AR weird problem - sheared extractor pin

[KCJones]

Odd. So took the AR out today and jam after jam after jam: spent shell just stayed in, not even stovepiping. About 50/50 jam vs. cycled properly. Did about 30 and gave up.

Took her home and disassembled and when I pulled apart the bolt assembly the cause was clear: my ejector retaining pin (#3 below) was split - came out in three pieces. it had sheared off right on both sides, about where it goes through the inner side of the outer tube into the ejector. The ejector itself had tons of play, thus. Probably lucky something worse didn't happen.

ejector.jpg

So okay, gotta head to the LGS and get another one (or order it online for $0.95 + way more in shipping)...

But my real question is why? Any thoughts on what could have caused that? I don't think it's under-lubrication (I run pretty wet)... Just wondering if anyone else has had this and could speculate on why. The only "difference" I can think of is that I tried running some steel-case ammo through it for the first time. Or is it just "stuff happens"... Gun has maybe 1,000 max rounds through it, everything else looks good.

[JAKIII]

Good catch on zeroing in on the issue quickly... and s/b easily corrected. I wonder if the pin failed due to poor quality standards with 'that' part. I've not experienced that problem, but will watch this thread with interest.

[KCJones]

Good catch on zeroing in on the issue quickly... and s/b easily corrected. I wonder if the pin failed due to poor quality standards with 'that' part. I've not experienced that problem, but will watch this thread with interest.

Well thanks, but a little hard to miss it when I pushed the pin out and the three little 'bits' went came out!

It's an Anderson, which typically gets decent reviews on QA so far as I've seen... Could just be one little flaw/bubble in that pin and it hit its 'service life'. Until/unless something else happens, I'm chalking it up to 's**t happens'.

[dkf]

My guess is the pin was either too soft or too hard. Keep extras on hand. All of my ARs have hollow grips with a plug for storage. I usually keep and oil bottle or a wrench in it but I guess I should put a cam pin, extractor pin, ejector pin and a could others in each grip as well.

[KCJones]

My guess is the pin was either too soft or too hard. Keep extras on hand. All of my ARs have hollow grips with a plug for storage. I usually keep and oil bottle or a wrench in it but I guess I should put a cam pin, extractor pin, ejector pin and a could others in each grip as well.

I'm guessing too hard / brittle, seeing as it was a clean break/shear vs. bend or torque...

[FJW]

I think this is actually the 2nd time I heard about this happening on an AR. I don't remember the brand. It seems to me that AR fanship has risen to such celebrity levels in the past decade, that AR parts have almost become the bigger market than AR's. So the result is for a zillion cheap generic AR manufacturers to invest in the larger AR PARTS market...so that most of them end up with the same cheap parts...which suck. They aren't necessarily from China or anything like that...but they're still cheap and low quality.When everybody and his brother suddenly decided they had to start building their own AR'S because it gave them something to talk about in post-Rambo America, the market for that opened up and the marketers knew that most people buying their parts would be very young guys on a budget looking to brag about the sexy new babe in their gunsafe. So the cheap parts which were originally meant for those guys were eventually bought up by small companies looking to build attractive looking AR'S and sell them for cheap. Kind of like how Century Arms makes Frankenstein AKs from parts collected from all over Eurasia (only different) ...with a couple of cheap U.S. parts thrown in for 922r compliance. Except with AR'S the motive isn't about 922r, it's about finding Americans on a budget who care more about looks than reliability....or just don't know better. Not saying anyone who buys a cheaply built AR is a superficial poser. It could happen just because you were on a budget and reallywanted a gun...or because a company is trying to cut corners hoping they can gamble with QA issues and win. Just ask KelTec.

So "average" AR enthusiasts are kind of swayed to build their own and also to choose parts CAREFULLY, since the design is sensitive and picky to begin with. It's just how the market ended up for a number of reasons.

[arjohnson]

Probably caused by poor part quality or bad luck, or both.

[bjmac]

Part #3 is the extractor retaining pin. Something doesn't add up... I'll play though. If #3 did break I'd say post a pick of the brass.

[KCJones]

Part #3 is the extractor retaining pin. Something doesn't add up... I'll play though. If #3 did break I'd say post a pick of the brass.

Yes, extractor retaining pin. I just used the wrong word vs "ejector" retaining pin, no gunsmith I.

Didn't photo / save the brass.

[ItchyTick]

Order a few of them if they are cheap