Armory Sponsor
Posted: 6/1/2010 5:13:38 PM EDT
|
I generally shoot AR-type rifles for work and play but I have a FAL that I'd like to start using a little more. I am hoping that some of you can give me some advice here.
Vandenberg Custom put a clean, high-quality STG58 parts kit on a DS Arms receiver for me about 5 or 6 years ago and cut the barrel down to 18". I replaced the main/recoil spring (double spring in the stock). I shot it a couple of times (only a few rounds at a time) and it worked fine. I also put a DS Arms heavy duty scope mount (picatinny rail) on it with the intention of putting a small red dot sight on it for hog hunting. I took it hog hunting once in that configuration and fired only 1 round at the hog that was coming right for me (I got him) but noticed that it malfunctioned. I didn't think much about it at the time. Since then, it's been sitting in my safe. Last week, I took the rifle with me to a class I was teaching. On the last day of the class, I jumped in on some of the drills with the FAL. It worked fine for about 8 rounds and then it started to malfunction. It would fail to fully eject the fired brass while also trying to load the next round in the magazine. At first, I thought it wasn't getting enough gas so I turned the gas ring all the way down to ensure it was getting maximum gas. The malfunctions continued even when trying four different magazines. I would clear a malfunction, load the rifle again, and then fire one round. It would fail to fully eject while also trying load the next round and then I would have to work the charging handle again to clear the malfunction. Repeat as necessary until frustration led me to stop firing. My shooting partner was not impressed. Today, I fired it with the gas turned to maximum, the cover replaced with the stock version, and the bolt/rails very well lubed. On three different magazines, it did exactly the same thing. Most of the time, it would fire two rounds and then one of two things would occur: 1 – The spent brass would extract but the mouth of the empty case would get stuck against the edge of ejection port while the base was still somewhat connected to the bolt/extractor. In looking at the mouth of the empty brass, I could see where the force of the returning bolt had bashed the edge of the brass (Think about looking at the mouth of the brass and seeing a fresh, shiny spot between the 2 and 5 o’clock mark where it hit metal). 2 – The spent brass would be found *almost* completely out of the chamber but the mouth of the empty brass would still be right at the entrance of the chamber while the bolt appeared to be dragging or rubbing on the fresh round in the magazine….or possibly trying to load the next round in the magazine while that spent case was still in the way. Working the charging handle to clear the malfunction would sometimes result in both a spent casing and the fresh round falling out of the weapon. The most I was able to fire without malfunction was 5 rounds. The least I was able to fire was 1 round. Again, the majority of the time (out of approximately 20 total rounds fired) the rifle would successfully fire 2 rounds and then malfunction. I spoke with Ed Vandenberg on the phone today. As always, he was polite and professional. He recommended that I get some drill bits, remove the front sight, and check to see the size of my gas port. He says that most of the time when he creates a carbine out of a rifle, he enlarges the gas port but since he has literally worked on hundreds of FALs since mine, he has no way of confirming this in my case. He's a good dude and offered to help me get this ironed out if I can't solve it myself. I have already looked at the FAL Files FTF/FTE Troubleshooting guide which is what leads me to the conclusion that this is probably a gas issue. My gas tube does rotate just a few degrees but that's all. The exhaust ports on the tube are at 4 and 8 o'clock position. FWIW, I still think that DSA scope mount was dragging on the bolt but I don’t think that’s my main problem here. I suspect it’s a gas issue but am not sure. I don’t know the first thing about FAL gas ports or gas blocks. Can someone coach me through this? Am I even on the right track here? |
|
Remove the spring from your piston. Remove the Bolt assembly. Place buttstock on ground. Drop stripped piston down piston hole....
Does the piston fall freely into the area the installed bolt previously was? This test insures your piston isnt bent and your gas nut and the piston hole in your receiver is all lined up. The quick fix is to drill your gas port. But id rule out other obvious possibilities first. i.e. different ammo,bent piston, piston holes not lined up perfect. Post back and good luck. |
|
Quoted:
Remove the spring from your piston. Remove the Bolt assembly. Place buttstock on ground. Drop stripped piston down piston hole.... Does the piston fall freely into the area the installed bolt previously was? This test insures your piston isnt bent and your gas nut and the piston hole in your receiver is all lined up. Thanks for this. I did this yesterday and the piston dropped smoothly down into the receiver. |
|
Make sure the ejector spring isn't filled with crud. Make sure extractor is in good shape.
CLEAN YOUR CHAMBER If it is a Steyr barrel and has only been cut to 18", I assure the gas port is the correct size. If the gas port is free of crap, and you have adjusted the gas.... You are left with bad mags, ammo or.... my guess..... Headspace is too tight. Nato min 7.62x51 is 1.63215" |
|
If it worked fine without rail, remove rail and try it.
Look at your scope rail mounting plates. Are they all flush inside the rail slot. It is very common for someone to have a plate incorrectly installed. I would check this before you start drilling the gas port. It would drag on your carrier, NOT the bolt. Go back to the way Vandenburg built it first, test fire without rail. If it works fine, you had your rail on wrong. I have installed a few of these, they can be a very big PIA. You also have a specific tightening pattern too. |
|
Quoted:
If it worked fine without rail, remove rail and try it. Look at your scope rail mounting plates. Are they all flush inside the rail slot. It is very common for someone to have a plate incorrectly installed. I would check this before you start drilling the gas port. It would drag on your carrier, NOT the bolt. Go back to the way Vandenburg built it first, test fire without rail. If it works fine, you had your rail on wrong. I have installed a few of these, they can be a very big PIA. You also have a specific tightening pattern too. this. also, make sure the gas tube is tight in the FSB and not leaking. there are folks out there who think this doesn't matter on an FAL, but my experience has been that it does. if you have no gas leaks and everything else looks good on the rifle, like the others said, go ahead and open your gas port a few thou at a time until you get full cycling. |
Armory Sponsor