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11,642 Posts
Well with all of the recent news about SAI receiver bridges being out of wack I decided to check mine for unusuall wear.
What I discovered shocked me. I found the bolt had turnred into a mushroom on the back end from smacking into the hammer. The bridge was just fine. So as so many of us here do I sent my M21 into SAI for inspection and repair. I specifically noted that I want nothing done to the rifle before I was consulted. I got a call from a very nice woman in the repair dept the other afternoon. I was told that the wear on the bolt was "normal" and that if I would like them to, they would replace it. I dont need to tell you what I told them to do. One of my concerns was the bolts are supposed to be as hard as the receivers. I was wondering what would happen when they lapped the new bolt into the receiver. If the bolt was soft maybe the receiver was too. So I asked! What will happen when you lapp the bolt in. will the lapping go through the hardening? WIll the headspace be opened up to a dangerous point as I am shooting the rifle? WHat she said next blew my mind. "The receiver is as hard as the bolt"! I said great that justifies my concerns because obviously the bolt is soft enough to mushroom at the back end! WHat she said next knocked me off my seat. "we dont lapp our bolts into the receivers so you dont have to worry about that. I said so how do you insure good lug contact? Are the bolts and receivers made to such close tollerances like the GI ones that you dont have to lapp them in? She put me on hold for a min and when she came back she said she just spooke to the production manager and he said that after a few rounds fired the bolts seat themselves. If that were the case the bolts and receivers would be soft and the headspace would open up. I can see the parkerizing wearing off but hey???? Now I was always under the impresion that bolt lug contact was an important asppect with these rifles. My question to the forum is am I wrong??????
What I discovered shocked me. I found the bolt had turnred into a mushroom on the back end from smacking into the hammer. The bridge was just fine. So as so many of us here do I sent my M21 into SAI for inspection and repair. I specifically noted that I want nothing done to the rifle before I was consulted. I got a call from a very nice woman in the repair dept the other afternoon. I was told that the wear on the bolt was "normal" and that if I would like them to, they would replace it. I dont need to tell you what I told them to do. One of my concerns was the bolts are supposed to be as hard as the receivers. I was wondering what would happen when they lapped the new bolt into the receiver. If the bolt was soft maybe the receiver was too. So I asked! What will happen when you lapp the bolt in. will the lapping go through the hardening? WIll the headspace be opened up to a dangerous point as I am shooting the rifle? WHat she said next blew my mind. "The receiver is as hard as the bolt"! I said great that justifies my concerns because obviously the bolt is soft enough to mushroom at the back end! WHat she said next knocked me off my seat. "we dont lapp our bolts into the receivers so you dont have to worry about that. I said so how do you insure good lug contact? Are the bolts and receivers made to such close tollerances like the GI ones that you dont have to lapp them in? She put me on hold for a min and when she came back she said she just spooke to the production manager and he said that after a few rounds fired the bolts seat themselves. If that were the case the bolts and receivers would be soft and the headspace would open up. I can see the parkerizing wearing off but hey???? Now I was always under the impresion that bolt lug contact was an important asppect with these rifles. My question to the forum is am I wrong??????
