BADGER ORDNANCE - Badger Ordnance AR-15/M16 Enhanced Bolt Catch

Very nice quality , little bigger purchase area but looks good, not overly sized or crazy shaped like so many out there. Time will tell as far as the strength. I thought it was a great fit for my Brownells HK 416/MR 556 build. I wanted the strongest I could find being the extra weight of the bcg as well as the buffer spring weight etc. I didnt want to cut any corners on this build and this fits the bill! Not cheap but if its as strong as advertised , well worth it. Absolutely looks to be the part.

Pros: Looks good, and fits well. I like the Badger Ordnance bolt stop more than the Seekin Precision brand. It fits smoothly into the lower and it doesn't stick out at all. Matter of fact it looks really good. I also think the bolt catch doesn't stick out as much when the magazine is empty and is closer to the standard bolt catch. The bolt also has a wider and slightly longer hook that catches on the empty magazine follower. The extra width aids in making sure the bolt is catching on the follower lips so the bolt will lock back after the last round is fired. On a titling USGI magazine, I notice on a standard bolt catch, if you press down on the tilted magazine follower, the bolt catch will "slip" due to the bolt catch not having enough surface area. On this Badger Ordnance bolt catch, it seems harder to do this since it has more surface area pushing the magazine catch up. That is great news if you have a lot of USGI magazines with the green/black tilting follower. Some area of concerns: while the bolt has a wider hook to push the bolt catch up, it leaves some area of concerns. On a standard bolt catch, the bolt travels over the bolt catch on the last round before it catches. It leaves a diagonal marking due to the bolt traveling over it which is fine and doesn't seem to cause any issues. Now, the Badger Ordnance one leaves a slightly different pattern due to the way the hooks are positioned and sticking out. It leaves more like a "striking" mark than a diagonal line. It makes me wonder if the bolt is striking the bolt catch too hard and potentially break/weaken over time. That remains to be seen but it is something that I am concerned about. Otherwise this is a really good bolt catch. It not only allows for easier bolt operation, it also aids in reliability due to the wider hooks to ensure bolt lock back happens after the last round is fired. This is indeed a "enhanced" bolt in every sense of the word: strong metal, more grip surface, and wider hook for reliability.

I bought this item as well as the Seekins Precision. This item is much higher quality in regards to machining. I put this in a Colt AR-15 and it works perfectly. This is, maybe, 50% larger than the stock bolt release. I've only put about 200 rounds since installation but it seems to be perfect.

I bought this because I thought the Seekins bolt catch was a bit large. I use it on my work gun with a standard mag catch. The raised and angled bottom and angled 'button' work perfectly without protruding as much as the Seekins. At work we do a lot of simulated failure drills, and this makes everything that much smoother - especially if you're wearing gloves. The only con on this is the price. It's a great product from a great company but the price is really high.