ndm-86 firing pin question

[oldschoolbilly]

I recently picked up an NDM-86 in 308 unmodified and unfired.
My question is, should I have the bolt modified or just shoot hard primer mil-spec ammo?
Does any one have an unmodified 308 and if so what ammo have you had luck with?
Any input will be greatly helpful.Also,if the majority say modify who do you recommend for the gunsmith{price is no option,it is my life in the balance}?

[preokc]

I vote keep it unmodified. If i had the chance to buy one with the mod or one without ild buy the one without the SLFP mod.

[saleen]

If you are interested in handloading, I would vote for the hard military style primers too. I have one that I began shooting with commercial ammo before the recall, and by the time I had the recall modification performed, I had around 250 rounds of commercial ammo through it from Winchester silvertip to Hornady AMAX and SP Custom, to --gasp-- Federal Gold Medal Match (which I believe was the primary ammo that caused the KBs).

What ever you do, don't contact CDNN. I doubt that they'd honor the recall this far down the road, but most of the ones they did were shoddy at best. I ultimately located one of the Russian spring loaded FP kits that made it in, and had it installed because I just didn't trust the workmanship I saw with the CDNN piece. There used to be someone making these pins and selling them on gunbroker I think. I can't find any listed now, so perhaps that didn't pan out.

If it were me, I'd try the military primer handloads, and if the rifle likes that, leave well enough alone. It's not a high volume platform anyway....


Saleen

[Guns Network Staff]

I believe Bill aka AKE has the parts needed.

[Schuetzenman]

Well, having the spring added to prevent slamfires would make the weapon more versitle in what ammo can be used in it safely. Without it you should restrict yourself to NATO spec surplus ammo that has the NATO + in a circle symbol on the headstamp.

[juilliano]

I've tried searching, but haven't found anything....How do I contact Bill....(AKE)?
Any help will be greatly apreciated.

[Integratedj]

I've tried searching, but haven't found anything....How do I contact Bill....(AKE)?
Any help will be greatly apreciated.

I think his current handle here is "Gunsmoke" though I don't know if he's back yet or not.
He works at PA distributing last I heard. He did my factory firing pin, as well as a Russian Spring loaded pin for me, both shoot great with no problems. No more pierced primers and worry, no more springs crapping out the back of the bolt.

[juilliano]

Yeah, I have a russian tiger firing pin on the way, but just recently found out that the dimensions inside the bolt are a little smaller so it's not a direct fit. Wanted to see if he could help me if I supplied the firing pin. Thanks for the heads up.

[juilliano]

I think his current handle here is "Gunsmoke" though I don't know if he's back yet or not.
He works at PA distributing last I heard. He did my factory firing pin, as well as a Russian Spring loaded pin for me, both shoot great with no problems. No more pierced primers and worry, no more springs crapping out the back of the bolt.

Now, if I'm reading right the firing pin channel has to be opened up a bit for the russian SLFP to fit; What if you need to go back to the original firing pin for some reason? Is it true about the work needed on the bolt? I knew it wouldn't be just a straight fowars swap, just want to shoot this rifle without having to worry about firing out of battery.

[juilliano]

Update:
It seems that I was mistaken about the dimensions on the pin, it fits the bolt perfectly, but it is indeed a tad longer. When comparing springs the russian spring is a bit longer also, but it doesn't seem to hinder the funtion of the firing pin. It will be needed to shorten the firing pin a bit as to not pierce primers. Feel free to chime in if I'm missing anything. Thanks.

[Gunsmoke]

Handloading the SVD is verbotten......spring loaded is one option and the other is for us cahnging the pin radius and that will fix it too...purrrrrrrrrrrrrrfectly.