Norinco shorty m14 scary find, advice needed.

C

chip_143

Member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
BC, Canada
So I was out shooting my shorty for the second time yesterday when I had a jam. The thermold magazine I bought isnt stripping rounds properly so I cycled a few rounds through without firing the gun to try to see what the problem was. The mag jamming was the least of my worries when I inspected the rounds I had cycled through. They all had a very light firing pin mark on the primers. At no point was I attemping to fire the cartridges so the indentation of the pin worries me. Im no guru on these guns, I know they have a floating firing pin and i know that bolt really slams shut, but this seems strange to me. The strikes obviously were not enough to set off the primer but this seems dangerous to me and im looking for some advice and potential fixes. is this a job for a gunsmith? Thanks
 
It's pretty common, and there are no fixes that I've heard. If the gun is properly built and assembled, the bridge in the receiver should prevent the firing pin from travelling too far forward until the bolt rotates into lockup... but that doesn't seem to be the case with a lot of rifles, if the rumours of slam firing M14s are to be believed.

That said, in my thousands of .308 rounds fired out of mine, I've never had one, and to be honest, I don't even worry about it with factory ammo nor reloads. Just make sure that you never let the bolt go on a round in the chamber without a magazine in it (the bolt sliding over the rounds in the magazine, or the follower, slows it down enough to prevent a slam fire). Some claim that the springs in Thermold mags don't provide enough upward pressure on the rounds to slow the bolt down, but that's just hearsay. If I rack rounds through my gun, I get little dimples on factory ammo too... that's why I seat my primers as deep as I can!
 
Phew glad thats cleared up. I was hoping there would be an answer as simple as "they all do that" lol. I fould the problem with my thermold magazine is that its not fully locking in for some reasoni can push it in as far as it will go but i can pull it back out without using the mag release. Is there a spot on the mags where some material can be removed to get a proper fit?
 
chip_143 said:
So I was out shooting my shorty for the second time yesterday when I had a jam. The thermold magazine I bought isnt stripping rounds properly so I cycled a few rounds through without firing the gun to try to see what the problem was. The mag jamming was the least of my worries when I inspected the rounds I had cycled through. They all had a very light firing pin mark on the primers. At no point was I attemping to fire the cartridges so the indentation of the pin worries me. Im no guru on these guns, I know they have a floating firing pin and i know that bolt really slams shut, but this seems strange to me. The strikes obviously were not enough to set off the primer but this seems dangerous to me and im looking for some advice and potential fixes. is this a job for a gunsmith? Thanks
Click to expand...

Regarding the mag, i have one that will not strip rounds either, are you using standard stock?
 
As far as the mags not locking in, do you rotate the mags into place? Hold the mag from the bottom and push the front of the mag as far up and forward as you can get it, then rotate the mag back and you should hear a CLICK as the mag locks into place.

If this isn't working for you pull the stock off and try it then.

If you reload your own ammo stiffer primers are available, specifically for semi autos like the M 14. I think they are called M 34 or something but are available and only a few bucks more than standard.
 
Last edited:
dfritter1 said:
It's pretty common, and there are no fixes that I've heard. If the gun is properly built and assembled, the bridge in the receiver should prevent the firing pin from travelling too far forward until the bolt rotates into lockup... but that doesn't seem to be the case with a lot of rifles, if the rumours of slam firing M14s are to be believed.

That said, in my thousands of .308 rounds fired out of mine, I've never had one, and to be honest, I don't even worry about it with factory ammo nor reloads. Just make sure that you never let the bolt go on a round in the chamber without a magazine in it (the bolt sliding over the rounds in the magazine, or the follower, slows it down enough to prevent a slam fire). Some claim that the springs in Thermold mags don't provide enough upward pressure on the rounds to slow the bolt down, but that's just hearsay. If I rack rounds through my gun, I get little dimples on factory ammo too... that's why I seat my primers as deep as I can!
Click to expand...

Thanks for this post, I just learned something. Read tids and bits of what you summarized, but never put it all together.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom