M16 vs AR15 firing pin - confusion. - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - M16 vs AR15 firing pin - confusion.

Posted: 5/4/2008 10:26:25 AM EDT

I thought he M16 Firing pin was different from the AR15. In particular, the head retaining ring was larger on the M16. I see firing pins being sold for both, and some vendors make a distinction between the two.
What is correct?
Thanks

Posted: 5/4/2008 8:59:07 PM EDT

[#1]

You are correct, the retaining ring on the M-16 firing pin is larger than the one on an AR-15 pin. This only becomes an issue when using an "unshrouded" AR-15 bolt carrier, as these only work properly with an AR-15 firing pin. All fully-shrouded bolt carriers will work with either type of firing pin.

Posted: 5/5/2008 7:00:41 AM EDT

[#2]

Un-shrouded vs Shrouded --

Posted: 5/10/2008 5:57:26 AM EDT

[#3]

Thanks - I now recall reading this some time ago.

Can we conculde then:

M16 Firing Pin: OK in M16 Bolt and shrouded AR15 Bolt
AR15 Firing Pin: OK in M16 Bolt and AR15 Bolt?

What is the purpose of the larger ring on the M16 Pin - or was the AR15 pin retaining ring made smaller because of the lack of shround (and to differentiate parts between the M16 and AR15)?

Posted: 5/10/2008 8:12:12 PM EDT

[#4]

Can we conculde then:

M16 Firing Pin: OK in M16 Bolt and shrouded AR15 Bolt
AR15 Firing Pin: OK in M16 Bolt and AR15 Bolt?

Yes, that would be correct.

What is the purpose of the larger ring on the M16 Pin - or was the AR15 pin retaining ring made smaller because of the lack of shround (and to differentiate parts between the M16 and AR15)?

The M-16 firing pin came first, and was the original "standard" firing pin. Its ring diameter is as large as the space in the bolt carrier allows, which is a good thing due to this being the forward travel stop for the firing pin (spreads impact load over large surface area). The AR-15 firing pin was an engineered-necessity, which only came about after the development of the un-shrouded bolt carrier.

Posted: 5/11/2008 5:29:12 PM EDT

[#5]

I thought they were both the same but you just filled one down to make it go full auto.

Posted: 5/11/2008 6:43:26 PM EDT

[#6]

Doh! Two years ago I replaced a hammer, and then a bolt carrier when all I had was the wrong firing pin?

Posted: 5/12/2008 7:55:59 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
I thought they were both the same but you just filled one down to make it go full auto.

And if you reduce the OAL about 1/16" by filing down the small end that pokes out of the bolt face you won't be subject to the $200 tax or the ban on making new MG's. Who is going to be the first to try?

Posted: 5/12/2008 4:40:04 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I thought they were both the same but you just filled one down to make it go full auto.

And if you reduce the OAL about 1/16" by filing down the small end that pokes out of the bolt face you won't be subject to the $200 tax or the ban on making new MG's. Who is going to be the first to try?

The disconnector is still going to catch the hammer & it will still be semi auto.

You'll end up buying a new firing pin, because the one that you filed down won't strike the primer. DUH!

Posted: 5/12/2008 6:00:26 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I thought they were both the same but you just filled one down to make it go full auto.

And if you reduce the OAL about 1/16" by filing down the small end that pokes out of the bolt face you won't be subject to the $200 tax or the ban on making new MG's. Who is going to be the first to try?

The disconnector is still going to catch the hammer & it will still be semi auto.

You'll end up buying a new firing pin, because the one that you filed down won't strike the primer. DUH!

You have obviously never tried it.

Posted: 5/12/2008 6:53:57 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I thought they were both the same but you just filled one down to make it go full auto.

And if you reduce the OAL about 1/16" by filing down the small end that pokes out of the bolt face you won't be subject to the $200 tax or the ban on making new MG's. Who is going to be the first to try?

The disconnector is still going to catch the hammer & it will still be semi auto.

You'll end up buying a new firing pin, because the one that you filed down won't strike the primer. DUH!

You have obviously never tried it.

No, I haven't, I just don't see how it would work, it just doesn't make sense.

Posted: 5/12/2008 9:02:47 PM EDT

[#11]

So one can use a 15 F pin in a M16 BCG,and it will work OK in FA?

Posted: 5/13/2008 10:07:16 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
So one can use a 15 F pin in a M16 BCG,and it will work OK in FA?

Yes, it will work just fine. However, it would be better (technically) to use the M-16 firing pin whenever possible. The hammer hits the firing pin pretty hard (obviously), so it is nice to have the pin's forward travel stop be as beefy as possible. The front of that collar is what stops the firing pin's forward travel, so the larger M-16 collar does a better job spreading out the impact force.

As for filing on firing pins and such, I think somebody's yanking someone's chain.

Somebody must have some extra firing pins they want to sell on the EE.

Posted: 5/14/2008 12:43:50 AM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:
So one can use a 15 F pin in a M16 BCG,and it will work OK in FA?

Yes, it will work just fine. However, it would be better (technically) to use the M-16 firing pin whenever possible. The hammer hits the firing pin pretty hard (obviously), so it is nice to have the pin's forward travel stop be as beefy as possible. The front of that collar is what stops the firing pin's forward travel, so the larger M-16 collar does a better job spreading out the impact force.

As for filing on firing pins and such, I think somebody's yanking someone's chain.

Somebody must have some extra firing pins they want to sell on the EE.

Posted: 5/14/2008 5:19:09 PM EDT

[#14]

Thanks for the info...

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - M16 vs AR15 firing pin - confusion.

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