02-25-2014, 05:40 AM
8620 steel heat-treated outside the margins of error will produce very weak bolts, even in 5.56 NATO, and there have been some cases of 5.56 bolts breaking early, but it isn't that often.
I know the AA bolt I have has been trucking along like a champ since 2009 now, and I haven't been exactly nice to it since all my shooting is either pressure ladders, or warmer loads mass-produced with the 123gr A-MAX, with Hornady 123gr A-MAX boxed ammo matching what I load in terms of volume. I'm not the kind of guy that just shoots a box of 20 and heads home either, and I'm one of the few that has done hose-session testing with mine to determine muzzle climb with higher load weight loads with the 100gr NBT:
[video]http://youtu.be/qApXp7sH9QQ[/video]
I know the AA bolt I have has been trucking along like a champ since 2009 now, and I haven't been exactly nice to it since all my shooting is either pressure ladders, or warmer loads mass-produced with the 123gr A-MAX, with Hornady 123gr A-MAX boxed ammo matching what I load in terms of volume. I'm not the kind of guy that just shoots a box of 20 and heads home either, and I'm one of the few that has done hose-session testing with mine to determine muzzle climb with higher load weight loads with the 100gr NBT:
[video]http://youtu.be/qApXp7sH9QQ[/video]