Bought one when they first came out in Their DLC. Had an issue with 2 lugs around the extractor sheering off after 700rnds. Called them and the immediately shipped a new one to me free. Had it within two days. They explained they had a batch with bad heat treating. Great customer service. Have 3000rnds plus through that rifle now without issues. I recently ordered another one last week for a new build awaiting its arrival. Very smooth finish, easy to clean.
@@Hammer.Paladin how is the wear? I heard that if you buy new barrels, you should get a new bolt to go with it since they wear together. Still, 8300 rounds per rifle per year is more than can be expected from most rifles. I'd say SRC more than outdid themselves with these BCGs.
Way back when, (I now think) I caused my own problems with one of them using a different rifle, and I contacted SRC and provided pic of the bolt with excessive, premature wear on the lugs. They asked me to send the bolt back, and they overnighted me a new bolt, no hassle. I now run that original DLC bcg in a FN barelled PSA, and it is a gem. Never had one hiccup since, and some of the best customer service I've ever had from any company.
People seem to shit on SRC BCGs regularly yet, besides the single heat treating issue with one of the initial batches inside the first 6-8mo of production I have yet to see a single issue with a bolt breaking on these. As TBH I had two I kept around for spares and only put a few hundred rounds through them before selling.(I have some OCD-ISH Tendencies & any rifle I build I try to use one manufacturer for the Barrel/BCG/Receiver Set/Rail)
I bought the top one for an AR build. The gas key either was out of spec or had a burr in it. It would lock up on the gas tube and would not cycle. I took pictures and video as proof thinking Sharps would want proof.. When I emailed them about the issue they asked me to send the old one back and they said they no longer make the NP3 ones. So the one they sent me was the bottom one which is the Xtreme Performance Bolt Carrier Group with a DLC. That was 3 years ago and no issues at all. Great customer service.
I had them for years, and just bought one a few days ago and has arrived today, January 3 -23 they’re outstanding BCG’s . I’m also a volume shooter. Seriously, you’ll be very happy with this. There’s plenty still well and alive and in business and are actually moving to Virginia and they have a lot of products out there fully operational company in great shape.
Sad to hear some have had problems with SRC. My DLC BCG has over 11,000 rounds in my ADM UIC Carbine and running strong with no problems. Also, the Sharp’s Relia-bolt in my DMR/SPR has been running strong with about 3,000 rounds. Haven’t had any problems, so see no need to change them.
@@crebz5907 does your bolt feel loose? I mean not compared to my Right To Bear phosphate that hardly moved at first, but SOTAR did say the bolt came out a bit too easily here.
I had the firing pin corrode (pitting) after being left uncleaned in a rifle for a year and 2000 rounds. Probably had some moisture get trapped in with the carbon fouling. I'd call that abuse, but it worked perfectly. Sharps sent me out a new firing pin immediately.
So I actually have one of these in a BCM rifle that has about 12k rounds on it. Oddly enough I sort of ended up purchasing it because I couldn't find almost any other decent BCG in stock. I mean some of the standard Brownells options were available but nothing from Colt, BCM, Daniel Defense or any alternative high quality brand was in stock. It goes without saying this time frame was within the Covid-19 chaos and that didn't help. So I picked up a Sharps extreme performance bolt and carrier group finished with silver NIB-X. Honestly I went with the slightly more expensive silver NIB-X just because I like the color contrast in a all black AR. I didn't really know what to expect because there were reports from several years ago that they had some heat treating issues but from everything I read Sharps fixed this problem quite a few years ago and there wasn't really any negative stuff about their BCG's since, at least nothing I could find. As soon as I received the BCG it went straight into my BCM and I can truthfully say I haven't had any issues with it in over 12K rounds. With that said it is getting close to needing some gas rings.
I personally have 17 AR-15's and 4 AR-10's with the SRC BCG in the DLC "man that's a lot of 3 letter names LOL" and most of them go to summer camp and are fired by an average of 350 kids every summer. I have never had a failure, the DLC coating is still 98% intact and I've replaced gas rings on several after approximately 15,000 rounds. And on a couple I've replaced barrels. Now I have ALL my barrels cryogenically treated and I am at just under 45,000 rounds through it and no issues. Of the 17 AR-15's 9 of them are 25/45 Sharps, 5 are .223 Wylde, 1 is a 300 Blackout, 2 are 9mm Luger. My AR-10's are 2 x .260 Remington and 2 x 308 Winchester. The only thing I have the I changed are the cam pins on all of them. They all "15's and 10's" have the Lantac cam pins. They are pretty darn nice. I have 5 adult children and most of them have at least 2 Sharps 25/45 AR's and several other AR's but all have the SRC BCG's in their builds. None of us has ever had a failure. So I'd say that SRC makes one heck of a great BCG and barrels. That 25/45 has turned out to be the absolute best varmint and deer and hog cartridge I've ever used. Fast, accurate and incredible knock down power. I only wish their BCG and cartridge would have been my idea. Genius. Sorry for such a long comment but I'm getting really tired of people shooting off their mouths without and validity behind them. I don't care which product you purchase, ALL companies have screw up and Sharps is no different. And like ALL GOOD companies they stand behind their products and do the very best they can to take care of their customers.
@@Hammer.Paladindon't apologize, that's great info. Do they know you have that many rounds through their bcg? They might want to buy them back for r&d. I'm sure they do their own torture testing but you never know. They may really appreciate the feedback.
I run an SRC bolt in my 450 bushmaster. I believe they're the only company offering a "tougher" bolt for a 450. So far it's surviving my reloads, so it must be good. Really really like the DLC finish, it holds oil yet carbon just wipes off.
They are still in business. Just got one in about a week ago. After watching a ton of videos and reading articles I'm happy I chose Sharps. The S7 tool steel Sharps uses being so much stronger than the 158 carpenter steel most others use would of been something to add to the inspection. Over great work
I've been really happy with my XPB, only a few hundred rounds down range so far, but no issues, clean ejection and seems to be breaking in well. Thanks for another great and informative video.
I'm not going to say what my job was in the past. But a few of us used the Sharps NIB bcg's. They held up and worked well in crappy conditions. We were not really supposed to be using these but after multiple issues with issued parts. We did what we had to and never had any more issues.
Either military or contractor, who else gets issued rifles to work with. Saying "I won't say what my job was" doesn't make it cooler, you were probably a grunt like everyone else.
@@bobbyc2768 I don't really care about "sounding cool" But when parts fail you have to do what you gotta do. After the Army I did PSD work mostly in Africa and that is where the issue happened.
December 5, 2023 - they are still in business. Got one of their SAGRS Adjustable BCGs in DLC. Hoping to get a couple of their .308 BCGs when they start making them again.
Saw your comment i am in the process of buying either the one you have or the Bootleg option. Can you tell me why you chose this one over Bootleg and which finish did you end up going with? I’m finding a hard time deciding which to go with for my build. Thank you
@@dfiantii64 the SAGRS Adjustable BCG in DLC comes only with that black DLC finish. It was highly recommended for its tough finish by this other RU-vid channel. Dunno what the Bootleg BCG is - didn't see that term on their website
@@gandalfgreyhame3425I ended up going with the BCG option especially after the price increase but I may still get one in the future . It was a hard choice..
I noticed when Chad got to the BCG headspace check, he began with the .223 GO gauge, followed by the 5.56 GO gauge. When both bolts passed the GO gauges, he proceeded straight to the FIELD gauge; thus, skipping the NO-GO gauge. What is the thought process for skipping the NO-GO gauge and what FIELD gauge was used, .223 FIELD or 5.56NATOMAX?
As of June 2020 they are still around and with good customer service. I have been running one for a few months now really like it, reads I haven'r had any issues. I do like the S7 steel they use. It actually is superior to C158 in strength and toughness, unlike 9310. Really like seeing the methodical thoroughness of your approach.
I had them in another rifle about 2018. It was great didn't have any issues. I got one just last year for another build that I did to replace the other one. Have not had any issues. Both of them were used in conjunction with the echo trigger.
I bought three of these a few years ago and they're great. Got one recently not long after the bankruptcy and not only does it look like it's made of potmetal but it strikes my gas tube when going into battery.
Wow. Very educational. Thank you for making this video. It gave me a very good understanding of what to look for in my bcg's. The ones I currently own and for the ones I buy in the future. Thank you. Love your channel, expertise and knowledge.
Can easily de-magnetize with the drill and magnet method as well if you do not have a fancy device like School of the American Rifle has. I have successfully used this method with knife making and with some small gun parts.
Several years ago, I had 4 new rifles that were malfunctioning. Checked everything…and found the gas keys had been staked, but were not fully tight…so now I always put an Allen key on all new bolts just to make sure, then re-stake if needed.
That's what I think to myself when I watch his videos. I think it's good, channels like this are gonna keep these manufacturers honest and on their toes
I bought one of these in 2018. When I had approximately 700 rounds through mine, the gas key came completely loose one day on the range, turning my AR into a bolt action. I contacted Sharps and their customer service was excellent, they had my BCG back to me in a little bit more than a week. The repaired BCG had noticeably deeper staking on the carrier key screws. I fired approximately 100 rounds with it and had no issues but I had lost a lot of confidence in the product and ended up replacing my BCG.
The machinist who makes these knows whether or not they are good. As a machinist myself you will know from the sound of the machine and a few other ways but if your have been doing I long enough you just know.
As another machinist, I'd have to agree. The machine will tell you if something is wrong. That said, these are probably done on a modern CNC that just needs someone to babysit it
Given your thoughts on the lug design on this, I'm curious how you feel about the rounded lugs on the Knights Armament bolt. Also. Are you not a fan because it's removing material that could make for a stronger part or is it more a matter of "clean your gun and you won't have the stoppages this claims to prevent?" Or something else?
I think they might use tool steel, which is harder than carpenter. Since harder equals more brittle here, maybe those cuts are to eliminate where most lugs chip, crack, or break?
S7 is a shock resistant steel designed for impact. Carpenter 158 is brittle by comparison. However, any steel can only be as good as its heat treatment.
@jackbauer4186 Interesting, thank you for sharing. I go back to my last statement: any steel can only be as good as its heat treatment. If the heat treat/hardness is wrong for the application, you can have a suboptimal result with a superior steel. I have to admit, it's been a while since I saw the video and can't recall the details at this time. Keeping my comments general as a result. How you have a great day.
Well thanks, I was considering buying one of these, but after this review I'm a bit skeptical so I'll hold on to my money until I can get my hands on another brand. Question: have you done a physical on a Wilson Combat specifically the Bolt Carrier Assembly, Wilson Combat®, M16, 5.56 NATO, Mil-Spec, Polished Nickel Boron?? If not, maybe other Wilson's and would you share your thoughts? Thanks a lot for this work, I've watched many videos and learn a pile of stuff each time I watch.
Sometimes there will be some semi rough machining marks in spots. I'd have to be looking at it in person because the video of a computer screen can be like looking at a CRT tv even if the video is high quality on both. Some machining marks will allow oil to hold between the parts. But you want then to be in the range of ten thousandths and nothing more. I like to test them with a cotton swab for burs then using a softened pick to feel for any deep tooling marks. Most scratches can be visible if you have the lighting and the eyes for it. A magnifier and a good light will tend to help you see a decent portion inside a carrier.
Like these Sharps XPB's, The Reliabolt is nice. Have a few bcg's and I wish I could afford all these nice tools to check for good, Solid performance. I buy high quality barrels and bcg's above all else! The heart and soul of the rifle, In my opinion, Are the barrel/bcg. The 2 things you wanna spend the most on if ya ask me. Receivers are less important as long as you buy from a decent reputable source.
Wow- I am so glad I came across these videos. I was happy to see that geissele’s bcg came out well. I want to buy one when they run their Memorial Day sale.
When i worked for the Army as a it tech in the pentagon, we used to have to get SIPR or secret classified and unclassified too i believe and use that demagnitizer on the hard drives.. they called it a degausser and we probably did it wrong by placing the drive directly on the metal tray causing loud buzzing/vibrating. We have to spin the drive 10x minimum i believe and that was after running a program on boot to do a 5x pass on all the hard drive sectors to rewrite them 5x. This took hours to run.
I have 2 Sharps BCG. One is NIB coated for 300BLKOUT and 0.750" gas block @ 14.5" barrel length, purchased 6 years ago. zero complaints. New DLC BCG for 223 Wylde and 0.625" gas block @ 14.5" length; standard buffer spring...brand new build. 5.56 ammo. Has a cycling issue...less than 10 rounds fired. First shot, no issue. 2nd shot, seems BCG doesn't fully blow back as it catches the casing on the side and fails to feed. looking at the starting point of BCG witness marks on casing, the distance (witness mark start to end of case) is decreasing. The last round's witness mark starts at somewhere distal to the primer rim (probably the wrong term) but proximal to where the case is its full diameter...so >1mm &
Love your videos. I'm still debating which bcg to get after I watch your vids. Do you prefer NiB or DLC? Also, if price wasn't an issue, which BCG would you go with? Thanks!
I’m wondering why you are not fond of the sharps bolt lug design. I can see this being a good design for when debris does find its way in to the barrel extension. I guess I’m confused as are you not a fan because of the reduced mass on the bolt lugs or due to the thought of debris getting into the extension as such a low possibility?
I'm personally a fan of the XPB but the relia-bolt is very hard/strong and coupled with the design can peen the breech face on an empty chamber supposedly
Is there a go/no go gauge to check the cam pin hole? Seems one of the flat sided gauge pins like you use on the firing pin hole would be a good idea to check for any egging out of the cam pin hole.
Hi there I'm new to the channel but have heard you reference yes fasteners and magnetism several times can you please elaborate? Sorry if you've explained this before but I didn't see a video breakdown of what you are looking at. Thanks!
Several companies have bolt heads with machined bolt head lugs for the same purpose. What's is the reason you don't like this modification on this specific bolt ? I have ran one for the past five years with zero issues.
I dont see the big deal with the lugs, The rear portion of the lugs are the part that take the impact against the barrel extension when firing. The angled front area is just to help with the bolt entering the barrel lugs. That side of the lug has little stress. I was really set on this carrier but the gas ring path machining marks are pretty bad. Especially after seeing your Lantac bore scoping and how smooth that looked. Im bouncing between going Lantac or a JP low mass. Lantac are a bit more $ then the SRC though.
SRC sells the XPB in NIB-X (nickel boron) and that comes with a relia-bolt also in NIB-X. They also sell just the relia-bolt in NP3 though, so it's possible it's NP3
Can you shared the dimensions for the pins you put in the carrier key and firing pin gauges for Go and No Go… that seems like a good investment to make through Vermont Guage thx!
My NP3 BCG came with an out of spec (short) firing pin that had intermittent primer ignition failures. They sent me a replacement and the same problems happened. I replaced the firing pin with a BCM and it’s been perfect ever since, not one problem, even with crappy weak Tula .223. Great video.
Wondering if the "cuts" on the sides of the BCG, besides reducing friction, also offer a degree of looser tolerance? Looser tolerance that could aid in reliability when mud or ice get in the action? Just curious.
my brother got one of these a while back, the bolt face was out of dimension and wouldn't go into battery with a cartridge. wish they would measure it out before send out. it was the coated type
The barrel extension could have been out of spec...or it could be the bolt. I think this channel has proved you really need an accurate way of measuring both parts to know what the true issue is
I got two for two of my .308 rifles... Product looks great BUT..... when using it is almost impossible to push the bolt release to close the bolt.... You have to use a plastic hammer to hit the bolt release button...... Not that way on the stock LR308 bolts as they function/release just fine......Cant find the problem... In looking for why the problem I noticed the stock firing pin and hole hole is right at .060" undersized.... Standard firing pin hole is .075" to .076" with a .074"firing pin... which seems to be standard on 6 LR308/A10's I have checked.... Why???? is this correct?? It works but you cant replace a firing pin with a standard pin... So I am still using my stock from Brownells bolt carrier groups until I get an answer... Tech support has not replied to me...
I can't really answer for him, but I would speculate that because of the internal piston design of the AR-15, you're effectively removing strength from a part that bares stress because they took material off the faces of the lugs that are being pushed forward into the receiver extension to unlock the bolt and launch it back.
@@mikethemaniac1 it's S7 steel, what's lost in mass is made up for in material strength. The reason he dislikes it is because supposedly the bolt can peen the breech face when closed on an empty chamber
Wow, I had no idea how many ways there are to measure/diagnose BCGs. What would you recommend for a high-quality BCG? I'd like to hear a recommendation from a professional who checks these for a living. Great video. I have been building my own ARs for a couple years now and I love the gunsmithing aspect very much. This was a great video and I learned so much. Also, is it bad to put a donut AND insert in the extractor? I just bought a 4 coil Sprinco kit and put both the donut and insert in a PSA NIB BCG. Is that okay? I haven't shot it yet. And what could potentially go wrong if the firing pin is magnetized? Sorry for so many questions. Awesome job brother.
I am confused by your checking by your checking headspace of both bolts on a single uninstalled barrel? Isn't it necessary to check them on the barrel they are mated to? Very well done video otherwise, and I subscribed to your channel. Looking forward to seeing what else you have made.
@@tomboysupremacist Wow, YES IT IS going to make a difference. Not every manufacturer has the same tooling and or technique for making their extension AND if one manufacturer tightens the barrel to the extension even 2 or 3 pound tighter or lower it will change the head space. That's why the really high end manufacturers like JP Rifle's sell their barrels with a bolt that has been head spaced to THAT barrel. So yes, it make one heck of a difference if you want truly perfect t head spacing.
@@tomboysupremacist Only if their equipment is routinely calibrated. I can take 20 different barrels from 20 different companies and I can guarantee that 75% of them with have a slightly different headspace measurement. Granted not a lot but still different. And for the people that are competition shooting at 1,000 yards it matters to them.. How many mil-spec lowers have you gotten that mil-spec components fit ever so slightly different? I have had more than my share. If mil-spec is all equal then why can you take one manufacturers upper and another's lower and some will match up nice and tight but other combos are sloppy. I don't think it's because all mil-spec are the exact same dimensions. If they were all would have a nice snug and gap free fit. The exact same issue with barrel blank to barrel extension fit. Almost ALL have a slightly different spacing. Just because it passes a go no go test it in no way means they all have the exact same spacing. That is the reason the high and low tolerance limits are there. And that is the reason ALL ammo cases are made slightly undersized. Reloading teaches you that. 98% of the once fired brass are shorter than the minimums for reloading and that's even before you resize the brass and even after you resize the brass. That's why I always take my brass and trim them to the same length after resizing them even when they are already below minimum lengths. Uniformity breeds more consistancy in bullet placement down range. Lastly, if mil-spec were mil-spec why would a competition shooter go through the process of just a partial resize of his brass before making his reloads. They will play with "as in plink" factory ammo and then carefully resize just the neck of the brass then trim every single one to the exact same length even when they are already a tad shorter than minimums so that the newly loaded ammo will fit the chamber exact and have zero gap between the brass walls and the chamber and the head spacing will also lack any gap. That ammo was reloaded to fit that barrel and bolt combination. Try taking one of those and clambering it into another exact same in every way chamber. It will either have a slight gap or it won't allow you to close the bolt without forcing it. Sorry for the long response but I just wanted to give several valid example.
@@Hammer.Paladin probably because milspec is a set of standards designed to be able to tolerate the variations in machinery and quality that comes with mass production from multiple contractors. for the purpose of long range precision shooting, perhaps you want a bolt/barrel set, though for typical combat conditions any other bolt would still function and headspace fine in that barrel. I've always considered dolling up a platform designed to be a mass-producible light infantry weapon to be like putting lipstick on a pig, however.
Where do these guys live. I had a guy do some work on my pistol. He gave it back, and broke the latch release for clip. And didn't fix my cycling issues. I was boiling... Boiling angry 🤬
it can happen during the machining process. SRC likely buys the firing pins wholesale from Toolcraft or something, demagging takes time and it's probably just a corner they cut
@@infini1970 magnetized parts aren't really a manufacturing defect, it's just a thing that happens. demagging is easy but it's just as easy to forget especially at the scale that toolcraft/other wholesalers operate
You sure have many different types of gauges for the the AR-15. All I seem to see is you performing gauging of the parts. I have yet to see you perform any type of work on a rifle. I could do what your currently doing if I had the gauges. Let's see you do some work on the Rifles.
