FTF issue: rifle or magazine?

[AZ]

I'm new to semi-auto rifles so bare with me. I went to fire my new Yugo M70 today, the rifle seems quality and it came with 2 Bulgarian surplus mags. With both magazines there was this fail to feed issue. The back of the cartridge would get stuck under the bolt with the tip facing up trying to feed into the barrel. It seems this happened the most when I was firing slowly. Each time I would have to remove the magazine and let the cartridge drop out of the well to free it from under the bolt. This happened several times with each magazine (by which I mean each time I loaded it). I am guessing this is the result of weak magazine feed, but I have absolutely no idea as I am a novice with these rifles. I was using cheap TulAmmo.

 

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

It could very well be a bad spring, or even a bad positioned mag-catch. I have no experience with AK's outside of running a few mags through a buddy's. Try a new mag.

 

[briansmithwins]

Strip the rifle and mags down, clean, and lube all. Slide the mag followers in and check that they slide the entire length of the mag smoothly.

Bolt over ride is usually caused by the receiver being manufactured wrong (this leaving the mag too low so that the stripping lug of the bolt misses the cartridge base) but check the easy stuff first.

If it is the receiver the seller owes you a new rifle as there's no easy way to adjust it correctly.

Good luck.

BSW

 

[AZ]

Well I tried a new mag, Chinese this time, and it still happened. Before I tried this I disassembled the rifle and cleaned and lubed everything. I've been trying to recreate it at my house with dummy rounds but it seems the bolt is catching the bullets when I cycle it manually. How far down the cartridge should the bolt be catching, it seems it is catching only 1-2 mm down the side of the cartridge, which makes me think that with a loose gun like the AK the bolt could miss the cartridge entirely while shooting.

I got the rifle from J&G Sales in Prescott and they will solve mechanical errors and replace the rifle if necessary, so I'm strongly considering just driving down there and asking them to replace the rifle and leaving them to solve any mechanical issues.

 

[AZ]

brian - Are there any other issues that can cause bullet override? How can I tell if the receiver is defective? If the mag is lying too low because of the receiver would it miss the cartridge every time, or could it only be missing it while it is being fired?

 

[TurtlePhish]

Just have them replace it if that's their policy. It's a whole lot easier than fixing it yourself.

 

[coalman]

Sounds like the bolt is riding too high or the mags are sitting too low. Something is not in spec and both are big issues. Good luck.

 

[AZ]

Went to go test it again this morning, same problem. Called J&G up and they said they've been getting this problem in about 1 out of every 100 rifles, apparently this issue is the reason for 80% of the returns for the PAP M70. Nonetheless I'm going to get it replaced with the same rifle (it truly seems quality if it lacked this issue), only this time I'll test fire it at a Prescott shooting area before driving all the way back home.

 

[briansmithwins]

Replacing is easier than trying to raise the mag or lower the bolt rails.

AKs aren't snap together like ARs, they require fitting and have non-interchangeable parts.

BSW