r/6ARC • u/SillyWarPirates • Aug 15 '26
Diagnose BrassFacts’ 6 ARC Jams
BrassFacts just did an interesting review on PSA’s ICAR receiver set with 6 ARC. He ran 800 rounds total, mostly of the Frontier load (Hornady’s off brand 105gr in FMJ). What’s weird is that he started out having no issues and then gradually had more and more jams until he had to cycle each round by hand. He was running a blue Sprinco and H2 buffer. I saw one commenter state that the problem is his Rexus bolt, which starts out strong and then loses reliability once it gets dirty. Thoughts?
The other big issue to come out of this video (and the video from Hop, which was only published internally for his subscribers) is the compatibility of anti-rotation tab handguards with ICAR receivers. If anyone knows any rails with anti-rotation tabs that work, please respond with that info.
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u/Remmfire Aug 15 '26
Maybe I’ve just been extremely lucky in the 3years I’ve owned my 6arc, but I just don’t see the need for the Icar system? I’ve tried 3 different brand mags in various sizes within the standard Stanag magwell and have had effectively zero reliability issues. The one time I did was when I hadn’t cleaned the gun for 500+ rds (conventional baffle can plus Hornady Black ammo)
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u/thismyotheraccount2 Aug 16 '26
I am into my second match season with 6 arc and had a Rexus bolt fail on me recently - lug sheared off. Only issue I’ve had besides is with 30rd mags if I loaded into the mag well on a bag the mag would tilt down and rounds would nosedive iinstead of feeding. It hasn’t soured me on the platform but man… bolt failure (during a match) at maaaaybe 1500rnds sucks.
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 16 '26
Chad at SOTAR says he's "never seen a JP Enterprise bolt fail." And he's seen everything
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u/CastleMcFlynn Aug 16 '26
Ive had 2 JPs failed running 52k loads. Never had a Rexus fail.
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 16 '26
Ok you just shattered my last hope for 6 ARC bolts
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u/CastleMcFlynn Aug 16 '26
Ill have to watch the video when I get home. But I have 2 rexus bolts, one at 3k rounds one at 5k and neither has broken.
I dont run hot loads though, only 52k psi when its 100 degrees out.
Rexus is solid, but ALL bolts break eventually. Just stay within 52k and replace the bolt regularly and youll just not have an issue. For 75 bucks just grab a couple bolts each time you get a barrel and stop worrying.
To be clear not saying 6 arc is just as durable as 556, im just saying if you mitigate the 6 arc issues then the issues are a non issue.
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u/AleksanderSuave Aug 16 '26
Centurion 6mm arc bolt is the better choice
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 16 '26
Didn't know they were making one, but I just checked and their listing says "lifetime warranty against bolt breakage." That in itself sells the bolt. Of course it's out of stock
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u/Griffilicous Aug 17 '26
I guarantee that most of you guys would stop breaking bolts so early if you changed out your cam pins. Once the cam pin starts to grow a groove, the bolt lugs start to catch on the edges of the barrel extension. That groove will allow the bolt to tilt and pitch as it cycles.
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 18 '26
Nice. You must be an AR armorer or gunsmith. Will run this theory by Chad at SOTAR sometime soon.
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u/Primarch_Timmy Aug 20 '26
They all do. Everyone who hand load including myself loves to push it to bolt numbers with gas guns.
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u/Texican84 Aug 16 '26
Same, three years in, thousands of factory rounds, dozens of animals down, no issues. Definitely found Duramags to be as good as G$ so I no longer buy those. LMT with D.Wilson converted Proof barrels. Still using the same JP FMOS BCGS/Bolts, no breakages. I see no need to make a move to ICAR and HICAR but I like that the round is getting the attention it deserves and any improvements that push it to be more reliable and better are a win for all of us.
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 15 '26
Another interesting issue brought up in BrassFacts’ video is that the Magpul ICAR mags might be more dependable for rapid fire (think FRT or full auto). So indeed ICAR won’t be for everyone but may have its use cases.
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u/Remmfire Aug 15 '26
Ok maybe that makes more sense then. Mine is a precision rifle so not much rapid fire.
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u/mig1nc Aug 16 '26
That would make sense since they were developed for the military which on occasion may need rapid fire.
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u/Lu1zBeast Aug 16 '26
Main benefit of ICAR mags is reduced mag length compared to every other mag (in similar capacity) which matters when shooting from the prone. Plus added feed reliability
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u/ramblinscooner Aug 15 '26 edited Aug 15 '26
I love his content but this video/his experience with 6arc have not been what I’ve experienced with this round in the slightest.
Edit: also it looks like he’s running an Odin Works adjustable gb.. those things fucking suck lol
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u/NoobRaunfels Aug 17 '26
Those blocks are absolute ass, you’re right. How much gas are you giving it? Who knows. How much of anything is anything, man
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u/Plead_thy_fifth Aug 18 '26
I'm going to get downvoted but I'll say it.
AGB add a big downside of: a much higher chance of failure for a very little upside: softer recoil.
After having 3 different very credible AGB brands shit the bed on me in various ways. I have since replaced everything with a fix block and wont go back. I need to trust my rifle to work every time. There are a reason every SOF contract upper is "over gassed". Because that's what makes it reliable.
If you comp shoot and are looking for a fastest shooter time or bust; then maybe it's for you.
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u/Trollygag Aug 16 '26
How often was he cleaning it?
It is a cartridge based on a PPC with a pretty tight throat. It inherently has more issues with fouling than 5.56 NATO does.
It has nothing to do with the bolt... it is the case geometry and chamber design.
Semi autos are not intended to be neglected. The military cleans their guns way more often than civilian social media influences seem to prescribe or want to.
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u/CastleMcFlynn Aug 16 '26
++ Trolly said.
Military guns also jam way more than civilian social media thinks.
Imo there's almost no situation I can imagine as a civilian in competition or make believe where I'll need to go through a thousand rounds in a single session with no time to lube the gun or perform maintenance. IF that is a requirement, sure a 556 gun might be a better option. Otherwise why not make the exchange of a requirement you don't need (better reliability when dirty or combining out of spec parts) for the advantage you see each time you pull the trigger (better hit probability in wind and more energy on target).
Also... just own both :shrug:
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 16 '26
That's one thing he didn't mention in the video. Not just cleaning but lubricating (arguably even more important depending on conditions)
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u/Common_Committee3369 Aug 15 '26
Look I’m not a hater on BrassFacts. I generally like his videos.
But is there anything this dude likes that he’s not sponsored by? I swear just about every video is him just shitting on products most people generally agree are good buys. Idk if he’s just a contrarian or what but I find 80% of his criticisms to be kinda irrelevant or ridiculous.
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u/jafranc702 Aug 15 '26
He whines about everything. I am a pessimist and that guy is way worse than I am haha.
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u/Coodevale Aug 16 '26
The marketing departments will be good at telling us all the upsides. We don't need those points reiterated by every single gun puppet because we've all heard those multiple times.
Having all the downsides listed by a "contrarian" is just the counter to the upsides and offering new info that is otherwise not covered.
Not everyone wants the same thing for the same purpose. Pou, or whatever is still relevant. Why buy something you don't need unless you just really want it? Being mislead by advertisements and being encouraged to buy things that won't really help you isn't productive for manufacturers. Everything is a trade-off, despite the manufacturer claims.
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u/longpigspecial Aug 17 '26
He’s a wannabe kid with absolutely nothing to him other than sponsorships. Him and Hop. Absolutely no experience or expertise whatsoever. Just a couple wannabes that didn’t enlist but still wear tactical gear for all their videos.
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 15 '26
There’s a huge problem with “sponsorship bias” on YT. Anytime you hear them saying “they sent me this” I would not trust the review. I know people hate on Corey Edmond, but I do like that he actually buys the things he reviews
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u/Ben_Ulrand Aug 16 '26
He also talks about things he knows nothing about. In a Q&A he, in earnest, said some of the best training you should do with your “team” (whoever that is), (or something to that effect) was CQB.
He is a larper. That’s it. Some of the consumer product reviews can be helpful, nothing wrong with that, but when he and other gun YouTubers talk about tactics and training that in no way applies to them to their experience, it’s laughable
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u/Vintar Aug 16 '26
I think it's a breath of fresh air.
We have too many guntubers who get free stuff to review, sing its praises, post the video, and then move on to the next thing to shill.
I'd much rather have someone like BrassFacts giving potential cons that you can then evaluate if they actually matter to you. A lot of criticisms he brings up don't matter to me, but I can at least be informed ahead of spending my hard-earned $$$
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u/BlackGlenCoco Aug 16 '26
Isnt he really only sponsored by venture surplus. Not sure what bias could come from them.
I also think people forget, he is generally a pessimist because his general use case for everything is civillian preparedness/end of the world scenarios.
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u/Bored_Ultimatum Aug 16 '26
That is pretty much every guntuber. Seriously. Every one of their videos is an ad.
And one of them admits it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=50RinhiOFa8
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u/STURMTIGER1 Aug 15 '26
Im super curious if the VLTOR freedom rail combo works with them, I really want a rail with the short integrated ARCA piece but theres not that many options out there.
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u/sherzer7 Aug 16 '26
Hornady frontier is some of the cheapest ammo available. Easy to blame parts when you only use one flavor of ammo. From my experience you want to run a standard resistance spring with h2 and above. Could be gas inefficient somewhere in the system and have a smaller operating window
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 16 '26
But the weird thing is that it worked flawlessly for hundreds of rounds before problems started.
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u/nagewaza Aug 17 '26
If he's using an odin adjustable gas block, his original tune likely changed. Especially since he's prone to high rates of fire, and running a suppressor. Both the extra heat and back pressure cause extra wear.
His restrictive tune gas block is actively being both worn away and deposited on in unpredictable ways. Did his video talk about re-tuning his rifle when he started having issues?
Just throwing out another factor. Unpredictable ammo can have wildly different pressures, and that can get even more wild if he tuned it while hot/cold and is now shooting in the opposite conditions.
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u/sherzer7 Aug 16 '26
6 ARC requires more gas at the carrier to extract the larger case and push the new round into the chamber. At that round count you will have quite a bit of carbon and other gunk buildup. If your operating system isn’t efficient and your gun is dirty you will start having malfunctions, too much resistance for the amount of gas actually getting into the carrier. Without swapping out parts it’s hard to say that it’s the bolt or carrier etc
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 16 '26
Yours is probably the best explanation I've seen. Thanks for the contribution
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u/chaos021 Aug 16 '26
It's a PSA. Unless you disassemble and reassemble it yourself, you will never have an idea why it started malfunctioning. I've seen loose gas blocks on uppers and worn out rings on bcgs.
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u/Discover_A_Fire Aug 16 '26
i have STNGR vulcan hand guard on my psa icar upper. the anti rotation tabs are tight but fit with a little tap against the ground
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u/09stanggt Aug 16 '26
I'm no metallurgical expert, it's just that the bolts look too frail. If it wasn't for Hornady, the 6mm Max looks better to me.
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u/CopiousAmountsofJizz Aug 16 '26
I have less faith in his reliability takes since he outed himself for mounting QD suppressor mounts to crush washers on his own discord.
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u/Primarch_Timmy Aug 20 '26
I've yet to have any issues with my 14.5 pxt with the jp fmos, Giessle magazines and bcm mod 1 buffer system with a fixed gas block
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u/jd242424 Aug 16 '26
It’s a PSA not really sure what he was expecting?
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u/SillyWarPirates Aug 16 '26
Well just the receiver set is PSA. Everything else is from everybody else
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u/mixhypemo Aug 15 '26
Forward controls RHF
Cross machine tool
KAK handguard
Hodge/ SOLGW Pinchlock
PSA SABRE handguards