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GSG Troubleshooting - Do's and Don'ts, Issues, Ammo (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 9/9/2008 7:50:26 PM EDT
[Last Edit: jackal2001][Edited]
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The Missing or Flying Spring
Last Round Bolt Hold Open
Most people have encountered a problem with the bolt hold open feature of the GSG-5 not working correctly. There is a tiny spring that sits behind the breech-housing that can easily fall out when removing the breech-housing for routine cleaning. Below are pictures of the proper location of the spring. These are pictures looking directly into the breech/ejection port of the weapon.
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First of all I am going to state that a lot of issues can be resolved by studying the picture below. I'll try and go over some of the common problems that creep up all the time. Q. My GSG-5 is not ejecting brass correctly. Every couple of rounds a casing will get smashed sideways in the breech. A. The ejector is coming loose. Make sure it is fully pressed into the pins that are in the side of the breech-housing shell. You can also use something like Krazy Glue to secure it or some other bonding agent. Q. My GSG-5 jammed and the bolt is in the rearward position and it won't go forward. A. Most likely some/all of the 3 screws that hold the top cover of the bolt are coming loose. Make sure they are tight and it is recommended to use Blue Locktite on them. Q. I took my GSG-5 breech-housing apart and I am having a hard time putting it back together. A. The easiest way is to put on one spring and seat the bolt assembly in the outer shell. Then do the other side. Please note to have the two main springs in the correct orientation or they may bind in the breech-housing shell when the weapon cycles. The narrow ends of the springs go toward the bolt and the wider ends go toward the rear of the breech-housing. Just a note on the photo below. The outer shell is not in the proper orientation for reassembly as shown. The bolt assembly was rotated. 
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Out of the thousands of weapons that are out there, only a handfull of serious problems have come up. This is due to those three top cover screws coming loose. These are the same three screws that are seen in the picture above. This is why it is very important to check to make sure those screws are tight. Again please Blue Locktite them in there and check them periodically. There have been a few that have had the bolt top cover crack.  One instance of the outer shell breaking happened as well. The top cover coming loose may have attributed to this failure as well.  
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If you encounter a problem please give Ray Caton a call. He will get you fixed up. Ray Caton Purchasing Agent AmChar Wholesale, Inc Phone: 585-328-3951 ext. 109 Toll Free: 800-333-0695 ext. 109 Fax: 585-328-7703 Email: [email protected] |
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AMMO Bad Ammo Winchester Xpert reported not to work. They will not cycle properly.  I would highly advise to stay away from Remington Thunderbolt ammo. It is cheap for a reason. It is extremely dirty and will foul the barrel up with a heavy coat of lead. It will cycle properly, but the hours of cleaning it will require is not worth it. Stay away from if possible.  Here is a picture of what happened to another member that fired 1000 rounds of Thunderbolt ammo though his GSG-5.  Good Ammo CCI Ammo, Good but more on the expensive side. Remington Golden Bullets, not heard of any problems with it. PMC Zapper, works fine if you can find it. Federal American Eagle, reported works good. Blazer Brass, reported works good. Federal Value Pack has been used a lot here on the forums and has been found to be cheap, reliable, and will not lead up the barrel. Normally found at WalMart for around $11-12 for a box of 550. Copper coated, Hollow Point, 36grain. GSG-5s eat this stuff up like candy.  |
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i328.photobucket.com/albums/l340/GSG5Host2/brokenparts/troubleshooting1.jpg The 3 screws pictured here is it suggested to seperate the housing and tighten and loctite them from the get go. |
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Yes. I would just for my own piece of mind. It was noted that GSG changed those 3 screws from the original first run. They made them longer and kind of a self tapping/locking screw when they were installed from the factory. Personally I would still remove them and use locktite on them. |
I have not changed my gen1 screws for those 3 on the top cover of the bolt. I just locktited them in there. I did change the other screws for the rest of the weapon. I used SS screws with nuts and locktited them in too. |
This has happened to me on two occasions. |
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Just a note to say thank you for all your guidance. Took my GSG to the range yesterday, and had it blue locktighted all screws you suggested, and ran 400 rounds through it. It ran flawless, not a single FTF, stovepipe, etc. I think I'm in Love. Cheers! Bill McCoy Altus, OK |
| Thank God for this forum. I just got my GSG-5 and broke it down for the initial cleaning, when, yep...there it was...the little mystery spring laying on my white towel hat |
yep narrow part of the springs goes toward the front of the rifle, and the wider portion of the springs goes toward the back of the rifle. |
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Originally Posted By HKmaniac:
I shot my GSG-5P for the first time today. Shot 100 rounds of CCI and have 5 or 6 misfeeds. The bullet wouldnt follow the ramp properly and smash the front end of the bullet. Not sure whats causing this... any ideas? There's a post somewhere about which ammo works better than others & which ones to avoid. There's boo-coo variations in .22 ammo these days, something I've learned the hard way with my S&W Model 41. 
The other ammo post mentioned using Federal .22 ammo for good results, FWIW. I just happened to have a box of it at home. |
I live in a modest home with an immodest array of firearms.
NRA Life Member, USPSA Life Member.
NRA Life Member, USPSA Life Member.
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Adding Ejector issue, this apparently happens once you've fired 500-1000 rounds through it. The ejector comes loose due to failure of the spot/point weld. The fix is a rivet as noted in this thread: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=41&t=262405 Contact ATI / Ray if you have this problem and in need of repair. ETA: another thread on this http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=41&t=261460 The rivet repair/fix:  Spot weld potential point of failure:  |
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Originally Posted By charliez:
Adding Ejector issue, this apparently happens once you've fired 500-1000 rounds through it. The ejector comes loose due to failure of the spot/point weld. ... Contact ATI / Ray if you have this problem and in need of repair. so, considering this WILL happen, not when... do we just sent Ray the carrier-group? i don't know what's involved with sending a whole gun (legally especially) or the costs or how long it will take. i've noticed too, that my barrel is not parallel with the rifle proper. the rails are paralell to the upper, but the barrel is ... a bit off. which makes zeroing any scope goto the extreme range of the scope's potential elevation. minor, but annoying. still, i'm liking the thing a lot. though, if someone local (F2F) offers what i paid for everything, i might not say no. that's some good money towards a FAL :) and yet... i'll fire a few thousand rounds more, and see what gives. Holo |
I put less than 1000 rounds through it.
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Originally Posted By Desertguide:
Just a note to say thank you for all your guidance. Took my GSG to the range yesterday, and had it blue locktighted all screws you suggested, and ran 400 rounds through it. It ran flawless, not a single FTF, stovepipe, etc. I think I'm in Love. Cheers! Bill McCoy Altus, OK That's the best news I've heard in awhile. I'm hoping to get off my butt & get to the range today & see how well I do after locktighting my screws. |
NRA Lifer - Endowment
I have had similar problems with CCI but have found that packing or tapping the bullets to the back of the mag just before I use them improves their function greatly. These magazines tend to let the bullets move around alot. I shoot CCI out of my GSG-5 rifle and my GSG-5P pistol.
 
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Originally Posted By jackal2001:
[div style='text-align: center;']Broken Bolt Top Cover</center id=center> [div style='text-align: center;']Broken Outer Shell</center id=center> Out of the thousands of weapons that are out there, only a handfull of serious problems have come up. This is due to those three top cover screws coming loose. These are the same three screws that are seen in the picture above. This is why it is very important to check to make sure those screws are tight. Again please Blue Locktite them in there and check them periodically. There have been a few that have had the bolt top cover crack. http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l340/GSG5Host2/brokenparts/broken_topcover1.jpg One instance of the outer shell breaking happened as well. The top cover coming loose may have attributed to this failure as well. http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l340/GSG5Host2/brokenparts/broken_housing1.jpg http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l340/GSG5Host2/brokenparts/broken_housing2.jpg I have already posted a preventative mod for the broken jacket problem. |
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Originally Posted By arstudiomaster:
I have had similar problems with CCI but have found that packing or tapping the bullets to the back of the mag just before I use them improves their function greatly. This should be done with any gun, IMO. 
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I live in a modest home with an immodest array of firearms.
NRA Life Member, USPSA Life Member.
"We're gonna have peace & I don't care who I have to kill to get it!" - Judge Roy Bean
NRA Life Member, USPSA Life Member.
"We're gonna have peace & I don't care who I have to kill to get it!" - Judge Roy Bean
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Originally Posted By BobCole:
Originally Posted By HKmaniac:
I shot my GSG-5P for the first time today. Shot 100 rounds of CCI and have 5 or 6 misfeeds. The bullet wouldnt follow the ramp properly and smash the front end of the bullet. Not sure whats causing this... any ideas? There's a post somewhere about which ammo works better than others & which ones to avoid. There's boo-coo variations in .22 ammo these days, something I've learned the hard way with my S&W Model 41.
The other ammo post mentioned using Federal .22 ammo for good results, FWIW. I just happened to have a box of it at home. Damn, just discovered this ejector failure after my a range trip w/ problems (makes sense now).  (Approx. 400-500 rounds to the best of my recollection).
Kind of sad because this is a fun little rifle and it's been flawless previously. Oh well, guess I'll make contact, ship it and hope for the best. How's customer service been lately? B2 Oh well, we have some Spike's rifles/uppers to hold us over on .22LR.
ETA: Sent for repair. Returned about 1 week after receipt so they're turning them around pretty quick. 
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LIVE WELL! LAUGH OFTEN! LOVE MUCH!
There's no such thing as the good life, there's just life -- Now go live it!
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There's no such thing as the good life, there's just life -- Now go live it!
NRA Life Member
| Confession time. I bought a used GSG-5. It was pretty cheap, and I thought I was lucky to get one. I promptly took it out and shot it. It worked fine, I put about 200 rounds downrange without a problem. A few days later I started looking through these threads. I went and bought the screws to replace the stock ones. While I had it apart, I cleaned it all up. Everything went back together well, with no problems. But today, I was looking here about the ejector issues. Knowing that I had a second generation rifle, I didn't pay much attention to this problem, mostly because I had a good shooting session with the gun earlier. But, curiosity got the better of me, and I looked at my rifle. I saw that the ejector plate is completlely gone! The rivet is there, but the plate is gone. So I took the rifle apart and looked at the bolt housing. It looks to me like the ejector plate is captive in the housing as long as the housing is together. So I figured the ejector plate must have come off while I was scrubbing the carrier halfs while cleaning them. I looked all over the garage, and I can't find the plate. Is it possible that it was never there? Maybe it was malfunctioning for the original owner, and that's why he\she sold? Will Ray at ATI help me, or am I screwed? Does anyone know if I can get just the plate, and fix it myself? Thanks in advance! |
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Originally Posted By smguser:
Confession time. I bought a used GSG-5. It was pretty cheap, and I thought I was lucky to get one. I promptly took it out and shot it. It worked fine, I put about 200 rounds downrange without a problem. A few days later I started looking through these threads. I went and bought the screws to replace the stock ones. While I had it apart, I cleaned it all up. Everything went back together well, with no problems. But today, I was looking here about the ejector issues. Knowing that I had a second generation rifle, I didn't pay much attention to this problem, mostly because I had a good shooting session with the gun earlier. But, curiosity got the better of me, and I looked at my rifle. I saw that the ejector plate is completlely gone! The rivet is there, but the plate is gone. So I took the rifle apart and looked at the bolt housing. It looks to me like the ejector plate is captive in the housing as long as the housing is together. So I figured the ejector plate must have come off while I was scrubbing the carrier halfs while cleaning them. I looked all over the garage, and I can't find the plate. Is it possible that it was never there? Maybe it was malfunctioning for the original owner, and that's why he\she sold? Will Ray at ATI help me, or am I screwed? Does anyone know if I can get just the plate, and fix it myself? Thanks in advance! rifle never would have run correctly without the ejector. contact ray for a replacement or ship it in. |
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When you say the ejector becomes loose, how loose is it? I mean, I've noticed a very slight wobble with the ejector plate today when cleaning. I didn't want to grab it too hard and start twisting it around and really mess it up. Does this thing need to be rock solid and tight with no movement at all? I did notice last weekend at the range that towards the end of my shooting session I had three FTE's while having a round stiil trying to chamber at the same time. This resulted in the round trying to chamber to actually bend somewhat. Never had this happen before with the approximately 2K rounds fired. Does this sound like the ejector starting to fail? I hope I'm making some sense here. Thanks
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When you say the ejector becomes loose, how loose is it? I mean, I've noticed a very slight wobble with the ejector plate today when cleaning. I didn't want to grab it too hard and start twisting it around and really mess it up. Does this thing need to be rock solid and tight with no movement at all?
Yes, there shouldn't be any movement ... Sounds like it time to call Ray |
| just cleaned my PK with the boresnake I have from my 10/22. It's awesome. Although, if you have too much lead in the barel, then it won't work too good. Then you'll need a rod to push the lead through. Only have about 500 rounds and it was gunked up. Thunderbolt is way too dirty. |
| Hey, I just got my GSG-5P. I have had great luck with the Winchester Xpert High Velocity Hollow Point firing at 1280 fps. I have also had great luck with CCI mini mags and subsonic. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on suppressors. I hear Gem-Tech is supposed to be making or has made an adapter to fit a suppressor onto the GSG-5. Would you recomend the adapter or would you just send off the gun to a reliable gunsmith and have the barrel sleeved and threaded? |
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I sent my bolt/carrier in for the extractor rivet repair and just received it back –– Looks much improved and that should fix the issue permanently.
Ray and his guys are doing a good job fixing an unfortunate design flaw. FWIW, I got it back one week after they received it so they're not messing around. B2 jackal2001: Thanks for all the effort you put in around here! 
I'm going to implement some of your other recommendations and get this little rifle back to a 100% shooter. They certainly are fun and it never fails to get an interested shooter when I take it... Most want, err, "need" one after they run a mag or two through it. 
As a "leave behind" I used QUIB'S BOLT AND CARRIER CLEANING PROCEDURE and it seems to work fantastic on the carrier group. (Work's great on the ARs and other stuff as well...) |
LIVE WELL! LAUGH OFTEN! LOVE MUCH!
There's no such thing as the good life, there's just life -- Now go live it!
NRA Life Member
There's no such thing as the good life, there's just life -- Now go live it!
NRA Life Member
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Forgive me, for I have sinned.
I chose to go with the ammo that could be had, rather than the right stuff. I'm using Winchester WildCat. It shoots well - it's accurate - it's (fairly) inexpensive ($19.95 for a 500 round brick at Bass Pro) It also leaves a pretty bad lead residue. You wouldn't believe what kind of fouling I cleaned out of my toy. Forgive me, oh St. Heston, I will be true and use only Federal Bulk from now. Please, grant Wally World pallets-full of Federal Bulk, that I may continue to shoot and not befoul my GSG5. |
GSG Troubleshooting - Do's and Don'ts, Issues, Ammo (Page 1 of 3)
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