[JeffCooper]

Greetings folks! Okay, so I have to admit Im an AR guy. I can build, troubleshoot, and I know how they work. My M70AB2 was under the Xmas tree.
See?

The weapon is gorgeous and everything Ive read to date is that you want a nice tight rifle. No slop in the mag/magwell, tight furniture, no slop in the action...I think mine is TOO tight. The action wasnt working right, holding open until I nudged the latch, then she slammed home. I thought "wow - an AK with a hold-open ...even without a mag!I". Really? I put a mag in and then the action didnt want to close at all.

I was thinking originally that it was just dirty, so I stripped it down and sure enough, it (she - Natasha, actually) was jammed up with cosmoline, gummy grease, dirt, metal shavings,etc. The gas tube was LOADED with sh!t (cosmo, grease, carbon). I spent over four hours cleaning. What a mess she was.

Anyway, can anyone help with a couple questions?

1. When breaking down the weapon I could not, for the life of me, get that cleaning rod out. I ended up putting a drift punch thru the hole, putting the drift in a vice and yanking as hard as I could. Will this loosen up after a few rounds? A break in issue? Get it nice and hot?

2. I thought "hold open" was a function of the mag. What could be lightly jamming the action back without a mag in it? Another break in issue? It closes with a nudge...My Garand needs a nudge sometimes

3. Whats worse, is that 90% of the time, If I put an empty mag in, I cant cock the weapon. The op-rod gets hung up on the mag somehow... Sometimes it will cock, then when I nudge it fwd as I *always* have to do, it bangs in to the back of the mag. Did I just get a pair of bad mags, or do I need to load 'em up with rounds and go to the range and see what happens?

Other littler thungs, like the lever by the rear sight that needs a plastic mallet to open and release the gas tube/upper heat shield...a little frustrating for an AR guy whos guns run like sewing machines. I have to admit I love the bad boy image and the rough construction...Im just not used to it.

Can you guys set me straight? I appreciate the help!!
Jeff

 

[JeffCooper]

Oh, do I have a Yugo? it came from Century Arms (nice trigger too)

 

[SSGN_Doc]

Yep that would be a Yugo.

Many AK types will have the bolt carrier stick slightly when retracted. Some Yugos with the right Yugo mags actually do hold teh bolt open on the last round until the mag is withdrawn.
If you don't actually have Yugo mags, this should not be happening. Possible that the mag release is holding the rear of the mag a bit high.

The handguard retaining latch is usually pretty tight. The case of an AKM cleaning kit actually has cutouts in the side that are intended to slip onto the tab and give you leverage and better purchase to open that latch.

I've never had a cleaning rod be that tight on any AK type. I wonder if the Yugos have a threaded block for the cleaning rod to screw into a bit to keep it from walking under recoil?
Not personally taht familiar with the Yugos.

 

[nfafan]

Once the gun is broken in, the "hold open" of the hammer rubbing against the bottom of the bolt will be smoothed out and the bolt will slam forward as expected.

Sometimes the cleaning rod is uber-tight, it happens - but it doesn't bother me as I don't use AK or SKS cleaning rods but rather an Outers cleaning set up.
Anyway, use a nail - or gas-port scraper pin from a cleaning capsule - and insert in the hole in the end of the rod and use it to help bend the rod slightly downward, away from the barrel, while also pulling he rod forward.

 

[DrumJunkie]

Yeah they do kind of hold open but it's something that will go away with some use. As stated above me real Yugo mag can hold it but it was never anything I worried about. I have a bunch of misc mags and I"m not really in a mood to hunt down specific mags for mine. Then I'd have to keep track of them among all the others and I'm WAY too lazy for that. The rod is kind of a pain but that's been pretty much explained too. I just find it easier to use other rods.

AK type rifles are nothing like an AR type rifle. They are just...different. They do loosen up (more) after a while and it all gets easier though. My gas tube was really hard to get out but it pops out really easy now. I don't think an AK type get into it's own until it's had a lot of lead down range. I swear mine gets better and better the more I shoot it. No it's not AR accuracy but I can get my M70 a LOT more nasty and it will still shoot. I did get rid of the slant muzzle break and replaced it with something a little different. It was more a I want to to look a little different than others I've seen.

I love the M70 myself, There's more expensive ones out there and they might be better. But I love my elcheapo Century, But I'm one of the few that sees no problem with a WASR either. It's an AKlone, not a bench rest gun. Sure are a blast to shoot and that's why I have them.

Enjoy yours!

 

[unclebear]

With my AK romanian it has a little stick in the bolt but with a little tap it goes and if I just rip it back and let if fly I don't have any problems. The release lever for the gas port is a pain in the *** but really you don't have clean it I know guys that run there guns through hundreds of rounds without cleaning without any problem. But the stock on mine wouldnt come off for nothing when I got I put two 30 rounders through it and it popped out like butter.

Yea the ar and ak are worlds apart, It takes some getting use to I was shooting a rem 700 when I got my mosin it took a lot of getting use to. But really somethings are just kinda expected with AK's I would say to try some different mags but good luck finding them without having to give and arm and a leg.

Have you shot it yet?

 

[JeffCooper]

Gents,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. You've all given me the gumption to say to hell with fiddling with empty mags on the bench, and go to the range and let her rip. I have 100 rnds so off I go. I'll shoot until she's red hot!

Ive also got that lovely 1100 (Isabelle), and my 300 Blackout who needs a run. Ill report back!

 

[7.62 Man]

Yes, give it a workout then let us know how good it shoots.
The hang-up is it just needs to be shot to loosen up the carrier & rails.
The AK always has a small amount of hang as the bolt/carrier slides over the hammer.
That is why when charging an AK you need to pull the handle all the way back & let go.
Don't let your hand ride the carrier forward, this will cause a hang.

 

[JeffCooper]

Okay! So I got to the range today and blasted through 60 rnds (in about 2 seconds)...MAN the AK is a fun rifle!

Out of 60 rounds I had three jams (FTF), discovered that the safety does work (the charging handle jammed the safety up - I had to smack the handle against the wall to get it unstuck. Toward the end it started acting better...8-9 times I had to assist the bold closed...then it started running all by itself. Actually took 40+ rounds to start running right...just in time to run out of tulammo. I had my AR along for the ride and popped off 60 rnds of .300 AAC Blackout. Wow. Finally brought out my Sig 1911 82 rnds there.

Anyway,I hope that the AK is starting to loosen up. PS - DAMN that thang gets HOT! My onl griple other than the break in period is the short length of pull. Hoping a recoil pad will help a bit.

Thanks for the guidance and help here gents - keep it coming!

 

[muscledom]

That's weird all the issues you've had. I got a century arms wasr a week ago and ran 100 rounds this last Sunday. Only one misfeed. Pretty sure it was due to the magazine. That was with wolf ammo. I bought a bunch of tulammo so ill run that this weekend. Wonder if there will be a difference between the brass and steel. From what I've heard there shouldn't be.

 

[JeffCooper]

back to the range tomorrow...Im bringing more ammo this time. Ill keep you guys in the loop!

 

[shaker]

Looking Frwd to the report

 

[DrumJunkie]

Only thing mine does is eat and put holes in stuff. I never thought about a recoil pad for any AK type rifle..Guess it couldn't hurt though.

 

[JeffCooper]

Wow, a good day at the range today...I showed up with 10 boxes for Norinco and blasted through all of it with NO stopage. Damn, that sucker was close to red hot. So much so that the heat guard was venting plasma gas on to my finger-tips. Ill look around and see if I can find a railed fore-end that might work a little better. I also need a butt-pad to extend the L-O-P. I do all the goodies you can get. I'm wanting an Aimpoint and seen a good soloid mounting method. Suggestions?

I had a blast, the gun ran great and needs a serious cleaning. hat makes me happy.

Bummer of the day? Hd a whole box of squibs in my AR (.300 AAC Backout)....had to fwd-assist the whole mess.

Best part of range was my 9 year lighting off an AR for his first trip to the range. Good shot too!

Thanks all!

 

[7.62 Man]

Tulammo doesn't work good in my guns I try to stick to silver bear or golden tiger, some times the wolf black box.