05-16-2011, 10:31 PM
I'm not familiar with the Saob built uppers but a lot of the bolt troubles have been resolved with newer bolts currently being used in 6.5 Grendels. Some rifles like those sold by Model 1 Sales in their 6.5 Sporter use a bolt for AR 47(7.62 X 39 with AR 15 barrel). Supposedly these bolts are not as durable as the newer AA 6.5 Grendel bolts. The new AA 6.5 Grendel bolts supposedly use a stronger steel but from what I have read if a bolt broke usually a lug would break off from the rest of the bolt. I would assume the broken lug would be near the extractor since that is usually the weakest part of the bolt. I doubt if you'd have much warning prior to bolt failure unless your rifle was failing to extract or feed because of high pressure loads. If your barrel was made by Lothar Walther the barrel should be so marked. I'd either contact Lothar Walther or the company that assembled the upper to inquire about the appropriate bolt. Normally 6.5 Grendel barrels are sold with the appropriate bolt. I think a lot of bolt failures are do to high pressure or high recoil force and I have never tried to hot rod any of my rifles. Some 6.5 Grendel shooters use adjustable gas blocks so they can better control the recoil forces on their rifles. I personally would just shoot the rifle and see how it performs with factory ammo or less than max reloads. If the brass appears normal with no signs of high pressure I'd probably not buy an extra bolt. I figure if a bolt fails on my rifle I can get a new bolt in a week. If I go on a hunting trip I'll probably take more than one rifle so I'm not concerned as much with a part failure.