DSA FAL ejection problem...

[Lone_Gunman]

I was out shooting my DSA FAL carbine today. This is its third trip to the range, and had put about 200 rounds through it without any failures at all until today.

Here is the story:

This FAL is an 18" carbine with a full length gas system (as opposed to the shortened system DSA uses in their tactical carbines). The first 200 rounds were fired without a problem. This was 7.62 NATO surplus FMJ ammo, I think either US, British, or Australian. I had the gas setting on 5.

Today, after about 20 rounds, I started having a problem with ejection. I MAY have also switched from one type of NATO surplus to another at the same time, I am not sure. If I did it would have still been either 7.62 NATO ammo from the US, Britain, or Australia.

After I fired a round, it would not extract or eject. The bolt would be moved back about 1 centimeter. On some rounds, I could work the bolt handle and kick the case out, but on others, the bolt was stuck, and I had to push the bolt down with my foot, kind of like starting a motorcycle for lack of a better comparison.

I adjusted the gas setting down to 1, and the problem went away. I ran out of ammo before I could find the highest gas setting that would allow the gun to cycle.

Now, here are my questions:

Was this caused by the chamber being dirty, and cases sticking? I had not cleaned the rifle in the first 200 rounds through it, but I would think a battle rifle should be able to get dirtier than 200 rounds before it would jam.

Are DSA chambers tight?

Was this caused by the ammo I was shooting today being weaker than what I had shot previously?

Is there a problem with just dialing the gas setting down to a 1 or 2 so I don't have this problem?

If its OK to keep the gas setting low, then why did they even make it adjustable? Would seem to me you could just keep it low and not have to worry about tweaking the gas system for different makers of ammo.

I appreciate any info you can provide.

 

[MErl]

IMO thats what adjustable gas is for. just remember to dial it back up if you switch back to the other ammo to save a little bit of wear & tear

 

[LiquidTension]

Leaving the gas system open will beat your shoulder to death and cause some extra wear on the parts. When my FAL is dialed in correctly, it has less recoil than my AK. Different ammo does sometimes need different gas settings, even when it's all NATO spec. I've had to run my gas system down as low as 4 to get some ammo to run correctly. Mine's a standard 21" bbl, not the 18, and it has a buffer in it to keep the carrier from hitting directly on the receiver.

While cleaning the weapon may help with extraction, it shouldn't be dirty enough yet to cause FTEs. I've run my STG for well over 500 rounds with no problems, and it's got a DSA bbl and brake on it.

 

[1911JMB]

Totaly the fault of the gas system needing to be cranked.

 

[HorseSoldier]

Was this caused by the ammo I was shooting today being weaker than what I had shot previously?

There can be a decent spread in velocity, muzzle energy, etc., between different nations loading to NATO "standard" and that might have been the source of your problem. That would be my guess, unless the problem starts recurring when you're running a singe ammunition type consistently and have the gas system dialed in for it.

The stoppages you describe (to include the need to kick start) is not something I've seen on my DSA, but I have a Century FAL that every once in a while needs the same treatment. Usually this does occur when it is dirty and/or very hot (usually only occurs if I'm putting a lot of rounds through it). On a Century, I kind of chalk it up to CAI/CIA. On a DSA, I'd be much more surprised for it to be the weapon rather than the ammo.

 

[DMK]

Check your gas piston to see if it's binding up: Field strip it, remove the spring from the piston, put the piston back in and see if it moves freely back and forth as you tilt the rifle fore and aft.

I had the gas piston bind up on two of my Fals. One was assembled incorrectly (by me ). The other was clogged with carbon because I didn't think it needed to be cleaned every time I shot it (that was *way* more than 200 rounds though).

 

[Chuck R.]

Totaly the fault of the gas system needing to be cranked.

I agree.

The partial extraction, then jamming the fired case back in makes the brass difficult to extract the second time.

My DSA acted the same way when I switched from my handloads (setting 6) to SA surplus (setting 4). Now when in doubt I dial down to 4.

Chuck

 

[goon]

One other thing...
When you get a stuck case you can get it out by pulling back on the charging handle while bumping the butt on the ground.
It works better than the "kickstand" method and is actually even in the manual.

 

[Grayrider]

I would say you are experiencing a combination of factors: new rifle needing break in (particularly true if it is Duracoated), perhaps a bit dirty, and perhaps a switch to lighter ammo. I have found surplus varies quite a bit in load depending on country and time of production. So as pointed out above, that is the beauty of adjustable gas systems. You dial it down to keep running when dirty or compensate for ammo variance. As you break it in the settings may need further adjustment, and of course any time you change ammo. Easy enough to do and nice to have the option in my opinion. My Para has been acting the same way, and I just need time to get it out to the range for an extended break-in session. The Duracoat really makes everything tight until the parts get to moving around enough to wear in.

So shoot it a bunch and enjoy that FAL!



John