AK Sponsor
Posted: 8/22/2015 5:05:50 AM EDT
|
Hey there, long time lurker first time poster. So, I just finished building my first kit, a fully matching fixed stock Polish AKM. Did the deal proper, used a rivet jig and hydrolic press and the whole shebang. She's a beaut I headspaced the virgin barrel using CIP go and no-go gauges, populated the barrel, and everything seemed fine. Took her out to shoot her tonight, first 5 rounds ran clean, no FTFS, cycled perfectly. After the first 5 rounds, I checked the headspace again, just by inserting a no-go gauge in through the ejection port, and lo and behold, the bolt carrier closed on the gauge. I immediately popped the hood off, removed the bolt carrier group, and inserted the no go gauge, this time trying with just the bolt. Nowhere NEAR closing on the gauge, try as hard as i could. Inserted the carrier group. Still would close on the gauge, but I had to put a little stress.
Needless to say, I took it home without shooting it any more for further inspection. I don't want to see a KB, and I can always re-headspace the barrel if need be. In the brighter light of the garage, I examined it more closely. It seems that although the bolt is not locking on the no-go gauge, the carrier (if forced, or hot from a few rounds being fired) will somehow slide OVER the bolt, and come flush with the trunnion without the bolt completing the end of its rotation. Here's my question: is this dangerous? What is going on here? It seems like the bolt and carrier move as one unit, so how is the carrier sliding forward without the bolt rotating? If someone could tell me what's going on here, I would really appreciate it. I mean, this thing is going to be near me and my girlfriend's face. There's no way I'm shooting this puppy if there's a chance it's not safe. 
|
|
I don't have a field gauge, unfortunately. I should clarify that the extractor and fp were removed when rechecking headspace when I got home. Thanks for the response. I'd love to hear a couple more people chime in. My understanding is that while I run the risk of sounding paranoid, there is no such thing as "too safe" when it comes to headspace.
Here's my one concern, and it may be unfounded: If the carrier closes home on a round, but the bolt doesn't lock fully, the little tail on the rear of the carrier is now out of the way of the hammer hitting the fp and causing an out of battery discharge. Unless there is another way the ak prevents an OOBD? Seems like not, since there's no hammer retarder in the semi-auto models. |
AK Sponsor