Has anyone had an issue with their socom mag block causing an empty to get lodged into the charging handle or between the bolt and the charging handle? I got my block and a couple of Sten mags from CDNN based on recommendations from others on the board. After 2 trips to the range trying both the socom and the original converted oly/sten mag it appears that socom is causing the problem. I had zero failures with the converted mag. Every sten mag I used with the socom caused 2 to 3 of these very hard to clear jams. To clear them required 2 sets of hands and a pair of needle nose pliers. My setup is simple I have an Pre-ban Oly A2 upper mounted on top of a proven Eagle arms receiver with an A2 buttstock. After some close inspection I notice the socom block is not tight fitting in the magwell and when the sten mag is in it also has some play in most directions. I assume since the Oly mag is tight in every way that this play is what is causing the failure. Has anyone else had this problem? Did I end up with a bad block? I really like this upper, but I dont want to have to spend $50+ on converted mags and will end up selling it if that is the case.

I have been using a SOCOM adapter and Sten mags with no problems with jams, misfeeds or ejections.

My block is also a little loose and the Sten mags all fit losser yet when plugged into rifle.

I was worried at first about this looseness but I have had no problems that way.

I have 25 mags and have tried them all with good results. Some are looser than others

You may try a differant lower with the 9mm upper and see what happens that way?

I have one, and don't have any problem with it.

Try hand cycling rounds through it by actuating the charging handle.  I have a feeling the bolt carrier is rubbing on the mag somehow, and slowing or retarding the extraction.  

If you bend out the tabs on a mag to firm it up in the magwell will that help?

Just my 2cents.

-- Fargo007

Thanks for the input. I'll try swapping uppers on my other AR and see if that helps. One other question I should have asked was what type of ejector does everyone's Oly upper have? Mine is this little coil spring mounted on a pin inside the upper. It seems a little goofy when I first got it, but if that's what works what the heck.

My Socom block has functioned flawlessly for hundreds and hundreds of rounds w/CDNN sten mags.

However, I did have to go back to the range the next day to get my block once after I inadvertently dropped it clearing the weapon in the same manner as a .223.  I hope this does not happen to me again.

Hey yeah, it's looks like a couple springs wound around a pin, with the end protruding up so the bolt passes by it.

Maybe they did it that way to keep it tunable somehow.

Truth be told, I bought the gun just to shoot 9's out of.  I don't have anywhere to shoot .223.

Do you guys think it would take lead nose rounds okay?  The wierdo at the local range is a "daddy's old wheel-gun" kind of guy, and has a hatred/fear of that there jacketed "newfangled" ammunition.

-- Freddy

fargo thanx for the reply on the ejector. Personally I've run lead rounds through another 9mm rifle [a Calico] and regretted it when it came time to clean it. Took about 2~4 hours of soaking then scrubing to get the buildup out of the brake. It wasnt so bad on the bore just caked up on the brake. I was using lead nose loads cause they were cheap, but found the copper rounds easier to deal with.
I think I isolated my Oly's issue. It appears to be the extractor causing the hangup. Tried feeding rounds through it [both live and empties]and found it releasing the cartridge before it hits the ejector. Closer inspeciton reveals the extractor is completely loose. It will not hang on to the case unless the bolt is forward and in battery. Looks like the spring that holds it in place is collapsed, but I cannot figure out how to un-pin the extractor. Think I'll see if Olys site has a pdf version of the manual, maybe I can figure it out with that. By the way I dont feel too comfortable using live rounds for testing in this manner [i.e. at home] as I know at least one person who has had an discharge while doing a "feed" test. I will be ordering some proper dummy rounds from Brownells next order I place.

remove the 'cam pin' from the oly bolt carrier.  The bolt pulls out and you'll be able to access the extractor pin to pull the extractor and replace the extractor spring.

Olympic Arms will do this for free, by the way, under your lifetime warranty, if you'd rather just send it in to them.

Glad you got to the bottom of it.  Good investigation.

I saw  that Kurt KKF makes a sten block as well, but I see you've got it figged out.

Regarding live rounds, what I do is crimp heads on cases with no powder or primers.  

Have a buddy who reloads do this for you.  Spray paint the asses orange, and voila! dummy rounds.  They're good for malfunction drills, hiding in a mag to find trigger jerkers, etc.

Thanks for the advice on the lead.  I have no brake on mine, so I'll try it cautiously.

Good luck, and I hope you get as much enjoyment out of yours, as I am mine.

-- Freddy

fargo,
good suggestion on the "dummies". I reload and hadnt though of doing it myself. As for the bolt head I figured it out after looking at it and realizing it's not much different than an AR bolt 'cept it doesn't rotate like an AR. Thats what threw me off. The spring was completely shot [pun] and in 2 pieces. I managed to fabricate a replacement from a Ruger 10/22 spring I had leftover from a trigger job. It seems ot grab-n-hold very well, but I've yet to make it to the range. I emailed Oly, but have yet to receive a response. I gathered from their website they dont take cust svc calls. Maybe I read it wrong?

cooper29,

I can’t find the SOCOM block on the CDNN web site.  Any idea where I can find one?  Am I correct in understanding this block uses unmodified Sten mags?

Thanks.

CDNN don`t sell the socom mag blocks.You have to go to socommfg.com. They will only work with Oly uppers.

Thanks.