Bought my first AK47, gas block question.

[Austin83]

I bought my first AK47 today, a SAR-1 with all matching numbers. I haven't shot it yet. I spent a week or two reading about the common problems with the less expensive AK47s so I kinda knew what I could be getting in. I field stripped it tonight to understand it better, and noticed possibly a very slight canted gas block. With the piston exposed in the rifle I cycled it back and forth to see how well the piston entered the gas block. It appears to first make a little contact with the lower left part of the gas tube before straightening and fitting in the tube perfectly. This of course is only seen if I perform this action slowly. When the bolt and piston is cycled at normal speed it appears fine. I can see only a very very slight mark both inside the gas block and on the piston and after closer inspection it is only cosmetic with no physical worn spots in the block or on the piston. Is this due to an actual canted gas block, or is this just due to gravity pulling the piston down. I know AKs aren't perfect and they just work, but is this anything I should have fixed someday? I am a bit of a perfectionist so this AK47 will test me. It is a very cool looking rifle though, and I can't wait to get it to the range. Any advice or help is greatly appreciated.

[imanaknut]

Welcome to the group !!! :welcome:

First, the piston on the bolt carrier should have some wiggle to it. Century unfortunately welded some pistons in place to save time (dollars) and the result that if the gas block is slightly canted, and the piston isn't on straight, you could have problems.

From the way you describe the issue, with the gas tube off I have had several AK variants with pistons that hit the lower side of the gas block, but with the upper handguard/gas tube assembly installed it cycles fine.

Usually there are two possible problems with a very canted gas block. First is the piston rides on the side which slows it down enough to cause cycling issues. The other is that the gas port in the barrel might not line up with the hole in the gas block which also causes cycling issues.

It sounds like yours is not off by much, so I personally would take it to the range and run a few rounds through it. If you notice a little scuffing on the head of the gas piston, some is normal as an AK piston really wobbles around a lot as it moves back and forth, but if there is a lot indicating that the gas block is too far over then you might want to straighten it.

[Schuetzenman]

Welcome to Gunsnet. As Ima says, test fire your weapon and if it works, don't sweat it. Most probably your gas piston is welded to the bolt carrier and therefore does not have the typical piston wobble that it should have. The wobble allows for self alignment of the piston to the gas tube. This would make any slight canting of the block even less in importance as to any impact on weapon function.

[Austin83]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll take it to the range soon and see how it does. I am very excited about this rifle. I noticed the front sight is also canted, but it is only canted about 1 maybe 2 degrees to the left. I have a feeling it won't stop me from getting it zeroed. Thanks again!

[imanaknut]

You will be surprised finding out a canted front sight is only a "looks thing" as the rifle will probably shoot to point of aim. I have seen a couple of Romanians that the front sight was over so far I thought the barrel was twisted, but the rifle shot to point of aim.

Unfortunately the owner wanted the sight block centered, and after it was, had to move the front sight pin over so far it almost ran out of movement. Romanians are not known for proper alignment, but their rifles usually do shoot to point of aim.

You will also probably find your SAR-1 to be fairly accurate for a rifle that has a reputation as a spray and pray!

Hope your range trip turns out great!!!!!

[Schuetzenman]

You will be surprised finding out a canted front sight is only a "looks thing" as the rifle will probably shoot to point of aim. I have seen a couple of Romanians that the front sight was over so far I thought the barrel was twisted, but the rifle shot to point of aim.

Unfortunately the owner wanted the sight block centered, and after it was, had to move the front sight pin over so far it almost ran out of movement. Romanians are not known for proper alignment, but their rifles usually do shoot to point of aim.

You will also probably find your SAR-1 to be fairly accurate for a rifle that has a reputation as a spray and pray!

Hope your range trip turns out great!!!!!

And along these lines of results that don't always fit the looks, I'd like to mention a bit of info on ammo. Not all Russian export 7.62x39 ammo is created equal. I have seen dramatic group improvement just from trying another brand of Russian ammo over what one was shooting. Wolf / Tula, Barnual, Sapsan, Golden Tiger, Ulyanovsk, Silver Bear, Brass bear, Golden Bear ... they have more trade names than I can think of this morning. I would suggest you try and get a couple boxes of as many types of cheap Russian ammo or even the Yugo corrosive primed and try them all. Shoot slow from a supported rest and find the one that groups smallest, then go back and get a lot of it.