AK Questions

[endus]

Two questions...

1.) My TDI Bulgy flings brass like a snowblower. I finally shot it outside this past weekend and the thing is throwing casings like 20 feet away...a good 10 feet past any of the other casings from other guns we shot when we went to clean up the brass. Is this normal and even if it's not is there anything I can do about it? I don't really "care" per se, it just seems odd and like it could mean that there is too much pressure being diverted to the gas tube which could lead to excessive wear. It's done this with Brown Bear and Fiocci.

2.) I picked up two more 30rd mags because they were cheap. I loaded them up and rounds will not feed into the gun from either one of them. When I compare them to the 30's that I have that work fine they look identical, but rounds will just not feed from these new ones. The casings of the topmost rounds in the new mags were all scratched up, and the mags didn't really feel like they fit snugly in the gun either.

Is there anything specific I should look for to fix that? I need to really get in there and look, but from checking it out where I was shooting they looked absolutely identical to the ones that work fine. I did notice that it was dinging spent casings, which I had never noticed before when I have shot it. Nonetheless, it performed perfectly...never a single malfunction.

There is nothing better than shooting the AK outside where there are no rules. LOL. The gun is shooting low and right so I think the sight needs to be adjusted, but holy crap what a good time burning through 30 round mags. Easy to stay on target even firing fast. The one thing that sucks about this rifle is that the angle of the stock makes it hard to get it set on your shoulder really well. It rides very high. I also learned that it is nearly impossible to hit anything at all firing from the hip. lol. It's fun though!

 

[M1911]

1.) My TDI Bulgy flings brass like a snowblower. I finally shot it outside this past weekend and the thing is throwing casings like 20 feet away...a good 10 feet past any of the other casings from other guns we shot when we went to clean up the brass. Is this normal and even if it's not is there anything I can do about it?

That's normal for an AK. If it wasn't flinging them into the next county, then you might have something to worry about

 

[bfm]

That's normal for an AK. If it wasn't flinging them into the next county, then you might have something to worry about

It is actually a Russion method of engaging two targets at once. You keep their heads down by flinging hot brass (or steel more likely) at them till you can shoot them.

 

[drgrant]

Two questions...

1.) My TDI Bulgy flings brass like a snowblower. I finally shot it outside this past weekend and the thing is throwing casings like 20 feet away...a good 10 feet past any of the other casings from other guns we shot when we went to clean up the brass. Is this normal and even if it's not is there anything I can do about it? I don't really "care" per se, it just seems odd and like it could mean that there is too much pressure being diverted to the gas tube which could lead to excessive wear. It's done this with Brown Bear and Fiocci.

It's supposed to do that. Any AK worth its salt will fling the "brass" into the woods.

.) I picked up two more 30rd mags because they were cheap. I loaded them up and rounds will not feed into the gun from either one of them. When I compare them to the 30's that I have that work fine they look identical, but rounds will just not feed from these new ones. The casings of the topmost rounds in the new mags were all scratched up, and the mags didn't really feel like they fit snugly in the gun either.

Best idea is to pick up some new old stock romanian or bulgarian mags that are floating around all over for not much money.

-Mike

 

[endus]

Beautiful. Thanks guys!

I actually DO kind of do like that it flings brass so far....lol

 

[Sniper977]

2nd the above. My Norinco flings them pretty far too. As for mags it could be a fitting issue with the perch on the front of the mag but without looking at it personally I couldnt diagnose it. Better to find some more mags like drgrant said and see if the problem is fixed.

 

[endus]

Now that I think of it I think the mags I got with the gun at ZHA were Bulgarian made...these I'm not sure where they were made. They *look* just like the bulgarian ones I have, but that could totally be it.

I will check the position of the perch on the front....

 

[flintoid]

So, in regards to "issue" 1 ...

The reason why they fly out like a bat out of hell is due to your ejector working like it should. This is a sign that your bolt is snug in your carrier (a good thing) and that the carrier is snug in your AK rails (another good thing!) and that your ejector is the proper length (that's THREE good things!). If anyone watched me shoot my AMD-65 at the NES shoot, they saw it suck yards of cock as my brass wasn't getting kicked out of the receiver. Let me explain how and what your ejector is:

this is a bottom side picture of your bolt passing back over the ejector. The ejector is that "tooth" like section that juts out from your AK rails. This is what sends the brass flying into the next county when your bolt travels back after your gun fires. The bolt passes over this with the empty casing, still held to the bolt by your extractor. If the ejector isn't where it's supposed to be, it'll cause a weak ejection like my AMD-65, and then it'll just get bumped into your receiver, under your dust cover, and then when your bolt and carrier come flying back to grab another round from your mag, it'll bind on that empty case.

This is a step by step pictorial of the bolt passing back over the ejector:

When I get home, I'll snap a picture of my AMD-65 bolt-to-ejector clearance, and you'll clearly see why my AMD-65 is sucking Eugene Stoner's dick right now.


Issue #2:

The reason why it's not feeding is probably because of where your mag catch is positioned in relation to your receiver. This is a common problem that is encountered when building AKs- the selector stop that sits between the trigger guard and your receiver acts as this spacer- it is critical in the vertical placement of the AK mag in relation to the receiver rails (assuming your receiver is in spec!). The amount of the magazine that sits in the receiver, or the height of where the top of the rounds sit in the receiver, is set by the mag catch. And the mag catch is spaced by the selector stop.

If the mag catch is too low (the selector stop plate is too thick) the bolt will pass over the top of your rounds in your mag, and it won't feed.

If the mag catch is too high (the selector stop plate is too thin) the bolt will slam into the top of your magazine instead of the round. And this will suck, too.

The key during the build is to "dry fit" the trigger guard and the selector stop and try many different types of mags before riveting it all together. If the builder didn't do this, then he is gambling.

here is a picture of what I'm talking about:

Now, if your magazines are not locking up to the mag catch (are they?) then you'll be having this feed problem. If this is the case, you can take a file to this area so that the mags get a positive lock.

ONLY DO THIS IF YOUR MAGS AREN'T LOCKING UP. And by this, I mean that they aren't "fitting" into the well around this area. If it's too loose, this is not the way to fix the problem- only if the mags are too tight in this region.

You can test to see if your bolt is passing over your mags correctly. Before doing this, I would strip the bolt and pull the firing pin- you don't want to do this with the firing pin installed like the person in this picture- he has the trigger group not installed. It should look like this:

Make sure both sides of the double stack magazine have good bolt-to-round contact.


Now, if you are only having problems with a few magazines, and you don't want to demill your trigger guard (), you can just modify the magazines until they seat up in the mag catch at the right height. You'll either have to add material to the underside of the back magazine "lug" that locks above the trigger guard via welding and then filing it down to size, or you can investigate as to whether or not the mag is too wide and the receiver dimples are keeping it from seating up high enough in the magazine. Then you just file the sides of your magazine down.

You can also modify the top of the magazine "lips" so that the guide pushes the rounds higher up in the magazine. What kind of mags are these? If they are shitty bulgy mags, you can kind of bend the lips out a little or file them a little thinner. If they are cheap, f*** with them. If they are not, sell them and get other magazines that work. Are they 7.62 or 5.45?

I have a feeling that this fix won't be simple. If you can take a picture of how the rounds seat up near the bolt, it'd help. If you decide to do this, please please please remove your firing pin via the following steps:




Let me know how it goes.

 

[flintoid]

oh, and btw- welcome to AK47 hell.

Please be sure to investigate the rifle's function before doing anything to the rifle. You don't want to start filing something away that you need without being absolutely sure what's wrong. Hopefully the pictures I've provided will help you visualize it's function and allow you to investigate the assembly yourself.

just be sure to REMOVE THE FIRING PIN from the bolt if you're going to f*** with live rounds. Even with a "neutered" bolt, I piss my pants when working with live rounds in my home to test feed function. You want that firing pin out. I can't stress this enough.

AK hammers sometimes like to leave their home when you are playing around in the receiver. I have had a hammer slam into the back of a neutered bolt twice in my lifetime. And it's not even funny how scary it really is.

 

[endus]

Man, flintoid, THANKS that is a huge amount of info. The pictures of how the extractor works make perfect sense!

I was just wondering "hey how the hell do I get the firing pin out of the bolt" and there was the video at the end. That's a good look anyway as I'd like to take it apart and possibly clean it.

I will take a look at all this and see. Since I have two mags that are working I would tend to look at the new mags as the "problem" rather than messing with the reciever, but I will take a peek when i get home and try to get some pictures.

Mega-thanks

 

[flintoid]

I was just wondering "hey how the hell do I get the firing pin out of the bolt" and there was the video at the end. That's a good look anyway as I'd like to take it apart and possibly clean it.

In reference to that video- he left out one very important thing- the pin that holds the firing pin in the bolt (the first pin that he takes out) only comes out the exact way he takes it out. It does not go out the opposite way.

So where that lug "locks" into his cleaning kit- the bolt "comes out" of that lug. Don't try to move it out the other way- you'll break a few hand punches this way.

Ask me how I know this.

 

[flintoid]

T and the mags didn't really feel like they fit snugly in the gun either.

I just re-read your post and saw this. Definitely check to see if the magazines are seating into the mag catch. If the magazine release lever doesn't "click" and visibly pop into the locked position, you may need to file a little away from the selector stop like I depicted earlier. Also check to see if they are getting stopped by the receiver somewhere. You can put dry erase marker around the top of your magazine where you think there might be contact points, and then insert it into the well. Where it rubs off will be areas where you are encountering interference. It's a good way to check to see if it's the mag well opening that's holding you back, or the selector stop, or something else.

If the magazine isn't too snug and is loosey-goosey in the mag well, then you probably have a crappy magazine.

Is your AK milled? Or stamped? 7.62 or 5.45?

This would be excellent news as it's a easy fix. Taking the trigger guard off and properly sizing the selector stop thickness is not an easy fix. And f***ing with the magazines is never a clean task. I've never done it, but my friends have and they end up with a piece of shit magazine in the end.