Hello, I am Will Wallace with Whiskey Arms. We have concluded the first round of measurements and testing on the LBC Mark Passamaneck had been running in his loaner/stage gun project. If you are not familiar with this project you can check it out here,https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1423870291249295&set=a.1393825330920458.1073741828.100008790128239&type=1&theater . While the barrel had a custom gas port setup for a JP Rifles LMOS weighing 6.25 ounces, it did not have an adjustable gas block and with the LBC coming in at 3.9 ounces this makes for an over gassed setup. At around 4700 rounds his bolt broke, which he replaced after inspecting the LBC for damage and shot another 500 rounds or so. After later inspection he observed a “crack” had started in the new bolt and an “elongation” of the cam pin slot. After getting the carrier back we have inspected, measured and run a few tests. The CMM report shows the cam pin slot is still within MILSPEC. He saw some wear in the upper receiver that was normal and some that was due to being over gassed. Because of their design and heat treating bolts breaking isn’t unheard of, especially with over gassed systems. This problem is why so many manufacturers have worked to make improvements to bolt design. At this point we know the problems met where a result of not following the recommended use and not having the required adjustable gas block. We are proud of the fact that the carrier is still running, with a good amount of life left, despite being run in a setup designed for failure. We are putting it back into rotation in a correctly tuned system and will see how many more rounds we can get out of it. If you follow the recommended setup and maintenance you will get an excellent life from the LBC, but if it takes several thousand rounds to figure out it is over gassed you can be comfortable knowing that you probably haven’t destroyed the thing.
The LBC is a high performance part that does wear more than the mid and standard performance steel carriers. As with any high performance part having the proper setup and maintenance schedule is required to achieve the longest possible service life and best performance.
