M14 denting the primer on loading ?

Sniper1

Sniper1

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
50   0   0
Location
QC - the land of fraud, fear & foolishness
Hi folks,
I noticed this effect with my Norc M14 when loading, then unloading and looking at the primer... it gets slightly dented by the firing pin !
Could this be because of remaining grease on the firing pin ?
These are Federal Powershock ammo. I also noticed the same thing last year while hunting with Win Powerpoints. Never tried this test with my SA surplus ammo, since i only use this surplus fmj at the range, and normally, i just shoot it. So could it be possible that this is normal and that military ammo have harder primers, so this denting on loading is never a problem ?
Personnaly, i find this a bit scary.

2009_1110_221826AA.jpg

2009_1110_221936AA.jpg
 
My 2009 M305 does that too. Barnaul 150grn SP .308 ammo. I don't think I'm particularily worried about it.
 
You answered your own question.

It's normal, military primers are harder and the M14 uses a free floating firing pin. Inertia from a bolt chambering a round will cause the pin to protrude with a little bit of force, causeing your 'light primer strikes' shown in the photo.
I've never ever had a round of remington core lokt ammo (hunting ammunition) go off because of a light primer strike.

Don't sweat it.
 
Yup, perfectly normal. If you look close you should see the tiny dents on even the hard military primers.
The firing pin _must_ move freely in the bolt.
 
Yup, all that is said above is true! The M14, M1 Garand , and yes.... the AR15 all have floating firing pins. All part of the grand design. :D

And that's why we suggest you always load from a magazine 5 rounder or 5/20 rounder or whatever flavor your magazine is... this will prevent a slam fire :eek:

BTW, I've never had a slam fire in all my 26 (I lost count) years of playing with M1 Garands or M14's... :D

Peace be to M14 Journey! :)

Barney
 
Firing pin "kisses" are normal with the M1/M14. With this in mind reloaders should ensure that primers are seated below flush with the casehead(also a precaution against bolt face/primer contact on chambering). As pointed out, the rounds should be chambered from a mag/clip to retard bolt velocity on chambering.

The other issue is primer cup hardness which is a precaution against slamfires. CCI #34 primers are the only ones which claim MILSPEC cup hardness. I also use Win LR and Rem 91/2 primers for M1/M14 reloads without any problem with the proviso that they must be seated below flush with the casehead.

These primer "kisses" will be evident on some,but not all,rifles. Firing pin protrusion is a factor which bears on this.There is some manufacturing tolerance in the length of firing pins.
 
Don't like to plug people's stuff but...
M14Doctor's disassembly tool is the cats @$$. So easy and meatheads like me can even do it with relitave ease.
 
Well mine does the same thing, But.... it is never an issue, because it does not fire the primer off. But if you are worried about a bump fire, dont load the thing inside a building or point it at anything you dont want to die, and you will do fine.

Also note firing your rifle into the sky is far safer than shooting the ground, because the bullet from the sky will not be traveling at a high enough speed to kill when it lands. While the bullet hitting the ground can ricochet off the ground, and is deadly for up to to a mile. So when you charge your rifle, have the barrel above the level of your head.
 
Devineus said:
...Also note firing your rifle into the sky is far safer than shooting the ground, because the bullet from the sky will not be traveling at a high enough speed to kill when it lands. While the bullet hitting the ground can ricochet off the ground, and is deadly for up to to a mile. So when you charge your rifle, have the barrel above the level of your head.
Click to expand...

I disagree. A bullet shot into the air is potentially deadly. Bullets shot down range hit the ground all the time. A range is designed for that, not for containing bullets shot into the air.
 
Devineus said:
Also note firing your rifle into the sky is far safer than shooting the ground, because the bullet from the sky will not be traveling at a high enough speed to kill when it lands. While the bullet hitting the ground can ricochet off the ground, and is deadly for up to to a mile. So when you charge your rifle, have the barrel above the level of your head.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not!! This is the worst advice I have ever heard on this site. Please refrain from giving this type of advice since new shooters might actually follow it. What is "above the level of your head" ?? 45 degrees ? 60 degrees? How about point the rifle downrange so that an unintentional discharge lands safely in the backstop. Any round fired from a rifle somewhere above the level of your head will have an undesirable effect should it strike someone. Maybe even fatal. I won't belabor the point.
 
Hungry said:
And that's why we suggest you always load from a magazine 5 rounder or 5/20 rounder or whatever flavor your magazine is... this will prevent a slam fire :eek:
Click to expand...

Could you explain this further. I think this might be something I could pass on but not quite sure what you mean. Is there another way people load thier guns other than a magazine inserted in the firearm? Its probably obvious but my brain just isn't getting it. Thanks
 
Devineus said:
Well mine does the same thing, But.... it is never an issue, because it does not fire the primer off. But if you are worried about a bump fire, dont load the thing inside a building or point it at anything you dont want to die, and you will do fine.

Also note firing your rifle into the sky is far safer than shooting the ground, because the bullet from the sky will not be traveling at a high enough speed to kill when it lands. While the bullet hitting the ground can ricochet off the ground, and is deadly for up to to a mile. So when you charge your rifle, have the barrel above the level of your head.
Click to expand...

Horrible advice. Anyone caught shooting in the air at our club gets booted. With good reason.
 
If you're hunting or something and don't want to dent your primers, then just assist the bolt forward until it closes then just give it the last push to completely chamber the round and rotate the bolt into battery.
 
Man, terminal speed of a .308 150 grain bullet comming straight down at you would be pretty fast, and I think it might just hurt a bit.

Bad, bad advise.

Scott
 
I believe the Americans tested some military cartridges way back and shot them at approx 45 degrees into the sky, the bullets came down some terrific distance away (a mile or more) and penetrated 1" plus of oak. That could be someone's skull. On Mythbusters they interviewed a Doctor or coroner who had examined a deceased who caught a bullet in the head from the discharge of a handgun into the air. From the firearms safety course I remember some questions about various cartridges and how a 30-06 could travel up to 3 miles. So if it can go 3 miles, how fast is it going if it touches down at 1 1/2 miles because it wasn't shot straight up at 45 degrees?
 
As one tactical instructor (Clint Smith) put it to a SWAT team who had been taught to stack with firearms pointed vertically - "you can shoot your buddy in the head or the foot, your choice, you've got 3 seconds to decide" I think a version of that would apply here too.
 
Didn't the Tavor have the same problem with light strikes and they've since started distributing new bolt components for that gun to avoid that problem as a result?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom