AK-RPK jamming issues

Hey guys I have a Romanian RPK that will not stop jamming. I have tried 30 rounders from Romania and Bulgaria, a 40 round ATI mag, and even a 75 round drum mag. I am using tula steel cased ammo that the rifle has eaten up just fine in the past. It seems like when the carrier strips off a bullet from the mag the bullet turns upward 45 degrees putting the tip into the top of the barrel. It is not a CAI rifle or import. Any ideas what the problem could be?

is it the same lot of ammo from the past? i had some issues with wolf ammo in my sks that is similar to your problem, bought one box shot great bought a 2nd and had nothing but issues.

Could be your magazine catch. If the bullet's nosing up so sharply, the feed geometry has changed somehow, and if it's across-the-board with different mags, that means it's something to do with how ALL the mags are seating, or something to do with the feed ramp itself.

different lot of ammo, just another wal-mart special...

Anyone think it would help polishing the feed ramp, I know it helps with handguns...

Can you post some photos of the magazine/mag catch interaction, and the front trunnion? It's possible that the front trunnion was installed too low in the receiver (not all receivers have the trunnion holes located correctly. Also, as Vaarok says, the mag catch could be out of spec and improperly tilting the magazine.

Here's a few pic's, the mags aren't as tight as my ak74's but its definately not the worst I've seen...

bump

What's changed since when the rifle worked? If it used to work and now it doesn't something has changed. List everything that's different now.

BSW

NOTHING! That's why I can't figure it out. I dont see any rivets that loosened up or anything. I'm buying a dremel today, see what a little buffing can do...

Put down the Dremel!

If you bugger something up it's going to be a lot harder to fix than snapping LEGOs together like a AR.

Take a set of photos like the ones below. Use dummy ammo or pull the hammer out so there is no chance of a AD. Use the bolt carrier and bolt to push the rounds out of the mag and into the chamber, stopping and taking a picture every 1/2" of travel of so. Use decent light and focus, please. BSW

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y3/briansmithwins/feedramp-1.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y3/briansmithwins/feeding1-1.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y3/briansmithwins/feeding2-1.jpg

Well Its kinda hard to buger up anything with a buffing wheel. I took it back to the builder and he noticed a few burrs on the feed ramp, got those taken care of. I'll test it out again in a week or two...

This was definitely someone's home-built gun - look at the grinding done to open up the rear of the magazine well. That makes me think the trunnion is improperly located, and the builder ground down the back of the mag opening get everything to fit. The sort of pictures Brian asked for will make it clear, though.

This was definitely someone's home-built gun - look at the grinding done to open up the rear of the magazine well. That makes me think the trunnion is improperly located, and the builder ground down the back of the mag opening get everything to fit

Good catch!

I think you may be onto something. If it was built from a flat the height of the receiver may be off as well.

BSW