Just finished assembling a new AR .223/5.56 upper.
Slick sided Upper
16" medium weight SS 1:8 barrel
Ultra thin 14" keymod
ACC quick mount on the end.

I purchased a complete bolt carrier group from a company I do lots of business with (I'm not naming them). Because I'm a little OCD, I break down and clean everything... Including the bolt.

I noticed that the firing pin did not fall out on its own. It took just a nudge from my fingernail, and I just attributed it to being new and being completely dry. What I found next made me me very glad that I didn't just spray some Rem Oil on it and slap in in the rifle.

The two big metal cuttings fell out when I removed the extractor. They are metallic and completely covered with the same phosphated finish as the bolt.

The smallest, at the tip of the firing pin, is donut shaped and was jammed in behind the firing pin hole, and the firing pin would slide through the donut hole.



When assembled, the firing pin would drop in normally, but was only flush with the bolt face...it did not protrude at all from the firing pin hole.

I'm not sure if a hammer strike would have driven it out far enough to ignite a primer, but if it did, it is very likely the pin would be stuck in that position, resulting in a slam fire or an out of battery detonation when the next round chambered.

I've sent an email to the manufacture and suggested they tighten up on QA


(My apologies for the picture being upside down...its that goofy iPhone thing.)

Good reminder. You are probably the exception. Most of the time it is just accepted that QC will make certain everything is ok and when something fails then it is the fault of the manufacturer.

freaky

Being a QA Manager I get a bit OCD when folks blame QA. The assembler should have caught it. If he doesn't then the QC Inspector should have caught it. The third line of defense would be QA, and QA does not do 100% oversight. If they did, you would not need QC.

Interesting

Why not say where you got it?

I was not going to name the company, because mistakes will happen occasionally. Wrote a lengthy email (more concise and professional that what I put in my OP here), with pictures, to Palmetto State Armory and would have been satisfied if someone had taken 5 minutes to give me a call, or written an email that was long enough to convince me they were really concerned.

I got a prompt replay:


I figured this was a verification they had received the email, and I assumed I would be hearing from someone else after my email was routed to the right person. After 4 weeks and no further correspondence, it appears that I overestimated their level of concern about something that could have easily trashed an expensive rifle and potentially injured a customer.

Since their level of concern seems rather limited, I decided I would share further details.

The BCG was a "PSA Freedom 5.56mm tested Full Auto Bolt Carrier Group – 507608". That sku number has since disappeared from their web site, but the description represented the BCG as "High pressure tested and Mag Particle Inspected".

I will probably still make occasional purchases from them, when the prices are just too good to pass up, but they are no longer on my preferred vendor list.

If it is "too good to be true"

I understand what you're getting at.

This is my first problem after many orders from them. This kind of thing can happen, which is why I choose to err on the side of caution and always strip down, clean, and inspect any firearm and gun parts before they ever see a round.


I'm just put off by the one line response... Especially when it was both obvious that they f upped and that I had spent considerable time providing the the documentation they needed follow up.

It doesn't matter if they resolved it in 1 day or 100 days you should always list the manufacturer, model, purchase date etc as a courtesy to other folks. Whether you bought it from Blackthorne or Noveske, its an issue that other people need to know about and check their guns. Imagine if I announced to everyone, "Hey, I found an issue on my vehicle that could cause it to catch on fire, but I don't want to mention the manufacturer yet".

QA or QC makes no difference to me or I'm guessing 99% of the consumers these days. Just get it right and cut out the sloppy work!