes a difference. Most places on an AR I wont spend big bucks. My personal custom build, if I sold it would likely cost somewhere in the $4k+ range right now. But the lower parts kit is just a basic CMMG. Only things I charged is I added a Giusslie Maritime bolt catch and a Magpul enhanced trigger guard because they are low on price and change the look of the gun. I've also put in a Super 42 buffer spring to try it out and that's about it for the lower. Most the work is into the upper. I'm trying to gather all the parts I need before I do a 308 build and an AR pistol build. The 308 is where I'm gonna be spending bigger money since I want it to be able to hit at 800-1,000m consistently. That's going to include all the tooling to do the build so as a first 308 build it will have that extra cost but then I'll be able to use that same tooling to do other builds for customers of my company.
@@Deathbomb9 Just buy a Knight's Armament SR25 . John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
@@scrateshooter I'd rather build my own. That way I know all the parts, where they are from, and then I can also ensure that each step is done to my standard and not a mass production standard.
@@jenniferwhitewolf3784 there is some true smithing that happens on ARs. It doesnt have to be a modification to be considered gunsmithing. If you take a gunsmithing course they will have you install a scope and rings to know the process. But they will also have you lap the rings which in today's market isnt really necessary when rings tend to be milled from long bar stock that gets the tube supports cut in before it becomes individual rings.
That's like saying "it's crazy how often a surgeon finds something wrong with a patient", its their because its not working so yes their is something wrong.
Everytime I watch one of your videos, I learn about a new tool or technique. So much that isn't mentioned in the typical "How to assemble an AR" instructions!
This is a problem I've been seeing from several manufactures barrels. Finish reamers are now a sound investment in my shop! By the way, it's across the board as far as calibers go.. I think companies are trying too hard to meet demand and are cutting corners. It's good for business for me but not so much for the consumer..
This channel will be one of the most important and largest channel of this type before long. The FB group is great!! Between the videos and the group there is a wealth of information for anyone on almost everything dealing with DI ARs
I have an Anderson AR 15 in 556-223, one in 300 blackout, one in 458 SOCOM , an AR15 300 blackout pistol variant and an AM 10 ,6.5 Creedmore! Never had an issue out of any of these! And extremely accurate! I also have an AR 15 Ruger 556-223 with a competition barrel and timney trigger. Not one bit more accurate than my Anderson! Just heavier.
For FSB pins, I blow torch to heat it up. I start with a large punch, as you showed, but with edges broken and polished. I secure EPC with bike tire inter tube and white board marker against it. That will flap in the wind and cause damage if it has an EPC and you don't secure it. Give it some taps till flush, then smaller punch to move out. Always use heat 100% of the time, makes it easier. Also, know the direction to go. Customers always bringing in S&W ARs all the time, they go right to left to get out. Sometimes they bring it in after they've already mushroomed the pins. Love your videos.
I have an Anderson Arms rifle I built several years ago and finally got around to shooting it and after 20-30 rounds, the new case would get stuck in the chamber. Had to really put some effort into the charging handle, leaving the bullet in the barrel (tapped out easily enough). I suspect the same type of problem with the chamber is the root cause. Going to do more checks but probably will replace the barrel (with something other than an Anderson)...
You seen the several videos of high dollar parts being out of spec? Or the ones of cheaper parts being perfect? Its almost as if price and name doesn't mean quality and you should check your parts instead of assuming
@@royrogers3624 If the same results can be found on premium parts, then that supports my theory of Some Parts are made on a Friday afternoon before a 3 Day Weekend.
@@royrogers3624 that’s incorrect, you’re using outliers and propping them as the norm. What fail rate do each have? Anderson and cheaper ones have an infinitely higher than say, BCM, SOLGW, SIONICS, etc. You’re not paying for just a name, you’re paying for someone’s expertise to look that rifle through and through.
@@darthbrooks4933 I at no point said they don't have a higher rate of failure if youre going to reply to me atleast read it and dont be a moron To repeat myself regardless of the brand there can always be a failure get through QC If you dont believe that thats fine I really dont care its a fact companies are not infallible you can go scream at the wall if you like
@@royrogers3624 You're shifting goalposts. Lower quality manufacterers will produce lower quality parts with less QC. You were claiming price and name doesn't equal quality then you backtracked and admitted those companies make better quality stuff with less QC issues
Excellent videos. I know I’ll have to wait until 2023 but I’m considering taking your AR Master Armorer and Build Class. I’ve built five ARs from a variety of sources, two of which are stunningly accurate and trouble free and three others, well, they need some help. Worth the investment to take your class. From eastern PA.
Great vid. Also noticed something kind of cool. The vibrations of the grinding wheel were slightly in tune with the shutter speed/framerate of the camera, showing very slowed down vibration waves move through the body of the equipment. Starts at 15:03
This channel right here is why you never get cocky and think you know everything. I've built dozens of rifles but I still don't know THAT much. This was neat the one thing I won't do for myself is try to take taper pins out of a a2 front sight. Always heard you had to have a taper pin press.
the first post I removed I had my support block over a bit far and drove the pin into the block instead of the hole in said block designed to catch them. I left it there as a reminder to double check my positioning and my client got a new set of pins on the house.
So the moral of the story is you buy cheap, you get cheap....I buy cheap but if puts rounds on paper a hundred yds and not damaging the bolt what the heck. This guy is one to learn from.
Ordered a Anderson AOR 300 BLK Upper Receiver Less BCG and Charging Handle, 16" Barrel from Sportsmansguide cause I got a coupon for it. Upper would not chamber loaded rounds. Swapped out three brand new bolts and 2 different bolt heads that worked in other rifles just fine. Bolts would fail to go all the way forward and lock up. If you pushed a round to chamber they would stick and you had to smack the butt on the ground to get the rounds out. After they ejected, they would not go in the 300 AAC Blackout Case Length Headspace Gauge. They looked bent out of round sort of. Sent the upper back. Anderson sent a new one. New one works great. I carried an M-4 for like 24 years as a LEO so I know when it's not right. Out of five rounds I was able to chamber eventually, 3 fired, two fired and ejected normally one popped the primer.
thx for sharing some interesting work... I knew about some of these issues from loking at precision rifle shooters, from the ammo side of the equation... nice, great to have such specialized tool, and the knowledge to use them ;-)
This really surprised me, I own a Anderson Mld AM - 15 and have never had a problem with it !! Shot a lot of rds with it, never have anything go wrong !!
Like someone else said ; I think they are trying to crank out so much product now that a lot of products from a lot of company’s not just Anderson are suffering quality .
Not to be "That guy" but @15:00, you shouldn't side load a grinding wheel like that. I've never seen one explode, but I know a guy that lost part of his index finger, doing the same thing. He told me it sounded like a shot gun when the wheel broke apart. He didn't even know he lost his finger until he adjusted his glasses, and noticed his finger tip dangling. Bad things happen fast in a Machine shop.
Wow! RU-vid serious gunsmith tips and tricks of trade! Thank you! Referring everyone who wants to learn correct safe mfg / tolerances! Tgank you very much!
Daaaaang does my buddy got an upper that needs a damned CAT scan. This thing is JACKED! Won't feed a damn thing never though to check the throat and the lugs on the barrel (yes I need to watch & learn more jargon) but nonetheless you have opened a whole new window for potential issues worth looking into. Considering the supplier told him "try a 3oz buffer weight" REALLY MAN! Ughhhhh. Atleast we have folks like you willing to spread the seemingly infinite AR knowledge
Anderson is a great company. If you were to have an issue. I know they'll be happy to make it right. I've had nothing but good luck with all there products. All the owner of this barrel only had to call Anderson!
Read some of the other posts. Apparently they aren’t interested in making things right according to some others on here. That’s is, I’m assuming they are telling a true story
Beat me to it... I've seen it done a thousand times (and have done it myself a couple of times on tricky grinds) but always with the knowledge that I was playing with a live grenade...
Got a story about that if you have time. My High School Machine shop teacher FORBID anyone to grind on the side of a wheel. His #1 peeve. (unforgiveable!!!) Went to work in an aerospace company as a class A grinder. My most repetitive job was grinding "O" ring grooves in hydraulic pistons aka ailerons in aircraft. Well, one day out of the blue we were told there was a college machine shop class visiting....guess who had graduated as well...my old HS teacher. I happened to be grinding grooves that day and asked my supervisor to guide the class to observe my operation side grinding with the wheel. All those looks from some of the students I`ll never forget. He recognized me as well and he seemed to read my mind watching his expressions and thinking about those times he chewed me out. Priceless!!
Excellent workshop video's. Watching a craftsman at work, be they building musical instruments or restoring ancient ceramics, or building / rebuilding firearms,, is a balm for the soul and a boost to understanding the objects and the thought-processes. I've had a bit to do with "chromed" barrels over the years. Just trying to apply hard chrome in a "conventionally-rifled" barrel is a waste of time. Heckler and Koch, with their "modernized Metford-style" polygonal rifling knew what they were doing. SHARP internal and external corners are a huge problem. It's all about "current density". With "square" rifling, the "internal" corners of the grooves have a LOWER than average current density, hence a reduction in deposition of the chrome; On the "external" corners of the lands, the reverse happens, resulting in buildup / roughness. This is easily "knocked-off" by passing bullets. Once the chrome surface is sufficiently compromised, it will continue to deteriorate fairly rapidly with use. As an example, late-production Australian L1A1 barrels were both hammer-forged and fully hard-chromed. The flanks of the grooves / lands were ANGLED and the corners features a small radius. Furthermore, the MUZZLE crown was slightly radiused to avoid sharp edges. Not "bench-rest Kosher", but certainly good enough tor "government work". A well-engineered chrome-lined barrel will also suffer reduced throat and crown erosion. Whilst they may not be "National Match' grade, they will last a lot longer with a modicum of care. Sequential mag-dumps WILL vary your barrel "mileage" , and not in a good way. And chrome-lined barrels DO require cleaning because the chrome surface is not exactly perfectly seamless, but contains a LOT of micro-fractures inherent in the behaviour of electro-deposited chrome on a steel substrate. Chrome-lined barrels pick up a lot less "jacket-fouling", but the gases produced by the burning propellant gets into those micro-fractures and if not treated appropriately, and especially in humid conditions, will start to act on the steel. Once they "go bad", they are NOT self-healing.
DPMS used to Sell a Steel AR Carry Handle to Front A Frame Sight Gauge for the 20" Barreled Guns. It was Flat on 3 sides and V on the bottom like a Carry Handle Scope Mount.
I used to have an anderson pencil profile barrel, with good handloads it shot half MOA, seems to be like all these cheaper suppliers, hit and miss, DIY QC.
@President Funny Valentine D4C I've actually had my eye on that Davidson defense 9mm upper just for a cheap way to get into PCC's but ended up with an Extar EP9.
@@randymagnum143 Everything fails. The problem with this Anderson is it appears that this was fail straight from the factory. Chad even showed that it doesn't have many rounds through it.
A coworker of mine about 6 or 7 years ago got one of these (Brand new). He was trying to get a zero on it and couldn't seem to get any optic to work with the rifle. I brought a toolset over to have a look at it, results were pretty similar. Worn reamers, chattery rifling cut, throat was fine but the crown was trash. If the rifling had been nice I would have suggested touching it with the reamer and recrowning. End of the day though it was one of the poorest barrels I'd ever seen so suggested we rebarrel. I forget what we stuck on it, I think maybe a Ballistic Advantage or a Wilson. It went from 7" groups to cloverleafs. Not all ponies are created equal. I'm not gonna speak ill of any company. I'm sure the people there are wonderful. These guns aren't what they should be though.
I run their lowers; and hace before had an issue with them . Their uppers i have not tried . I usually try to get something else just cause i can usually finds decent used barrels from elsewhere .
Ngl, I'm okay with using stripped anderson receivers, but I *will not* use anything more. As one who is ballin' on a budget, Bear Creek barrels have worked pretty well for me. My deer rifle is built with a BCA 16in .350 legend barrel, and it shoots almost 1moa. Not too shabby for the price point.
If I use picks I blunt them, especially if they are dental picks. We used to get them by the bag load from the dental clinics on post or even from dental offices if they have a stash of old ones they dont use anymore or ones they basically toss out. Theres only a few places i would use them and I'm never rough in areas that are essential to function. Every thing else is mild solvent that wont damage the rifle or only takes off the carbon and copper or lead fouling. In spots I know are high carbon collectors and dont interface with another part I'm pretty gentle still but I also like to actually temper down any scrapers. Mostly I prefer bronze tools even if they are still about half the RWC rating as the majority of the parts. Never a steel or SS wire brush. Old or cheap toothbrushes, Nylon, or at most phosphor bronze if you have some stubborn carbon. The phosphor bronze residue will just wipe off and generally wont cause any damage. I wouldnt recommend it on certain coatings that are electro plated or vapor deposited. I haven't tested it on those but most those coatings will just wipe clean after a good scrub with a nylon brush. I will say that if you use phosphor bronze brushes to clean, only do it where you have the visible wear marks. The brush wont damage case hardened, parkerized, or nitride treatments. It's just better to not use that sort of cleaning unless your really need it.
Thank u. I enjoy the videos. Interesting. Would u be able to make a cleaning lubrication video for the ar? U seem very knowledgeable. Where is ur school located?
marking your tool with the sharpie is a good method, but an old school method that also works well is taking a wood chip and lighting it on fire and covering the tool with the soot. works just as well
This is one of those Anderson Ultra-match barrels, bro In all fairness my dad and I have used several of their lowers with no issues but haven't tried anything else made by them.
When driving pins out put some heavy chunk of steel underneath of the entire front post with the piece of the leather on top (do not block pins ) , than smack it with the hummer.
Wonder if Anderson makes barrels for S&W. This chamber/throat looks just like the defects my brother had on a .308 S&W. Two trips to the gunsmith before it worked right. Chamber and throat had multiple problems.
There is a lot of tool chatter marks from the rifleing button either dull button or loose , wrong feed , or lack of cutting fluid --- 1st choice dull cutting tool , 2nd not enough lube , but as tight as the chamber was to the gauge -have to go with an end barrel at production run .
Isn't it normal for the FSB to be clocked slightly to the left? Every iron sighted AR I have ever examined had the rear aperture to the left of the center mark.
If using the Midwest Upper Receiver Rod to install the barrel to the upper receiver, does the torque applied by tightening the barrel nut get transferred to the lugs the rod or to the top of the upper receiver through the "sail" where the charging handle resides?
Supposed to be the sail on theory but I have no way to prove it. I just bought one and have been using it and it seems to work well. It gives me more peace of mind than the Geissele and maybe that's worth something too
It seems like Anderson barrels fall short a lot. Really make you wonder about what they consider is good quality when they sell to the general public, and how much of it is intentional.
Thats seems to happen with a lot of other companies in the economy sector also I noticed. May be a pain but at least they will honor warranties. The main thing I run across and should be heeded on all brands is to run the proper size drill by hand in the pin holes to clear the hard coat finish so the pins will drive in proper. Learned that one from Midway USA.
I built 7 Ar’s on Anderson Lowers for other people and never had a problem. They are all still running and function just fine. The eighth and ninth ones were ok but not the best QC. So I went to Aero Precision M4E1 lowers and have never looked back.
Fascinated about your "gauges" how many different sources are there for them? Is there any type of routine calibration and if so how is that accomplished? Is there some sort of gauge for the gauges? Like a holy grail of reference in a clean room, temperature controlled and like 3 people allowed in there? Or am I over thinking this (like many, not most mind you, but sure many, probably a few too many but that's why people come to me, for excellence above and beyond, as I digress)
Bought an Anderson heavy barrel stamped 5.56 but was .223. When it got hot rounds would not extract. Sent it back for inspection and they re-chambered it. Have a second one doing the same. It's a bad chamber.
Just curious, I received two Anderson stripped lowers for my birthday. I used a CMMG parts kit for both lowers. Anything I should be watchful for being that it’s Anderson manufacturing or are their lowers decent? Everything fit well on the lowers and they appear to function well so far. Thank you. Excellent channel, very informative.
The CMMG parts kits seem like real good quality from my experience. Compared to a no name brand I bought at a shop ,hard to install pins and a crappy trigger. CMMG real easy installation and real good trigger 🏆
The CMMG parts kits seem like real good quality from my experience. Compared to a no name brand I bought at a shop ,hard to install pins and a crappy trigger. CMMG real easy installation and real good trigger 🏆
If it functions walk away. No reason to question un necessarily. Keep in mind his channel shows issues of 1 sample size. Parts fit well, then function check with upper. Test chamber by removing firing pin the chamber a round, then extract.
Thank you for your time I love your channel! Is a 556 barrel less accurate with .223ammunition? I don’t want to tell you what to do because you obviously are the man, but personally I’d love to see a video like that you are explaining what ammunition does what out of each barrel and vice versa.
Theoretically yes. That is what the Wylde chamber was designed to address. Full size 5.56 chamber and lede with a slightly constricted throat. Advertised as safe with mil-spec 5.56 ammo but more accurate. It will still give lower than spec muzzle velocities with .223 ammo because of the looser chamber but somewhat improved precision.
What do you mean when you say that the barrel extension is "timed" properly? What do you measure in seconds? The angle, is that what you are referring to?
Good stuff. Makes me question a barrel install I did and notice how easily the new barrel slid jn without any resistance,and common sense tells me the manufacture overcoat the od by too much, I did torquedown the barrrelnut, I haven't Shot the ar9 yet!?.??
Anderson and PSA have pretty spotty QC. I will state that on a side note PSA is a very good 2a supporter and part of why their stuff is cheap is because they want to arm up as many good people as possible.
Internet says nitride is superior to chrome for the inside of a barrel because nitride is at least 4X more corrosion resistant and half coefficient of friction than chrome.
SOTAR is there a 'trick' to lining up the gas block with the gas hole? I ask because I am going to start a .350 Legend build and will be installing an adjustable gas block. Thanks
I usually mark the barrel gas port in the shoulder with a small sharpie mark and do the same on the gas block. The hole in the gas block is a good bit bigger than the hole in the barrel so if your 2 marks are close with the gas block on then the gas port should be lined up
