AR: sluggish safety selector

dyl

New member
What contributes to a sluggish safety selector on an AR?

I assembled an AR pistol. At first the "discount" lower parts kit I used had visibly shallow angles for the safety selector, leading to a mushy feel on activation/deactivation. I replaced the detents and safety switch with leftovers from a CMMG branded kit and while it is a bit crisper when the selector arrives at the actual destinations, it often loses momentum partway and stops in between safe and fire. I have oiled it. My other assembled AR's don't do this, with parts kits from Rock River Arms and PSA.

My guesses are: Weak spring --> weak detent. Rough channel for the detent. Hole in grip drilled too deep --> weak spring pressure. Angles on Safety or detent not steep enough --> weak detent.

Kind of like a pocket knife detent on a frame lock/liner lock.

Am I missing anything? I could try another spring (it looked fine though..), another safety, or fill in the hole in the grip a little bit with something. At first, I was going to ignore this but it's annoying now.
 
If the safety selector is cast, it could be out of round or not straight. It could be dragging on the tail of the trigger assembly. Weak detent springs make the safety flop around like a loose wing nut.
 
Good thought, hadn’t thought of it. The discount selector definitely was cast, a nice line heading up the center. The other, I’ll have to take some calipers to check for roundness. Thanks!
 
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