Young Manufacturing YM Factory Tour
Making the Best AR Carriers in the World
During
a recent trip to the Pheonix area, I was fortunate to be provided a
personal plant tour of Young Manufacturing by Dan Young himself and it
was stunning how much work goes into making just the Carrier and
complete Bolt Carrier Group. But first let’s look at what this critical
part does in the AR15.
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| The beginning of each Carrier |
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| Carrier is profiled & the milling continues.. |
For
every round fired, the BCG (Bolt Carrier Group) is generally beat like a
red-headed step child. (my apologies to all red-headed step children…
it must have been a rough upbringing.) Pull the trigger and the BCG goes
to work. The firing pin is whacked by the hammer with thumb crushing
force (don’t ask how I know), the tiny firing pin tip hits the primer
detonating the round, a bullet zips down the barrel and then things
really heat up for the BCG. The gas block and tube reroute some hot gas
back to the BCG gas key.
The red hot rerouted gas delivers a 100-125
psi blast behind the three bolt rings which push the bolt forward in a
cam-ing effect about .25” forward and turns the bolt face clockwise to
unlock the bolt from the barrel. The remaining gas pressure slams the
BCG rearward from its previous motionless state, extracting and removing
the empty case. The BCG continues rearward until the buffer and spring
deliver a brief delay before violently reversing the rearward direction
and slamming the BCG right back into battery at about 6.88 ft/sec or
around 5 MPH all while still managing to pick up one and only one more
round in the process. It does this entire roughly 6” round trip in
around .092 seconds.
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| Each Carrier is hand inspected and polished. |
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| The inspection work is obviously very detailed. |
This
is a pretty impressive feat and elegant when working perfectly, however
poor materials, design, and workmanship can make any or all of the
fourteen components vulnerable. It is without a question the most
difficult design challenge of an entire AR, performing the most complex
mechanics, all while being both durable and graceful enough to eject and
grab the next round in the process. If any of the fourteen Bolt Carrier
Group components fail or are out of spec, then the gun will not fire,
not cycle, not feed another round, jam, or cause some other more
catastrophic issue. It is the most complex part on the rifle affecting
every critical function of the rifle from accuracy to reliability.
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ABOUT YM – YOUNG MANUFACTURING
Ask
a hundred AR owners who makes the best BCGs (Bolt Carrier Groups) and
most will name a bunch of manufactures whose name appears on the side of
rifles. The reality is that the industry rarely works that way. There
are only a few true AR component manufactures making AR parts and fewer
who make the highest stressed and most functionally critical component
sets in any rifle; the BCG. Young Manufacturing - YM is one of the
preeminent BCG manufacturers and considered the best in the business and
here is why.
Most
of you probably do not know the name Young Manufacturing however you
probably do know their products and chances are high you already own a
YM BCG if you own a higher quality AR. YM has a very long list of
customers who make the top ARs in the market.
TOURING YM
Many
manufacturers just assemble parts made elsewhere. It is refreshing to
see real manufacturing where raw steel going in one end of a plant and
finished product going out the other. To assure the highest quality, YM
starts by sourcing 100% USA virgin steel rod instead of the less
expensive but inferior imported “re-melt” steels. YM then machines
components in its Pheonix USA plant on state-of-the-art CNC machines.
Obviously starting with the highest grade materials and using top end
machining technology with a focus on each detail delivers the best BCG
in the business.
Once
the rods are roughly to a carrier size, they are profiled, then turned
and milled to a more recognizable carrier shape. Final machining
delivers a carrier that is ready for final inspection and hand
polishing. In fact on facet of production is stunning; YM actually has
two guys hand inspecting and hand polishing each and every edge and
radius on the carrier under giant magnifying glasses. Nearly every other
manufacturer just tumbles the carriers to polish edges, however YM
believes the only way to assure perfect quality is by hand inspection.
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| YM's own in house manufactured Bolts |
As
of late 2013, YM manufacturers all Bolts in house with Carpenter Steel -
considered the best steel available for AR15 bolts. YM did exclusively
use either FN or Barnes Precision bolts, however during the great AR15
parts shortage of 2012-2013, Dan decided it was time to begin
manufacturing the bolts in house as well as their own gas keys. At this
point YM manufactures 100% of the bolt carrier group in house.
This
picky material sourcing and production delivers BCGs which consistently
surpass US MIL Specs including their own patented National Match AR-15
bolt carrier and superlight National Match carrier which are prefered by
those that like to shoot tiny little groups. Although their website
does not reflect their complete product line, the company also produces a
broad array of phosphate and chrome AR-15 and AR-10/308 bolt carriers,
flash hiders, rail systems, bolt assembly tools and many other AR
related products. 
TO STAKE OR NOT TO STAKE, THAT IS THE QUESTION
There
has been a lot of talk about the pros and cons of staking the gas key
on the carrier. Many an “expert” including me has advocated or indicated
a preference of having the gas key staked. Young manufactuering’s
opinion is that they will not stake keys, nor have they since 1991 and
this has never been even a minor issue from customers.
Per
YM, the US Mil-Spec assembly drawing requires the carrier key to be
staked and “sealed” with Permatex gasket sealer. Contrary to some
popular opinions staking does not “SEAL” the gas key and in reality only
has one function; to keep the screws from backing out. In addition,
staking can cause problems. If you do not properly torque the screws to
56 inch pounds you will be staking a screw that is loose or one that is
over torqued and prone to breakage. Although required, to YM’s
knowledge, this is a process no one other than YM does.
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| A stack of gas key getting machined. |
FINAL THOUGHTS
YM
- Young manufacturing is a super premium BCG and a brand which is very
well respected in the industry. In fact many regard Dan as the new
godfather of BCGs as his work on bolt refinements have made the AR
plateforms work better and longer than we thought was possible.
Whether
you are looking for a special Chrome National match BCG or stock level
BCG or something in between, each and every bolt carrier group is of
supreme quality and will enhance the overall functioning of your next AR
build. Don't forget YM is now making charging handles, gas blocks, forends, and soon... even more.
SPECS
YM M16 National Match Bolt Carrier Group
Weight .70lbs
$245
YM AR15 Super Light National Match Bolt Carrier Group
Weight .55lbs
$265
SOURCES
YM – Young manufacturing, Inc.
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