MRA Renegade question

[u/No_Suggestion6615]

while cleaning I discovered that operating the action of the rifle is much smoother without the buffer and buffer spring. Would there be any negative side effects if I were to remove those parts?

[u/Q-Ball7]

Nope, they're optional.

Some responses may claim "but it holds the bolt in battery and is unsafe without it", but that's bullshit.

However, some caveats:

• The bolt catch (assuming you have the Mk 2) is still going to lock the gun open on empty, which will make chambering the first round after a mag change a bit more awkward due to resultant lack of auto-forward. MRX mags don't create this issue but you might not have those.
• If you drop the (cocked) gun on its butt it's more likely to open itself (this isn't a safety issue, but it'll eject the round you had in there) due to bolt carrier inertia. The hammer will hold it shut if it's not cocked though.
• If you still want the spring assist, buy a captured buffer. It'll remove the sproing sound and will be a bit smoother itself.

[u/Troycifer_tron → u/Q-Ball7]

You'd also want to remove the little spring on the bolt and reinstall the gas rings. This'll help keep it in battery. Still not worth it in my opinion.

[u/Murray3-Dvideos]

The spring keeps your bolt safely in battery. Its crucial for safety in one form or another.

[u/Q-Ball7 → u/Murray3-Dvideos]

No, it isn't.

All the spring does is provide a bit of extra resistance against the bolt carrier coming rearward if the gun is handled particularly roughly (and the resultant assist at the end of travel). This is true for the spring on every self-loading firearm, too.

It doesn't actually keep the bolt in battery; not only is the bolt carrier responsible for that job, but that carrier locks the bolt a good distance before it reaches its full forward travel. If the bolt carrier were to be bumped so far backwards as to unlock the bolt, it would be impossible to fire the gun (the firing pin is too short to extend through the bolt unless it is in its fully locked position- even if the hammer could hit the firing pin in that state, nothing would happen).

Now sure, the bolt carrier on the MRA designs may be easier to move/be moved out of position due to how heavy it is (and how small the amount of rotation the bolt requires to unlock)- so if you dropped it on the ground butt-first the bolt carrier might retract far enough to unlock the bolt due to inertia.

But that doesn't actually result in an unsafe condition.

[u/Murray3-Dvideos → u/Q-Ball7]

Thats what I meant. Regarding the bolt carrier.... your wrong about the safety aspect of it. Any gun that falls out of battery simply by pointing it up is pretty sketchy.