T81 LMG quirks

F

Fyn

CGN Regular
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Location
Strathroy, ON
Hey guys, just picked up a Type 81 LMG last week on a whim. Was reading the disassembly instructions and trying to sift through what threads I can. Wondering if anyone wants to share some wisdom?

I'm a little bit confused on upper handguard removal, and I'm wondering if my rear sight in assembled incorrectly? The drum/knob on each side of the side isn't matching (for example: the left hand side is at 3 while the right hand side is at 7). Is there something I'm missing?

Also my bolt won't lock open on an empty magazine. If I rock an empty mag in on a closed bolt, it'll slightly press the bolt catch, however not enough to actually engage the bolt. If I pull the bolt to the rear and reinsert the magazine it will then hold open. Seems to do it with both magazines I have.
 
Can chime in on the rear sight. Note there is a top split and a bottom groove. If I recall correctly the left number (7) would be 700m with the top split as the rear sight and the right number (3) would be 300m with the bottom groove. I.E. the rear sight is actually two sights for different ranges.

I have 4 magazines. The bolt will lock back on an empty magazine no problem. Sorry, can't help there. Are you "rock-and-lock"ing the magazines? It's easy to not insert them properly - the front must go in first at an angle before rocking the rear portion in and clicking in place.
 
I seem to have to struggle a lot with removing the upper hand guard. The knurled knob is small, sharp and hard to grip. I am wondering if someone might design something that could be pushed on top to make this easier. Perhaps it could be 3d printed.
 
Rear sight makes total sense, I was watching videos on the rifle version so was a bit confused. I'll play around with it more tonight and try to get that handguard off.

I'll play around with mags more, might just need a solid cleaning in that area or just needs some breaking in. They seem like they're latching fully with the bolt closed, but if I hold the bolt back and wiggle them they seem to click further into place and then the bolt catch is fully engaged. Perhaps things are just a bit tight right now, I was rocking them into place with a decent amount of force.
 
some people resorting to using a tool to pry the rear sight dial so they could remove the top HG, a few people i know/heard sent it in for warranty.
 
There are a bunch of Youtube videos on the field stripping the Type 81 LMG. I watched a few before I first took mine apart. They definitely helped.
 
Do you have other mags to try out??
I had 1 mag where the follower would bind on the pin and not hold the BHO open either, only mag that would do that tho.

As others have suggested, get a small flat head to pry the left wing open while you pull up on the handguard. Mine was real tight at first. Have to break it in a little
 
Spent some more time playing around with it tonight, got the handguard after some fiddling as suggested.

BHO is improving as well, one mag wasn't locking the bolt back at all, one mag started working 50% of the time. After a bunch of magazine changes and cycling the bolt they both seem to be working 100% now. Have some more on order so I'll double check that the new ones operate as well.

Appreciate the advice guys!
 
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