It's been a couple months since I've been on here; got busy with life.
I bought 500 rounds of Wolf steel-cased ammo from a fellow soldier last week. It was still in the sealed plastic bag from Wolf, so I took the gamble.
I went to the range, and as I was shooting this ammo it always shot the first 2 rounds fine, then jammed. Every time, the jam was a stovepipe and the bolt was hard as heck to pull back. It doesn't do this with the Winchester valuepack from Wal-Mart.
Any ideas? Gas pressure, gas tube seal? extractor? There's no cosmoline left on this piece. If this were my M4, I might have an idea of where to start, but I'm not real familiar with the function of this weapon.
Would widening the gas port with a dremel, or putting a stiffer extractor spring in help?
I know Wolf ammo is #%$&, so please don't suggest that I buy better ammo. I just keep thinking that there has to be a way to make this stuff cycle.
I've got it in full TAPCO furniture, with 20 round detachable mags, but those aren't the problem; I re-installed the orignal magazine and it still did it.
Thanks guys,
Jeff
__________________
God Bless America
Last edited by Mooseman684; 11-21-2009 at 05:32 PM.
Reason: Language...PLEASE !
There is Nothing wrong with wolf ammo...My SkS's and Ak's all function just fine with it. It may be your chamber needs a little polishing since the cases are a little tougher being steel than Brass...DO NOT open the gas port..just make sure it is clean and make sure the gas piston and tube are clean...
__________________
[I]You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!:( [/I]
Has this happened with any other ammo? I am guessing your SKS has the original springs and such. Perhaps adding a stiffer spring in the solution. Try Wolfe(not sure about spelling). This is a cheap part. I have not had problems with wof ammo as you have described, but when I updated my SKS' to Tapco furniture I also changed out the older spring.
I'll definitely check out the piston and tube, Moose. Thanks for the tip. How're things in Alaska going?
As far as the spring goes, which one would you recommend? I don't remember what it has in it, so I'm lost there. What would a good strong spring weight be?
Disregard my comment... my mind is not clear... I am thinking the AK47 inards for some reason. Follow what the moose says and you should be in business.
If it is a Yugo SKS, check the seal of the gas tube at the gas valve - these particular SKS rifles often have some corrosion causing gas leakage. You can make a simple 'gasket' from brass or copper wire, or a paperclip, or use some Permatex Gasket Maker on the gas valve body.
Depending on gas leakage, some ammo can work fine while others can cause stove-piping due to short-cycling.
I had two yugos that had the grenade switch on top, my first one had a bad barrel and the second one didn't seal good enough on the switch and allowed gas to escape, causing it not to cycle. maybe yours just is allowing a little too much gas to escape before it cycles the gas rod. I had a bushing turned and pressed into the gun and it worked like a champ after that. yours might be something like my problem was, but then again it might not. be worth checking.
Yugos seem to be notorious for gas tube sealing problems...that may be the problem and can be solved...I need to buy one to work with and see if I can find an easy solution to this problem that can be commercially produced for a cheap price.
rich
__________________
[I]You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!:( [/I]
Had a Romanian SKS that would do the same thing yours is doing,gas tube was fine but the gasblock was undersized.Made a bushing out of a 45 acp empty to fit the gasblock and seal the gas tube,worked verry well but a ding on the crown threw bullets all over the place,a little valve grinding compound on a oversize FMJ bullet in a electric hand drill fixed the crown,it will make one hole at 50yds.with Wolf HP ammo.Got some of the all copperjacket it likes best,but will shoot the bimetal HP verry good also,haven't tried the 150gr.softnose yet but expect them to be allright,nothing wrong with Wolf ammo good stuff.
I went to the range, and as I was shooting this ammo it always shot the first 2 rounds fine, then jammed. Every time, the jam was a stovepipe and the bolt was hard as heck to pull back. It doesn't do this with the Winchester value pack from Wal-Mart.
N2914J have a question,you say the jam was a stovepipe and the bolt was hard to pull back that is an odd occurrence on an SKS form just a stovepipe which is just a case trapped between the bolt face and the breech because of short stroking. A simple rack of the bolt carrier handle should clear that with no effort at all. Or do you mean sometimes the case never ejects and the bolt is closed and hard to open,if the latter is the case then that is normal for the bolt to be hard to open. If it's hard to open with just a stove pipe then you have other issues related to bolt alignment and fit to receiver or recoil spring in backwards. Are all related parts on the bolt,carrier,receiver and trigger group matching?
The SKS bolt when it goes into battery drops down into the receiver and trips the disconnect which allow you to pull the trigger,if the rd. does not eject it allow the bolt to move back slightly rearward instead of back and up out of the receiver and effectively jams the bolt in the receiver,usually a good slap or whack with your hand or plastic mallet right where the receiver cover meats the bolt carrier will brake the lock and allow you to pull the handle back easier,some people use a less delicate approach to doing that.
Now to the issue of what is causing your FTE,you said the rifle fires the WWB ammo with no problems,that tells you a couple things. First it's brass case ammo and the WWB creates a higher pressure curve that the Wolf and allows your rifle to cycle properly,probably about any brass case commercial and some other Russian ammo will work fine in that particular rifle,ask yourself a question when was the last time you ever saw any steel case Yugo surplus X39 ammo,and if you run some of the Yugo surplus or WWB over a chrono vs the wolf your using now will see the difference.
I'm not saying the Wolf is bad ammo or you can't shoot steel case ammo in the Yugo's you can I do it all the time,not Wolf but other brands,Wolf is just underpowered enough and when coupled with a worn gas valve or leaky gas system will cause FTE or stove piping problems.
The most likely problem is the nipple on the gas valve where it fits into the gas tube is worn or eroded just enough form use of the Yugo corrosive ammo that when coupled with the Wolf want cycle the rifle properly,one way to test out the valve is to do the paper clip trick Yugo Gas System Fix Make sure the rifles gas system is cleaned and dry,recoil spring in properly and the chamber is clean of any old lacquer or cosmoline,make the paper clip gasket and try the wolf out again and see if it cycles,also run some other brands through the rifle just for test purposes.
If the rifle cycles as it should then you know you have an excessive gas pressure leak and your valve needs replacing,you can run the paper clip for awhile but it's not meant to be a permanent fix. There are a couple options for new valves CNC Worriers make a valve cut to spec. and Murray's Gunsmithing make two SS valves on uses a torx bit screw to hold the valve in place without requiring a spring loaded selector button or and original style that uses the spring loaded button,both valves have a slightly longer nipple to go deeper into the gas tube as well as being slightly oversized for a tighter fit into older worn gas tubes.
I had the same problem as you 2 out of ever 3 shots would either jam the action shut or stove pipe and I was using Wolf BB every other brand of ammo I put through the rifle cycled without a hitch,I replaced the valve and it's shot the rest of the Wolf ammo with no problems,I still have my old valve as a backup because it works with anything but Wolf ammo.
N2914J have a question,you say the jam was a stovepipe and the bolt was hard to pull back that is an odd occurrence on an SKS form just a stovepipe which is just a case trapped between the bolt face and the breech because of short stroking. A simple rack of the bolt carrier handle should clear that with no effort at all. Or do you mean sometimes the case never ejects and the bolt is closed and hard to open,if the latter is the case then that is normal for the bolt to be hard to open. If it's hard to open with just a stove pipe then you have other issues related to bolt alignment and fit to receiver or recoil spring in backwards. Are all related parts on the bolt,carrier,receiver and trigger group matching?
I had the same problem as you 2 out of ever 3 shots would either jam the action shut or stove pipe and I was using Wolf BB every other brand of ammo I put through the rifle cycled without a hitch,I replaced the valve and it's shot the rest of the Wolf ammo with no problems,I still have my old valve as a backup because it works with anything but Wolf ammo.
I appreciate the input. What I mean by stovepipe is that it stovepipes. The bolt closes on the partially ejected round while it is in a sideways position, and charging the bolt to the rear is discovered to require an unusual amount of pressure. I will look into the paper clip idea, as well as replacing the gas valve.
