Is this safe to fire?

[MrSam]

My buddy and I each picked up an upper last night. When it came time to mate them with our lowers, we ran into an issue...neither one fit either lower. With both uppers, the front takedown pin does not clear the lug/hole.

My friend ended up giving his a few whacks with a mallet. The upper now sits perfectly on the lower. However, the fit is pretty tight. With my S&W lower and upper, if I pop out the rear take down pin, the upper swivels freely. On his rifle, if he takes out the rear take down pin, the upper just sits there and needs to be moved "up." Seems like a blessing (no more slamming upper against hand I guess...not that that was a prior issue ), but is this safe to shoot?
I tried removing his front takedown pin...I can tell you that the only way to get that thing out now is with a punch and mallet. It won't be difficult, but it certainly isn't coming out without the mallet.

So what you guys say? Safe to shoot? Or is he going to need to up his insurance plan?

I haven't done the same with mine yet, as I don't want to screw anything up if I need to return it.

[d4v0s]

I have had a few ARs like that, never been an issue aside from disassembly requiring tools.

I would check the heads pace on any rifle I assembled myself though. That's really the only thing that makes a rifle safe/unsafe.

[gwgn02]

Its safe. The relationship between the upper and lower will not make it unsafe even if its tight fitting. It would be unsafe if the barrel nut was not torqued and left loose so that the bolt to chamber headspace would open up. If you have the upper with a torqued down barrel nut and milspec AR parts (not some shady knockoff parts) then you really don't even need to headspace.

[liber]

You haven't given enough information.

My first response is if you don't have enough intelligence to know whether the firearm is functional or not, you should take it to a gunsmith that can tell you. Getting advice on the internet with the lack of information you've given is not advised. You obviously do not know enough about firearms to know whether the firearm is safe or not.

Has your friend done a functional test?

Does the bolt pull back into the buffer tube without problems?

All you have said if your friend wacked the upper into the lower, but nothing about how it functions.

And you expect to get advise from people here and take it back and give it to your friend second hand?

[highpower]

Just don't drop it on the carpet.......

[MrSam]

You haven't given enough information.

My first response is if you don't have enough intelligence to know whether the firearm is functional or not, you should take it to a gunsmith that can tell you. Getting advice on the internet with the lack of information you've given is not advised. You obviously do not know enough about firearms to know whether the firearm is safe or not.

Has your friend done a functional test?

Does the bolt pull back into the buffer tube without problems?

All you have said if your friend wacked the upper into the lower, but nothing about how it functions.

And you expect to get advise from people here and take it back and give it to your friend second hand?

It functions fine. I did a quick function test, nothing seems to be out of place. Functions just like my S&W 15, aside from the tight fit.

I have the upper in front of me right now. After playing around with it, and rocking it back and forth, it seems like it's beginning to loosen up a tad. I get the feeling that the coating is just thick enough to keep the pin from moving in and out easily.
I'll check it for headspace.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.