New here and have a problem with my AK-47...

[rwerelic]

Hi there, not only am i new to this site but I've just bought my first gun a Romanian AK-47. I payed 350 for it and it seems to be in good condition. I have two mags a 30 and a 40 @ 7.62x39.

So i spend the first day striping and cleaning it but when I went to shoot it I found that the hollow head rounds that the shop sold me jam. Nearly every time i cock it it jams and if i hand load it after the first round it jams again. I once got lucky and got to fire two in a row, but just once. The flat head of the HH's was catching on the lip below the barrel. so i took it back and the guy exchanged all the hollow heads for full metal jackets which i haven't shot yet but cycle fine, unlike the hollow heads.

My question is, is this common or is my gun worn or malfunctioning? I tried this with both mags and found the same problem but could it be the mags? Can this be fixed?

I guess its not that big of a deal if i cant shoot hollow heads but I don't like to be limited, I want my gun to work with all ammunition available.

Id appreciate any help thanks

 

[Roadwild17]

Welcome to THR.

I know nothing about AKs, but some guns will just not function with certain types of ammo. Try both different types of ammo (FMJ,HP, or SP) and different manufacturers.

 

[ndh87]

Welcome to THR. I just bout a romanian Ak myself, 350 is a good price. i've shot my friend's romanian AK many times, and the only problem he has ever had has been the result of a bad mag. You also may have a ridge or other obstruction on your feed ramp that is catching the hollow POINT rounds that you are using.

 

[MechAg94]

Welcome.

I have heard of some WASR rifles being picky with hollow points. I can't remember if anyone had success fixing it. The hollow points are normally for target practice anyway and not good for hunting or other. If the FMJ's work, that is likely the most common ammo to use anyway. You might get a box of the lead soft points to try out though.

 

[ATAShooter]

I have a MAADI AK, and Hollow points are a no feed situation in it. Regular "Ball or FMJ" functiones flawless.

 

[mattw]

First - try different brands of JHP (jacketed hollow point) ammo

Second - try different mags

Third - if the first two do not solve your problem you might need to get the rifle worked on or just settle for shooting standard ball (FMJ [Full Metal Jacket]) ammo.. its cheaper anyway.

 

[B. Adams]

I have a Romanian AK as well, but it has no trouble feeding HP or FMJ. I use the regular Wolf black box stuff, not Military Classic, and I've put a lot more HP's through it than FMJ. I have 12 30rd mags for it, and I've yet to find one that doesn't work. The only trouble I have with mine is that sometimes the hammer rides the bolt down when I'm bump firing, but I haven't looked into that too much yet.

You might try polishing the area that the rounds are getting caught on, and double check that there aren't any burrs or rough edges inside the receiver. You might also double check to see that the mag well is centered, sometimes they don't cut them quite in the right place on the receiver.

Otherwise, I don't know what to tell you. It might just need some break-in time, or it might not ever shoot HP's. Either way, they're pretty fun, even with FMJ.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

It's not uncommon for AK's to have issues feeding HP's. I've seen it quite a bit.

Newer style AK's have a chamfer cut, or a mini-feedramp cut into the barrel for this very reason.

I'd try some FMJ's, that should solve the problem. If not, try a new magazine. If that fixes the problem, then try FMJ vs. HP again with that new magazine and see what happens.

It could be a combination of bad magazine and HP ammo. So you need to isolate the possibilities.

You can definately narrow it down by observing how the round is jammed in the gun.

The flat head of the HH's was catching on the lip below the barrel.

99.9% chance this is a HP issue if that's what you observed, not a magazine issue. But always keep your mind open to possibilities. A bad magazine could feed rounds a little low, combined with the HP's makes for a lot of jams.

While I said that older AK designs (like the Romanian AK's) have issues with HP's, I did not mean they jammed them ever round or every other, or even every 4th or 5th. I'm talking like once in a while. If you're getting that many jams - it could be mags and ammo or the way the magazine engages the catch (canted downward possibly).


Simplicity first, try FMJ.


AK wasn't designed to feed HP's.

 

[Plink]

If you trust yourself to do the work, you can very lightly chamfer the edge that they're hanging up on. I had the same problem and a slight chamfer turned the gun 100% reliable with them.

 

[WinchesterAA]

My romanian AK has had nothing but wolf hollowpoints through it. roughly 2000 somethin. No malfunctions whatsoever. My first thought when reading your post is bad magazines. Maybe try with a friends magazine, or hit up the shop and buy more as you'll need to do that anyway, why not now?

 

[ForeverArmed]

I have an AK that Wolf HPs will hang up on once in a while (the point catches on the lip just above the mag catch). Most of the time they feed, but maybe one in every hundred will hang up there. FMJ functions flawlessly, as does SP.

As has already been suggested, a slight chamfer should do the trick, although if your gun feeds FMJ flawlessly then you might just stick to that. AKs were really designed for FMJ anyway.

If your FMJ hand-cycles fine, then it will probably fire okay with them, too.

 

[rwerelic]

wow, thanks for all the feedback. I just got back from shooting a couple minutes ago and the fmj seem to work great, and dam its fun to shoot...

ya I dont think I'm going to mess with it, the part where its catching does not seem damaged at all, it still has all the black paint on it. but it is catching bad to the point where after dozens of tries it only loaded one once. the other ammo works so what ever.

I tried 3 different mags but there all used, my friend had a newer Ak, one without the pistol grip. It came with a 10 round mag but of course he wanted to used a 30 round. Problem was the 30 seemed to catch the same way and almost as often as mine is doing. he ended up solving the problem by filing down the lip thickness on the mag where it clips to the gun. I guess I'll go buy a 5 or ten round mag and see if I can fix it, but I'm not too worried since the fmj worked fine.

I've only used wolf brand so far.
so if hp's are for target practice only does that mean there more accurate?

thanks again

 

[WinchesterAA]

JHP in general design is better as far as aero dynamics go.

I use JHPs for varmint around my lease in my AK, I don't really pay attention to the holes in stuff but it puts em down well.

 

[2TransAms]

Does your 30 rounder have a lot of play when it's inserted? If it is too loose it could point down just a hair,not much but just enough to hang up the round that's trying to chamber. Or the magazine could be out of spec and it's positioned too low when seated. FMJs might compensate for this but hollowpoints will get hung up. See if you can take your magazine to the shop and compare it to a few others.

 

[soul_rapier]

Throat and polish it like you would a 1911 just make a every small feed ramp on the barrel and that will fix your problem It fixed mine .You can do it yourself with a dremel tool but be carefull you can take off to much and screw your gun up and dont get up in the chamber . I bet its always jamming with the bullet coming out of the right side of the mag ? I hope this helps

 

[John Wesley]

I have a Romanian AK (SAR-1). Other than trigger-slap (which I fixed) it has always been very reliable with everything I put in it. It has jammed twice with the same mag. I don't use that mag anymore and it has been perfect since.

The AKs should feed well in general. You still might try some new mags. You can never have too many and they are not expensive.

OH... FWIW - I found that a lot of mags don't fit well. They are either too tight or they wiggle a lot after they are inserted. I always bring my AK with me and ask to try the mags for fit before I buy. No one has ever told me no yet. All my mags now fit well and perform well.

Good luck. I have had a lot of fun with mine! I'm sure you will too!

 

[Silent-Snail]

You might also want to disassemble and clean the insides of your magazines.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

I tried 3 different mags but there all used, my friend had a newer Ak, one without the pistol grip. It came with a 10 round mag but of course he wanted to used a 30 round. Problem was the 30 seemed to catch the same way and almost as often as mine is doing. he ended up solving the problem by filing down the lip thickness on the mag where it clips to the gun. I guess I'll go buy a 5 or ten round mag and see if I can fix it, but I'm not too worried since the fmj worked fine.

Your friend has a Saiga rifle. Saiga magazines do not accept AK magazines. If an AK magazine fits in a Saiga, it was modified to do so by grinding it down in certain places. This might make it unreliable in an AK rifle.

I take it you're not using any of these modified mags in your AK? If you are, that could be your problem.

The fellow who posted that he gets jams like one time out of 100 rounds is accurately reflecting what HP's do in non chamfered AKs. Some folks get lucky and never have issues, but I believe they are the minority. When you say you get jams on just about every round using HP's after you determined that FMJ's feed perfectly - I'd say take a look at the magazines next.

It's a good sign that FMJ's work, but that doesn't mean the coast is clear. If there is another problem, you want to get that solved. Try and find an unmodified, relatively new or good condition, all-steel AK magazine. I like the E. German ones. Try that and see what happens.

Jamming every HP you feed doesn't sound right.



At least FMJ feeds well. I'd test some more....the best part is, the testing process is fun!

 

[rwerelic]

I was going to clean the mags yesterday but i had them full of ammo, but i will do it today. they seems to both have about 1mm of play(measurement was taken where the mag meet the gun). these mags are unmodified as far as i can tell. Nothing filed down or gridded or excessively warn but I will look for a brand new one.

ok was just messing with it to try and pinpoint exactly whats happening. It is getting stuck on the inner edge of the barrel. Just so we're all on the same page- there is the round barrel and underneath that is a extended peace of metal which is what i thought it was getting jams on, but no it is the barrel itself.

upon closer inspection of the fmj's they seem to catch too, but since the pointed they make it through. most of the fmj tips are damage slightly after i cycle them through and one, while cycling slowly, jammed. not a good sign.

I'm going to try and get some picture up of the damaged points and the jam in the gun since this does not sound like my gun in functioning right.

thanks

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

That is a bad sign. I had a feeling that your FMJ's might still be hitting the barrel face but "sliding" in.


This can cause bullet set back, which could cause a kaboom. One AK i've used that would jam HP's would hit hard into the face of the barrel, and the bullet would get set back pretty deep. AK carriers have a lot of mass to drive rounds home. Part of why they're reliable.


I'd try one new mag, see how that goes. Consider chamfering the barrel and see if that helps if a different magazine doesn't work out. If you're not confident in doing that, consider having a gunsmith look at it. There might also be a way to install a very thin feed ramp in front of the barrel. That is standard procedure for anyone converting a Saiga rifle into AK form. AK's don't need it because their magazines have a higher lip which acts as a feedramp. But, for whatever reason - yours might need it.


This is a problem, but it won't be an expensive problem. That's a good thing. A feedramp or gunsmith work shouldn't cost much. Heck, with a little research you can probably do it yourself.

 

[rwerelic]

thanks i was worried about the bullet getting pushed back because it had happen to one of my hp's. I just bought the gun Do you think it may be the shops responsibility to sell me a correctly functioning gun, should i make them fix or replace it? Or is it my responsibility to know what I'm buying?

So your suggesting to have the inner bottom of the barrel opening grooved a bit as a guide? that seems like it should work but i cant see any space for a ramp to be added, excuse my terminology if I'm wrong but the bolt, where the pin is, seems to fit right over the barrel when its forward. I don't want to mess with that. So can i work it with a small metal file? just enough to keep the point clean.(I'll probably have a gunsmith do it)

I'll try another mag but it seems to be off a lot and pretty consistently between the 3 tried. Filing a guide seems like a good fix I'm just hesitant fixing a symptom of a larger problem.
thanks