Scratched up AR firing pin.. "brand new" anyone else seen this?

[Luke E.]

 Okay, i just got done building the rifle Thursday night and went to the range at lunch Friday and put 8 subsonic rounds through it. I just got back in town and decided i would pull it down and clean it up and re-oil it. When i pulled the pin from the bolt it felt a little rough and looked stained so i took some Hoppes #9 to it and nothing much came off and it is still stained. Next i noticed the deep scoring that almost seems like it was rolled around on a concrete floor under someones shoe. The scrathes run the circumference rather than down the length so i don't see how it wasn't that way before it was put in the bolt. Yes i should have pulled it before installing it in the gun  but i didn't, i just sprayed it out good and lubed it up. So what i've got is 1. a stained bolt rather than a clean almost mirror finish like my others and 2 some bad scratching that i'm not sure i can polish out without changing the diameter so much that it would cause premature wear inside the bolt. Anyone ever seen this?

 

[Guest TankerHC]

As soon as I saw this pic, I recognized it, have seen it before. Im on the Maryland Gun Forum, have family members there, one of the members had the exact same problem. Turned out there was a burr in the cam pin. And it also turned out that it wasnt a rare event.

 

a burr inside the cam pin. Or just a bad cam pin altogether. And if it did this, they recomended the following.

 

Check the cam pin, if there is just a burr, smooth it out and replace the firing pin. Using the same firing pin caused even more problems for some of the others. If it is a bad cam pin, check the back side of the bolt because it may have rubbed a burr there aslso.

 

Unless your a member of Maryland Shooters, it's happened before, see pic below.

 

[Luke E.]

As soon as I saw this pic, I recognized it, have seen it before. Im on the Maryland Gun Forum, have family members there, one of the members had the exact same problem. Turned out there was a burr in the cam pin. And it also turned out that it wasnt a rare event.

 

a burr inside the cam pin. Or just a bad cam pin altogether. And if it did this, they recomended the following.

 

Check the cam pin, if there is just a burr, smooth it out and replace the firing pin. Using the same firing pin caused even more problems for some of the others. If it is a bad cam pin, check the back side of the bolt because it may have rubbed a burr there aslso.

 

Unless your a member of Maryland Shooters, it's happened before, see pic below.

 

 

 

 I'm not on the Maryland forum but this is exactly what mine would have looked like if i had actually gone shooting. Mine happened in 8 rounds! I'm definitely glad i decided to pull in all down before shooting any more. I bought 2 at the same time 1 for me and 1 for another forum member and I just got off the phone with him and his is starting to get the same marks and he put 12 rounds through his (split a box of ammo the other day). I will go check the cam pin and report back. Thanks for the info/help!

[Guest TankerHC]

This one was at 200 rounds.

[Luke E.]

 I'm not on the Maryland forum but this is exactly what mine would have looked like if i had actually gone shooting. Mine happened in 8 rounds! I'm definitely glad i decided to pull in all down before shooting any more. I bought 2 at the same time 1 for me and 1 for another forum member and I just got off the phone with him and his is starting to get the same marks and he put 12 rounds through his (split a box of ammo the other day). I will go check the cam pin and report back. Thanks for the info/help!

 

 

This one was at 200 rounds.

 

 That's crazy.. I just checked mine over really well and didn't find a bur or anything but i stripped another AR down again and compared the 2 cam pins and it seems like the one i'm having the issue with may not have as much of chamfer around the edges of the hole as the good one does and if you slide the firing pin through at a bit of an angle it feels a little more grabby than the good one. another thing i noticed is the firing pin cotter key isn't long enough to reach all the way through the bolt carrier. I haven't quit figured out if that could have anything to do with it or not. It doesn't seem to be causing any problem but i'm manipulating it by hand and that's a whole different animal than when the gun is running.I may just have to replace them both just so i don't have to worry about it any more.

[Byedan]

First I would like to thank Luke for not going public with who he bought his from, until he contacted me and gave me a chance to work it out, these bcg's came from me and the cam pins need to be stoned, if you bought one or more from me I will get you directions on how to do this or you can send them to me and I will stone them for you, please if you bought a bcg from me please check them

[Luke E.]

First I would like to thank Luke for not going public with who he bought his from, until he contacted me and gave me a chance to work it out, these bcg's came from me and the cam pins need to be stoned, if you bought one or more from me I will get you directions on how to do this or you can send them to me and I will stone them for you, please if you bought a bcg from me please check them

 

I'm going to BUMP this back to the top because folks really need to check this and i'm not seeing any action here.

[RED333]

First I would like to thank Luke for not going public with who he bought his from, until he contacted me and gave me a chance to work it out, these bcg's came from me and the cam pins need to be stoned, if you bought one or more from me I will get you directions on how to do this or you can send them to me and I will stone them for you, please if you bought a bcg from me please check them

Now this is CUSTOMER SERVICE, way to step up on this.

[Luke E.]

Now this is CUSTOMER SERVICE, way to step up on this.

Daniel has handled everything perfectly, would have struggled to gain a listening ear with most places.

[Guest TankerHC]

I dont know who Daniel is (Just username above), but being that I am in the market for a complete lower, if someone (Daniel?) can give me a POC I would like to call and discuss it, if he sells complete lowers.

[Luke E.]

I dont know who Daniel is (Just username above), but being that I am in the market for a complete lower, if someone (Daniel?) can give me a POC I would like to call and discuss it, if he sells complete lowers.

Daniel is a dealer but works a day job. He is located just south of the line into Georgia below Chattanooga. I picked up lowers. uppers, BCG's, LPK and charging handle a little while back when things were a little tough still and he made things happen quickly and smoothly. The lowers I got were stripped but he may be able to come up with something for you. I will tell you this, If he says he can get you taken care of, he'll do it. Send him a PM and he'll get back with you, it may be later this evening after he gets off.

[timthetoolman]

I have also done business with Daniel and while my bolt had the same issue I have to say he has been a 5 star guy all the way.  In fact I believe most everything in my Blackout build came from him with the exception of the barrel, handguard, and buffer.   :up:

[Caster]

These parts are so cheap I will tell any AR owner they are a fool not have a couple replacements.
Cam pins, cotter pins, firing pins and gas rings are CHEAP. They don't need replacing too often but I replace them more often than normal because they are the ONLY parts in my gun that show the faintest hint of wear. I use Lucas Red and Tacky grease on the cam pin and I rotate it 180 degrees every now and then. When I start seeing a bit of a dent form, I pitch it. You can get them for a couple of bucks at the gun show. Why bother fooling with it. I keep at least five or six on hand at all times along with an equal amount of cotter pins. When I replace a cam in I replace the cotter pin. I haven't replaced a firing pin yet because I haven't seen any wear but I have three extras for my rifle.

Seriously, it costs more to fill one 30 round magazine than replace these parts. They will last MUCH longer than I use them for but as cheap as they are; I look at it like this - why wear dirty socks when fresh clean ones are so cheap?

As with anything in life, YMMV.

[Luke E.]

The issue wasn't due to extended use, running worn out parts to long or lack of replacement parts. I have slid another BCG in the rifle for the time being but after 8 shots a firing pin shouldn't be damaged beyond repair. Daniel recognized this and has taken the steps to fix it.
I have noticed that very few dealers carry individual parts. There is a place in the edge of Georgia that I found that does so I will likely pick up a few odds and ends next time I'm through.

[Caster]

Yeah, I understood the original problem, I was just saying they are so cheap it shouldn't matter even if Daniel didn't do anything.

You won't be sorry for have some spares around. Opposite actually, you'll be glad you did.

[Byedan]

Caster I agree with you but these parts have less than a box of shells through them and that is a lot of wear for such little use, I want to be a vendor on here for a long time and it would not be right of me to say oh well, and my vendor feels the same way. I just feel bad that some bad ones made it out. But it does happen, even Glock makes a lemon every now and again