M305 bolt hold open not working

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CDB18

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I'm looking for some advice on a new M305.

I've taken my M305 out shooting twice for about 100 rounds. First time out it worked fine. Second time out the bolt hold open wouldn't keep the bolt back.

It seems like the bolt slips off the hold open. The bottom of the left bolt lug is rounded and it appears the hold open doesn't have solid bearing on the lug. If I keep finger pressure on the hold open the bolt stays back but the second I take the pressure off the bolt goes forward.

With an empty magazine the bolt stays back so I assume it's not a magazine issue. As soon as I remove the magazine the bolt goes forward.

Thanks in advance.
 
Could there be grit, crap, dried grease etc under the bolt hold open? Give it a flush with a solven and then dry with compressed air and see what happens.
 
I feel your pain...

I feel your pain, brother. The first week I had mine I mashed by finger in there when the bolt let go unexpectedly ("OUCH!")
If you have not already done this, beware--that bolt packs a lot of kinetic energy. As they say, "Once bitten, twice shy", so I've been fitting an empty stripper clip in wherever the bolt is back, sans mag. That will prevent the bolt from slamming forward during cleaning.
I dunno. When I was in the army I had a usgi M-14, and I don't remember that ever happening.
I'm thinking that the locking tab is rounded or, as per your theory, it's to do with the bolt itself. Or the spring is too strong.
My rifle seems to be wearing in after a few months and ~400 rounds--the safety is easier to work, and the bolt lock is working better--it hasn't slammed
shut in quite a while now.
 
Like skeetgunner says, clean it well then look at the hold open.
"...slamming forward during cleaning..." Should be field stripped for cleaning.
 
Not necessarily...

Field stripping?? Not if I'm just swabbing the bore.
An alternative to the stripper clip is a cleaning port such as the "M-1 Buddy":
http://www.fulton-armory.com/cleaning-port-the-original-m1-buddy-m1-garand-m14-m1a.aspx
 
I can't see any dirt or debris which would be preventing the bolt hold open from engaging the bolt lug higher.

With an empty magazine in, the bolt hold open is pushed higher by the follower.

Would ~100 rounds through the rifle cause 'rounding' on the bolt lug?
 
How about the spring?

Check the bolt lug for wear where it contacts the stop. If that's the problem there should be a shiny spot there and some 'rounding'.
I could be a manufacturing deflect on the bolt. You're not the only one who's experiencing this. That is NOT supposed to happen.
Check the bolt stop for signs of wear or rounding as well.
Another possibility is that the bolt stop spring is so strong that it pushes the stop out of lock and back to its default position without warning.
I'm no gunsmith, put the solution has got to be in there somewhere.
 
Sporting Lad said:
Check the bolt lug for wear where it contacts the stop. If that's the problem there should be a shiny spot there and some 'rounding'.
I could be a manufacturing deflect on the bolt. You're not the only one who's experiencing this. That is NOT supposed to happen.
Check the bolt stop for signs of wear or rounding as well.
Another possibility is that the bolt stop spring is so strong that it pushes the stop out of lock and back to its default position without warning.
I'm no gunsmith, put the solution has got to be in there somewhere.
Click to expand...

The bolt lug is 'rounded' and shiny on the bottom left. I'll take a picture tonight.

I'm hoping the fix might be something like a weaker spring on the hold open and not a new bolt.
 
Since day one, mine has never held the bolt open. I kind of have to pull the arm off the track and make it jam to keep it open. Works fine that way, but kind of a pain.
 
Yansee said:
Since day one, mine has never held the bolt open. I kind of have to pull the arm off the track and make it jam to keep it open. Works fine that way, but kind of a pain.
Click to expand...

Do you still have the stripper clip guide on the rifle ? If so use a stripper clip to hold it to the rear.
 
Worn in, not worn out

If that's a new rifle, and there was nothing terribly out of whack at the start, I wouldn't expect to see unusual wear. These Norcs will wear in long before they start to wear out. Of course there will be shiny spots at the places where parts make contact as they were designed to do. That said, we know that these parts are not always in perfect alignment from the arsenal. With your op rod spring disconnected, see how much your bolt rattles when you move it back.
Mine jiggles around quite a bit. I don't remember what my USGI was like there, but that seems like old Soviet manufacturing tolerances (or Chinese)! :0 ]
Ah, but when my bolt goes into battery it's all nice and tight. As an extreme measure you could disconnect that little spring then see if the lock will hold the bolt open. If it does, then the spring will be your prime suspect (Do you have any M-14 gunsmiths nearby?).

IDK tho--My rifle's been standing in the corner, bolt open since yesterday, and I can't get the bolt to slam home in the bad way anymore. I can shake it, tap on the op rod, even press on the bolt lock tab, but the bolt stays back now.
Maybe it's gotten worn in?
 
I also have this issue with a new never fired norc, has anyone had any luck with changing the bolt stop
...........
Has anyone tried cutting a few coils of the bolt stop spring?
 
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I too have this problem with the Socom 18 just got. The angle on the bolt catch seems off or it does not rise as high as on my full length M305 to provide a positive means of holding the bolt to the rear.
 
I took a closer look and the area of the bolt that contacts the stop was very small and off square, five minutes with a light stone and everything works. Root cause however is an exceptionally small bearing area on the bolt stop. Hopefully one of the enhanced bolt releases will have a larger contact area.
 
I replaced the bolt stop with a USGI one from Brownells and it worked. Tapped the pin out enough to install the new bolt stop, greased the original pin and tapped it back in. It looks like the wear on the bolt lug and on the original bolt stop reduced the bearing surface enough so it would not hold.
 
The bolt catch on my socom 18 was machined with a very small angle that reduced the load bearing surface against the bolt. It was a hair trigger waiting to launch the bolt into an unsuspecting finger, any gentle bump would release it. So, I replaced with a new 'tactical' bolt release and she works mint now. Jam in a mag in give her a slap on the side and your ready to rock.
 
One of the first things I did when I got my Norky 14S home was to smash my finger. And I'm a vet who had an issue USGI for three years! D'fuq? That never happened with my old one. With this one I stick an empty stripper clip in there to prevent any surprises when I'm cleaning with no mag in place.
Where did you get your "tactical" release? Easy install?
 
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