Picked up my first AK last Friday from a lgs. Had actually been looking for a WASR to be my AK gateway, but saw an ad in Armslist for a used M70AB2 for 550 cash, and did some quick research. I said what the heck, I'm going to check it out. Seemed solid and clean, so I took a chance. Hoping I did ok on this:







It has a weird grip on it, like none I've seen on other M70AB2s on the internet. I have been reading everything I can about these, but would appreciate any other info you guys can provide. The receiver is stamped DC Industries. Is there a way to date the build by the serial number?

Congrats, you did real good on the price and model. Century contracted the M70AB2 builds (by different builders) from surplus parts and have a a US barrel and receiver (DC Industries). You can always replace the grip, etc with original 'Yugo' parts. Places like Apex has the parts and of course the forums. Now you can get accessories like bayonets, sling, oilers, etc. Fair warning, it's addicting!

As for serial numbers, the first thing is to determine who built yours.

One of my favorite models of yugos. You did very well OP. Enjoy it and shoot the hell out of it. If you ever get tired of the under-folder (The cool factor wears off quickly) there are companies that make aftermarket adapters to allow the rear trunnion to accept ar tubes.

Congrats, I'd be all over that at $550. Go get some surplus furniture and enjoy!

How do you determine that? Asking for a friend.

The maker's info should be stamped on the receiver.

Well, finally had a chance to take it to the range. Disappointing first outing. After charging it and firing off the first round, it failed to go all the way into battery. Pulled the charging handle back ejecting the round, let it slam home, fire, and the same thing happened again. It was like something stopping the bolt about an inch from going home. I did not try to manually push the bolt home, though now I wish I would have at least tried that. Throughout the whole mag it was the same story. I decided to stop and take it home for inspection without further shooting. I used the mag it came with, a Tapco version, and shot Tula steel cased.

I could not find anything glaringly wrong with it when I got it home. I did notice when manually operating the bolt carrier (cover off, recoil spring removed) that it seemed kind of hard to push over the hammer. I researched online and found several references to polishing the hammer to smooth out things. But I also noticed that the bolt carrier felt significant resistance after the hammer......as if the rails got a little tighter/narrower towards the chamber (if that makes sense). Nothing else seemed off.

I went ahead and ordered a Wolff XP recoil spring, even though the current spring seems to be in serviceable condition. Forgot to mention that I checked headspace, though only with a field gauge, before firing.

Any suggestions on what else I should look for would be greatly appreciated.

Check to see is it rubbing inside the RSB....looking for canting here, and the gas block/FSB.

You can flip the rifle on its sides and see how straight it looks too.

Thanks for your reply, TJRoush. To my eyes, everything appears lined up pretty straight.

Unfortunately, I just got back from the range, and the problem is persisting. Like I previously mentioned, I polished the hammer, and installed a Wolff XP spring. I also bought 2 surplus Yugo BHO mags and ran those today. Same exact malfunction, though I took pics this time and took time to look at each malfunction carefully. And I think the root cause is the bolt not stripping a round properly and riding over the round somehow (if that makes sense). It looks to me like the surplus mags sit up high enough in the well, but I am not an expert with AKs and so have no intrinsic knowledge to go of off. Sometimes, during this particular range trip, after firing a round, the bolt would slam home properly, but then when firing again: "click".....the next round was not stripped from the mag and chambered, the bolt somehow rode over and went home.

Here is what it looks like when it fails to chamber the next round after firing a shot. This was after the first round was fired. You can see the bolt actually riding over the round.....

Here is the orientation of the bcg when the malfunction occurs.

Two other separate instances, essentially showing the identical thing

This is to show how the surplus Yugo mags sit in the well (they snap easy and there is almost no play, btw)

Can you replicate the issue by hand cycling the bolt?

If it keeps happening after the first shot and looks like the picture, it's possible the bolt may not be cycling all the way back. The heavier spring wouldn't help if that is the problem.
Have you checked the gas port to make sure it's clear?

Next thing I would try is holding the mag up with your hand when cycling the bolt. If that fixes the problem then you know the mags sit too low.

Tapco and what type of surplus mags?

I had also suspected an under-gas type of issue, and I did my best to clean the gas port (I do not have the tool, but I sprayed Ballistol in there and then blew it out). I'll go and get the tool tomorrow and make extra sure the port is unobstructed.

It sounds like it's short stroking. The question becomes: why?

First, let's make sure we've eliminated mags. This does happen with all mags? Surplus, new, metal, polymer?

What is the ejection pattern like?  Are fired cases dribbling out or are they flying?  If they're dribbling, the BCG is going slower than it should. Could be under gassed, dirty chamber, bad rails, a number of things. If it's throwing empties, but still short stroking, something is stopping the BCG rather suddenly. With a doubled checked, cleared gun, remove the top cover (be sure to reseat the recoil assembly after...push the button), pull the trigger and hold it back and cycle the carrier. Does the carrier try to jump out of the rails as it cocks the hammer?  Once the hammer is caught by the disconnector, keep the trigger back and rack it again a couple times. This disconnector will hold the hammer down further than the trigger, so the BCG should barely contact it. Any jumping?  Release the trigger and rack again.

Other things to look at is make sure the grenade sight is all the way down. Look for any signs of rubbing on the piston/gas tube. Does the piston wobble a little (it should)?Look at the bolt and the BCG camming areas. Any signs of undue/uneven wear?