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Staked castle nut or not ?

nagantguy

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Minuteman
Aug 28, 2020
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Just wondering the consensus; my first AR build i staked - maybe one other time haven’t done so to recent ones . Noticed no difference. Now my two working rifles are staked but is it necessary for a range /varmint rifle ?
 
I had a castle nut come loose once. I died.

:D




No... but I did notice while hunting one winter, that my stock turned ever so slightly. I saw the castle nut had slightly come loose. "Oh wow, it finally happened." I grabbed it, turned it, and went back about my business. That was about 6-7 years ago, don't know that I ever did tighten it any farther.
 
I would stake the castle nut on every AR15 & AR10. Not worth ruining your hunt, or your simple outing to the range.

Undoing the castle nut when it's staked is easy it just takes a little more force. The only downside is if you are picky you'd want to possibly replace the end plate due to the staking marks.
 
My $.02. No, if the castle nut is torqued down enough, then it's not an absolute necessity for a rifle that only sees light use. Staking is just an extra insurance policy. Hard use/duty? Yeah, it should be staked. You don't want a wobbly stock when seconds count and every shot matters. That being said, I stake mine.
 
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Just wondering the consensus; my first AR build i staked - maybe one other time haven’t done so to recent ones . Noticed no difference. Now my two working rifles are staked but is it necessary for a range /varmint rifle ?

I would say not necessary but not a bad idea unless you plan to swap parts around for testing etc


Staking the castle nut
 
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Laughs in scar... Wtf is a staked castle nut....








I'll show myself out


i was just thinking the same but in MCX Spear

on the AR side, i’ve never had one come loose but i have forgot to torque a few down and found out at the range. once they are tight, they seem to stay that way for me.

i’ll go thru and check them once in awhile and never found a loose one and they see plenty of rounds.
 


all joking aside, i use blue loctite paste on some stuff. its not nearly as aggressive as blue liquid for some reason.

started using on pistol suppressor threads. put a small dab of paste on barrel threads, let it air dry for about 12 hrs then thread the can on. let that sit for about 12 hrs and break it loose amd re-tighten

that leaves residue in the threads that keeps the can from walking off.
 

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Do you wear a seatbelt when you get in your car or truck? Do you wear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle? How about eye pro when shooting?

A bit of an extreme example, but same mindset. If none of those things bother you, then don’t sweat staking the castle nut. You’ll be gtg 99% of the time, especially if properly torqued and everything’s built to spec.

Just depends on your risk acceptance level.

I (almost) always stake my builds…. Usually with a couple drops of blue Locktite on the threads as well. Belt and supenders.

The only time I don’t stake is on lightweight builds, with aluminum or carbon finer endplates…then I just Locktite (blue, not red, LoL), and torque to spec.
 
I would stake that mother lover too.

If you’re just taking it to the range and plinking then no worries, just do whatever you want.

If you plan to use it hard and put it up wet then stake it all, loctite it all and torque it all!!
I run it on my multigun setup.
 
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For my money, I expect a factory rifle to be staked, but I don’t stake “builds.” Maybe unstaking is easy, but not as easy as spinning off a non-staked castle nut. “Geutinteit” has been sufficient for me. Nether my life nor my hunt is depending on a castle nut. And, if I do find one has loosened up, snugging it up is a quick and easy field remedy.

Edit to add. Belt and suspenders is the equivalent of wearing a condom while jerking off.
 
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Some manufacturers' end plates aren't designed to be staked, KAC's QD end plate is one example. I think it's probably like everything else with the AR-15. Buy quality stuff and you won't have issues. Buy cheap shit with loose tolerances and you just might.
 
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I’ve had a couple come loose, but I tear my shit down probably more than I should and the rifles get some fairly hard use at run and gun. That said, I may not be torquing to spec. Blue loctite worked fine to stop this but I have started staking. Takes 5 minutes and it can’t be any harder than taking off the nut with blue and no heat.
 
Some manufacturers' end plates aren't designed to be staked, KAC's QD end plate is one example. I think it's probably like everything else with the AR-15. Buy quality stuff and you won't have issues. Buy cheap shit with loose tolerances and you just might.

In recent years they’ve not used those and had stake-able nuts. 🤔