Range adventure

[ctx350]

I recently took my Bushy M-4gery out to the range for an afternoon of plinking. I invited my brother and nephew along, just to make a merry band. I have 3 30-rnd mags and we must have went through about 400 rounds. I needed to change the targets, so my brother loaded the mags. When I got back, it was my turn to shoot, so I plopped in the mag, fired off about 5 rounds, then had what I thought was an ordninary misfire. Turns out, my brother, who was in the Army for 8 years, had loaded a 7.62x39mm round in my mag.

Luckily, the round didn't discharge. The bolt only closed about 1/3 of the way, but the firing pin did strike the round. Kind of scary once I realized what happened. I thought it was weird the AK round went into the AR mag, but somehow my brother did it.

The moral of the story...don't let anyone load your mags...even if the person was in the military (Infantry no less) for 8 years. Also, make sure that one of your AK rounds doesn't find its way into your 5.56 ammo can!

[HammerHead]

WOW! Man, I think you got lucky. Firing out of battery could have been disastrous for both you and your rifle. This thread should be titled "Range Mis-adventure". Great lesson. Thanks for sharing. :losingit:

[Alexei]

I actually saw something worse once. I was hanging around a gunshop in No. Georgia, and a patron came in with a stuck round in the chamber. The rifle was a Jap Type 2 "Paratrooper", and the round was a 150 gr. Wnchester-.30-30. The owner could get the bolt to open, ( you gotta remember, the .30-.30 round is alive and on the boltface with the firing pin retracted ). After staying way clear of the muzzle for several minutes, I stepped in and disassembled the rifle and removed the live round. I asked this moron if he had shot this, etc. and he replied that it kicked pretty hard, and he had some extraction difficulties, but he liked the rifle ! Lucky for him it was a very strong action, you would not have been so lucky.

[JE3146]

7.62x39 is one of the calibers that will fit into the AR mag that luckily won't chamber.

Now a 5.45x39 on the other hand will chamber enough to just about permanently lodge itself in the chamber.

Glad no one was hurt in this incident, and always keep your calibers seperate. Thanks sharing, and the reminder to us all :)

[walkindude]

that must be a real long firing pin that will protrude out past the front of the locking lugs to make contact with a round that won't fit into the bolt face. You might want to get that looked at. :wtf

[Zoff12]

that must be a real long firing pin that will protrude out past the front of the locking lugs to make contact with a round that won't fit into the bolt face. You might want to get that looked at. :wtf
Unfortunatly, Bushmaster says it's OK for the firing pin to protrude a little. I never heard of one THAT long, though. We have several as issue an all of them are like that. Contacted BM and theysaid it's not a problem. Chamber a round, remove it without firing and there is a firing pin dent, very light, but a dent none the less. Scares the crapola outta me this way.

[walkindude]

Zoff12:
They have always done that, part of the nature of a free-floating, non spring loaded firing pin, no big deal. Once upon a time that very thing bothered me anytime I pulled a live chambered round out of the weapon.

My point was it must be an awfuly long pin to mark the primer on a round that will neither fit into the bolt face or come anywhere near being chambered enough for the hammer to contact the firing pin. :Imconfuse

[Zoff12]

Zoff12:
They have always done that, part of the nature of a free-floating, non spring loaded firing pin, no big deal. Once upon a time that very thing bothered me anytime I pulled a live chambered round out of the weapon.

My point was it must be an awfuly long pin to mark the primer on a round that will neither fit into the bolt face or come anywhere near being chambered enough for the hammer to contact the firing pin. :Imconfuse
I agree. I find it strange that there was a pin dent on the round in question. I am bothered by a pin dent every time. My Colt does not do it nor does my DPMS. I built a HB AR for a friend, Olympic lower and Model 1 Sales upper and all internals, and his does not leave a dent either. I do not mean to criticize Bushmaster. They know their guns better than me but I'd feel better if it didn't leave a mark. I guess we've gotten a little off topic so I'll let it get back on topic. Sorry I sidetracked this thread.

[JE3146]

For the firing pin to make a mark on the 7.62x39 round, the base of the round would have to seat itself on the bolt, which wont happen. The 7.62x39 round is too large at the base to get anywhere close to the firing pin.

My assumption? The round had been chambered before by a weapon designed for it's caliber, and then ejected and never used for whatever reason. End of the day, misfire.. etc and accidentally tossed in a pile of 5.56.

Either that or the primer made contact with a bolt lug attempting to cram into battery causing a dent (I highly doubt this).

[ctx350]

I suppose it is very possible the 7.62x39 round had the dent before being loaded into the mag. I wasn't the loader, so I can't really say. If I had a new snap cap 7.62 round, I would run a little experiment. The only thing I can say for certain is that it scared the crap out of me when I saw the round and a dent!