7.62 / 308 BCG issue

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I bought an Aero Precision BCG for my AR-10 build. I noticed that the retaining pin protrudes from the carrier. I have inspected the recess and the pin cannot go in any further, the round head has bottomed out on the carrier and the tip is already through the right side of the carrier. I have tried turning it and putting it in at different rotation angles. I think this will cause premature wear on the upper and want to address this before I test the rifle out. Has anyone seen this before? None of my 5.56 bcgs are like this, the round heads all sit well within the recess.

FYI - I sent the info off to Aero and they are going to get back to me, customer support on the phone was awesome.






Thanks,
Cmaro
 
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Those pins are pretty tough, I would be tempted to smack the pin with a punch and get it to form a more squished "loop".
 
Does your build use a standard DPMS pattern bolt carrier? If so, just get another pin, like this one: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/78...taining-pin-lr-308-matte?cm_vc=ProductFinding

357_0.jpg
 
Those pins are pretty tough, I would be tempted to smack the pin with a punch and get it to form a more squished "loop".
Noted - I'll give this a try.

Does your build use a standard DPMS pattern bolt carrier? If so, just get another pin, like this one: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/78...taining-pin-lr-308-matte?cm_vc=ProductFinding

357_0.jpg
It is DPMS carrier, open top - http://aeroprecisionusa.com/aspx/store/productdetail.aspx?pid=175
I like that pin, Gillham sent me a pic of his BCG and it had that pin. It sit's well flush inside the carrier.

Hit it with a punch to flatten it, or buy the pin Ben posted.
I'm gonna try the caveman fix, if that doesn't work I'm going to go with that other pin. I may hold off on any fix until I hear from Aero. My ammo won't be in hand until after Turkey day so I can't shoot it yet anyways.

Thanks for all the input. Now it sticking out, that could and most likely would cause wear on the upper during travel, right?
 
So I have a dmps bcg, should it have that flat dpms pin by default? Should it have a standard retaining pin? Not sure...
 
I'm still waiting to hear back from Aero and my ammo showed up... so I went the cave man method and took a punch to it and it ended up in enough to clear the carrier. So I took it out, beat it flatter in a vice and filed the split end a little on the edges to smooth it out. It was pretty jagged and was possibly getting caught. It now goes in it's hole better. I do plan on picking up some of those split pins. My price on Brownells is 3.38 for those roll pins when they come back in stock. If anyone needs one let me know.

Thanks for the help.
 
I'm still waiting to hear back from Aero and my ammo showed up... so I went the cave man method and took a punch to it and it ended up in enough to clear the carrier. So I took it out, beat it flatter in a vice and filed the split end a little on the edges to smooth it out. It was pretty jagged and was possibly getting caught. It now goes in it's hole better. I do plan on picking up some of those split pins. My price on Brownells is 3.38 for those roll pins when they come back in stock. If anyone needs one let me know.

Thanks for the help.

Just pulled my AP 308 BCG and I have the same issue. Was hammering the pin worth the effort? The dpms pins shown above are 7.99 shipped for a set of 3 on eGay
 
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Just pulled my AP 308 BCG and I have the same issue. Was hammering the pin worth the effort?

So that it functions and you can fire it, yes, it's worth the effort.

Just take the pin out and slide it down in a vice so the head is sticking up and is suspended on the jaws of the vice, then tighten snug. Give it a couple of beat downs, put it back in the BCG and shoot it. I had to give the pin a few hits with a punch while in the BCG to seat it in and then turn it with a pair of needle nose to get the best fit. You shouldn't need to strip the BCG for several hundred rounds if you are shooting non corrosive stuff. This way you can enjoy your gun while you wait for a new pin to show up. I'll send you one when mine come in, just PM your address.

I suggest you e-mail Aero Precision about your issue too. If they don't know anything is wrong they can't fix it. Their customer service was awesome so I am sure they will make right on this. Contact info is [email protected] . Maybe send them a link to this thread. It ultimately seems that this is the wrong pin for this design, it looks like it needs a standard DPMS 308 retaining pin - http://www.brownells.com/rifle-part...s/308-firing-pin-retaining-pin-prod44369.aspx
 
So that it functions and you can fire it, yes, it's worth the effort.

Just take the pin out and slide it down in a vice so the head is sticking up and is suspended on the jaws of the vice, then tighten snug. Give it a couple of beat downs, put it back in the BCG and shoot it. I had to give the pin a few hits with a punch while in the BCG to seat it in and then turn it with a pair of needle nose to get the best fit. You shouldn't need to strip the BCG for several hundred rounds if you are shooting non corrosive stuff. This way you can enjoy your gun while you wait for a new pin to show up. I'll send you one when mine come in, just PM your address.

I suggest you e-mail Aero Precision about your issue too. If they don't know anything is wrong they can't fix it. Their customer service was awesome so I am sure they will make right on this. Contact info is [email protected] . Maybe send them a link to this thread. It ultimately seems that this is the wrong pin for this design, it looks like it needs a standard DPMS 308 retaining pin - http://www.brownells.com/rifle-part...s/308-firing-pin-retaining-pin-prod44369.aspx

Thanks I'll try to flattening it out a bit. Here's a shot of mine.
82599b5e97dedaf0df148fa8090fe804.jpg
 
I flattened out the pin as recommended. I also took a little material off one of the legs and shaped it with my Dremel. The pin now sits within the carrier and no longer sticks out beyond the carrier.
2114fa9044174ab3404ff8f47311adfb.jpg
97304c6906f7a492b66fb4939cf26507.jpg
 
Did you notice any excess wear inside the upper because of the pin?

I could see a line where the pin head came in contact with the upper. I rubbed my finger across it and it wiped away. There is no groove that I can feel no shavings on my fingers. I only have 40 rounds and maybe a few dozen manual cycles through it.
 
Good move on the dremel. I took a little off with the file, shaping the legs so they weren't at blunt, it seemed to help. Were you able to seat it with you fingers now? I still have to give mine a whack but only with the nylon head now, no punch needed.
 
Good move on the dremel. I took a little off with the file, shaping the legs so they weren't at blunt, it seemed to help. Were you able to seat it with you fingers now? I still have to give mine a whack but only with the nylon head now, no punch needed.

Yes I can seat the pin with my fingers. New problem came up. The headspace gauges I rented online came in today. The bolt closes with the nogo. It's a mega barrel.
 
Get a perma pin. Had this happen on a cheap ar i aquired. Stuck one of those perma pins in, never had a problem. Same design as the picture previously posted
 
Has anyone ever had headspace issues on any rifle? My bolt closes on the nogo. Takes a bit of force but it closes. Is replacing the bolt the first thing I should do? I know I could check with a field gauge but the fact the it closed on the nogo annoys me.
 
Are the gauges quality? You should not be putting force on the gauges. Just remove the extractor from the bolt and slide the unit home, the carrier should stick out the back of the upper slightly, lugs on the bolt shouldn't lock. If it does close without force check it with the field gauge, it should not come close to closing. If you fail this tests, try another bolt. I'm near the south shore I can link up at some point if you want to try another bolt.

Good luck
 
Has anyone ever had headspace issues on any rifle? My bolt closes on the nogo. Takes a bit of force but it closes. Is replacing the bolt the first thing I should do? I know I could check with a field gauge but the fact the it closed on the nogo annoys me.

My 308 wouldn't close on the go gauge, ended up having to get the bolt replaced before it finally headspaced.
 
My bolt wouldn't close on a go gauge, but would close on a live round. (Or was it the no-go? I forget exactly). But after a lot of reading, several folks said to give it a whirl if it closes up.

So let the bolt slam home on some rounds and make sure it was in battery - shot the sucker. Haven't had any issues since. Dunno if what I did was reckless, but shoots nicely. Haven't checked the headspacing since I've started shooting it, maybe it's good on the gages now
 
Update w/ Timeline.

E-mail Aero 11/25
Response 12/16 -
I apologize for the delayed response. I forwarded your email to my product manager and he said that it is fine. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
I didn't know "it is fine" meant so I called them back. The nice girl on the phone explained that this is how it is supposed to be, ex. the design is fine. I explained that it is not fine and causes premature wear on the upper. This was noticed by Knicks
I could see a line where the pin head came in contact with the upper. I rubbed my finger across it and it wiped away. There is no groove that I can feel no shavings on my fingers. I only have 40 rounds and maybe a few dozen manual cycles through it.
Although his wasn't permanent, this is possibly in part due to his limited cycles.

I am again giving Aero the benefit of the doubt and I asked that an engineer give me a call back. Two random BCGs bought by random people at random times and they both have this issue. The pin is the wrong product. I'd hate to see people messing up their uppers from a $1 part. I'll let you know what the engineer has to say.
 
Update w/ Timeline.

E-mail Aero 11/25
Response 12/16 -
I didn't know "it is fine" meant so I called them back. The nice girl on the phone explained that this is how it is supposed to be, ex. the design is fine. I explained that it is not fine and causes premature wear on the upper. This was noticed by Knicks
Although his wasn't permanent, this is possibly in part due to his limited cycles.

I am again giving Aero the benefit of the doubt and I asked that an engineer give me a call back. Two random BCGs bought by random people at random times and they both have this issue. The pin is the wrong product. I'd hate to see people messing up their uppers from a $1 part. I'll let you know what the engineer has to say.

they have not returned a single email or call. I have direct email addresses from purchases I have made. Crickets. Mega on the otherhand responds almost immediately. They have offered to evaluate my barrel to help with my headspace issue.
 
<--- No Fu(%Book [tinfoil]

I told the rep yesterday that this is not an isolated issue and we are talking about it on the forums. They said I can send the link over, which I plan on doing when I hear from an engineer. If you want to put it up on FB please feel free.

BTW - this seems to effect both styles BCG, no forward assist that Knicks has and mine which has forward assist.
 
Mega got my barrel and will be sending me a new one. They didn't say if there was an issue with it but emailed them back to ask. Wish I sent them my bcg to confirm oh well. I'm very impressed with their CS.

Edit: mega confirmed the headspace was off.
 
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