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Posted: 7/24/2006 6:21:39 PM EDT
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I went out blasting with a maadi and some wolf ammo. Half a magazine into it I started having failures to fire. The primers all showed impacts from the firing pin but they weren't going off. I tore the gun down and discovered the firing pin was hanging up in the bolt and not free to move. So when I got home I tore the bolt apart and these three pieces fell out. After a good cleaning everything seems fine. The bolt reassembled fine and the firing pin is moving freely. I just can't figure out what these pieces are????? Any ideas....... Wedge  
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| I can't tell thickness, but at first glance they look like metal shavings. The question then is did the action itself carve these off (poor original machining/burrs) or are they the product of factory machine work that somehow ended up in the bolt you say? Where exactly where these 3 pieces originally? |
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Could it be lead build up that flaked off and got into the bolt? Is it lacquer or polymer flakes off the Wolf ammo? If you clean it and it fires for 1,000 rds with no problem, I wouldn't worry about it. Have you fired the gun much and cleaned it previously or just shot it until it malfunctioned? |
Well I tried a magnet and they don't attract to it. Each piece is very firm so I don't think it's lead. They look metallic but the magnet doesn't attract them, aluminum? All three fell out of the bolt when I took the firing pin out. I've looked all over the internals and can't find any evidence of shaving. This is the first time I've ever had the bolt apart. I've had the gun for several years and it gets an occassional field strip cleaning. The majority of ammo is wolf steel cased..... Wedge
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  Well I went back out today with two different types of Wolf ammo. As you an see from the pictures I’m piercing primers. The standard drill today was fire one round collect brass – pierced primer - try to fire next round, soft hit. Disassemble bolt and knock out the flap of primer metal, reassemble and do it all over again. So now I’m wondering if I have a firing pin wear problem causing excessive firing pin protrusion or if I have a head space problem? This rifle has thousands of rounds through it without any problems. It's not a kit, but a factory Maadi. Any help appreciated……… Anyone know the firing pin protrusion minimum and maximum for an AK? I found a general figure for bolt guns of .050 to .059. TIA, Wedge
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In the first post you mentioned the primers showed impact marks but this is beyond that. There should be someone in Ohio that can check it out for you. Plenty of builders there who should have gauges for headspace etc. The only time I have had bolt/headspace issues was with a used AR. That was a simple fix as I just purchased a new stripped bolt, assembled, installed it and had a gunsmith use a headspace gauge. Sounds like this?:
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I don't think this is a head space problem, because there are no signs of over pressure. By the pictures it is clearly visible that the firing pin sticks out too far and punches the primer through, and then the peice of primer jams the pin. Firing pins are cheap so you can buy a new one and play with the old one. First of all I would file off a peice of firing pin to make it stick out less. That way you will not be punching the primer and there will not be anything to jam it next time. If you file off too much, not a problem just stick new firing pin in, and through the old one out. Good luck. |
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I finally got around to solving this problem. I went out with a new firing pin and the old one which I had trimmed. The old one was trimmed to short which gave me failures to fire. I popped in the new one and all was well. No failures to fire and no pierced primers. The only concern have is the firing pin indentations are very deep. Almost on the verge of piercing. All I can figure is the old firing pin became elongated over the years of use. Wedge
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Hey very interesting thread and a similar issue to what I'm dealing with. Check out this thread: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=74&t=89489&page=1 I will be going back out in the morning to see if my fix worked but the one thing I've failed to do is check the primers of the old cases. I will go through a bunch of the ones I threw in the garbage at my range tomorrow as well as paying close attention to the ones I shoot. I have a hard time believing the firring pin is sticking out too far as it's the same as on another AK of mine. Haven't checked the all yet though. |
Well I went back to the range yesterday and I am having the same problem. Where did you get your new firing pin from? I need to order a couple. |
I picked mine up at a local gun show. There are several internet vendors that carry them. www.aa-ok.com/ www.k-var.com/shop/ Here's a couple that I use. Wedge
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Yes it was and I thank you for that because I was "sort of" on the right track but not quite there. So again, not to be spamming the forum but just trying to help others that are having this issue by updating the threads I posted in. I got the new firing pin today and it sticks out just as far as the other so I'm not sure that is going to take care of the issue. I hope to get to the range tomorrow to try it out. Wedghead, Did you notice if your old and new firing pin stuck out of the bolt face the same distance or not? Just curious as it seems that if the new one is going to stick out just as far I'll still be punching primers. If that's the case I think I'll try a new bolt head next. |
Sorry dude, but I don't know. Unfortunately I tried trimming the old one down before I got the new one. Best of luck........ Wedge
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Well I took the SA M7 carbine back to the range today with the new firing pin in place and 120 rounds of Wolf. There was not one punctured primer. So it looks like that did the trick. The primer strikes were pretty deep but no punctures so I'm happy. I'll run more ammo through it in the next week or two to make sure all is well. I got this rifle used so I have no idea how many rounds have been put through it before me but it didn't look like many when I got it because it was so clean. Is this something that happens to firing pins over time? |
Glad to hear you had positive results!  I noticed deep primer marks on my brass also. I attributed it to the new pin. Since I switched to the new firing pin I’ve put over 500 rounds through mine with zero problems.As I understand the firing pin problem. The Bolt is made from hardened tool steel. The firing pin is softer steel. Over time the nose of the pin actually becomes elongated from the constant ramming into the bolt via the hammer. I noticed some deformation on both ends of my old firing pin. My old pin had probably over 10,000 rounds on it. So I don’t see this being much of an issue. But I have picked up a few spare pins just in case.......... Wedge |
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