Slam Fires?

[TFin04]

While shooting my Bushy the other day, I noticed that when I chamber a round there is a very tiny dent in the primer right where the firing pin would strike it.

I don't have another AR to compare it to and was shooting by myself that day. One of my friends usually brings his Bushy out too so I could have looked at his.

I haven't experienced a slam fire but the primer being struck at all concerns me.

Is this normal?

[The-Fly]

A primer dimple is 100% normal in an AR, nothing to worry about.

[Daynja]

The firing pin just sits there freely in an AR-15, so when the bolt slams forward, it WILL hit the primer, just not with enough force to make the round go off. But a slam fire is a possibility. It's never happened to me, but I don't release the bolt on live ammo in the home.

You can look at it two ways. The AR-15 is a military rifle. There is no need for any internal safeties to complicate things and make it less reliable. It simply must go bang every time you pull the trigger. Or you can wish it had some sort of spring that holds the firing pin back. It's your call, but the AR-15 has been around for a while and people seem to like it. :)

[USMC03Grunt]

Yup, completely normal. The only time I would worry about a slam fire is with the older style large head firing pin. When you combine that old pins heavier weight with the practice of loading a single round into the chamber then letting the bolt slam forward (a procedure found in high power rifle matches for example) then you are looking at the potential for bad things to happen. With the current firing pin though, I've never seen a slam fire happen.

[hagar]

Do not use Winchester small rifle primers in an AR, and you will be fine. I have seen several, at least 10, slamfires in 6 years of shooting highpower, and every single one of them was caused by a WW primer.

[TFin04]

Good advice.

I knew there was no firing pin safety so I assumed it was just the pin floating around. I don't load the AR at home and will not use Win primers for my reloads.

Thanks guys.

[Akita]

I have heard of, but never seen, a spring that slips around the firing pin to prevent the dimpling.
Have reloaded many k and never had a slam fire. But I am VERY particular to fully seat my primers every single time.

[Mnukedude]

Perfectly normal. Never seen a slam fire as a result of this, in six years army service followed by seven more in nuclear security. I suppose it might be theoretically possible if you chambered the same round enough times, but I would think it would take dozens of tries at least before anything happened.

[MrMurphy]

I know there's been a couple incidents in theater a few years back where it was proven yes it was the gun, safety was on and hand not near the trigger, but I'd have to look them up. Happened to an Army Spec-4 in one instance, think it dropped off a truck or something.

[Mnukedude]

I know there's been a couple incidents in theater a few years back where it was proven yes it was the gun, safety was on and hand not near the trigger, but I'd have to look them up. Happened to an Army Spec-4 in one instance, think it dropped off a truck or something.

That could possibly happen, if the weapon was dropped with a loaded chamber AND the weapon landed muzzle first, but ordinary loading/unloading won't do it.

[CW Mock]

Guess anything is possible, but that's why we load/unload in a safe direction, right?

[RMTactical]

Guess anything is possible, but that's why we load/unload in a safe direction, right?

Precisely.

I wouldn't worry... but ALWAYS POINT THE WEAPON IN A SAFE DIRECTION regardless.