Kodiak WK-180c Gen 1 short stroking

Klondiker

Klondiker

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I picked up a Kodiak Gen 1 in 7.62x39 and I cannot get it to cycle. It’s essentially a straight pull semi auto. I put 50 rounds of Russian surplus through it and it only stripped 5 rounds on its own, had 6 rounds with light primer strikes, and with every last round in the mag, 10 mag changes, it did not lock back once. The cases get ejected roughly 5’ back and to the right.

The ammo I used is the same ammo I’ve used for years with absolutely no problem. Not one failure to fire. I even used a bunch in another rifle the same day with no issue.

I pulled it apart when I got home thinking maybe the gas hole was undersized and needed to be drilled out but found it to be what I thought was quite large, just about 1/8”. And matched the adjustable “sleeve” that is in the gas block already.

Is it possible the chamber could be oversized not allowing the steel case to seal and creating blow by? I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary but who knows. And I don’t have any brass case ammo to test the theory but it could be worth a shot.

My next thought would be start trimming recoil springs but I wanted to check here and see if anyone else has run into the same issue.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Greg
 
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Try to find some brass cased ammo and check
Make sure the chamber is good and clean too
Maybe the Russian ammo is a bit on the weak side
 
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that’s an odd issue. i’ve put 1000+ rounds of barnaul down range and had yet to have an issue with my gen 1. hope you get it sorted out!

edit: read your post again and see it’s a .762 issue, hmmm
 
Your gun is not short stroking it is cycling too quickly.

KF used the same recoil springs and BCG for 7.62x39 as they did the 5.56x45. The BCG is slamming rearward and bouncing forward so quickly that the follower does not have time to lift up.

The light primer strike is caused by a weak hammer spring, I'd get in touch with KD about that. If you're using the OG heavy trigger it works much much better than lighter aftermarket triggers.

So far in my 762WK I've put approx 5500 rounds through it and had:

- one barrel replaced after a chamber lug (might not be the right name) broke off
- The recoil springs shortening so much (nearly 2cm) that they needed replacing and a second bolt placing through the rear of the gun to stop it self-dissasembling

Enjoy it for the cheap ammo but keep an eye on it
 
Interesting thought. I did back off the “nut” on the gas block and it struggled to eject leading me to believe it was short stroking but maybe I turned it too far out.
I didn’t think a semi auto could operate too quickly, but maybe it’s possible the mag springs are too weak? I did pick up some 10/10 round pistol mags vs the 5/20’s I had used previous.

With regards to the light strikes everything is stock, and good idea about contacting Kodiak.

Back to the range to do some more trials.

Thanks for the info!
 
to add to the above post .... it is way over gassed .... it needs a adjustable gas block to slow things down ..... i would also look into a bolt buffer .
other issues include mags not feeding properly and the loading ramp into the chamber not feeding properly .
 
Klondiker said:
Interesting thought. I did back off the “nut” on the gas block and it struggled to eject leading me to believe it was short stroking but maybe I turned it too far out.
Click to expand...

The 180C has no adjustable gas block.

Not sure if they changed if from a socket head cap screw to a nut later but if it is on the end of the gas block that is the retainer for the piston cup and piston rod.
 
This doesn't strike me as a oversize chamber issue, but a quick and dirty check would be if you are finding carbon fouling on the outside of fired cases, particularily past the shoulder. Not sure what the normal ejection pattern is for WKs but usually a case ejecting backwards is a sign of being over-gassed, which seems to re-inforce what Bratwurst is saying.
 
I picked one up a short time ago and had exactly the same issue. I called Kodiak arms and they told me to break on the gun using Barhaul ammo as it's the only one hot enough to cycle the action.

I managed to get a couple of hundred rounds and shot about 100 rounds through it with no issue. After that break in period it reliably cycles any other type of ammo no problem.

Also check to see if the gas piston bolt is tight; if it's even just a bit loose it can affect the cycling.

I've since fired a few hundred more rounds of various types of ammo and nary a hiccup.
 
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