What really matters is the coefficient of friction (µ). µ defines the ratio of friction between two objects. The force required to operate the bolt on a weapon would be defined by two main forces. The tension of the hammer spring, and the static friction of the steel BCG and hammer on the receiver. Dry aluminum and and steel have a static µ of ~ 0.61. With a coat of traditional oil, this can be lowered below 0.25 so a little less than half. As carbon builds up most assume the µ climbs. This is not actually the case as carbon will lower the µ. What is actually happening is the BCG is developing a layer that is causing binding. So as you can see its not just coefficient of friction and hardness that matters. The ability of a material to avoid deposit build up is equally if not more important. Factor in heat, and corrosive compounds and you will see that a seemingly simple problem can actually be quite complex. For those reasons so many people want to fall back on empirical evidence. IE: "I saw a weapon go x,xxx rounds before having a malfunction". While empirical data can be an indicator, with only one data sample the information has little scientific value. While we will preform a long term review and post updates, we are not going to rely on it as a definitive study. Instead we will rely on the merits of the tangible data along with trying to collect data from others to form a more comprehensive conclusion. People cay they have seen Failzero groups go over a thousand rounds suppressed and full auto with no lube. Sadly I have seen mil-spec bolts do the same. It is not the norm, but it can and does happen.

With that primer out of the way, the initial impression of the Failzero basic kit was very favorable. The entire kit comes with complete instructions that were easy to follow. Packaging was nice and shipping was very fast. In one kit we ordered there was an issue with the gas key. A quick email to customer service had it sorted out and a new BCG was on our door later that week. The EXO coating from UCT was uniform and complete. After some initial testing the entire group was very easy to clean. More so than even its polished chrome counter part. At around $200, this kit is about double that of a basic BCG, and on par with most "premium" kits. Given the quality and claims of the kit, this has the potential to be an amazing product. While I do not intend to run it completely dry, it will provide peace of mind with extended use of a suppressor. The fact it eases clean up as much as it does is reason enough for me to purchase these kits exclusively in the future. We will follow up with long term reviews as issues or praises arise. The only stem of the install that may throw some of the most basic AR users is the hammer install. Below is a quick video to walk you through.

While I am a huge fan of the ACOG/EOTech sights, I do not see a real point on a weapon that is ballisticly limited to a few hundred meters at best. At ranges under 75 meters, I find myself just as quick with iron sights as with holographic sights. 75-150 meters the differences become apparent. For this review we are going to assume you have your reasons for the A2 architecture. To avoid further debate lets just assume you are building a zombie gun.

One of my favorite features of DPMS is that they teflon treat their receivers. While this is some what common on billet receivers, it is a hard to find option on an A2. Another nice feature is the 7075 alunmium. 7075 makes for a nice solid platform. In some cases I lean towards 6061 for the upper just to save wear and tear on the lower,in the case of a big bore AR I favor stiffness.

If you are going the big bore route, you will need to open up the injection port. Most sources seem to prefer a 16mm wide port. From my experience and research anything wider than 15mm should provide reliability. The key when opening up the injection port is not to cut too much off the top. If you remove too much material from the top, you will not have a functioning dust cover, and you will also weaken the bearing surface of the bolt

People tend to shy away from the custom route with these calibers due to the need to refinish the milled area after opening the ejection port. While you need to exercise care, this is not a show stopper. You can use anything from an end-mill to sand paper to get the job done. The real trick is in the refinish. The best solution I have found is Durabake by Duracoat.After milling, just mask off the surface, clean with some degreaser, heat the part to ~150F and paint. 15 minutes after painting the part needs to be placed in an oven at 350F for ~20 minutes. Because we are dealing with aluminum, I strongly urge you to slowly cool the part after curing the paint. Turn the oven off and wait is the best course of action.

After just one coat you can hardly tell any work was ever done. Some people comment that the Durabake has an almost ashy appearance. If you get that effect you need to apply a second coat. A second coat is better than trying to do a single heavy coat. Years on the internet and I know all about the "10 foot rule". Thats why I have included high resolution photos of this job for you to get a better idea the actual results.

Before starting any build you want to assure you have a receiver that is within spec. Being in spec is by the far the most important factor. Next you should address strength. A billet 7075 lower will give you a solid platform to work with. So now what? If you are doing a large bore project, you probably do not want a lower that says 5.56mm so you need a multi lower. All of this is easy enough to find. Now start throwing in some less common features. An ambidextrous bolt catch, an integrated trigger guard, how about a flared magazine well. All of those features can be found on the more common Mega Arms receivers.

By now you are probably thinking if Mega Arms has all these features why not just use them? For one I do not care for vertical foregrips as I have said before, and do not like to have my hand on the magazine during operation at all. The American Reaper Arms lower stands out as having an extended magazine well. This leaves you more than enough room to use the well as a grip without worrying about interfering with the magazine.

The next great feature is the use of hex bolts instead of split pins for the bolt catch. Talk to anyone who has built a few ARs and they can tell you how many receivers they have scratched trying to hammer in the bolt catch pin. Even with tape and a pin holder, this step makes even a seasoned armorer cringe. All these features add up to a lot of potential..... on paper. The true test of this receiver will be long term, and to a lesser extent in the build up phase. Those reviews will be a lot more telling than this initial impression review.

So in summation, you need to check back from time to time for the follow up reviews. The true measure of any tool is how it preforms and how well it lasts, not how well it looks out of the box. There is now denying presentation will go a long way but it stops at the door.

I never feel write about doing a review without finding at least one negative. After all nothing is perfect right? That said H&K style painted selection indicators would have been nice. Easy enough fix through, and hopefully the only thing that keeps this receiver from being perfect. Click here for instructions on how to color fill your AR15 lower.

While I was not looking for a high polish chrome finish, I did not want something that did not try and pit and rust every time the weather took a turn towards the rainy side. Above you can see the stripped frame showing some holster wear as well as some wear under the grips. Even well oiled this weapons would show surface rust on humid days.

After a solvent hot dip and an HCL bath, the remainder of the bluing was gone along with any light surface rust. On the beaver tail and above the grips there was some light pitting which I removed with a wire brush and 400 grit sand paper before giving it a quick media blasting and one last acid bath.

Plated out to 0.0005" the frame looked completly plated. However on the frame itself I continued to plate out to 0.0010" as this is a high wear location and there were no clearance issues. On the rest of the weapon plating was stopped at 0.0005". The barrel and gas ports were plugged to prevent any issues there.

After a light polish you can see the end results above. The finish came out uniform, and had the flat appearance I wanted thanks to media blasted finish of the metal. If a bright finish is desired that can be done also. Longterm follow ups will show how well this holds up. Operation wise the weapon is extremely slick feeling even with no lube. Cleaning it up now is a breeze and more importantly it shoes no desire to flash rust when it is humid.