Unintended discharge from AR15

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Zman10915

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I have had possession of a relatively new (I'm 2nd owner) AR15 S&W and just had something occur the other day that is really rather disconcerting. After chambering a round (55 grain SP) I aimed the weapon downrange, and when nearly ready to fire, placed the safety from off, to 'fire." Without getting NEAR the trigger, the weapon discharged the round I had just chambered.
*** , eh? What causes this and how might I best fix THIS little problem that has caused me to shelf the darned thing until fixed...
:mad:
 
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Was the fire control group modified? If so and you are handy, replace with factory or mil-spec components. If not, contact S&W customer service or seek help from local professional gunsmith.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
n8vmind said:
Was the fire control group modified? If so and you are handy, replace with factory or mil-spec components. If not, contact S&W customer service or seek help from local professional gunsmith.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Good call. You never know what a previous owner monkey'ed with! Check out this 3D animation. This should give you some idea on the operation of the trigger group.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh2FjzVVIZY[/ame]
 
The ability of Bubba to screw up a perfect AR-15 is nearly unlimited. A PSD contractor in Baghdad last year had an AD in the Embassy Chancery lobby - too much diddling with the mechanism.
 
Did you try and recreate what happened the first time? Chamber a round and take the safety off to see if it would fire again? I believe I would call S&W and see what they have to say?
 
That sucks. Probably been messed with by an idiot. Should be an easy fix; new hammer and sear will probably do it. I bought an old Cobray M11/9 (semi clone of an ingram mac11) a while back, and the first time i let the charging handle go, it dumped 28 rounds full auto, no way to stop it. Some jackwagon had lengthened the firing pin tip by welding.
 
Zman10915 said:
I have had possession of a relatively new (I'm 2nd owner) AR15 S&W and just had something occur the other day that is really rather disconcerting. After chambering a round (55 grain SP) I aimed the weapon downrange, and when nearly ready to fire, placed the safety from off, to 'fire." Without getting NEAR the trigger, the weapon discharged the round I had just chambered.
*** , eh? What causes this and how might I best fix THIS little problem that has caused me to shelf the darned thing until fixed...
:mad:
Click to expand...

Is this the first time you've fired the rifle since you got it?

Once it unintentionally discharged, did it eject the fired cartridge, load another and go into battery again? (properly cycled?)

Did you try to fire the rifle again by pulling the trigger?


My guess would be, if the previous owner has messed with it, he honed the sear on the hammer, attempting to smooth the pull and decrease trigger travel. There's not enough "shelf" left on the sear to safely hold the hammer back, and all it takes is a tad of movement within the trigger group when the safety is released for the sear to break. Best bet is to install a completely new trigger and safety assembly.

Look at it as an opportunity to get a nice performance trigger group, that has been properly designed and tuned. Might cost you a few bucks, but will make your AR better. If all you plan to do is plink, stay with a single stage, but if you want to get serious with target shooting, go for a nice 2-stage. Geissele would be my choice. (and it was, when I built my AR)
 
Unless you are knowledgeable about such things you should contact S&W or a gunsmith. The fact that you posted this leads me to believe you should contact an expert.
 
As much as I truly appreciate all the great response to this particular issue I face with this firearm, I should have mentioned right up front that I KNOW the guy I bought this from. I bought it from him because of a bunch of social conditions, some of them involved marriage to a woman who doesn't like "black guns." To say the least, I know he knows NOTHING of modifying firearms and he had just purchased the gun with three boxes of Rem Ammo, got a 5 and 10 round mag with it and put a cheesy little .22 3X9 scope on it. I agreed to remove the scope for him so he could have it, but he fired 4 rounds through it before I got it. He purchased it brand spanking new here, in Idaho. I know this, because I have the receipt. When I inspected the weapon before purchase I noticed a slight bit of carbon leftovers from GSR in the chamber, bolt group, etc. It almost looked like what you would expect from those that test the weapon at the manufacturer, not the shooter. Certainly didn't explain WHY the round goes off when no finger on the trigger and the safety is moved to "fire". I have tried it twice. Both times resulted in detonation without trigger on finger. I believe it came from the factory like this, because the friend who sold it to me never even USED the safety, he just put a mag in it and fired it four times. So...my question to all you very experienced and good people out there, is has this happened before? I WILL consult Smith first thing tomorrow morning, but it would be interesting if I wasn't the only one this happened to. Thanks again for all your very giving and honest opinions and experiences.
Dave
 
OOPS!

Retired LTC said:
Did you try and recreate what happened the first time? Chamber a round and take the safety off to see if it would fire again? I believe I would call S&W and see what they have to say?
Click to expand...

OOPS!

Do you really recommend replicating an ND/defective firearm with a loaded chamber?

Asking for a friend.

Function/safety checking a firearm is done with an empty firearm first before attempting a live fire test! Any defects are repaired before loading.

Smiles,
 
S&W has excellent quality control from personal experience so I would be shocked if this M&P15 left the factory with this safety flaw. So still suspect somebody mucked with it after it left factory.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
I'd call Smith & Wesson customer service and let them deal with it. Shouldn't cost you anything, but you might want to ask your buddy if he registered the purchase with S&W. They usually aren't picky about the warranty if it involves a safety issue.

Just because someone "knows nothing about modifying firearms" doesn't prevent them from trying. If that's the case, you might have to pay some slight fee for repair but you'll know it's done right and the warranty will still apply.
 
Last edited:
Ans. to OP: To my very limited knowledge.... NOPE never saw it happen before.
J.
 
I’ve seen it happen with the Smith 22’s, no experience with Smith centerfire AR’s. As always the internet jumps in and blames Bubba for any and all problems, unless the firearm is a Glock or a Taurus. A few years ago there was great resistance to the thought that the 22’s were slam firing. Until Smith admitted that it could happen.
 
What Hair-Triger said! The previous owner probably thought he/she would do a "home trigger job" at the dinning room table while watching youtube and removed some metal from the sear/hammer. There are a lot of master youtube gunsmiths out there.
 
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