I heard a rattling inside my rifle today while lubing it up,the skinny little tip from the buffer retainer broke off. Can I still shoot it safely? I know the buffer comes flying out when I takedown the rifle but that seems to be all,the action seems to function normally. Help!!

Yes, it's safe to shoot without a functioning buffer retainer, but it's a minor pain in the ass to disassemble.  When the receiver's closed, the buffer should be resting entirely on the back of the bolt carrier, and not contacting the retainer pin.  It's just supposed to be there to keep the buffer and spring from shooting out when you separate the upper and lower halves.

Those retainers do break from time to time - and occasionally you'll see a slightly out of spec upper/lower fit which lets the buffer smack into the retainer during firing, which will scar up the buffer face and eventually break the retainer.

Hopefully I have it assembled correctly then. The buffer is held in by that little nib that broke off isn't it? There is a slot in the bolt carrier that looks like it is supposed to ride over the buffer retainer nib.

I have the buffer tube screwed into the lower until it makes contact with it,is this right? I saw somewhere in the instructions on the old site about backing it out 1/4 turn or something,but I didn't do that.

are you using a car stock? yes you must back it off of the buffer retaining pin just a little. My guess would be that you threaded the buffer tube to far into the lower receiver and damaged the buffer retaining pin. The buffer tube should be threaded into the lower just enough that it covers the edge of the buffer retaining pin and keeps it from coming out. If you have a standard a1 or a2 style buttstock this is not adjustable, you simply thread the buffer tube all the way into the lower and tighten it, if it goes in so far that it pushes against the buffer retaining pin, you have a improperly manufactured buffer tube and need to replace it. If you have a car stock, simply thread the buffer tube into the lower untill its in enough to keep the buffer retaining pin from coming out, then tighten the castle nut.

My buffer tube goes in just to the edge of the retainer,it doesn't go over it. I am going to disassemble it and make sure it's ok.

Well,I'm officially a moron. I only threaded the buffer tube in until it hit the buffer retainer while it was up in the air,I didn't push it down. Now i need to order a new retainer. Oh well,i guess this is all a part of the learning process.

You guys are sure it is safe to shoot right?

Glad you got it figured out. Don't let this stop you from shooting it though, the rifle will work just fine without the buffer retaining pin. Put it together and fire away, you'll never notice that the pin is gone. No reason to let a little thing like this rob you of a couple weeks of shooting enjoyment.