Help me!

[F-16 CHIEF]

Okay, so I purchased a Lancaster AK-74 from AIM when they had that ridiculous price on them about 6 months ago. I only fired a mag through it when I had a case split and get stuck in the bore. Fast forward 5 1/2 months and tip from Deth502 to use a tap and dye and we got the case out the other day. (I waited so long due to military schools, new baby, etc)

SO, I go out today to shoot the rifle again and it's doing great. Two mags down the pipe and it's accurate and shoots great. I then look to my side and see a case laying in two pieces. It's here.



Now, I see a ring around the bottom of the spent casing that didn't rupture, but that's pretty standard for Wolf 5.45, so I don't know if that's an issue of not.

So, like an idiot, I chalk it up to just cheap Wolf ammo, again. Next round? You guessed it, split case stuck in the bore again.

So, what's wrong in your opinion? Head spacing or Wolf ammo?

I'd like to submit another picture to you to see what you think.



This is the only AK out of 10 for me that has a bolt that goes this far forward in the bolt carrier. Does that not seem wrong to anyone? No other AK that I own has a bolt that protrudes a 1/4 inch farther than the bolt carrier?

So, thanks for looking. Tell me what you think? I'll be calling Lancaster tomorrow.

[alismith]

Have you tried any other brand of ammo to see if it does the same thing?

If it's not the ammo, then my guess would be a head spacing problem.

[abpt1]

try some different ammo.

[skorpion]

How does the chamber look? Any imperfections? I'd stop by a local 'smith and see if he has go/no-go gauges to check the headspacing, like you mentioned, too.

[F-16 CHIEF]

I don't have any other ammo, but I can find some. I really am trying to not blow my face off though. Plus, if this ammo is crap, I'm sending the entire case back to Wolf for my money back. (Not that they would care)

I'll try and see if any of the backwoods Smith's have a go/no go guage for one of them there terrorist guns. I'm really doubting it, but I'll try. I'm going to mic the bore to make sure that it's correct.

Skorp, I really checked the chamber well after we got the case out. I can't see anything and I've run patch after patch down it. I don't see burs or any imperfections.

[deth502]

my first guess would also be headspace. its prob gonna be hard to fing gauges for this one. there are places that rent them.

second guess (besides different ammo) would be dirty chamber. less likely, but worth a shot. clean the shit out of it and see if it helps. as much as i cringe whenever i hear someone talking about cleaning a rifle with a rod attached to a drill to make it go faster, as long as you dont go forward into the rifling, this is one instance where i could reccomend it. just nothing too abrasive that will remove metal.

[deth502]

just checked on it. was going to offer some help on the hs gauges, but i see that the 762 and the 545 do not use the same gauge, and i dont have any use for the 545 gauges. sorry. but now you know, although the 762's the parent cart, they dont interchange.

[O.S.O.K.]

Actually, the 5.45 is a completely new case design, so yeah, you need the specific gage.

And the first thing that came into my mind was also headspace - and this has nothing to do with where the bolt sits in the carrier - remember, the bolt locks up into the front trunion.

I'd definately check the headspace first.

None of my AK's have ever done that. Though, a weak case or something causing a case to stick can do that - and that may be what this is - which would be cured by polishing your chamber...

ETA - after thinking a bit about this - the carrier position could be an issue - but not on headspace - rather, if it's initiating the extraction too early... it could be pulling the case back while there's still pressure in the chamber?

Does that make sense? I think so.

Is the bolt numbered to the carrier?

[F-16 CHIEF]

Yes, they're both numbered the same. These were built off Bulgy kits.

But, like many, it could have been electro penciled. It's hard to tell.

I think there could be something with park getting in the chamber. This was one of the parkerized rifles, so maybe the chamber needs to be polished?

[O.S.O.K.]

Polishing the chamber can't hurt! And its just about free. Nylon brush with a patch rolled around it and some 1200 lapping compound to start and then finish with some jeweler's rouge - go easy though. Chuck the rod into a cordless drill.

[F-16 CHIEF]

Sent email on Monday and called on Wednesday. No answer. No reply. No nothing.

So, in short, Lancaster customer service sucks.

[mriddick]

Read up on Lancaster then think long and hard about sending it back even if you hear back from them...

A cheap and easy way to check is to remove the extractor bolt then stick pieces of masking tape to the bolt face and then insert it with a unloaded cartridge. If you have shim material that works better then tape. See how many layers of tape it takes then do the same with a couple of AK known to be good and see what the difference is.