I dont know much about the type 97 (bought it used) and noticed when the bolt locks open on the last round and you remove the mag the bolt slams forward. Tried different mags and still same thing. Is this normal? I can lock the bolt open from inside the mag well no issues there. Any help would be appreciated.
Type 97 bolt hold open issue
- Thread starter EXPAT556
- Start date
Gen 1
It's not normal, the bolt should remain locked back until you release it by pulling back on the charging handle. Can you simulate a last round hold open by putting in an empty mag, pulling the handle back all the way, and then removing the mag? What happens then?
Also, are you using PMAGs?
Are you doing this by inserting finger in and pushing the magazine catch/bolt hold open up while cocking the rifle?
When you do this the bolt hold open goes to maximum up, as it were and the bolt stays open.
Bolt hold open catch, the little bit that the empty follower lifts to hold the bolt to the rear.
(I am at a loss for words for the exact part name and can't seem to chase down my Norinco parts breakdown in bad Chingrish books.)
Magazines in the Gen 1 vary wildly even within the same brands.
Some will not even be enough to lift and lock open on the empty magazine.
Some will push up on the bolt hold open catch "just" enough to lock open when empty but not high enough to keep the bolt locked open when the mag comes out. Try it dry with as many different magazines as you can to see if they differ.
Otherwise take a closer look at the part for either a lot of wear or any signs of tool marks from someone fidgeting with it.
Last resort is to change the bolt hold open.
A lot of those Gen 1s have some hideous wear from everything from guys filing and sanding opne the mag wells because the original PMags were too tight and so forth. Don't let yourself loose your mind to what you see. The important stuff is loads, cycles and ejects.
b-wingpilot
CGN Regular
- Location
- Sherwood Park
Take a pic through the ejection port of the bolt locked back with the empty mag. Then we can see if the bolt catch isn’t fully engaging or even if the bolt is just being caught on the mag follower.
Also, Gen1 Type 97 is designed for FNC style magazines, not stanag mags like Pmags or LAR-15s, so if you can get your hands on an actual Type 97 magazine, then that would be the best magazine to test with.
Also, Gen1 Type 97 is designed for FNC style magazines, not stanag mags like Pmags or LAR-15s, so if you can get your hands on an actual Type 97 magazine, then that would be the best magazine to test with.
So the bolt slams shut when you pull the mag out? I had an issue on a slightly out of spec AR where the bolt would rest on the follower of the mag instead of the catch. Because PMAG followers are very rectangular, the bolt won't just slip forward over it like they would with other mags. It sounds like something like that MIGHT be happening... but it shouldn't do that for LAR mags, unless they changed the follower. Might need a photo of what's going on.
