Is this a red flag for an AR?

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Well, I got my first AR in January this year. Over the span of six months and 2,500 rounds, the gas key came loose (poor staking) and now the trigger group is failing function tests every 10-15 iterations. Is it just me, or is this an incredibly high failure rate of parts for an AR? It's a commercial off the shelf model with no modifications on my part. I shoot standard factory loads of 55gr .223 (Federal usually) and clean/lube the rifle after every range session. The gas key problem I can dismiss as being a "inadvertent quality control issue" given that this is a small manufacturer. However, the trigger failure is a giant red flag in my mind. Is this a fair assessment?

Re: Is this a red flag for an AR?

2
Yeah... you need to take it back or invoke any warrantee immediately and after contacting the key players, LGC and manufacturer, you need to share brand and dealer and how good or bad customer service was/ is .. Give everybody involved a chance to make things right first and then share that as well..

But if things don't go smooth keep a record and share that as well ...

My criteria personally... as one who shoots, owns, collects a lot of old weapons bought used and has a generous heart for old guns that occasionally drop a stitch at the range, but not enough so to get that .. can't trust it.. the old gun is going to break down on me like a used car feeling... while at the same being a retired competitor and having to have a sense of complete trust in my weapon , either for personal carry and protection or competition.. I find myself of two minds and guns that come in two categories .. those that you need to trust and can harbor no doubts about.. and those that you take for just what they are.. old worn and reliable enough to still be joy to shoot at the range on a nice day, where if something goes wrong.. you just switch to another old joy and continue to shoot.

Here we have a weapon that you should be able to trust implicitly.. giving you the when will the other shoe drop willies and worries

Major freaking Red Flag and definitely time to talk to the players about making your customer satisfaction whole and complete and possibly sharing your adventures to achieve that satisfaction with the community.

Re: Is this a red flag for an AR?

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I agree completely with Sarge. 2500 rounds should be within the "just starting to get worn in" stage for an AR. If it was an extractor spring that would be one thing, I've had that go flaccid after only 400 some rounds, but it's easy enough to remedy. A safety failing function check is much more serious.

Follow Sarge's recommendations and keep us apprised of the results, please.

"Taxes may be raised and cut, legislation may be passed and repealed. But Liberty, like rock worn away by rushing water, is very difficult to restore once lost.". --senorgrand
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Re: Is this a red flag for an AR?

7
Thanks for all the tips, folks. I'll provide the manufacturer name once I get this problem resolved. I'd like to given them the chance to make things right (again). I'm also not super pleased with the gun shop that sold me this (I self-identified as a newbie with ARs and he sold me this rifle after I explained what I was looking for). With the loose gas key, they were great and had a new gas key put in with no questions asked. It's a one year warranty (so long as you haven't voided terms to include steel, reloaded, re-manufactured ammo- this seems odd, but ok) so I should be able to send it back in.

However, as Sarge pointed out, I have totally lost confidence in the platform as a whole now. Yes, the manufacturer can fix the trigger group problem, but now I'm starting to worry about literally every other component of the rifle. Should I just send it in, have the trigger fixed, and sell it off?

Re: Is this a red flag for an AR?

8
I have never had that happen ever. I have fired 10s oh thousands of rounds through many different types my on issue has been a pin coming loose on my LGC lower but solved with a drop in one piece group


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Re: Is this a red flag for an AR?

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DistrictCow wrote:Thanks for all the tips, folks. I'll provide the manufacturer name once I get this problem resolved. I'd like to given them the chance to make things right (again). I'm also not super pleased with the gun shop that sold me this (I self-identified as a newbie with ARs and he sold me this rifle after I explained what I was looking for). With the loose gas key, they were great and had a new gas key put in with no questions asked. It's a one year warranty (so long as you haven't voided terms to include steel, reloaded, re-manufactured ammo- this seems odd, but ok) so I should be able to send it back in.

However, as Sarge pointed out, I have totally lost confidence in the platform as a whole now. Yes, the manufacturer can fix the trigger group problem, but now I'm starting to worry about literally every other component of the rifle. Should I just send it in, have the trigger fixed, and sell it off?
The vital components are the bolt carrier group and the trigger group. There are dozens of manufacturers out there selling high quality BCGs and triggers. Rather than take a hit on selling the entire rifle, just get better parts. Think of it as an upgrade, and many people do that even when there's nothing wrong with the original components.

Get yourself a nicer nickel-boron BCG from a good company. For trigger group, you can put in great products from Geissele, Timney, and the like.
Glad that federal government is boring again.

Re: Is this a red flag for an AR?

10
Agreed. Stiff's description of a rifle as a conglomeration of well fitting parts working in harmonious concert is my view as well. Think of this as your opportunity to deepen the understandings for the AR platform or of gun-smithing in general and you stand to gain from this "negative" experience.

Whether cars, motorcycles, or guns, depending on your personality type the key can be to demystify the technology and master the bag of parts as well as becoming a competent driver of the assemblage. The technology itself hath no soul beyond the reflected brilliance of its designer(s). By handling and knowing deeply the parts of your rifle you get a chance to appreciate the thought processes of Eugene Stoner and crew.

Keep the rifle if you like the way it shoots. Any further concern for failures based on bad metallurgy or manufacturer cutting corners isn't likely or it'd be all over the web. Even if you were the first to discover this were true for a problematic manufacturer, you would have discovered that along with the increased knowledge of AR's in general; how an AR should be built versus that manufacturer. Not a net loss in my opinion as you will definitely acquire more and better rifles over time if you stay w the sport.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

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