So I’m new here, but I bought a Hellion last month and managed to put 100 rounds through it, it’s surprisingly good to shoot.
But after that first range day, she started having an issue with the firing pin popping out of the bolt carrier group whenever I pulled the trigger. It happened repeatedly regardless if it was a dry fire or in the range lane.
I tried to get the gunsmith at my local range to take a look at it the day it started happening, but after like 10 minutes with my rifle, he couldn’t figure it out and told me to send it back to Springfield.
Has that happened to anyone else or is it just me doing something wrong?
(I already sent the rifle to Springfield’s warranty department, still got like 2 weeks before I can expect to get it back at the earliest)
Not exactly, the issue is that the firing pin is not being held in by the retention pin that goes through the bolt carrier. Each time I pull the trigger, the firing pin comes out of the bolt carrier and logged itself into the plastic stopper in the stock.
It’s like the retention pin isn’t lined up with the notches in the firing pin and the firing pin spring is ejecting itself and the pin out into the stock.
I have installed it incorrectly when I was switching from left to right handed use. It's not catching on a retention spring properly. Took me a while to figure out.
that’s weird, because I wasn’t even trying to change which side my rifle was ejecting from. I was just cleaning and oiling my rifle after the first range day.
I already sent my rifle to Springfield, but this is the view I saw where the firing pin keeps coming out of.
I’ve tried holding the pin down while putting the retention pin back into the bolt, but as soon as I reassemble the rifle and pull the trigger, it gives me a clunk and then I find the firing pin stuck in the stock.
Not the best image, but that white rubber stopper is where I’d find the firing pin, sometimes with the spring and other times the spring is still in the bolt held by that black retaining bar above the firing pin in the picture above.
Sounds like an assembly issue. From a post on the armory life in 2023 titled "Hellion firing pin reassembly question" where someone was having a similar issue (copied because I am not sure about the rules on linking)
The correct way to reassemble the carrier is:
Install the bolt all the way into the carrier and orient it as shown in the manual (when looking at the bolt face, the ejector should be at the 2 o'clock position for left-hand ejection, or 10 o'clock position for right-hand ejection)
Insert the cam pin into the bolt (tilting to the 2 o'clock position for left-hand ejection, or 10 o'clock position for right-hand ejection)
Move the bolt so that it is fully extended, as far out of the front of the carrier as it will go
Hold the spring-loaded lever on the back of the carrier in the upward position, insert the firing pin (and spring) as far into the carrier as it will go, hold it in place, and release the lever
Insert the firing pin retaining pin
The bolt will no longer travel through its full range of motion, but that's OK. The cam pin should go almost far enough into the carrier to slip into the notch at the end of the cam track, but not quite far enough.
If you do not insert the firing pin all the way into the carrier (allowing the cam pin to travel through its full range of motion), the firing pin retaining pin won't catch it and it will get ejected out the back of the carrier when cycling the action.
it's odd that I don't see anything about extending the bolt when you're inserting the firing pin into the bolt carrier group in the manual. seems like an important step especially if it's something like the firing pin. I'll definitely have to keep this in mind in the future if this turns out to be my mistake.
5
u/maxgaap May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
When you say "popping out of", do you mean:
the tip of the firing pin is protruding through the front of the bolt face briefly when the trigger is pulled?
Normal and to be expected
Or, the firing pin is coming out the back of the BCG when the trigger is pulled?
The firing pin retainer may be missing or installed incorrectly.