FN-49 Ejection Trouble

[imperator31]

Good afternoon all, I recently joined the forum to get some advice on how to proceed with a few problems I recently experienced while plinking out on the range with a couple of my rifles.

First and foremost, I bought an FN-49 Venezuelan Contract a few months back and have had the pleasure of taking it out three times. The first was a dream, I instantly fell in love with the gun and its smooth action, putting together 1 inch groups crouched at 100 yards. Second time out, good except for frequent ejection issues where the bolt would slam forward and catch the previously ejected shell before it was even out of the chamber! It may or may not be relevant that I was shooting surplus ammo the first time (FN) and commercial Remington the second.

Yesterday I experienced an even worse problem. The bolt came forward and caught the piston on its way back into its slide AND the shell, creating a three piece jam that was only helped by wiggling the shell out a little at a time until the bolt was able to slide back into position, pushing the piston back to its own position in the process. I assume this can only have something to do with a gas problem, but then again, it may not. Any and all advice, words of wisdom, etc. are greatly appreciated.

 

[BBBBill]

Not much experience with the FN49 (I've only shot one a few times), but if it is like an M-1 Garand in its ammo preference then you will need to stick to loads that mimic the military loading. Same (or close to same) bullet weight and same type powder. That not just for correct function, but also to avoid damage to the gun.

 

[RecoilRob]

Have you tried adjusting the gas system for the ammo at hand? I agree that it would be prudent to feed it military surplus or equivalent and not commercial hunting ammo which is likely loaded with much slower burning powder than originally designed and will over-gas the action...which is what yours sounds like it's doing.

Look on top at the gas system and see the collar/ring that you can turn to adjust the opening to control how much gas gets into the system. I've not got a 49 here to be sure, but I thought they were very similar to the FAL in regard to gas sytems. In that case, you want to turn it all the way off and load a single round....then fire singles with a bit more gas each time until the bolt locks back empty. Then one more click and the gun should run fine on that ammo. Of course....changing back to surplus will likely have it undergassed and it'll be short-stroking so if you can...choose on what you want to feed it and stay with that for best results. The FN-49 is a sweet shooting rifle!

 

[Slamfire]

Adjust your gas port. Here is a video.

FN49 Gas Adjustment 8mm - Opening the gas port

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXmz_5eB9hE