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Posted: 9/12/2006 7:53:53 AM EDT
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I'm putting together some emergency supplies and have decided on a separate bag for all of my gun stuff. In addition to carrying spare mags and ammo, I'd like to have some cleaning and repair supplies. For my AR, I was thinking of a spare firing pin or two, spare LPK just to cover everything down there, and maybe a spare BCG. I think I read that the upper and BCG wear together over time such that headspace can be affected if you try to swap in a new BCG. Am I remembering that right and is that true? Does that mean I couldn't replace it in the event of failure? What other spare AR parts would you recommend carrying? Thanks. |
I bought one a couple of weeks ago from a vendor on this site. It is a Armalite parts kit and it comes with just about everything you may need. It was $33 or so, and comes in a neat little OD plastic box. I also ordered a spare bolt from Ranier, I don't think I'll wear the carrier out. Here's the link to the kit: Armalite Parts Kit |
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The Bushmaster spare parts kit is a pretty good buy. www.bushmaster.com/shopping/lowers/arpartskit.asp I bought a couple, coated the parts in grease, then divided them up in a compartment box for safe keeping. |
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That looks like a nice little set. I'd been looking at some like that from CProducts, but it looks like this one has more stuff in it (plus, everyone loves a little box). Aren't the gas key and extractor on the carrier? That's what I was thinking of when I was thinking of replacing the whole unit. I'm asking all of this with my upper still in the mail, so I apologize if I'm confusing things. |
| The extractor is on the bolt. It is an item that will need to be replaced from time to time, especially its spring. The key is on the carrier and sometimes might need to be replaced if it has worn, but it should last a very long time. The key is easy to replace. The carrier itself will last almost indefinitely. |
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make sure your gas key is properly installed in the first place and you should have a problem. My field cleaning and repair kit includes: cleaning: - bore snake - bottle of CLP - GI toothbrush - small rag parts: - spare bolt - spare firing pin - spare bolt cam pin - several spare firing pin retaining pins since they don't take up much space in the kit but are likely to get dropped and lost while pulling abart the assembly to replace any of the above parts or while cleaning - spare hammer and trigger pins - spare hammer and trigger springs tools: - 3 steel cleaning rod segments, not for cleaning but for knocking out stuck cases. - a delrin punch for the hammer and trigger pin - an adjustment wrench for my larue mounts and sights - one of the cheap, flat carbine stock wrenches - Allen and Torx wrenchs to match all screws on any of my ARs. Right now that's the Torx wrench for the Larue mounts and Allen wrenches for the screws on the carrier key, my Troy handguard and my Magpul stock. - A small flathead screwdriver just long enough to work on the grip screw and with a large, wide blade so that it fits well in the grip screw and stock screws. Many companies use Allen head screws for grips and stock but I replace them with flat-head screws like they are suppose to be. |
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Very interesting, thanks Hoplophile. My shotgun and pistol I can remove the whole barrel so like cleaning with a brush, but I was thinking about trying the snake out for the AR. Do you need to worry about it getting dirty over time? Just curious, how come you prefer the flat head screws for the pistol grip? Maybe it's my bike bias, but I've always preferred allen for everything and have especially hated flathead fasteners. |
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I can see that. Ha, I am biased, though. When I built my lower the other day, I hit a wall because my only flathead screwdriver was too short to get it all the way in. Meanwhile, I had probably four different allen keys that would have done the job. It's a good point, though. |
Flathead screwdrivers are everywhere including pretty much every multitool on the planet. Find an allen wrench long enough for the grip screw isn't always so easy. I've never had a grip screw come loose in the field, but I'd like to know for sure that I can tighten it back up if it ever does. |
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