Looking for advice on troublesome primer strike

[Bitter Clinger]

On the 100 yard range last weekend I was running a new Colt 20" Bull bbl upper (5.56 chamber, 1:9 twist) on an existing Colt LE6920 (carbine) lower. When "cease fire" called and upon clearing the live round from the chamber, I noticed that there was a firing pin strike on the chambered round (Hornady 55 gr BTHP 5.56).

When the line went hot I chambered and cleared again and saw the same strike on primer marking. I immediately ceased use of the firearm. I suspect that there could be a headspace or bbl seating issue? I did pull BCG and visually inspected, saw nothing apparently out of ordinary. Upper had about 40 rounds through it before I noticed this.

Any opnions on what I should look for would be welcome! Any recommendations for qualified gunsmiths in DFW area (I live in N. Dallas, work in Irving) that could help me?

THANKS!

[jimd1981]

No worries. That's normal, in my experience.
The AR-15 has a light "floating" firing pin that will contact the primer when chambering a round.

If it troubles you, google "ar-15 firing pin inertia dimple" to see more images that look exactly like yours.

[dcphoto]

Perfectly normal. As jimd says, the AR has a floating firing pin which will strike the primer when the bolt closes. There isn't enough inertia in the pin to set off the round, so a slam fire is nearly impossible. Just keep on shooting

[rotor]

When I reload 5.56 ( which I rarely do now that ammo is available) I use CCI #41 primers just for this reason.

[Bitter Clinger]

Thanks for all the feedback! Very useful and much appreciated!