The doc is on a M14 hunt on the queen charlotte islands. He will be back late next week. As far as mags and failure to feed issues there can be lots of probelms that would cause this issue. Although rare they do pop there head up from time to time. I would either attend a Hungry clinic or beg the doc to open his bench back up when he returns from his hunting trip.
M14 not always stripping the rounds out of mag
- Thread starter cbabes
- Start date
Success at last !!!!
Apparently I am better at fixing my rifle than adding my comments. I just typed a lovely and very detailed explanation to the problem three times and lost it before saving. )*^%)@*%.
Here is the very short version. I got my barrel chopped by DLASK who did a wonderful job. I got a beautiful CQB stock from M-14 DOCTOR. Awesome quality, fit and finish. Changed all the usual internals and went to the clinics. Now my rifle is a single shot. It fires the first round but the bolt will not go back far enough to strip the next round. Crap.
WARNING : Proceed with caution and at your own risk. I was willing to ruin my barrel to make this thing work. If you have ensured that EVERYTHING else works as it should and you tried different Mags, then you should think about drilling out the gas port in your barrel to a larger size. You have lost 3-4 inches of barrel which equals more time for gas to enter the gas system before the bullet exits the barrel. To compensate you need to bring more gas into the system to equal the volume you had before you chopped the barrel. It's not rocket science.
This is what I did. Your results may vary. Very carefully, I drilled the hole one size larger and tested the rifle. I did this repeatedly with a larger drill bit each time until I finally had a hole big enough to function reliably 100%.
The size hole that worked for my rifle was 3/32. As I said, this size worked for me, yours might be different. You must make sure that everything else is functioning first, otherwise you might be drilling too large and too much gas is not a good thing either. I then slightly chamfered the hole by hand with a much larger drill bit to help prevent carbon build up from a sharp edged hole. Have fun ! Use caution and common sense.
Apparently I am better at fixing my rifle than adding my comments. I just typed a lovely and very detailed explanation to the problem three times and lost it before saving. )*^%)@*%.
Here is the very short version. I got my barrel chopped by DLASK who did a wonderful job. I got a beautiful CQB stock from M-14 DOCTOR. Awesome quality, fit and finish. Changed all the usual internals and went to the clinics. Now my rifle is a single shot. It fires the first round but the bolt will not go back far enough to strip the next round. Crap.
WARNING : Proceed with caution and at your own risk. I was willing to ruin my barrel to make this thing work. If you have ensured that EVERYTHING else works as it should and you tried different Mags, then you should think about drilling out the gas port in your barrel to a larger size. You have lost 3-4 inches of barrel which equals more time for gas to enter the gas system before the bullet exits the barrel. To compensate you need to bring more gas into the system to equal the volume you had before you chopped the barrel. It's not rocket science.
This is what I did. Your results may vary. Very carefully, I drilled the hole one size larger and tested the rifle. I did this repeatedly with a larger drill bit each time until I finally had a hole big enough to function reliably 100%.
The size hole that worked for my rifle was 3/32. As I said, this size worked for me, yours might be different. You must make sure that everything else is functioning first, otherwise you might be drilling too large and too much gas is not a good thing either. I then slightly chamfered the hole by hand with a much larger drill bit to help prevent carbon build up from a sharp edged hole. Have fun ! Use caution and common sense.
Last edited:
ipscgraz
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
"I was willing to ruin my barrel to make this thing work. "
Before anyone goes and ruins a perfectly good barrel, I have two Dlask-shortened Norcs and they both have worked just fine with my soft handloads, let alone any serious hardball.
My point with that statement is that shortening the barrel is not a guarantee of a loss of function.
1/ Is your gas system lined up? Do you know how to check that?
2/ Remove the action from the stock. Lock the bolt and op rod back and see if your piston falls slows to the rear if you tilt the muzzle straight up.
3/ Is your gas cylinder clean? Varsol and a bottle brush.
4/ What shape is your op rod in? Remove the op rod spring and reassemble the action. Is it smooth for full travel?
5/ This is a big one...One of my Norcs is snug enough that the magazine fits almost all the way in and will load the first round after the mag is (almost) inserted but won't cycle the next round after firing. Are you sure the mag is completely engaged front and rear?
Before anyone goes and ruins a perfectly good barrel, I have two Dlask-shortened Norcs and they both have worked just fine with my soft handloads, let alone any serious hardball.
My point with that statement is that shortening the barrel is not a guarantee of a loss of function.
1/ Is your gas system lined up? Do you know how to check that?
2/ Remove the action from the stock. Lock the bolt and op rod back and see if your piston falls slows to the rear if you tilt the muzzle straight up.
3/ Is your gas cylinder clean? Varsol and a bottle brush.
4/ What shape is your op rod in? Remove the op rod spring and reassemble the action. Is it smooth for full travel?
5/ This is a big one...One of my Norcs is snug enough that the magazine fits almost all the way in and will load the first round after the mag is (almost) inserted but won't cycle the next round after firing. Are you sure the mag is completely engaged front and rear?
All very good points ! I did mention to preform ALL the usual function tests and try different mags etc, FIRST. If all that fails, then you might want to try enlarging the gas hole. I realize my post was somewhat lengthy and some of the important points might have been missed. In addition, all the "non functioning" mags work perfectly once my mod was done. The gas port hole was the only variable left in the system and that mod solved the problem in MY rifle.
I am hoping that is the case because I took the CanAm one apart to clean and lube everything but the other one I just cleaned and lubed everything possible without disassembly.
Really looking forward to taking them both apart tonight!
Measure your holes please
Perhaps I should have asked for a poll here to get everyone to measure the size of their gas hole in their barrel first before even posting my result. I am guessing since other specs are all over the map with the Norcs, that the gas hole size might also be out of spec. So, could you guys get out your drill bits or allen keys or whatever you have, and measure your gas port hole in your barrel. Please report if your rifle is a modified shorty or one of the new shorties from the factory. This could be very enlightening indeed.
As I hypothesized, the bullet now spends less time in the barrel between the gas port and the muzzle thereby diverting less gas volume into the gas system. If the gas hole is not large enough to allow sufficient gas to operate the system, then it would seem( in my mind only ) that a larger hole would bring the system back into spec with regard to the required volume of gas.
Therefore it would be helpful to know what size gas hole in the barrel everyone has. Please start measuring and report your results.
Perhaps I should have asked for a poll here to get everyone to measure the size of their gas hole in their barrel first before even posting my result. I am guessing since other specs are all over the map with the Norcs, that the gas hole size might also be out of spec. So, could you guys get out your drill bits or allen keys or whatever you have, and measure your gas port hole in your barrel. Please report if your rifle is a modified shorty or one of the new shorties from the factory. This could be very enlightening indeed.
As I hypothesized, the bullet now spends less time in the barrel between the gas port and the muzzle thereby diverting less gas volume into the gas system. If the gas hole is not large enough to allow sufficient gas to operate the system, then it would seem( in my mind only ) that a larger hole would bring the system back into spec with regard to the required volume of gas.
Therefore it would be helpful to know what size gas hole in the barrel everyone has. Please start measuring and report your results.
The other thing I just noticed is the gas piston on the one with the issue is not moving easily when I tilt the barrel. It definitely needs to be cleaned!
- Location
- Burlington On
I cleaned the gas system(didn't appear to be that dirty) and it fired 2 mags of Norc ammo without a hitch. I guess it was just borderline dirty.
I have not fired the Norinco 7.62 x 51 ammo. Is it dirty compared to regular 308 Ammo?
hey genius, why dont you switch the springs and see what happens, then switch op rods, gas piston, etc..
do i have to come back early from deer huntin to fix your rifle?
Uhhhm not only is switching the parts elementary, it has been mentioned by at least four guys at OSGC that didn't need to tell me. I am simply asking in case anyone who obviously knows more than you could give me some insight on the different spring lengths.
What you really need to concentrate on is shooting a deer because since you "taught" me how to hunt you have never shot one.
- Location
- Federal Riding of Wascana
Have a stock 2 year old Norinco M14s with no upgrades as far as oprods or gas system and original 5 and 5/20 mag.
Early on, it would do the same as what the OP has stated. My situation was corrected after 50 rounds.
450 rounds later, mixed factory and reloads and it functions flawlessly because I did not have enough grease in the right places. Had grease, just not enough.
So, before I'd jump off a bridge and put a bunch of work into new oprods, springs, mags, yada yada, I'd try this first.
Regarding ammo, I had issues with 90's era Norinco ammo in that it would feed but not go bang, turns out the primers were seated horribly deep(yes I know they are supposed to be for military spec) but these were crazy deep, measured one and it was close to 11 thousandths deep.
Just my experience, hopefully you get it sorted as it's frustrating as hell.
Early on, it would do the same as what the OP has stated. My situation was corrected after 50 rounds.
450 rounds later, mixed factory and reloads and it functions flawlessly because I did not have enough grease in the right places. Had grease, just not enough.
So, before I'd jump off a bridge and put a bunch of work into new oprods, springs, mags, yada yada, I'd try this first.
Regarding ammo, I had issues with 90's era Norinco ammo in that it would feed but not go bang, turns out the primers were seated horribly deep(yes I know they are supposed to be for military spec) but these were crazy deep, measured one and it was close to 11 thousandths deep.
Just my experience, hopefully you get it sorted as it's frustrating as hell.
