[archy]

I had a Chinese carbine and it locked up after every shot. I would have to take a wooden club and hammer the bolt open. I gave it to a guy who later told me he loved it. I now wonder if I got a bad batch of ammo.

That's one possibility. I had a pal with an M44 carbine that gave at its best around 14-inch groups at a 100 meters, using various surplus ammo. I tried a diet of my brass-cased reloads, and it settled right in around 4-5 inches, and a little load development knocked an inch and a half off that.

[going hot]

varius surplus ammo is junk. Cheap ammo is just that, cheap. Why waste the time and barrel?

Besides, it makes for lousy shooting habits.

.Get that load just right, get that barrel vibrating like a well tuned fork, and those bullets will hit the same hole, over and over.