Primer strikes upon chambering of rounds

[DonTapouT]

I have an M&P 15 that I've had for about a year with less than 1000 rds through it. I noticed that after I chamber a round and eject it, un-fired, the primers will have light strikes from the firing pin. I have been meticulous about cleaning the gun and have done no modifications to it other than some Magpul furniture. I'm wondering if this is normal or if maybe there is something wrong with my firing pin retention pin (or whatever it's called...) or if something is out of spec. I have inspected the entire bolt carrier group and tore it down as I do every time to clean and nothing looks amiss but maybe I'm missing something. Any help would be appreciated.

[ra2bach]

normal. this is from inertia of the firing pin when chambering using the bolt release. it's not enough weight to cause a discharge...

[Evil Colt 6920]

normal. this is from inertia of the firing pin when chambering using the bolt release. it's not enough weight to cause a discharge...

+1 on that. The free floating design of the firing pin allows it to strike the primer leaving a small dent. Its 100% normal and nothing to worry about.

[cqbdriver]

I just want to add if you don't know (taken from 5.56 mm Duty Loads post) here: http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19881

"When the same cartridge is repeatedly chambered in the AR15, the floating firing pin lightly taps the primer; with repeated taps, the primer compound gets crushed, resulting in inadequate ignition characteristics--despite what appears to be a normal firing pin impression. Once a round has been chambered, DO NOT RE-CHAMBER IT for duty use. Do NOT re-chamber it again, except for training. This is CRITICAL!!!"

[Tweak]

Use an M16 firing pin.:smile:

[Suwannee Tim]

Did it occur to you to search for this topic which has been discussed already dozens of times?

[DonTapouT]

Thanks guys. I figured it could be normal since the pin is free-floating but as a newbie I wanted to be sure.

[DonTapouT]

Did it occur to you to search for this topic which has been discussed already dozens of times?

Sorry dude. I didn't see a search bar and didn't really feel like going through hundreds of pages after I looked through the first few to see if anyone else had my issue. Didn't mean to upset the regulars.

[bp7178]

Its worth noting....don't get in the habit of always chambering the same round.

[DonTapouT]

Its worth noting....don't get in the habit of always chambering the same round.

If I do re-load from the same mag I always make sure to grab a "fresh" round just in case.

[Abraxas]

Use an M16 firing pin.:smile:

What good would that do in this issue? M16's do the same thing, it is the nature of the design.

[BaronFitz]

The big orange search button up top is the way to go unless you're not logged in or you're stuck using an iPod like I am right now.

The alternative is to use google with search "site:m4carbine.net x" without the quotes where x is the search term.

[Gun]

Using the search button, I research this topic several days ago.

I found this thread; https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=33805

and should answer your questions.