Posted on 02/19/2009 1:13:36 PM PST by knarf
I HAD a Romanian Century Arms SAR-2. 5.45x39. Worked, but you are right. It did jam a lot. It would also get shells stuck in the chamber. A lot.
Finally, after 1000 or so rounds, I got over the AK phase, along with the AK mystique and legend and was left with a cheaply built, stamped steal sharp edged ugly gun that jammed a lot more than it was suppose to according to -everone... Sold the Romanian and Bought a nice American made M-4 style AR-15. Do yourself a favor. Dump the commie junk and buy a real gun while you can. You won’t regret it!
Great advice. A few years ago I bought an STG58 version of the FN FAL. It wouldn’t fire either. I took it to a good smith that fixed all the problems many of which you mentioned and it now runs like a champ.
its hopeless junk I’ll give your friend $75 for it.
You're going to have to give more information than it jams.
Does it jam when the cartridge tries to go into the chamber?
Or when the extractor fails to pull the case from the chamber?
Or when the extractor has pulled the case from the chamber and then leaves the case in the receiver?
It doesn't get out of the way of the next round fast enough and it's a toss up it will jam long ways when the bolt slides forward (to chamber the next round), or, the next round will get in place, but because the case is still in the receiver, they both jam together side by side.
It’s short stroking. The bolt isn’t coming back hard enough to eject the case.
Try cleaning out the gas port and oiling the bolt. It’s also possible your chamber is too tight and the case is hard to extract.
Also check the extractor spring. The extractor might be slipping out the case before the ejector is hit with the empty case.
What a minute. You did say the next cartridge is feeding out of the mag with the empty case in the way. The bolt is going far enough to feed the next round.
Check that extractor spring. The extractor is letting the case go before it hits the ejector.
OK .. tomorrow ... Thanks.
Good probability that you’re correct on this.
The ejector sits forward of the back of the magazine in the AK series. I’d suspect a damaged extractor or the ejector is barely engaging the spent cartridge during firing. Check to make sure the receiver isn’t flexing during firing.
Just thought about something else. Make sure it’s a 5.45 bolt in there and not a 7.62 bolt. Simple way to do this is to remove the bolt from the gun and carrier and put seat a round on it. If there is a millimeter or so room around the edges, you probably have the wrong bolt in the gun.
If the issue continues, or you can’t find the solution, feel free to contact me through my website listed in my tagline.
Mike
I’ve built a number of 47’s and 74’s from parts kits, and both will cycle reliably if provided with good mags and decent ammunition. The 5.45X39 pro-mag is sized more appropriately to the Polish or East German AK-74 than the Romanian, but it can be very easily adapted to fit. Grab a set of small files, and simply remove material from the front lug and rear catch until the mag fits in the well perfectly. Much easier to work on the domestic plastic mags, cheaper than imported steel ones, and add three US parts towards your parts limit. I can post pictures of the ones I’ve filed to fit if you need a template.
Check that your ejector rail is making good clearance in the bolt, and that the bolt is reciprocating straight back without being forced left or right. The receiver for the AK-74 is based off the AK-47 receiver, and they will accept the same stock and furniture. The bolt assembly, front trunnion and barrel assembly (including gas tube and piston) are the only big difference, you can use the same aftermarket fire control groups (trigger, hammer) and springs. I’m curious, are your two axis pins (hammer and trigger) securely mounted, or could you be getting play in them? I’ve seen rifles jam up because the hammer was not being pushed straight back on firing, but was falling to the left and causing friction.
Even with the problems you described, if you want to get rid of it, I’d be happy to take it off your hands for some reasonable price.
Wow. knarf, you can’t be blamed since you’re new to the AK-74, but I’m surprised at how little you other folks who claim ownership to them and other rifles know. First, let me get to your issue, knarf. Your issue is likely one of two problems: a deficient ejector rail, or a rough chamber. In he case of the ejector rail, that can be fixed for under 100 bucks. Have someone TIG weld a bead to the ejector rail, and shave it down to fit. You could probably find a gunsmith who could do this for you. But, before trying that, try smoothing your chamber *NOT THE BARREL* with a brass 8mm bore brush, or some Emory cloth. I have heard of people attaching the brush to an electric drill to give uniformity, and expedite the process. That being said, a properly cycling and functioning AK-74 is an extremely reliable weapon that loses very little in the means of accuracy when pitted against ar-15/m-16 variants. You just need to know how to properly use it, apparently, many here don’t. It will also perform better under extreme conditions, AK variants have such a reputation because they can be dirty as a Tijuana hooker and still function.
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