Hope the title of this thread isn’t misleading. Once in a while, the slide will not slide all the way into battery. Giving the charging handle a bump with the palm of my hand will not make it slide into battery. Only way I’ve been able to fix the problem, is to remove the mag, then eject the round. Put the round back in the mag, and no more problems. This does not happen all the time, and I’m wondering if maybe I’m holding onto the charging handle too long, thereby easing the slide into battery for just a second at the beginning might cause this. My normal procedure is to pull the charging handle all the way back, and release. If I’m easing it along, even if ever so briefly, that could be the problem. This is using the mag that came with the gun, and happens with Wolf and Golden Tiger ammo.
Here is a photo of what the bolt looks like when this happens. I could not replicate at home with or without a magazine, so I had to hold it in position with my thumb while I took the photo.
I can’t answer that question. Only casings I looked at were some of the first ones out of the gun right after I bought it to see if there were any deformities that stood out. There weren’t. I’ll make it a point to keep the first casing fired after this type of bolt not going into battery, marking it to keep it separate from the others, and keep a few of the others, and measure them when I get home with a pair of calipers. Does it make a difference if I measure the first casing not going into battery, or can I measure any casings?
I’m thinking you’ve got a bad headspace. AK’s tend to have very generous headspacing and it’s not usually immediately apparent when using steel cased ammo, but it shows up quick with brass.
Probably not the case, but I saw a similar problem on a buddies rifle. Check the rivet in the front of the bolt carrier near the piston it should be flush and smooth almost unnoticeable in most cases . In the case I saw it popping out just a tad and keeping it from going into battery.
As Templar suggested, I would have the headspace checked first. It also appears that it could be a bolt lug is having trouble turning as it goes into the trunnion. Could simply be an issue of shooting it a bunch more, and having that area polish itself out. I had to very lightly dremel the bolt lugs of a brand new East German bolt to smooth out a similar situation.
I put a few rounds thru it today. I also got this not going into battery scenario two times out of three. First time I was trying to replicate it by holding onto the charging handle an instant longer than normal, the other time I wasn’t. I also video taped it, and if what I was trying to show comes out on the video, I’ll upload it to my YouTube channel, and post the link here. Probably take me a day or two before I have the time to devote to that.
I shot Golden Tiger 124 grain FMJ.
Unfired cases measure 1.513-inches.
Fired cases measure 1.506 to 1.507-inches.
Fired casings were shorter. Also, when it wouldn’t go into battery, to clear it, I removed the mag, and ejected the live round. Looking at the round, it had one long scratch along the case, and it continued most of the way along the bullet.
No. I’m not seeing anything like that. It’s just a light thin scratch that appears on the first round in the mag that does not go all the way into battery as pictured in my photo in the first post in this thread. It does not appear on any of the other casings, just the first one that does not go fully into battery.
I’ve seen a canted gas block (which means canted gas tube) cause the piston to rub on the side of the gas tube. This didn’t cause any jamming but, it wouldn’t allow the bolt carrier to go into battery if you rode the charging handle home.
It is really difficult to tell if my gas block is canted. I have to look very carefully from above to see it. If it is canted, it is ever so slightly to the left as you look down from above the rifle. If this was the problem, wouldn’t it still not go into battery even if there was no mag or live rounds in the gun?
I’m not riding the charging handle home, but it I ride it for a fraction of a second, it will always not go into battery.
I did not like the way the video I did the other day came out, so I plan on re-shooting the video. Maybe the video will tell something I just can’t put into words.
Try taking the dust cover off and see if the bolt carrier is rubbing against the front sight block. After that, try taking off the gas tube and see if the piston still lines up with the gas block.
Took me a while to get the time, and learn the name of some of the different parts before I could reply. I’m going to assume that you meant the “rear sight block”. Nothing is rubbing there that I can tell.
I don’t see how I can tell if the piston still lines up with the gas block with the gas tube off, but I saw no wear marks in all the black deposits that were there. Man, it gets dirty in there. First time I’ve had it apart since the initial strip when I first brought the gun home. Almost 200 rounds thru it.
