I bought a new PTR-91 GI and all is well with it except for the fact that it requires what I think is a ridiculous amount of force to charge.

I mean, I really have to pull on the charging lever. Once it unlocks, the recoil spring is stout but in no way unmanageble.

I thought maybe it was just because it was a new rifle, but after 200 rounds it hasn't loosened up even a hair.

How can I fix this? I'm certain this isn't normal. Everything else functions fine, the rifle runs great and I love shooting it.

I read something about charging lever gap, who can school me?

Help me Arfcom roller-lock gurus!

I'm not saying this is the case with you, but I remember when I was 18 and was checking out an HK-91 at my LGS. I tried to pull the charging handle back as if it were an AR and the guy behind the counter laughed as it didn't budge.

These are guns for men son, you have to pull that sonfabitch back HARD. It obviously made an impression as I still remember it :D

It's most likely the charging lever to bolt carrier gap. I recently picked up a NIB MAD G3K. Gap was non-existent! I cannot believe what these rifles cost and the good press they got being custom made rifles, it had left the shop
like that.

Try to measure the gap between the charging handle support and the bolt carrier.

Remove your bolt carrier, remove your charging handle by driving out the pin. Watch out for the spring, as it likes to jump. Remove the charging handle, slide out the support. Place the carrier back into the receiver and slam it shut. With your thumb pressed
up against the rear of the carrier, measure your bolt gap. Here's a formula that I found for carrier gap:

Carrier gap should equal your bolt gap plus 0.15

.020" + .015" = .035" (thickness of a dime) Maximum bolt gap, and maximum CT gap.
.019" + .015" = .034"
.018" + .015" = .033"
.017" + .015" = .032"
.016" + .015" = .031"
.015" + .015" = .030"
.014" + .015" = .029"
.013" + .015" = .028"
.012" + .015" = .027"
.011" + .015" = .026"
.010" + .015" = .025"
.009" + .015" = .024"
.008" + .015" = .023"
.007" + .015" = .022"
.006" + .015" = .021"
.005" + .015" = .020"
.004" + .015" = .019"

As your bolt gap decreases, the carrier won't slam into the charging handle support. You will have that buffer of .015 On my MAD G3K, the carrier made contact with the support. Over time, it would have broken the welds.
Also, when I first got my rifle, bolt gap measured at .024 which was too excessive. But when I removed the support and measured again, it went down to .022. Then I discovered it didn't have the proper G3K locking piece,
so I bought a new one. After assembly, bolt gap is a perfect (For me) .020! My gunsmith friend turned down the end of the support by .035, which greatly improved extending the charging handle, and charging the rifle. It
turned out perfect.

One more thing. It's fairly easy to remove the charging handle assy and to put it back together. If you need help, look on Youtube for a video. If you measure the bolt gap like I mentioned, you will need
to unlock the bolt to free it. Simply insert a small screwdriver where you would check the gap. Alternately, I have read that some people will take a brass punch, and hit the end of the carrier through the cocking tube slot to free
the rollers to remove the carrier.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much for your input, @LIONHART

I measured the bolt gap using the method you described, and a .015 feeler gauge would slide in pretty easily, while the .016 was pretty snug.

If I understand right, I need to measure the gap between the bolt carrier and the cylindrical piece in the cocking tube(charging handle support), correct?

I'm not sure if you explained that in your post.

Please forgive my ignorance, as I have been fiending for one for years, but only just bought this rifle as my first roller-lock gun. Thanks again.

Yes.

So if your bolt gap is .016, you'll need to get to .031 for your carrier gap.

cocking tube is too short, or the cocking handle pin could be loose resulting in too much slop to unlock the gun.

I have broken a cocking handle pin and it does what you describe.

Based on my understanding, on well built correctly functioning gun, just camming back the charging handle (i.e. unfolding it) should do most of the work to unlock the gun, yes there is the spring to overcome after that, but you shouldn't need the strength of god to unlock it.

My c93 was like that.  I took the charge handle out and ground that engagement sourface down so that the handle pulls out further before it starts to cam giving more leverage.  It now unlocks with very little effort.

Alright, I read on some other sites to put a dime in the cocking tube between the cocking lever support and the bolt carrier and see if the rifle was easier to charge. I did this, no help.

I also read to put a dime in the cocking tube between the cocking lever support and the stop that's welded into the tube on the muzzle end. I did this, and the cocking lever wouldn't go far enough forward to fold onto/engage the cocking tube abutment. So no help there either.

Does this mean that something is too long within the cocking tube, and I should take some material off of the cocking lever support?

In response to an above post, pulling out the cocking lever isn't super easy, but it's manageable. The real trouble is when the lever is at 90 degrees and I start to pull back. I'm pretty dang certain that I am pulling back against more than just the recoil spring.

Also, when I cock the rifle, slap the handle to put it in battery, pull the trigger, and look into the cocking tube, there is little to no discernible distance between the cocking handle support and the bolt carrier.

I hope this helps someone diagnose my issue!

Take the stock off and recoil spring out.  hold the trigger pack in and try charging.  Watch to see if something is binding as the bolt comes over the trigger to reset it, or anything else that it could be hanging up on.

Did that, couldn't see anything out of alignment.

I just replaced the charging handle and cocking tube support with a new/newer version of each.

If anything, now it is a bit harder to both pull out the charging handle to the 90 degree position, and to pull it to the rear.

After putting the charging handle in the forward-most position, and closing the bolt on a cartridge, the gap between the bolt carrier and the cocking tube support is about 3/4 of the width of a dime.

Not sure what to do now. Any further help would be appreciated.

go to auto parts store, buy real feeler guages and see if the gap is in spec.

oh and never skip roller lock charging handle day  (joke, like never skip "leg day", wokka wokka)

I have some feeler gauges, but they're too wide to fit into the slot in the cocking tube.

Not sure where I can get some really narrow ones.

HKPARTS sells a set that appears narrow enough. I'll know for sure on Monday as I ordered the gauges the other day.

Right on.

Also, I took your advice and removed a small amount of material from the cocking tube support to try to increase the cocking tube gap. Roughly .030-.033. After installing back into the tube the gap between the cocking tube support and the bolt carrier is right at the width of a dime.

Unfortunately this hasn't helped. I also tried replacing both the cocking lever and the support with new/newer versions with no improvement either. I'm pretty confused at this point.

I made of PDF of this troubleshooting test and maybe it can help you.  Maybe its designed for the MP5, I am not sure.  I know JsARCLIGHT is a current member.

EDIT - Found link to old thread:  https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/New-Zenith-question---How-stiff-is-the-charging-handle-supposed-to-be-/9-470957/

Quoted:
You might want to try the old roller lock test:

Take the gun apart into its main assemblies.

First, when the endcap, action spring and trigger group are not attached, cycle the cocking handle. it should move freely and loosely with no felt hangups or stops. If you feel binding here the problem is the construction of the receiver, it is either out of spec or has some sort of intrusion into the channel or a misalignment in the welds.

Second, put the bolt carrier assembly, action spring and endcap / stock back on leaving the trigger group detached, and cycle the cocking handle again. Again it should move freely with uniform spring tension on it (after the rod is settled in the endcap). If you feel binding here the problem is your action spring / guide rod, it is either warped, worn, incorrect or out of spec or your bolt carrier is encountering problems inside the receiver, due to out of spec parts, incorrect parts or damage.

Third, remove the trigger box from the housing, remove the ejector arm (push out the peg holding it in place, be sure to watch for the ejector spring and remove it). Now reassemble the gun without the ejector arm installed and cycle the action. Again it should cycle without noticeable binding or hanging. If you feel binding here you could have a problem with the hammer or with how the trigger pack sits on the receiver (usually being too high), or again an issue with the bolt carrier.

Fourth, reassemble the ejector arm into the trigger box and reassemble the gun. Again the action should not feel like it is binding. If the action suddenly feels like it is binding, the problem is most likely the ejector arm out of spec, damaged or the incorrect type, or again it could be the bolt carrier.

Usually the stiffness folks feel in the action is when the bolt carrier hits either the ejector arm or the hammer. If the stiffness feels tight then suddenly lets off, that is usually the ejector arm. If it feels tight all the way through, that is the hammer.

Thanks for the reply.

With the stock/spring and trigger/grip housing removed and only the bolt carrier group in the receiver, it's still difficult to both pull the lever out to 90 degrees and even more difficult to pull back the handle when the bolt carrier group is in battery.

With just the stock/spring, it's about the same, and with the trigger group, slightly more challenging.

I wouldn't describe it as binding, but that the bolt is just taking a lot of rearward force to finish unlocking it from battery.