Weird wear pattern on 9mm AK, should I worry?

[Daniboy26]

Hi there, brand new to the forum. I've been struggling trying to Google what I thought my be the issue.. No luck so far.
So now I am here hoping for some thoughts on what's causing it and if it's something I should be worried about long term.


I've got 250ish rounds in my KP9 right now. I noticed on the top rails around the 50 round mark that it looked like rail was getting scooped/dug out a little bit. Wasn't outrageous but still a little noticeable. Now at 250 it has scooped out more and I'm not seeing any other spots of the rail even showing much wear at all..

This is my 2nd AK (first in 9mm) my other (Saiga 7.62x39) was also bought new, and I don't remember anything similar happening to it like this, so I began to get somewhat worried!
I know blowback vs the traditional piston system is different so maybe I'm just missing something obvious.

If any of you can take a look at some of the pictures and give me your thoughts it would be hugely appreciated.. Honestly it's been really stressing me out since for me I had to save up for such a long time to get it.

Thanks! (also apologies for the weirdly detailed dust)

 

[wiscoaster]

Well, it's wearing on both sides. Can you post a pic of the back end of the bolt carrier? I'd like to see what it looks like where it contacts the rails.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Daniboy26]

Th

Well, it's wearing on both sides. Can you post a pic of the back end of the bolt carrier? I'd like to see what it looks like where it contacts the rails.

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you for the welcome sure here's some pics of the bolt, also as a bonus I included some wear on the underside of the "piston". Hard to see but it does look like the corners of bottom of the bolt in the 2nd picture have flattened a tiny bit as well. Thanks for the willingness to help out!!

 

[wiscoaster]

I'm not familiar with your type of 9 mm AK action, but based on what I see in the pictures: there is abnormal wear on the rails; there is nothing abnormal on the bolt carrier. However, the abnormal wear is pretty even on both sides. If it were my gun this is what I'd do: file or sand the rail wear areas to where it's smooth to the touch, removing as little material as possible, and not so much as to affect reciprocating function, clean, lubricate and continue shooting. Monitor for additional wear. My guess is the reciprocating parts are a little toward opposing limits of their allowed tolerances, and the part with the harder steel (the bolt carrier) is winning. But it's not normal break-in wear. Please note that if your gun is under warranty doing your own kitchen-table gunsmithing on it may void the warranty, so the conservative approach would be to contact the manufacturer first and see if it's any concern and/or whether they'll do anything about it.

 

[Daniboy26]

I'm not familiar with your type of 9 mm AK action, but based on what I see in the pictures: there is abnormal wear on the rails; there is nothing abnormal on the bolt carrier. However, the abnormal wear is pretty even on both sides. If it were my gun this is what I'd do: file or sand the rail wear areas to where it's smooth to the touch, removing as little material as possible, and not so much as to affect reciprocating function, clean, lubricate and continue shooting. Monitor for additional wear. My guess is the reciprocating parts are a little toward opposing limits of their allowed tolerances, and the part with the harder steel (the bolt carrier) is winning. But it's not normal break-in wear. Please note that if your gun is under warranty doing your own kitchen-table gunsmithing on it may void the warranty, so the conservative approach would be to contact the manufacturer first and see if it's any concern and/or whether they'll do anything about it.

That makes sense to me! I reached out to Kalashnikov USA's customer service earlier on in round count but they said the pictures at the time looked completely normal due to the fcg

I think I'll probably go ahead and go with your recommendation of smoothing that problem arwa out lightly, if it continues the abnormal wear i'll reach back out to customer service to see if it's a concern. I have warranty on it for 5 years thankfully.

 

[BreechFace]

Send some pictures to Kalashnikov USA.

 

[BBBBill]

I think I'll probably go ahead and go with your recommendation of smoothing that problem arwa out lightly, if it continues the abnormal wear i'll reach back out to customer service to see if it's a concern. I have warranty on it for 5 years thankfully.

Not if they don't like your gunsmithing repairs.

 

[Daniboy26]

Well I reached out in the meantime to see what they thought and customer service is forwarding the pictures to I presume one of the smiths to take a look and get back to me.

 

[wiscoaster]

Thanks. Let us know what they say.

 

[Daniboy26]

Not if they don't like your gunsmithing repairs.

Lol with my luck I'll touch the receiver with sandpaper once lightly and they will void my warranty.

 

[Daniboy26]

Thanks. Let us know what they say.

Absolutely! Will do as soon as I hear back