Broken AR-15 Bolt

[jbl_1967]

The lug shear I can see happening but there is something fishy with the rear section of the bolt. I'd be willing to bet it seized in place and the cam pin could not rotate the bolt and it seared.
The comment on dry lube has me thinking it's a lubrication issue.
I've always wondered where people get off thinking they know more then the military armors. You an approved lube on your AR. Clean and lube it after every trip to the range.
And don't waste your money on Tacicool crap dry lube. Good old gun oil, CLP, or grease in the right application is all that is ever needed. All this wonder lube, Positively charged molecules, wear inhibitors Yada Yada Yada... is BS. I'd go as far as to say if you want something fancy get some synthetic based gun oil. Other then that leave the snake oil to the snakes.

The NiB coating, is not supposed to need any lube. I have tried them dry, with CLP, and with dry lube, and the dry lube seems to work best.

That said, I do think I went too long between cleanings and like you said, the bolt siezed. To get the rear half of the bolt out of the carrier, I had to give it a tap from behind.

I'll probably contact FailZero as they claim I should be able to run more rounds that I ran, without lube and without fail.

...but I will pay a lot closer attention to the inside of the BCG when cleaning my rifle.

[kcstott]

My statement was made with no knowledge of your bolts finish. That said the gas check rings should always have a drop of oil on them. As it is not the surface being dry that concerns me but the build up of carbon. That is the one design flaw on an AR rifle. The dumping of carbon right on a critical part and it's that carbon that is high in friction that causes issues.

[bill_k_lopez]

Nothing that a little JB Weld and a good sanding job can't fix.

[hermosabeach]

Does fail zero sell parked parts?

It might just be the pictures but these pics do not show the shiny NB finish
NB is almost as bright as hard chrome

http://www.failzero.com/armory/ar-15.html

[kcstott]

Nothing that a little JB Weld and a good sanding job can't fix.

Super glue

[Gunsmith Dan]

or maybe return it under warranty

[kcstott]

or maybe return it under warranty

Only to get more crap. I think I'd return it for a refund. go buy something with a better reputation.

[adamsreeftank]

What ammo were you shooting? I can see the bolt cracking at the cam pin hole if there is a defect in the metal, but it's odd for two of the lugs to shear off at the same time.

[jbl_1967]

I was shooting Israeli IMI surplus M855. Turns out it shoots a lot dirtier than even Wolf.

The picture is pre-cleaning. Most of the crud came off easily, except for the carbon behind the rings. The build up there was pretty bad, and required some nasty scraping. So I really do think it bound up because of carbon buildup inside the carrier.

I like the JB Weld idea. You can fix anything with JB Weld!

[phrogg111]

The NB coating on the bolt should mean that you don't need to put solid film lube on it at all.

If you put solid film lube all over the bolt carrier between range trips, and didn't clean the inside of the bolt at all... well, that's why your bolt carrier is in such rough visual shape.

See how dirty your firing pin is? The rest of it probably looks the same? That's you, spraying solid film lube like it's not "solid", and the carbon building up. That's absolutely miserable looking. You haven't cleaned it in more than a thousand rounds, have you?

Don't use solid film lube like you use wet lube. If you use it once, make sure everything is clean, THEN spray it down. If the solid film lube wears off (it will), then make sure every single part is COMPLETELY clean before you spray more solid film lube on, and don't let it cake on thick!

Nickel Boron coatings don't need solid film lube at all - seriously, don't do that. Honestly, it doesn't look like your bolt/carrier are nickel boron coated, but that may be the solid film lube - in which case you're doing it wrong. Spray some rem oil or some other higher quality oil in it, and run it wet. The military dumps CLP into old, worn out M-16s and they work just fine. I spray some rem oil really quickly into my normal AR's bolt, and even after not cleaning it between firing sessions, I haven't had a single problem. Not one jam.

That being said - the bolt lugs shearing, AND the bolt breaking? That's a heat treat problem. That bolt needs to go back to the manufacturer, and you need to make sure you get one that's properly heat treated. I doubt they'd send you two bolts that aren't heat treated right, and they probably won't charge for replacing a defective part. Especially when their reputation is on the line.

[jbl_1967]

I always clean before adding the dry film lube.

The grime was from less than 1000 rounds. Like I said, I was shooting IMI surplus, and it was incredibly dirty ammo, worse than Wolf. I was shocked at how quickly my shiny BCG fouled up to the point it looked like a Milspec phosphate BCG in the ejector port.

[phrogg111]

I always clean before adding the dry film lube.

The grime was from less than 1000 rounds. Like I said, I was shooting IMI surplus, and it was incredibly dirty ammo, worse than Wolf. I was shocked at how quickly my shiny BCG fouled up to the point it looked like a Milspec phosphate BCG in the ejector port.

Crazy.

Yeah, the bolt wasn't heat treated right. Send it back, I doubt they'd screw it up twice.

[snowdog650]

I was shooting Israeli IMI surplus M855. Turns out it shoots a lot dirtier than even Wolf.

It always amazed me that people will spend $300 on a fricking BCG -- which is completely UNPROVEN -- and then shoot the crappiest cheap-*** ammo they can possibly find.

Unreal.