Norinco NHM-91 (ak-47) questions.

[Old School]

We were shooting my Norinco NHM-91 (ak-47) today for the first time. It had never been fired before. It truly is a dream to shoot. Low recoil and pretty much dead on without any site adjustment needed. However, there were a few things of concern. I would like to see if anyone else had a similar experiences.

First, changing magazines is a bit of a pain. Everything has to be aligned just right or they bind up. If it is off just a few millimeters, it doesn't find its way. Conversely, my M1A slides into the mag well without a fuss.

Second, the bolt really doesn't like to stay open. It will, but it is really delicately held in place. You have to feel around to get it to stay.

Lastly, we had two "light" primer strikes causing a failure to fire. However, both of them happened to my daughter. I noticed that she was babying the bolt a bit instead of "letting it fly". After I told her to let it slam, it did not happen again.

 

[LJH]

First try a different magazine.
Second I don’t think that this model has a bolt hold on it, what is most likely holding the seam on the gas rod. Not to worry mine does this as well.
Lastly, let it fly is the way to do it.

 

[nalioth]

1) About the mags: practice makes perfect. This isn't an M1A.

2) The "bolt hold open" you describe is common with new Kalashnikovs. It will pass as you shoot it (the NHM-91, like most Kalashnikovs, does not have a BHO).

 

[MGshaggy]

First thing I can tell you is there is no bolt catch - thats why the bolt won't stay opened. Its not suppossed to stay opened like that, so watch your fingers.

Mags - you may just have a bad mag or two, but if you insert the front of the AK mag too far up, you can seriously jam it in there once you rock the back end in. Its not a common occurence, but it does happen if you're not careful. Check your mags and try some new ones - could be the mags, or you may just have a gun with a slightly tighter mag well.

Need some more info on the light primer strikes - did your daughter pull the trigger or was the light primer hit caused by her bolt closing on the round (you said she was "babying the bolt"). Since its got a floating firing pin you may occasionally get a very light indentation on the primer as the bolt closes. If she pulled the trigger and got a light primer strike, it may just be your ammo (I assume the bolt was fully closed regardless of how much she may have eased it forward).

 

[Old School]

Thanx everyone.
I guess I won't be concerned with the bolt staying open anymore since that is not a design feature.
I will continue to shoot it to see if it is an ammo problem or if it was just her easing the bolt forward.
As for the mag changes, I will clean up the mags, mag well and interface parts with some polishing tools. That should help to some degree.

 

[natescout]

How abouts some pics, old school

 

[WmCC]

Old School,

Good advice has been given!

You mentioned that the '91 is new. Check and make sure that the bolt and firing pin are clean of crud or grease and that the firing pin moves freely, (fore and aft), in the bolt when you tip it or shake it.

The mag thing is often simply a matter of correct angle(s) and technique...you will find the right combo.

I personally wouldn't smooth or polish anything, initially, unless you find a burr or bad spot. The best thing to do is shoot the the pants off of that fine rifle. She will smooth-up just fine.

 

[Old School]

Ok Nate. I will take a few when I get a chance. You may find the stock interesting. I reworked the thumbhole stock to an extremely comfortable design.

WmCC. The rifle has been given a thorough cleaning. Everything is super clean. It has not had light strike since those first few rounds that she eased into the chamber.

All in all, I am very pleased with it. It is an extremely handy and comfortable rifle to shoot. We shot it at 50 yards and the groups were 3" for me and 4" for her with russian bulk ammo. When I say groups, we are talking about 20 to 40 rounds in the group. We put about 100 to 150 rounds through it. As soon as I buy a spotting scope we will stretch it out to 100 yards. I have not researched spotting scopes yet so any recommends on those would be appreciated as well.

 

[WoofersInc]

One of the things about the mags not fitting. I have one of these guns. I origionally bought it in California. This one had a small projection in the back of the mag well that lined up with a small recess cut into the locking lug on the mag. Standard AK mags would not fit since they did not have this recess cut into them. It is possible your gun may have this same thing.

 

[Old School]

I found the problem Woofers. It was only that factory low capacity mag that consistently had the problem. The tang on the front of the mag had a smaller radius on top than my high capacity mags. It was catching on the reciever just below the barrel chamber.

So, I rounded and smoothed it with a file. It does not bind anymore and functions just as well as the hi-caps. I also put the mags in and out several times and made some mental notes on lining them up. Now it is no problem.

 

[WoofersInc]

Good to hear. You'll have a lot of fun with that gun.

 

[retgarr]

Glad things are going well. I had to read it a few times because it sounded to me like you were saying your M1A mags fit right into your AK. I was confused....