BushMater XM-15 E2S THOUGHTS

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Dry-Swamp

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I recently just bought a barely used BushMaster XM-15 E2S M4 style and was woundering what the deal is with it. a couple of my friends have told me that the bolt and bolt carrier are crap and jam after every 20 or so rounds. Im just trying to get some feed back on yall's thoughts and if i should change out the the whole assembley.
 
Dry-Swamp said:
I recently just bought a barely used BushMaster XM-15 E2S M4 style and was woundering what the deal is with it. a couple of my friends have told me that the bolt and bolt carrier are crap and jam after every 20 or so rounds. Im just trying to get some feed back on yall's thoughts and if i should change out the the whole assembley.
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They must have been reading "The Chart". I would not change it out unless you have problems.
 
I love mine and it has had thousands of trouble free rounds through it. Lots of people will re-type what they see circulating the interwebz about them being crappy. I don't see it. In the life I lead now I don't think I am going to push it to the point where I start noticing the differences between it and a Colt 6920 or the like. My rifle is accurate and dependable and I believe it is made well. You shouldn't have any problems, but if you do that's what we are here for.
 
Thanks.. thats what i was thinking. but if i was to trade it out i would like to go with the fail zero. i have a Glock 19 exo with the fail zero slide and barrel and it is great. from what i have read about it from fail zero its self they are supposed to be some what self lubricated which is awesome and i can honesty say that is true from my glock exo 19.:)
 
a couple of my friends have told me that the bolt and bolt carrier are crap and jam after every 20 or so rounds.
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They are internet experts that don't have a clue. Clean and lube your rifle, it well serve you well for thousands of rounds. I've owned one or more Bushmaster for over twenty years, that's over ten thousand rounds, closer to twenty thousand. I've replaced extractors and extractor parts, gas rings, RE springs, that's about it.

Use good quality mags, stay away from underpowered .223 ammo and steel case ammo until the rifle is broke in well.
 
keep it, run it, love it..

Had my xm15 for a little over a year now, zero problems. With the exception of a double feed but thats because I kept the stock 5rnd mag loaded for a year so now thats junked.
 
a couple of my friends have told me that the bolt and bolt carrier are crap and jam after every 20 or so rounds.
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Well, you could have probably bought a rifle with a better bolt and bolt carrier at a similar price; but a typical Bushmaster bolt carrier group isn't going to jam every 20 rounds or so. The last one I owned was still going strong at 9,988 rounds when it got lost by a gunsmith working on the gun.

The major differences between a Bushmaster bolt and a Colt bolt are:

1. Bushmaster does not proof test and magnetic particle inspect bolts.

2. Bushmaster bolts have the older blue insert and M16-style extractor spring rather than the enhanced M4 insert and M4-extractor spring (this is a $6 fix)

3.. At one time, Bushmaster used a different method of attaching the gas key on the carrier. This method worked well as long as the machine was set correctly; but as tooling would wear down, it wouldn't secure the gas key well. Around 2005 or so, somebody at Bushmaster failed to set up the machine properly and they released hundreds of rifles with loose gas keys, giving them a big hit on reputation for awhile. The most recent Bushmasters I've seen were staked using the same procedures the military recommends, so this may no longer be an issue.

If you are concerned about it, all you need to do is make sure your gas key is properly staked and upgrade the extractor spring for $6. Then I would just shoot the rifle until it is time to replace the bolt - which even with a fairly demanding firing schedule should be good for 6,000 rounds or more.
 
If you're buying a new AR for $800+ then it makes sense getting the best quality components, especially the BCG. It makes no sense to pay that much for an AR with parts that don't meet military specs.

But you bought a used AR and probably are under $800 so you have to expect compromises. Is a Bushmaster BCG as good as Colt, BCM and others? No. But it probably will be good enough for most users. I wouldn't spend the money for the FailZero BCG, it's not necessary - and the BCM is much cheaper.
 
Double check the staking on the carrier gas key screws, clean/lube it, and go shooting.

If your buddies are saying Bushmasters jam after 20 rounds, they don't know what they're talking about. It may not be quite as high quality as some others, but you'd need to really beat the tar out of the rifle to discover where that difference lies in practical use.

Until it breaks, don't worry about it.
 
Dry-Swamp,
I've put a couple of thousand of rounds through it, and didn't have any real problems with it. It certainly did NOT jam every 20 rounds or so.

Your XM15E2S is set up almost exactly like mine. One difference is that I put an extension mount on the front of the grip pod (Google "GPSLRMDT") so I could mount the scout light lower and use the tailcap switch instead of the pressure switch. With the light on the rail, I had to stretch my thumb up high which was a little awkward while holding onto the grip. I just didn't want to have to worry about the cable getting snagged on anything, the adhesive failing, etc.
 
I happen to have a couple xm15 e2s bushmasters that have never failed. As many as 400 rounds without cleaning, deer hunting in freezing rain. Coyote hunting laid up in a 6 foot snow drift. These have been field tested beyond what I did in desert storm with a colt. If I buy another AR it will most likely be a bushmaster. And for the record.... both of these were bought used from some one that thought they were junk because of something he read on the internet.
 
RedNeckWino said:
And for the record.... both of these were bought used from some one that thought they were junk because of something he read on the internet.
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Don't you just love it! A recent day at the range I was ringing steel with my "crappy" Bushmaster when a guy sat down next to me with a brand new DD and a some Pmags. The plastic mags didn't fit his magwell very well (tight) and he fought feeding issues for about sixty rounds. I loaned some of my GI mags and no more problems.:cool:
 
Shoot it and find out for yourself. Your friends want you to spend your money to satisfy their expectations about something they likely have no clue about.

Ask them to buy the BCG if it really bothers them.;)
 
Run the **** out of it, when/if it breaks, post back on here and the community will hook you up with the best part for the lowest price. Dont sweat a thing
 
Bushmaster

I have a Bushmaster as well as a S&W M&P and a LMT. They all perform the same, which is perfectly.

Taking carbine courses is a great way to prove to yourself how well a AR-15 works. The only issues I have ever observed at these classes with any brand were due to lack of lubrication, or folks using questionable ammo.
 
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