MA-TEN Build Help

[exedotbat]

My friend is building up a 308 variant, using a MA-TEN billet set, dpms barrel, BCG, and I believe buffer and spring are also dpms. Anyway the rifle is not complete yet, but he has most of it together and started to function test. After a couple times of racking the charging handle, and using the bolt release he noticed a lot of wear on the charging handle and buffer. Is this normal for this type of rifle. He only tested it about 5 times.

It looks like part of the charging handle is starting to shear off, and the buffer is already getting beat to hell.

Sorry for the garbage pictures they are from my cell phone.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: MA-TEN Build Help

my first thought is parts mismatch somewhere. if i am thinking correctly thats the bottom of the key making that dent on the charge handle as it racks forward. thats making me think its going too far forward. could it be a BCG from/for an armalite in a DPMS spec upper? cant say whats chewing the buffer or if thats whats doing that to the charge handle. lemme grab mines. its all DPMS parts in a MA-10. i just cycled 20 rouonds by hand with the charge handle. pulled it, nothing. looks great. but, its not the ma-10 handle that came with it and i use a stick on buffer on my buffer face. if the buffer looks like that then what does the BCG look like? what does the back of the upper look like? whats chewing that buffer up? is there something in the tube? is it eating the upper?

 

[exedotbat]

Re: MA-TEN Build Help

It looks like the buffer is being chewed up by the buffer retainer.

Maybe the spring is to much, which is why the bcg would be beating up the rear of the charging handle.

But the upper "which is a mega monolithic" is suppose to take amarlite, and dpms barrels, and they recommend keeping the BCG with the same manufacturer. Which is what he has, and the stock assembly is a DPMS ar15 collapsible stock buffer tube, DPMS LR-308 Carbine Spring, DPMS LR-308 Carbine Buffer.

According to Mega the upper and stock combos should be correct. So I am lost, unless one of the parts is out of spec, or he got a mislabeled part from one of the vendors.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: MA-TEN Build Help

did you rotate the buffer for the picture then? is the retaining pin bent forward? is the pin chewed up or the finish coming off? it sounds like the bolt carrier group assembly is a tad short, maybe in the bolt. i say this because with the damage in the charge handle, it looks like its deforming the metal. soft metal of charge handle, hard metal of the key. if thats the case its going too far forward to do this. the carrier is the correct length, but the bolt sounds short on the front end. make sense? it would explain why the buffer is coming too far forward and why the pin is chewing in up.

or the holes in the carrier are too far forward?

 

[Ballista One]

Re: MA-TEN Build Help

It doesn't appear from the photo that the buffer retainer is trapped under the receiver extension properly.

Were you cycling the bolt group without the barrel installed?

Is the barrel installed correctly?

 

[exedotbat]

Re: MA-TEN Build Help

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: m_gale</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It doesn't appear from the photo that the buffer retainer is trapped under the receiver extension properly.

Were you cycling the bolt group without the barrel installed?

Is the barrel installed correctly? </div></div>

Well I just talked to him again and he figured it out. Its the same thing you said. When he went to test it, it was after he took the barrel off, which allowed the bolt to want to go to far forward. Lesson learned. He is going to replace the charging handle, and buffer retainer.

Thanks

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: MA-TEN Build Help

might be able to save the handle. thats one strong spring in this system. i used a flatwire and when you release the bolt you can really feel the mass of the BCG moving forward and stopping

 

[r1rn04]

Re: MA-TEN Build Help

Bad Luck