jeep45238
11-09-2010, 09:25 AM
I like to think of myself as a logical cynic when it comes to new fangled coatings and the like for firearms. Especially when the company's name is two words without a space in it, or includes words such as "xtreme" or "customz", due to their far superior mastery of the English language (and I'm jealous - my spelling and grammar is horrible). Even more so when outrageous claims are made about their product, such as "NO LUBE REQUIRED" for firearm parts.
However, I do find myself trying new firearm platforms and parts and veering from my "tried and true" mentality, sometimes intentionally, sometimes, that's all that you can get. I like hard chromed bores, chambers, and bolt carrier groups. I dig hard chromed gas pistons. I dig using oil generously on an AR15, and slapping axle grease on an M1.
Along this tried and true mindset came along the purchase of an Ak74, and 4.3K rounds of ammo to accompany said rifle.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/Photo32.jpg
I really, really digged the rifle. Very fun rifle, minimal recoil, as ergonomic as a brick, sights that were not conductive to accuracy beyond 300 meters, very generous design tolerances, cheap/durable/RELIABLE magazines, and with a 16 inch barrel and the Warsaw length stock it was as long as my 20" AR15 was with a partly collapsed stock. However, the rifle was doomed, as it keyholed every single shot, though it would stay on paper and not keyhole at 100 yards. Unfortunately, the group was huge at this distance, and I had purchased a rifle, not a small bore, single projectile, semi automatic shotgun. Please note that if the rifle shot true, I would not be writing this, and would be working over an AK right now.
This left me staring at tins of 5.45 contemplating what to do with this much ammo, and in a caliber that I don't have. The fiscal genius inside of me was drugged, locked away, and gremlins started to play with bank accounts. This is the result of their mischief.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/DSCN0003-1.jpg
The upper is a 16 inch barrel, midlength gas system, 5.45x39 chamber, and is produced by Spike's Tactical. The barrel is a Lothar Walther, and everything is either heat treated via the Melonite process, is made out of stainless steel, or is nickle-boron coated (NiB). This is for superior corrosion resistance to the corrosive surplus 5.45 ammunition. This is where the FailZero comes into play. FailZero is a nonelectrolytic NiB coating on the parts which seals the metal against corrosion, gives a naturally slick finish, and increases the surface hardness, similar to many other coatings such as hard chrome and TiN. Like these other coatings, NiB was not designed for use on firearms, but rather trickled down to the small arms market, and has so far made a serious name for itself. Why? Well, unlike other coatings out there, it is nonelectrolytic, meaning that it is not dependant upon a line of sight and a precise alignment of a wire for plating. It also doesn't flake off, like other coatings will, under impact use.
Let's just say that my doubts about this new fangled "no lube required" bolt carrier group have been proven wrong. Today I shot in excess of 450 rounds in less than an hour (FailZero engineers state you can lube if you desire, but you will probably see more failures if you do so). The gun was hot. It melted my improvised sling mount, the handguards were too hot to hold, the magazine well was too hot to hold, and I had to resort to holding onto the magazine. Here's the aftermath.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0002.jpghttp://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0004.jpghttp://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0005.jpghttp://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0007.jpghttp://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0008.jpgNotice the clean, shiney portions in the reciever where the bolt carrier actually rides. This small, clean portion is why an AR will run fine and dandy dirty, just keep it wet - lots of room for fouling to go before it interfers with anything.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0012.jpg
However, I do find myself trying new firearm platforms and parts and veering from my "tried and true" mentality, sometimes intentionally, sometimes, that's all that you can get. I like hard chromed bores, chambers, and bolt carrier groups. I dig hard chromed gas pistons. I dig using oil generously on an AR15, and slapping axle grease on an M1.
Along this tried and true mindset came along the purchase of an Ak74, and 4.3K rounds of ammo to accompany said rifle.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/Photo32.jpg
I really, really digged the rifle. Very fun rifle, minimal recoil, as ergonomic as a brick, sights that were not conductive to accuracy beyond 300 meters, very generous design tolerances, cheap/durable/RELIABLE magazines, and with a 16 inch barrel and the Warsaw length stock it was as long as my 20" AR15 was with a partly collapsed stock. However, the rifle was doomed, as it keyholed every single shot, though it would stay on paper and not keyhole at 100 yards. Unfortunately, the group was huge at this distance, and I had purchased a rifle, not a small bore, single projectile, semi automatic shotgun. Please note that if the rifle shot true, I would not be writing this, and would be working over an AK right now.
This left me staring at tins of 5.45 contemplating what to do with this much ammo, and in a caliber that I don't have. The fiscal genius inside of me was drugged, locked away, and gremlins started to play with bank accounts. This is the result of their mischief.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/DSCN0003-1.jpg
The upper is a 16 inch barrel, midlength gas system, 5.45x39 chamber, and is produced by Spike's Tactical. The barrel is a Lothar Walther, and everything is either heat treated via the Melonite process, is made out of stainless steel, or is nickle-boron coated (NiB). This is for superior corrosion resistance to the corrosive surplus 5.45 ammunition. This is where the FailZero comes into play. FailZero is a nonelectrolytic NiB coating on the parts which seals the metal against corrosion, gives a naturally slick finish, and increases the surface hardness, similar to many other coatings such as hard chrome and TiN. Like these other coatings, NiB was not designed for use on firearms, but rather trickled down to the small arms market, and has so far made a serious name for itself. Why? Well, unlike other coatings out there, it is nonelectrolytic, meaning that it is not dependant upon a line of sight and a precise alignment of a wire for plating. It also doesn't flake off, like other coatings will, under impact use.
Let's just say that my doubts about this new fangled "no lube required" bolt carrier group have been proven wrong. Today I shot in excess of 450 rounds in less than an hour (FailZero engineers state you can lube if you desire, but you will probably see more failures if you do so). The gun was hot. It melted my improvised sling mount, the handguards were too hot to hold, the magazine well was too hot to hold, and I had to resort to holding onto the magazine. Here's the aftermath.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0002.jpghttp://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0004.jpghttp://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0005.jpghttp://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0007.jpghttp://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0008.jpgNotice the clean, shiney portions in the reciever where the bolt carrier actually rides. This small, clean portion is why an AR will run fine and dandy dirty, just keep it wet - lots of room for fouling to go before it interfers with anything.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s127/jeep45238/Range%20Time/545%20AR15/Fail%20Zero/DSCN0012.jpg