# gun parts to stock up on?



## ghostman (Dec 11, 2014)

What gun parts should someone stock up on? Like what parts typically begin to wear down or break after prolonged amounts of use and abuse.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Well if you own Ar's spring and pin kits. Same with Ak the trigger springs do wear out. Any weapon you own it makes sense to have spare springs and pins. After that major parts are nice to have around. But I warn you. Spare barrels , uppers lowers have away of turning into complete weapons and the whole darn thing starts over. I have seen a spare hand guard turn into a complete AR in a week.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Or...you can have a deep lineup of spare firearms...:vs_closedeyes:


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Slippy said:


> Or...you can have a deep lineup of spare firearms...:vs_closedeyes:


Ya beat me to it Slip ... screw the spare parts, huh?


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## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

Two is one and one is none. Springs,pins,screws,should do ya. Research the gun you have in mind,find what parts ware out first and stock up! A good book on how to reassemble is a must have.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

Just on Ar's here with this one.

Outside of springs, which you should have a spare of everyone, 

the items I replace the most on customer guns are in order the gas rings, gas tube, followed by the carrier key.

Carriers, cheap ones, with unground bores for the bolt assembly will eat a set of rings in 500 rounds or less,

rounds fired before ring fail is directly proportional to the bore finish quality.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Slippy said:


> Or...you can have a deep lineup of spare firearms...:vs_closedeyes:


 Kind of have to agree. Mainly because as I stated before parts just seem to turn into complete weapons. Two years ago was a one of those years every time I opened a box and found a part I had forgotten about, it turned into a complete weapon in about the time it took UPS to deliver a couple more parts.
Open up a box find a stripped lower, well I have a lower kit raining out may as well put it in, dam over there is a but stock and tube doing nothing. Check email over coffee and that darn PSA complete Upper free shipping and they are giving it away. What else do you think will happen.
I have never had problems swapping Ar parts around. Parts is parts even if you have to remove them from another.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

I have 15 Colt Cage Code Charge Handles and 9 New Colt BCG's, lots of springs,detents, 2 barrels, 2 upper receiver,PSA LPK being shipped,a PSA URG for Monday delivery and 4 lowers in hock at the FFL's while I wait for UPS/PSA to make me whole on the lost G19 Gen 4 I paid for.

This started because I had a Colt H2 buffer laying around:vs_rocking_banana:

Yes the BATFE knows about the lost G19. The FFL has to report it as the serial is on the empty Clamshell.


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## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

I carried a spare firing pin and a bolt carrier group on AD . Just put the pin in an ammo pouch just in case someone dropped one. 

I would not have thought 500 rounds and the rings would be bad. Thanks for the info SOCOM42 . 

I hope by staying with well known brand names I have avoided this issue. I suppose with ARs having some spare parts that you build over time and over paychecks into a spare weapon is not a bad thing. Now when you get to a thousand I think you may have over done it.


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## Toefoot (Jun 21, 2017)

Redundant purchases of the same MM firearms. Boring to be sure but nesseccary.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

A Watchman said:


> Ya beat me to it Slip ... screw the spare parts, huh?


Since I will never leave the homestead voluntarily, it is a simple matter to reach in the closet for another rifle, shotgun, or handgun.
Besides the fact that none of my weapons will ever see 10,000 rounds fired, I tend to buy quality to begin with. Colt, Remington, Ruger, Marlin, etc.
Military surplus weapons are generally built to withstand more abuse than civilian ones. At this moment I have a 100 year old Mauser 98 that I would bet my life on. Next year my Colt M1903, although not military, turns 100 also. But then, its a Colt, not a Glock.

I recognize that not everyone has the ability that I had to amass firearms, so my advice is to stay with proven designs from proven manufacturers. (My former job paid me quarterly bonuses that amounted to over $3,000/year, for years. And that was all spent on guns and ammo)
If you buy a $450 AR, you will sure enough learn how to gunsmith one. :vs_cool:


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## Steve40th (Aug 17, 2016)

For AR's, DI style, just purchase a few uppers. Lowers, they are cheap too, get a few also, complete Dont over think it.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Not a bad kit to have around.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

He who has never had a detent or detent spring go flying and have it land in another world never to be seen again. You are a rare assembler of weapons.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

I have had M1 ejector and spring assemblies pretend they are Nike Hercules missiles.

Have turned M16 selector detent springs into the letter L along with the rear take down one.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

SOCOM42 said:


> I have had M1 ejector and spring assemblies pretend they are Nike Hercules missiles.
> 
> Have turned M16 selector detent springs into the letter L along with the rear take down one.


 Wife found a missing detent spring a couple years after it was lost in one of her flower pots. Brings it to me "is this anything important?" Yea at one time thanks . How the heck can a tiny spring fly that far.
And how much fun is changing spring on dust cover?


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

One day I launched a recoil spring and plug for a 1911 in the shop, never found the plug, that was several years ago.

The bitch is it was a customer's gun.

After working on them for 60 years, you are bound to screw up in that time, many times.

Around 1973 was my greatest screw up, I put a nickel plated slide in a stripper to remove the plating. 

I went off on a different thought track, when I remembered it 3 days later, I pulled it from the solution.

Only about a third of it remained, the back end, another customer gun.


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## Salt-N-Pepper (Aug 18, 2014)

Smitty901 said:


> He who has never had a detent or detent spring go flying and have it land in another world never to be seen again. You are a rare assembler of weapons.


There must be a detent spring heaven somewhere... I know I have sent a lot of "souls" flying there over the years...


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