That if you've never had a gun break on you, you're not shooting enough. Apparently, I have been shooting entirely too much lately, because I've had guns breaking on me left and right...
Just in the past week, I've had the following guns or gun accessories break:
LaserLyte laser sights for the SigSauer P226. The lights are on, but there's no laser home. I talked to my contact at LaserLyte about this, there was a very brief run in the early phase where the contacts would work their way loose. He sent out a replacement unit ASAP, and I will install and re-sight it shortly. Once again, the response was phenomenal, although I'm coming to realize that this is nothing out of the ordinary for LaserLyte - they're just this good.
Bolt lock-up on the Bushmaster XM15-E2S. Something went wrong, because the last round in the magazine wasn't fired, and when I went to extract it from the chamber, it took pretty much every ounce of strength to clear the round. I suspect that the buffer retainer pin worked loose and jammed things up, and I'm hoping I can get the rifle apart to inspect the damage. This could be anything from very minor to "oh shit, I need a new rifle". If anyone in the area has any experience with AR's I'm willing to travel to get help...
Colt 1991A1 Compact grip bushings. Yes, my new (to me) Colt needs a wee bit of help. I went to take off the ugly-as-sin-yet-pretty-damn-functional Pachmayr wrap-around grips to put on some nice wood stocks and found three out of four screws firmly anchored to the bushings. Upon closer inspection, two of the three bushings were pretty well stripped bare. The threads on the frame look fine, so new bushings and screws are on order and should be in soon.
Colt Gold Cup National Match rear sight. This one was a super easy, on-the-spot fix - the pin holding the sight on had worked itself loose, and a quick tap with the omnipresent Leatherman had it back in place in no time. It looks like it may have been working its way out over time, which may (or may not) be why I was having such a hard time hitting with it - once the sight was back on good and sturdy I was nailing the X-ring like nobody's business...
I've also still got a bolt-action SKS in the safe in the attic (more than likely needs a good thorough cleaning and more complete de-cosmolining) as well as an AK clone that needs two new rivets (hammer and trigger FWIW) - that one I can't decide if I want to pull it all apart and re-rivet everything, or simply toss a couple bolts through it and see how long it lasts. Given that it's an AK, I suspect long enough for my grandkids to laugh at my WECSOG job...
Notice the one thing all of these problems have in common? Yes - they're all semi-autos. Notice that there's no revolvers on the list, nor lever-action or pump-action rifles. I'm certain it's mere coincidence that all of my revolvers work perfectly; that my Remington 572 Fieldmaster has only failed to chamber a round once out of the many thousands I've put through it, and that was because it was simply FILTHY inside; that all of my bolt action rifles fire rounds much more potent than 7.62X39mm or .223 Rem, yet all have kept all of their inner workings in one spot...
Is it any wonder I like the old school?
That is all.
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15 comments:
On the AR: Slap it, rack it, tap it, kung fu it.
Slap magazine to make sure it is seated.
Rack charging handle.
Tap bolt assist.
When bolt still locked, grip the gun by the handguard. Grip the charging handle. Hold vertical with barrel to the sky. While gripping the charging handle, bank buttstock on hard surface like the ground. Much easier.
-SayUncle
bang buttstock, even. Not a lot of force required.
-SayUncle
I love my Gold Cup National Match - the only weak link I found is that roll pin holding the rear sight on. I have had them back out and even break with enough shooting.
Next time you are at the range/gunstore have them put a solid pin in.
I'm not sure I'm understanding your AR problem correctly.
Can you pop the takedown pin and detach the upper from the lower or is something preventing them from coming apart?
If the problem is in the buffer you should be able to just remove the buttstock and buffer tube to pull the buffer spring and buffer out from the back side, then you should be able to get the rifle apart.
The buttstock holds the takedown pin detent and spring in place so they will fall out when you remove the buttstock. watch for that so you don't lose them.
As far as semi-autos breaking more often than earlier technologies...is it any wonder? Semi autos tend to be much more complicated and have more dynamic components.
Everything is a tradeoff. Semi-autos are capable of higher rates of fire and are easier to reload, but the tradeoff is that they are inherently more complicated and malfunction easier.
Jay, open invite for an AR repair at my place.
Watch out for the "bang buttstock" trick - on collapsable stocks you must have the stock fully collapsed or else bad things happen. Not sure what this means for your pinned telestock - that may complicate things more. If you can remove the shoulder portion and bang directly on the tube that would be better.
Anywho, holler if you want to take a ride and we can square it up here.
For the drifting pin on the GC, a small prick with a center punch on the end of the hole should upset enough metal to keep the pin from walking out on its own. One dimple on each side and you should be GTG.
Bolt action SKS?
Unc,
Thanks for the tip. As Wally points out, I've got a collapsible stock (pinned to comply with stupid MA law), so I don't know how well this will work.
Plan is to see if gentle nudging will release the bolt, at which point I can disassemble normally to assess the damage. If that doesn't work, I'll remove the buttstock as Sailorcurt suggests.
Failing that, I'll take a ride to visit wally... ;)
curtislowe,
"roll pin" - THAT is the term I was looking for. Glad to hear mine wasn't the only one to come lose. I've had the gun for 3.5 years and this is the first time it's happened; for now I'll keep an eye on it and see. If it's a once a year thing I'll just make sure I keep on top of pushing it back in...
Sailorcurt,
I *suspect* that the buffer retaining pin came loose and jammed the bolt carrier. When I first started shooting, the pin was not fully seated and not allowing the gun to fire - I seated the pin fully and was able to get through a 20-round mag... Almost...
On the last round, the bolt hung up forward. I retracted the bolt far enough to remove the live round, and was not able to move the bolt any further. We'll see when/if I can get it apart what kind of damage there may be...
wally,
Appreciate the offer. Hopin' I won't have to take you up on it, but it's nice to know it's out there.
mopar,
I think something's sticking on the SKS. It'll chamber and fire, but not extract. Either the bolt's not going back far enough or the gas shut-off switch is not returning to the off position.
Since I acquired a fully-functioning SKS in the interim, it's been relegated to "parts/get to it someday" status...
The gas system on the SKS can be a bit finicky.
If you've got cosmoline or carbon plugging up the works, or the gas tube, piston, or gas block are worn and leaking gas, the action may not cycle...creating a really fancy straight-pull bolt action.
I started posting my last comment before Jay G's reply was up.
I'm a little confused as to how the buffer retainer "came loose" unless it was installed incorrectly.
When the buffer tube (whether a part of the collapsible stock or as the standalone tube of the A2 style) is screwed into the lower receiver, the threaded part of the tube should be what "captures" the buffer retainer and keeps it from popping out. As long as the buffer tube is screwed in all the way, there shouldn't be any way for the retainer to come out.
If it turns out that this is what caused your malfuction, there was a problem with the way the buffer tube was installed.
It basically wasn't screwed in far enough to capture the retainer.
As far as your SKS, when you say the "gas shutoff switch", is this a Yugo 59/66 sks with a grenade launcher?
The gas valves on those are notorious for causing cycling problems. Most likely, it just needs to be cleaned really well, but these rifles weren't well cared for and many of the gas valves became corroded and either don't fit tightly to the gas tube any more, or leak gas around the barrel of the valve.
You can get replacements, but there are some other options to seal up a leaky gas valve as well including the "paper clip" trick that I used on my Yugo.
What Curt said.
Also, if it's a Yugo SKS make sure the gas shut off valve isn't in the "off" position. That's a real palm meet face moment when it happens, trust me on this.
http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/lastgreatsks/graphics/l/8.jpg
Ooops, Curt posted again same time I did. I also missed that you mentioned the shut off switch, so yeah it's a Yugo. While you have the gas tube out, dont forget to clean the gas port into the barrel below the shut off.
Curt,
It is not unheard of for the buffer retainer to wear through the buffer tube. The retainer and spring are then free to float around the lower and cause binding anywhere.
In my case, the retainer ended up between the lower rear of the carrier and the takedown lug on the upper - keeping the bolt out of battery.
Telstocks are less forgiving with the ability to screw them in all the way- you have to go in all the way then back out so the stock is vertical.
Semi-autos aren't the only ones. I have an Anson and Deeley design side by side that decided it didn't want to cock either hammer anymore while I was out pheasant hunting last week. What did I do? I grabbed a spare Benelli M2 and was good for the rest of the weekend!
The nice thing is that only one of those breakages were potentially serious enough to render you combat ineffective (assuming you couldn't clear the jam)
It is not unheard of for the buffer retainer to wear through the buffer tube. The retainer and spring are then free to float around the lower and cause binding anywhere.
Thanks for the info. I'd not run into that.
On my M4 style stocked AR the buttstock screwed in far enough to securely capture the retainer, but I'll keep an eye on it for wear. I think if I had one that wasn't engaging the retainer enough, I'd probably screw it in an extra turn and then relieve material on the front of the buffer tube to allow the retainer to operate properly.
I've never needed to do that so I don't know if it would introduce some other problem I'm not thinking of, but that's what I'd try.
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