I have a 11.85" PWS MK1 Mod2. In the last year I've shot it unsuppressed for just under 1500 rounds. Last week I got my suppressor and shot about 60 rounds just to rezero for suppressed shooting and get some practice with it. I fucked up and left the gas block on 1 instead of moving it down to 2 or 3. The adjustable gas block is frozen and so is the handguard. I was going to get a can of Gun Scrubber and get underneath it to see if I can unlock it enough to get it off and really clean it. Is there anything else I should consider?

I've never had this happen with my MK111. What were you using to adjust the valve? I use the included tool and have no problems switching settings even during range sessions.

If that doesn't work, maybe try letting it soak with some gun oil, CLP or other solvent like you mentioned.

I used the tool it came with as well and it actually broke. The one video with the PWS gunsmith sliding the rail off to clean the gas system looks super easy, but my shit all locked up. I will probably just hit it hard with gun scrubber then.

maybe Liquid Wrench?  penetrating solvent.

I’ve had to mortar mine several times to unlock the bolt from the chamber.

Damn that sucks. Luckily I haven't had any issues with the BCG or Bolt itself. The gun has run perfectly up until throwing a suppressor on it. Which is crazy to me because my CMMG and Sons of Liberty do not have adjustable gas blocks and they handle the suppressed shooting just fine. I covered the area is oil last night just to see if that'll do anything. I emailed PWS customer service, again, to see if I can just send it in should it not budge for me today.

Hornady used to sell a ultrasonic cleaner that an upper would fit it.  If you know someone with one.

Never seen this before in pws. Years of use

Never seen this either.

Amazed that the handguard is stuck as well

Don’t think the problem is PWS

What would be the specific problem in your opinion?

Kroil?

I've used it to get stuck, rusty, or carbon fowled parts apart for years. A couple drops and let it sit overnight,

Lack of maintenance and/or failure to follow established procedures.
Get some Slip 2000 carbon cutter and soak it, will free it up

So how is the hand guard coming off? Those are completely unrelated.

The PWS design requires gas block on setting 2 to remove the hand guard, so if the gas block is stuck on a different setting, the hand guard is also stuck.  PWS doesn't recommend lube on the gas block, or piston, to avoid gumming them up.  Lube should be applied to the bolt/carrier/action of the upper receiver.  Not sure what else it could be but their CS is pretty good, so give them a call.

I only have 1500 rounds on it and I've cleaned it twice. Unless I accidentally got some oil on the piston I'm not sure about the maintenance piece. My one mistake for sure was shooting it suppressed on gas setting "1", so that may be the issue there. As for the handguard, I barely got the right side screw out, something got stuck. When I was shooting that morning and I started having malfunctions from it being over-gassed, when I dropped the mag, the top couple rounds were filthy. My other 5.56 didn't have that issue, so it's not the ammo.

Email him direct

Adam Yerrington   [email protected]

It’s carboned up because of the setting, ye
Oil on the piston can also create more carbon, but it’s the plug that is the issue

Have you contacted PWS?
They are awesome. I had a local smith jack up a barrel when drilling to pin a device
Contacted PWS, they sent me a label, they changed the barrel. They would only
accept payment for the barrel’s cost.

I was reimbursed by the “smith”

I sent it to them last Thursday. The replaced the GAK, Gas Block, and Handguard free of charge. They didn't tell me what they think happened to cause the damage. I received it yesterday and the first thing I did was move the gas block to position 2. They were surprisingly fast about it too.

They are awesome indeed

Run some oil or bore cleaner down the gas tube and let it soak.  I run a squirt of the foaming bore scrubber stuff down the gas tube when I'm soaking the barrel.  

Once it's been soaking for a little bit use the tool or a Glock tool or similar and rock the adjustment back and forth repeatedly.  Eventually it will loosen up enough to allow you to adjust the settings normally. You can blow out the gas tube with an air compressor once you're all done if you want to get rid of the excess cleaner or it'll blow out on the first couple rounds fired. I've learned over the years to end a range session by changing to the different settings for a few rounds before ending the day.

I've had PWS's since the Mod 0's and currently have 4 PWS uppers in the stable IIRC.

ETA: Nevermind, just read your update.  That's awesome.  Might want to try the cleaning method above if you run into the issue again.

The other day my friend went to buy a new PWS Pro rifle, the one they brought out brand new was locked, pulled the charging handle as hard as I could, wouldn’t budge.  They brought another one out but they couldn’t free up the first one.  What would cause a PWS Pro to seize up on a brand new rifle?

You mean the bolt is stuck? Never seen that one.

Because they are going downhill and the new bolts suck even on my brand new 308. I was pissed when I got it home after dropping 2 grand to find they now use a gas gun bolt with the rings pulled. That is on me. They are doing the opposite of their motto evolve. I own three of their rifles and will not be buying more until something changes.

Lots of possibilities but most common would be the barrel lug rotated causing misalignment of the bolt and lug. That can be from the rbarrel lug alignment slot on the upper receiver being too large or someone over torqued the handguard nut on assembly. Also if the blind pin during headspacing didnt take and the barrel twists when torquing the flash hider, that can cause issues, pinching the bolt in battery. But Id be willing to bet the forward assist was either installed improperly or is stuck forward keeping the BCG from moving rearward. Are you sure the $10 an hour gunshop employee wasnt mashing the FA while yanking on that Raptor handle?

That being said, everyone has stories and the new trend is clearly, PwS sUcKs bEcUz dEy hAvE nEw OwNeRs

I have Anderson rifles, Noveske, PWS, LWRC and Sig. I spray paint the andersons and hand them out when "shooters" bring their weird home builds that fail to class. I tell them, less is more sometimes yall. The only one that breaks and isnt reliable is the Sig. Worst thing to happen to the other was I sheared a bolt catch from overgassing the suppressed Noveske for several years. H3 buffer and clamp on Switchblock fixed that.

PWS is at the best price point overall and keeps my maintenance down for suppressed shooting.

Mod2's don't have forward assists.

The stuck chargin handle was referring to the PRO model. The mod 2 was the gas block and "handguard" what? Doesnt even matter. This type of post is like the baseless stuff we see on reddit. always a simple solution if its even true

They’ve been using standard bolts sans gas rings for awhile.

Why is that even mention worthy?