[pruitt76]

I have a Bushmaster 223 and I noticed that a couple of the unfired rounds I pulled from the chamber had marks on the primer like the firing pin hit the primer when the shell was loaded. Has anyone seen this before or know what could be causing this?

 

[natesmegacab]

First off what kind of ammo and check to see if the primer sticks out past the cartridge.

 

[Mr. Chitlin]

It's normal for AR's. The floating firing pin will dimple the primer when the bolt goes into battery.

Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction when loading (not just AR's, but any gun). :biggrin:

 

[lc071]

IMO, that's common enough to be called normal for the AR platform. It's caused by the floating firing pin. I first saw it in the mid 70's when my grandpa bought the first AR I had ever seen, a Colt SP1. Every AR I've ever paid any mind to did it.

From the Colt AR15 owners manual.

Note1: On Colt 223 cal firearms, it is normal for a light firing pin indent to appear on cartridges which have been fed into the chamber, but not fired.

 

[pruitt76]

Thanks guys!

 

[Mr. Chitlin]

If you reload and are concerned about this, you can get some CCI #41 primers. They are .mil grade and have a harder cup on them. I load them for some of my 223 ammo and they shoot the same as other primers.

http://www.cci-ammunition.com/products/primers/primers.aspx?id=30

 

[hillbillycycles]

As Mr. Chitlin says, the mill spec #41 primers have a thicker and harder primer cup than other small rifle primers. That small dimple may be common but it sure makes you think does it not?

 

[demented]

At one time there were Titanium firing pins available for those that didn't like seeing this. Lighter than steel, they usually did away with the "floating" pin syndrome

 

[alexanderg23]

Yeah that freaked me out the 1st time I saw it.

 

[poke_53]

Yeah thats why most people dont recommend using benchrest primers when loading for ar's

 

[flintknapper]

There's a lot of semi-autos out there with floating pins-- mini 14's, SKS's, M1 carbines and Garands as well, I think. Generally the inertia of the bolt slamming home ain't enough to pop the cap, but things happen sometimes. If you remember rule # 1, it's all good.

 

[demented]

I've seen one SKS using American made ammo slam fire. I think you can still buy a spring loaded firing pin conversion to prevent this.