Stovepipes
- Thread starter Apple tree
- Start date
do you have a scope mount on the rifle? measure your oprod spring, should not be less than 15''. not that it will solve the problem, may contribute. bolt ejector spring may contribute as well. ammo change may help, different powder burn rate. clean the gas system.
Got to love the optimism for buying a Chevette and expecting the performance of a Ferrari
LordEvilPepper
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Check the ejector plunger, make sure it moves freely. Sometimes they have a burr that interferes with them giving you stove pipe issues with lighter shooting ammo. Also check the ejector spring... sometimes they are weak as well.
Ensure your gas plug and hole are clean, and that the gas piston passes a function test. Under gassing can cause a weak ejection.
Which goes hand in hand with ; is the action moving freely ?
-Is op rod binding in the guide or on the top of the barrel?
-is the bolt roller greased and moving freely?
Lastly I would also check the lip of the extractor, if it's worn or chipped it could be loosing it's grip on the case prematurely (which would be more apparent on some cases over others depending on the lip thickness) allowing it to slip off and spin out in the breach causing a stove pipe. I've personally had this issue on a mini 14.... Cheap fix but took forever to figure it out.
Ensure your gas plug and hole are clean, and that the gas piston passes a function test. Under gassing can cause a weak ejection.
Which goes hand in hand with ; is the action moving freely ?
-Is op rod binding in the guide or on the top of the barrel?
-is the bolt roller greased and moving freely?
Lastly I would also check the lip of the extractor, if it's worn or chipped it could be loosing it's grip on the case prematurely (which would be more apparent on some cases over others depending on the lip thickness) allowing it to slip off and spin out in the breach causing a stove pipe. I've personally had this issue on a mini 14.... Cheap fix but took forever to figure it out.
good post
especially the part about under gassing.
How many owners of these rifles clean the carbon from thier gas plugs and pistons every 300 rounds or so?
my guess is not many.
the usgi gas cylinder components are cleaned out with tools such as those made by Sadlak. They are just drill bits that match the internal diameters of the piston and one matches the plug.
They don't work for chinese parts though as the diameters are not the same. Instead, find the metric bits that fit your parts without scraping into the metal itself.
carbon fouling in these parts is the leading culprit when an otherwise perfectly functioning rifle begins to get cranky with the ammo.
might not be the issue as some ammo just doesn't run in some rifles but worth a look see in those gas system parts.
The piston wasn't cleaned in about 800 rounds. The rest is cleaned every 200-300 rounds, the barrel everytime I shoot (50-100 rounds)
It was my understanding that the piston did not need to be cleaned routinely, Ill try to clean that first.
If that does not correct the problem I might try finally getting my GI bolt installed...
No bind in the oprod. There actually was one with the GI fiberglass stock but I made sure it moved freely before bedding it (followed tonyben videos on youtube). It did not correct this small problem...
Everything sliding or rolling is greased.
It's no big deal but a rifle that eats anything (especially standard stuff like that) is always nicer... that ammo is NOT on the mild side. You can barely hear space in there when skaking the cartrige. My guess is it is over 40 gr. of powder
ideally the piston/plug should perform beyond 300 rounds yes,,,, but always worth ruling out fouling of those two parts as a first step when stove piping/short stroking starts to occur in an otherwise well maintained and reliable rifle.
some rifles just don't like some ammo so could be that too.
piston and plug fouling just seems a commonly over looked and not often discussed topic and your post pretty much describes a situation where it would be the first thing I would check.
some rifles just don't like some ammo so could be that too.
piston and plug fouling just seems a commonly over looked and not often discussed topic and your post pretty much describes a situation where it would be the first thing I would check.
I had a very similar problem. It was actually the tip of the magazine follower catching on the oprod guide. Remove the stock, place the rifle on its back. Make sure the back of the spring guide isn’t being forced back by the spring. The spring should sit on the receiver not on the oprod guide.
Ultimately I just replaced my spring guide. Now that I think about it, I had this problem with a badger spring guide as well.
Ultimately I just replaced my spring guide. Now that I think about it, I had this problem with a badger spring guide as well.
i think your choice of examples could be viewed as a little flawed. The OP's comment is related to reliability and using Ferrari as an example is interesting. Just saying.
Candocad.
