I had recently posted a thread regarding swapping BCGs among different rifles. (AR-15 Bolt Swap Outs) But I was not aware of the different types of AR-15 BCGs and had made a change a while back which might have caused a problem if I had used that rifle.
CAUTION: What follows is a precautionary tale about the dangers of NOT knowing what you don't know.
About a year ago I purchased an AR-STONER AR-15 Nickle Boron BCG. Thinking about making my pre-ban HBAR a bit more reliable I switched it with the BCG which came with that rifle. Did a very cursory function check (mainly manipulating the bolt with the bolt charging handle), it seemed to work okay so I put the rifle away intending to take it out for a test fire in the future. However that never happened.
Fast forward to recently when I started to play around with my Stag AR-15 and thinking about obtaining a similar BCG for that rifle (forgetting what I had done with the HBAR). In my research I came across several references to the early Colts and their "sear blocks". Made me wonder, "What does my Colt have?". I had often heard about sear blocks but had never researched the subject enough to know that my HBAR had one. Did some more research and my old (internet only) friend, Sootch00, schooled me on the different types of AR-15 BCGs, especially the Colt sear block version.
Well, I dug my HBAR out, opened it up, and there it was in all it's glory (sic) was a sear block. With the wrong type of BCG residing in the lower receiver. I quickly closed it up, grabbed a good magazine and half a dozen dummy rounds (making sure that there was NO live ammo anywhere in sight) and did a more rigorous function check, which was a complete cluster-flop. I was able to chamber the first round but could not eject it reliably and pick up another round. Not sure what would have happened if I had tried to do this on a hot range with live rounds. Would I just embarrass myself? Or worse?
So now my original Colt BCG is back in it's HBAR (worked well chambering and ejecting the dummy rounds), ready to go to the range safely. And my AR-STONER AR-15 Nickle Boron BCG is sitting on my work bench eagerly awaiting it's next assignment. And FPrice is just a little more knowledgeable about the proper BCGs for your rifles.
Moral of the story: Always try to be aware of and know what you don't know. Could save yer fourth point of contact some day.
Here's the video which taught me this:
CAUTION: What follows is a precautionary tale about the dangers of NOT knowing what you don't know.
About a year ago I purchased an AR-STONER AR-15 Nickle Boron BCG. Thinking about making my pre-ban HBAR a bit more reliable I switched it with the BCG which came with that rifle. Did a very cursory function check (mainly manipulating the bolt with the bolt charging handle), it seemed to work okay so I put the rifle away intending to take it out for a test fire in the future. However that never happened.
Fast forward to recently when I started to play around with my Stag AR-15 and thinking about obtaining a similar BCG for that rifle (forgetting what I had done with the HBAR). In my research I came across several references to the early Colts and their "sear blocks". Made me wonder, "What does my Colt have?". I had often heard about sear blocks but had never researched the subject enough to know that my HBAR had one. Did some more research and my old (internet only) friend, Sootch00, schooled me on the different types of AR-15 BCGs, especially the Colt sear block version.
Well, I dug my HBAR out, opened it up, and there it was in all it's glory (sic) was a sear block. With the wrong type of BCG residing in the lower receiver. I quickly closed it up, grabbed a good magazine and half a dozen dummy rounds (making sure that there was NO live ammo anywhere in sight) and did a more rigorous function check, which was a complete cluster-flop. I was able to chamber the first round but could not eject it reliably and pick up another round. Not sure what would have happened if I had tried to do this on a hot range with live rounds. Would I just embarrass myself? Or worse?
So now my original Colt BCG is back in it's HBAR (worked well chambering and ejecting the dummy rounds), ready to go to the range safely. And my AR-STONER AR-15 Nickle Boron BCG is sitting on my work bench eagerly awaiting it's next assignment. And FPrice is just a little more knowledgeable about the proper BCGs for your rifles.
Moral of the story: Always try to be aware of and know what you don't know. Could save yer fourth point of contact some day.
Here's the video which taught me this:
