Glad I found this video. I've wanted a slick-side chrome bolt assembly from Young Manufacturing for a long time. As I'm realizing more, in this post-2020 world, all bets seem to be off when it comes to AR-15 parts quality from even renown brands. Those chrome bolt assemblies aren't cheap at $300, either. One commenter suggested when Young Manufacturing was bought by KE Arms, the latter was probably hard-chroming bolt assemblies that were already nitride-treated and in spec before the chroming. Hard chroming adds thickness to bolt assemblies which would bring appropriately manufactured parts into spec as Young Manufacturing was probably doing before being bought by KE Arms. It looks like KE Arms cut corners and simply slapped hard chroming onto already-in-spec nitrided bolt assemblies.
I bought a KP15 complete lower receiver last year from KE Arms and was very displeased with the QC. The roll pin in the buffer worked it's way out during firing. The diameter of the coil on the recoil spring was too small and it would not seat all the way up the shoulder of the buffer. This also caused the recoil spring to scrape the finish off of the buffer. KE Arms replaced the buffer but did not replace the recoil spring. Also, the trigger was the worst feeling AR trigger I've ever felt. Long, gritty and mushy. I replaced it with a $40 Schmid Nickel Teflon trigger and it is SO much better.
It's a shame KE bought YM. It's said in the ARFCOM thread that the company was moved. That means the folks that were experienced in making these BCGs are like no longer with the company and they have new employees.
The company being moved makes a lot of sense given what I've experienced. I have some personal experience working in the admin/management side of manufacturing, and you wouldn't be surprised how much company IP and know-how walks out the door every time someone retires or changes jobs.
I thought I learned most of what was needed to maintain, inspect, etc., a BCG. However, one doesn’t know what one doesn’t know. Well, I certainly learned more of what I didn’t know through this video. You demonstrate and articulate instructions well on video. May I suggest you make a video on everything you know about BCGs. I must have been fortunate that my BCGs have been pretty good ones. So I never knew to check for proper fitment like you taught. I mostly learned about lubrication, proper staking, testing for worn gas rings, etc.; never all the fitment tests like you demonstrated. Great job! I bet there is even more that you know that could go into an “all things BCG” type video. I know this was about your experience with this manufacturer’s BCG. And as such, those that would be interested in that specific of a topic, are far less than those that could use information on all things BCG. Most AR owners I know do not realize how critical a BCG is for an AR. Most of them do not fire enough rounds to realize this. I know it takes more than a BCG to make an AR function; but, I found that most AR owners (once myself included) focus more on functions of accessories, than high cycling, high wear, highly stressed components. Thanks again.
Instead of repeating what's already been done well, I would highly recommend checking out videos by Chad at School Of The American Rifle (SOTAR.) You can find them here on CZcams.
@@ShadetreeArmorer I quickly scanned across their video titles and can see why you recommended that channel. I went ahead and subscribed to them and I will be going through their videos. Thanks for being humble enough to suggest another channel!
If you want a chrome BCG, which I agree is the superior finish, just get a Brownells Chrome BCG. Only costs like a hunny and change and are quite well put together, from what I can see.
I've had pretty good luck until now, but I've tried to stick with known quantities like BCM, DD, and Young Mfg. I did get some bolts from Rainier about ten years back that came with horribly out-of-spec extractors. The claw wasn't machined deeply enough. I contacted Rainier and they were unhelpful about the situation. They caused a malfunction about once every five rounds pretty reliably, so I kept them around for training purposes instead of trying to force a refund. Put BCM extractors on those bolts and never had any further issues.
@@ShadetreeArmorer I’m more poverty tier. I usually use faxon bcg but I’ve put a ton of bear creek uppers on friends guns and other than handguards loosening up I’ve had no problems even with my overzealous friends that mag dump 100’s of rounds into burms. Sometimes luck is better than skill:)
I bought a Young carrier about a year ago from KE and one of the carrier rails looked like it had been hacked up by an axe. No idea how this happened, especially for a $300 carrier. I got my money back, but I'll never touch Young or KE again.
Is there any information out there about whether or not these bolt carriers from Young are MPI and HP tested I can't find any info anywhere and I don't want to use this thing if it's not
That’s some information I could have used yesterday. I ordered a bolt for a 7.62x39 build that I’m working on. I always research products that I’m unfamiliar with. For some reason this is the first time I’ve seen your presentation and now I’m not feeling so positive. At $150 bucks for just the bolt I would expect top quality. Wow!
Damn man. 150 bucks is a lot for just a bolt. I'm building a AR47 also and I've been trying to find the most reliable BCG to build a decent battle ready rifle. I heard of YM but was skeptical so I kept trying to find more info. I found that chrome BCG are the strongest next would be chrome lined phosphate finish then nickel boron. Im probably gonna go with Sharps Rifle Co. Black Rifle Arms.Or, Mystic Coating. If I find out that the shortened AR10 BCG from CMMG won't fit. Also someone here in the comments just said something about chrome BCG from Brownels so ima have look. Good luck man, please let us know how the bolt Young Manufacturing sends you works out.
I've only built about 10 ar 15 but I seem to have the best luck with tool craft. I want a nickel boron carrier for my fostec but I'm not sure if they are worth the money. Sorry about your luck but I'm glad they made it good
FWIW, after receiving a refund from KE (which was very prompt and they paid return shipping) I purchased a chrome BCG from BRT, which I received today. It exhibits none of the issues that either BCG I received from KE did. Unfortunately it's not a slick side, but it at least fits in an upper receiver. Time will tell how it performs and holds up, but BRT seems to have a pretty good reputation and Forward Controls Design carries them, for whatever that's worth.
Bummer! Just to throw my 2 beans into the pile, I did get a new slick hmb from young and it runs flawlessly, but I did fork over the extra dough. It seems this is an issue with the blems they let out the door, very not cool.
Oof. This (and other stories) really reinforces my belief that their process is terrible and someone mistook a bin of out of spec parts for a bin of cosmetically blemished parts. Neither BCG I received appeared to have any cosmetic blemishes.
@@ShadetreeArmorer I’ve put a thousand rounds into her now and she’s had no problems. I had the stiffest gas rings ive felt, barely could wack it through the air and open the bolt. But shot 60 rounds though it and it’s looser than my ex girlfriend bolt can open just from its own weight not applying any pressure. live in phoenix and went to show my BCG to the guy you see on inrange video the KE arms guy. Said it was ok. It runs well but we will see how many she goes
@@lovebutter2014 sounds like something is way out of whack. Bear in mind that running in one condition may not equivocate to running in another condition. If it's on the edge, it might start screwing up on you with a stiffer magazine spring like a Lancer (more drag) or if it's fouled (more drag) or if it's burned off too much lube (more drag) or if it's cold (less energy) - or if all of those things are true, the poor gas efficiency might be what pushes it over the edge into not functioning.
I watched both of your videos regarding this product great info. My question is. How do you feel about the Bolt itself? Would rather get a Criterion Barrel with Headspaced Bolt or a Criterion and the Young’s HMB ?
The first bolt I got had an out of spec bore for the extractor pin. If they're letting that slide, who knows what else is being let through. As I mentioned, my issues were overt and what really concerns me is covert/insidious issues that only present themselves after extended use. Regarding the Criterion, I can't speak to their 5.56 offerings but I have a 6.5 with a headspaced JP high pressure bolt and it's great.
@@ShadetreeArmorer I guess I should have mentioned it’s a 300 Blkout setup. Awesome I have the same. Creedmoor setup in my rifle that’s what lead me to this option. Thanks for the info again
So about 4 years ago, I bought NM Young BCG for a 20" SPR I had been collecting parts for , for 3-4 years prior. After loooong research and about a years wait for them to come back in stock, I got mine. I knew that Young used inferior screws on the carrier key, so I ordered some OCKS screws and had a 'smith install & re-stake them. I sent the bolt itself to an extremely well know barrel maker for headspacing to a barrel ordered. The owner called me and said he could not headspace that bolt to any barrel they currently had in the shop because "it is too small". I was upset, to say the least. This man then said he didnt want me to have to wait to sort this out- so he GAVE-FREE...to me a new unfired BCM bolt, which is in the rifle now. Due to the extra size & weight of the NM Carrier, Ive had to use a stronger recoil spring in the rifle to get 100% functioning. Had I known all this I would have went a different route.
I think you should atleast let the company know so they can make adjustments to their machining procedures to keep things within the specification window of the parts they make. I always atleast give these companies the benefit of the doubt that they will fix issues for future parts they machine if you tell them the issues. Unless they are another company purchased by Bob Beck that he ruins then i just stay clear of them. I have been runing Cyptek Coating's BCG's with great results
I suspect that the original Young MFG machined their bcg's at reduced dimensions to allow the hard chrome lining to bring it up to dimensional spec, but when KE started offering nitrided bcg's they just machined all bcg's to actual finish dimensional specs without any consideration of the added thickness of the chrome lining.
KE Arms responded to this video and I posted part two here: czcams.com/video/NraiAXlLbkM/video.html
Glad I found this video. I've wanted a slick-side chrome bolt assembly from Young Manufacturing for a long time. As I'm realizing more, in this post-2020 world, all bets seem to be off when it comes to AR-15 parts quality from even renown brands. Those chrome bolt assemblies aren't cheap at $300, either. One commenter suggested when Young Manufacturing was bought by KE Arms, the latter was probably hard-chroming bolt assemblies that were already nitride-treated and in spec before the chroming. Hard chroming adds thickness to bolt assemblies which would bring appropriately manufactured parts into spec as Young Manufacturing was probably doing before being bought by KE Arms. It looks like KE Arms cut corners and simply slapped hard chroming onto already-in-spec nitrided bolt assemblies.
It's always a bummer when a prestigious brand you trust does the flopper.
☹
I bought a KP15 complete lower receiver last year from KE Arms and was very displeased with the QC. The roll pin in the buffer worked it's way out during firing. The diameter of the coil on the recoil spring was too small and it would not seat all the way up the shoulder of the buffer. This also caused the recoil spring to scrape the finish off of the buffer. KE Arms replaced the buffer but did not replace the recoil spring.
Also, the trigger was the worst feeling AR trigger I've ever felt. Long, gritty and mushy. I replaced it with a $40 Schmid Nickel Teflon trigger and it is SO much better.
Glad you posted this. I decided to go with Prime Weaponry’s bolt carrier in stead. Thanks,
Thanks for bringing this to the communities attention.
It's a shame KE bought YM. It's said in the ARFCOM thread that the company was moved. That means the folks that were experienced in making these BCGs are like no longer with the company and they have new employees.
The company being moved makes a lot of sense given what I've experienced. I have some personal experience working in the admin/management side of manufacturing, and you wouldn't be surprised how much company IP and know-how walks out the door every time someone retires or changes jobs.
I thought I learned most of what was needed to maintain, inspect, etc., a BCG. However, one doesn’t know what one doesn’t know. Well, I certainly learned more of what I didn’t know through this video.
You demonstrate and articulate instructions well on video. May I suggest you make a video on everything you know about BCGs.
I must have been fortunate that my BCGs have been pretty good ones. So I never knew to check for proper fitment like you taught. I mostly learned about lubrication, proper staking, testing for worn gas rings, etc.; never all the fitment tests like you demonstrated. Great job! I bet there is even more that you know that could go into an “all things BCG” type video.
I know this was about your experience with this manufacturer’s BCG. And as such, those that would be interested in that specific of a topic, are far less than those that could use information on all things BCG.
Most AR owners I know do not realize how critical a BCG is for an AR. Most of them do not fire enough rounds to realize this.
I know it takes more than a BCG to make an AR function; but, I found that most AR owners (once myself included) focus more on functions of accessories, than high cycling, high wear, highly stressed components.
Thanks again.
Instead of repeating what's already been done well, I would highly recommend checking out videos by Chad at School Of The American Rifle (SOTAR.) You can find them here on CZcams.
@@ShadetreeArmorer I quickly scanned across their video titles and can see why you recommended that channel. I went ahead and subscribed to them and I will be going through their videos. Thanks for being humble enough to suggest another channel!
Extremely valuable information
If you want a chrome BCG, which I agree is the superior finish, just get a Brownells Chrome BCG. Only costs like a hunny and change and are quite well put together, from what I can see.
not the same thing
I’ve had mine like u said from many years ago and it’s still perfect,
Definitely not getting rid of my OG one.
Thanks for the heads up. I’ve gotten lucky over the years and even cheapy bcg’s have been good to me
I've had pretty good luck until now, but I've tried to stick with known quantities like BCM, DD, and Young Mfg. I did get some bolts from Rainier about ten years back that came with horribly out-of-spec extractors. The claw wasn't machined deeply enough. I contacted Rainier and they were unhelpful about the situation. They caused a malfunction about once every five rounds pretty reliably, so I kept them around for training purposes instead of trying to force a refund. Put BCM extractors on those bolts and never had any further issues.
@@ShadetreeArmorer I’m more poverty tier. I usually use faxon bcg but I’ve put a ton of bear creek uppers on friends guns and other than handguards loosening up I’ve had no problems even with my overzealous friends that mag dump 100’s of rounds into burms. Sometimes luck is better than skill:)
I bought a Young carrier about a year ago from KE and one of the carrier rails looked like it had been hacked up by an axe. No idea how this happened, especially for a $300 carrier. I got my money back, but I'll never touch Young or KE again.
Oof. The two I got didn't have any visible flaws, just functional ones.
That BCG needs to sent to School of the American Rifle. Chad Albrecht would have diagnosed it right away...
This guy sounds like Chad, I was wondering if it's another channel that he has. Yes, SOTAR offers an amazing amount of knowledge and information.
Is there any information out there about whether or not these bolt carriers from Young are MPI and HP tested I can't find any info anywhere and I don't want to use this thing if it's not
That’s some information I could have used yesterday. I ordered a bolt for a 7.62x39 build that I’m working on. I always research products that I’m unfamiliar with. For some reason this is the first time I’ve seen your presentation and now I’m not feeling so positive. At $150 bucks for just the bolt I would expect top quality. Wow!
They likely sub those bolts out to someone, so maybe it will be fine just fine.
Damn man. 150 bucks is a lot for just a bolt. I'm building a AR47 also and I've been trying to find the most reliable BCG to build a decent battle ready rifle. I heard of YM but was skeptical so I kept trying to find more info. I found that chrome BCG are the strongest next would be chrome lined phosphate finish then nickel boron. Im probably gonna go with Sharps Rifle Co. Black Rifle Arms.Or, Mystic Coating. If I find out that the shortened AR10 BCG from CMMG won't fit. Also someone here in the comments just said something about chrome BCG from Brownels so ima have look. Good luck man, please let us know how the bolt Young Manufacturing sends you works out.
I've only built about 10 ar 15 but I seem to have the best luck with tool craft. I want a nickel boron carrier for my fostec but I'm not sure if they are worth the money. Sorry about your luck but I'm glad they made it good
You saved me the $. I was fixing to spend the 224 on one of these blems. Thanks
FWIW, after receiving a refund from KE (which was very prompt and they paid return shipping) I purchased a chrome BCG from BRT, which I received today. It exhibits none of the issues that either BCG I received from KE did. Unfortunately it's not a slick side, but it at least fits in an upper receiver. Time will tell how it performs and holds up, but BRT seems to have a pretty good reputation and Forward Controls Design carries them, for whatever that's worth.
@@ShadetreeArmorer BRT?
@@elitetrader5468 Black River Tactical.
Bummer! Just to throw my 2 beans into the pile, I did get a new slick hmb from young and it runs flawlessly, but I did fork over the extra dough. It seems this is an issue with the blems they let out the door, very not cool.
The HMB bolt is made by HM Defense and not Young/KE, just FYI. I believe they're out of Ohio and KE is in AZ.
I just got one of the blem bcg and the firing pin was getting stuck on the last 10% and we will see if she shoots or just light primer strickes
Oof. This (and other stories) really reinforces my belief that their process is terrible and someone mistook a bin of out of spec parts for a bin of cosmetically blemished parts. Neither BCG I received appeared to have any cosmetic blemishes.
@@ShadetreeArmorer I’ve put a thousand rounds into her now and she’s had no problems. I had the stiffest gas rings ive felt, barely could wack it through the air and open the bolt. But shot 60 rounds though it and it’s looser than my ex girlfriend bolt can open just from its own weight not applying any pressure. live in phoenix and went to show my BCG to the guy you see on inrange video the KE arms guy. Said it was ok. It runs well but we will see how many she goes
@@lovebutter2014 The bolt falling out of the carrier from it's own weight is a fail as far as gas rings go. Those should be replaced.
@@ShadetreeArmorer but I put a new set and it happened again after 100 rounds eh buts she runs.
@@lovebutter2014 sounds like something is way out of whack. Bear in mind that running in one condition may not equivocate to running in another condition. If it's on the edge, it might start screwing up on you with a stiffer magazine spring like a Lancer (more drag) or if it's fouled (more drag) or if it's burned off too much lube (more drag) or if it's cold (less energy) - or if all of those things are true, the poor gas efficiency might be what pushes it over the edge into not functioning.
I watched both of your videos regarding this product great info. My question is. How do you feel about the Bolt itself? Would rather get a Criterion Barrel with Headspaced Bolt or a Criterion and the Young’s HMB ?
The first bolt I got had an out of spec bore for the extractor pin. If they're letting that slide, who knows what else is being let through. As I mentioned, my issues were overt and what really concerns me is covert/insidious issues that only present themselves after extended use. Regarding the Criterion, I can't speak to their 5.56 offerings but I have a 6.5 with a headspaced JP high pressure bolt and it's great.
@@ShadetreeArmorer I guess I should have mentioned it’s a 300 Blkout setup. Awesome I have the same. Creedmoor setup in my rifle that’s what lead me to this option. Thanks for the info again
Just curious, but did you check the headspace ?
Glad I didn't waste my money
I wonder if the non blemished BCGs are in spec?
Considering they insisted this one was in spec, I doubt they know how to even check. Part 2 here: czcams.com/video/NraiAXlLbkM/video.html
Unfortunate.
And they want 300 hundred bucks for these
So about 4 years ago, I bought NM Young BCG for a 20" SPR I had been collecting parts for , for 3-4 years prior. After loooong research and about a years wait for them to come back in stock, I got mine. I knew that Young used inferior screws on the carrier key, so I ordered some OCKS screws and had a 'smith install & re-stake them. I sent the bolt itself to an extremely well know barrel maker for headspacing to a barrel ordered. The owner called me and said he could not headspace that bolt to any barrel they currently had in the shop because "it is too small". I was upset, to say the least. This man then said he didnt want me to have to wait to sort this out- so he GAVE-FREE...to me a new unfired BCM bolt, which is in the rifle now. Due to the extra size & weight of the NM Carrier, Ive had to use a stronger recoil spring in the rifle to get 100% functioning. Had I known all this I would have went a different route.
Oof.
I think you should atleast let the company know so they can make adjustments to their machining procedures to keep things within the specification window of the parts they make. I always atleast give these companies the benefit of the doubt that they will fix issues for future parts they machine if you tell them the issues. Unless they are another company purchased by Bob Beck that he ruins then i just stay clear of them. I have been runing Cyptek Coating's BCG's with great results
See part two: czcams.com/video/NraiAXlLbkM/video.html
I would take the gas key off and stick it back in the upper and Try it out the gas key might be out of Tolerance .
its the carrier.
I suspect that the original Young MFG machined their bcg's at reduced dimensions to allow the hard chrome lining to bring it up to dimensional spec, but when KE started offering nitrided bcg's they just machined all bcg's to actual finish dimensional specs without any consideration of the added thickness of the chrome lining.
Wouldn't surprise me.
That's probably it.
I've bought blem parts from MAF with better fitment than that.
What Russel doing?
Going to drag shows with Karl.
@@rifleshooterchannel208or standing in line outside your mom’s singlewide
Blems.
KE arms sucks