Product Spotlight: SOLGW AR-15 Bolt-Carrier Group

Brownells Gun Tech™ Keith Ford is joined by Mike Mihalski, founder and owner of Sons of Liberty Gun Works, to talk about the heart of the AR-15 rifle - its bolt-carrier group. SOLGW's bolt-carrier group is a return to fundamentals in BCG design. Rather than try to make a bunch of "whiz-bang" changes to the BCG's configuration, SOGLW focused on making the best possible "mil-spec" component, with common failure points pre-emptively beefed up so they don't fail. For example, a stronger extractor, tougher extractor spring, and an aggressively staked gas key contoured to provide the best possible gas seal on the gas tube for proper gas flow to cycle the BCG reliably. SOLGW's bolt is built strictly to military specs because those specs have been tested and proven by millions of bolts manufactured, billions of rounds fired, and very low premature failure rates. Why mess with success? Sticking with a bolt made of the standard Carpenter 158 steel is not as exciting as something new and exotic sounding. But does exotic help you if your AR-15's bolt fails at an inopportune moment? Some of the newer alloys are harder, but hardness often results in brittleness - something you DON'T want on your AR's bolt! Likewise, the traditional phosphate finish gets the job done: "No coating will make a bad bolt-carrier group good." What about high-pressure testing and magnetic particle inspection? Mike explains the CORRECT way to do those.