AR Bolt broke.

[felinesNfreedom]

So the other night at the range I had a little issue with my rifle..... The front of my bolt broke off..... I will be calling customer service in the morning.... anyone ever heard of ammo doing this?

[56FordGuy]

Don't see how ammo could do that, but I'm no expert.

What brand rifle/ bolt was it?

[Rightwinger]

Musicman was shooting PMC and blew his entire upper apart a few years back.

Make sure you get the lot number off the box.

Factory ammo? Reloads? How old and what make is your AR/Bolt

[Guest 6.8 AR]

What does the case look like? What kind of ammo? Anything else get damaged? Better pics wouldn't hurt and some of the barrel extension.

[felinesNfreedom]

J&T Distributing

[Rightwinger]

Do you have the brass of the round that was fired when this happened as well. If your case didn't separate or blow your primer pocket to hell then it was not the ammo.

[felinesNfreedom]

I was shooting some wolf I had from the last time at the range...... I will never buy that stuff again. The round never fired the bolt broke and got stuck I had to pick the broken piece out of the gun after I cleared the unfired round. And it's not a 5.56 it's a 7.62X39 upper. Nothing else was damaged just the bolt. The Gun has maybe 300 rounds through it

[Rightwinger]

Do they "open" up a standard bolt face to do that? I'm not familiar with the x39. We have had some bolt failures in the .458 Socom for just that reason. The bolt lug area is a bit weaker after making the circumference a bit bigger.

[felinesNfreedom]

No I do not think they do. I believe they make the 7.62x39 bolt for the rifle.

[Rightwinger]

The info starts at post 10. There are some other good links as well. Looks like that round in the AR's has a history of breaking lugs like yours.

Accuracy/reliability of DPMS AR in 7.62x39? - TheFiringLine Forums

Sounds like there just isn't enough material on the edges to take the pounding. If you keep that upper, might be a good idea to have a spare bolt in the box.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

If it was just a bad bolt, here is a guy who makes a strong bolt for your 7.62x39. Never heard of any problems from the ITS bolt.

Innovative Tactical Systems LLC, Made in USA, AR 15 uppers, piston operated tactical upper, 5.56, 6.8spc, custom precision barrels

He makes quality stuff in several calibers, and I believe he is selling now to third party vendors.

[Rightwinger]

That or look at that LMT bolt in that link I posted. Looks strong and they altered the lugs at the stress points. I don't know what J&T will do. If they are a quality company and the rifle is relatively new, they should send a new bolt. I would then put it in the box and buy that LMT or see about one from a quality vendor like 6.8s post and get one of those for the day to day shooting, especially using the Wolf and other Russian stuff.

[felinesNfreedom]

Thank you got the link... thats about spot on for my issues I am having bad primer strikes to so thats both of my issues with my rifle... I only have to primer issues with wolf I shot remington ammo and it was great no problem at all. I think I will look into trying to find a bolt setup like the one on the post.

[Oh Shoot]

Musicman was shooting PMC and blew his entire upper apart a few years back....

I believe it was UltraMax?

- OS

[Rightwinger]

Your right. Memory fails me. It was Ultramax. My apologies to PMC.

[felinesNfreedom]

I think I am going to go with the ITS Super bolt It seems to be built very well.

I.T.S. 7.62x39 9310 alloy superbolt

My only worry is that with the prongs being thicker will it fit my current set up? I guess I could email them or call and ask. Thank you everyone for the help.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Yeh, the LMT and ITS bolts are good. It's a good thing to keep a few spare parts around.

[Rightwinger]

Every time these things come up I remind everyone to get a "oh shoot" kit from Rock River. Pins and springs for the AR, everything your going to break or lose.

Rock River Arms: Tools and Cleaning

15 bucks at the bottom of the page.

[orientalexpress]

J&T should take of it. I have a friend who bought a DoubleStar from JT and the first shot the bolt locked up. After removing the bolt from the rifle it turns out the gas rings cracked. He took it up to them and they pulled the bolt out, threw it in a 5 gallon bucket, and gave him a new one.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Breaks like that do happen, nothing new. I have personally seen it a few times and have red about it dozens of times. I have never heard of it with quality parts though I am sure it happens there also. It isn't caused by faluty or overloaded ammo if that is the only thing that broke. Now if the magazine, upper as well as the bolt carrier decided to come apart then I would say it was ammo but in this case I think it was just a matter of the part just breaking. The cause, could be a few things, overuse and just worn out, bolt not a milspec part or maybe just a freak of nature not really sure.

Hope J&T does right by you and definitely keep us posted on the outcome.

Dolomite

[felinesNfreedom]

Called j&t They offered to ship me another bolt for free or I could upgrade to the LMT bolt and pay 50.00 bucks and they would cover the rest and ship it to me. I do not see any reason not to pay the 50 and get the better bolt.

[Dolomite_supafly]

LMT is a much better bolt and has these features:

Has been MPI tested (Magnetic testing for flaws)

Pressure tested

Shot peened (a form of surface hardening) this could have probably prevented your broken bolt

Black extractor spring insert

I would definitely upgrade.

Dolomite

[Smith]

Wolf is generally a little underpowered, so it shouldn't stress parts as much as other domestic factory ammo. I've shot thousands of rounds of Wolf through my AK's and never had an issue with any of it. AR's on the other hand do and I believe it is because they tend to open a 5.56 bolt face up to accept other calibers.

BTW - go with the upgrade.