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Posted: 3/23/2008 2:41:40 PM EDT
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I've already assembled my lower and don't plan on buying an upper for it for a month or two. Will it hurt to leave the buffer and spring in the tube or should I take them out until I've got an upper to go on it? Just not sure if buffer stop pin should have to hold all the stress itself for such a long time with no upper on it. It's probably a silly question and I have nothing to worry about, but since this is my first build, I wanna get everything right. |
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The only spring I really care about leaving under load for a LONG time is the magazine follower spring. The buffer spring is always retained by the buffer retainer except when the bolt carrier is being cycled to the rear. The military stores M16's for long periods of time and I've never heard of them pulling the buffer spings out. I do make a habit of always dropping the hammer if I know the rifle is going to be stored for a while. Old military habit... I've never read taht it's detrimental to leave it cocked, which is its natural state after using the rifle. |
use PMags, and you wont need to worry about that spring either |
Thanks for the tip... I'll look into them :) I should also clarify that I meant "under load" as in keeping a magazine loaded for an extended period of time. I usually underload them a bit if I am going to keep them stoked up for immediate use. |
That habit has always sort of made me wonder. I always store it with the hammer back, round chambered or not, so I can put it on safe. |
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I agree with you... I would NEVER encourage a newb to store their rifle hammer down. Safety becomes a real concern when you are dry-firing, since any good shooter knows all guns are ALWAYS loaded. A person needs to be triply sure the weapon is empty, and then point it in a safe directly before dry-firing. In the USMC we used to drop our hammers pretty regularly when we finished inspecting our weapons (it's part of the manual of arms for inspections), and I got in the habit of never leaving any springs under load (other than the milder at-rest loads that are on most springs, including the buffer). |
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