Part compatibility between Nelsons

[XEMON]

Hello MCB,

I'm sure this was covered ... somewhere ...
But let me ask again: what is the part compatibility between Nelson?

right now I'm looking at bushmaster at bushmaster and phantom. But having a master list of all cross compatible components could be a great resource.

Thanks for your help.
X

[XEMON]

Reserved to group all info together.

[Grendel]

It really is trial and error on compatibility, especially the "old school" Nelson clones. I have mixed and matched parts from many of the various makers of nelson clones and a combination that worked on one Mutt may not work for the same combination on another. You have to keep in mind whether the marker is Breach Drop vs. Bore Drop and the different types of power tubes and what type of trigger frame and trigger/sear configuration. That being said there were times we would just grab random parts out of bins slap them together and go play with the marker and it would work just fine. Do it again and it might not even cock. You will need to break it down into the valve train parts [hammer, bolt, powertube, valve, springs] then Valve bodies differ between many while some are almost identical.

Many NW parts will drop onto Carter markers but some of the NW parts are inter-changeable with CCI (there is a story or 12 behind this)
Wintech and LAPCO old school markers are pretty inter-changeable
LAPCO fluted hammers can work in CCI markers
Wintech, LAPCO and Line SI Bore Drop bolts are inter-changeable along with the hammer/springs/powertubes/valves (most of the time)

[Drachen]

I never understood "bore drop vs breech drop", is that basically referencing unibody markers and markers you can remove the barrel?

[Grendel]

In a Breach Drop the ball drops into a breach chamber from the neck then is pushed over a ramp into the bore, examples of this are old school LAPCO Grey Ghost, NW Comps, CCI Phantoms (old school and current). Bolts of Bore drops tend to be short.

In a Bore Drop the feed neck leads straight into the Bore section of the of the barrel in old school markers or Bore sized part of the body in newer markers. The feed necks tend to be further forward and allowed the use of 2 armed pumps where Breach Drop was single armed. Examples of Bore Drop Line SI Bushmaster, LAPCO Grey Spirit, TASO Spartan. Bore Drop bolts are longer because they have to protrude down the bore.

Many players in the old days felt 2 armed pumps were smoother and sturdier and this was one of the main reasons for manufacturers building Bore Drops. Today Bore Drop lends itself better to use of barrel inserts where on Breach Drop the ball has to climb up a breach face then the transition to insert potentially leading to more ball breaks. Disadvantage to Bore Drops with inserts is the bolt tips can get stuck inside the inserts if care is not taken with setting them up (turning down bolt face).

[Rusty Brass]

I never understood "bore drop vs breech drop", is that basically referencing unibody markers and markers you can remove the barrel?

The shape of the bolt and the diameter of the tube the ball drops into are the difference. In a bore drop the ball falls into an area roughly the same diameter as the barrel, or bore. In a breech drop the ball falls into the larger diameter area of the breech and is then pushed into the necked-down diameter of the barrel. Theoretically the bore drop will be easier on paint because there's no bump to push the ball over to get it into firing position and the next ball in the stack won't intrude into the chamber and get abused by the bolt when the breech is closed. It doesn't seem to be a real world problem though. Phantoms are breech drop and are about as easy on paint as you could ask for.

Bore drop:


Breech drop:

[flyweightnate]

Simply, the Phantom frame sits differently than Nelson compatible frames, so the sear position is farther forward.
By replacing the sear, Phantom internals work in most breech drop Nelsons. This requires a powertube swap, as well.
Bushmaster bolts are of the bore drop variety, and I'll confirm they swap reliably with Taso and Lapco bolt and hammer sets. They all use Nelson spec powertubes.
WGP ranger are a bit different, as are NW, Carter, the new ICD, and Kingman internals. Kingman uses a unique fat- base powertube and matching valve retainer nut; the rest looks about right for Lapco interchange but I can't confirm.
I always fared best matching bolts and hammers from the same company. YMMV.