Help! Lots of FTEs today at the range

[kahrak 2]

After I did some pistol shooting at the range today I decided to wring out my Saiga a bit and shot 75 rounds of birdshot through it. Every couple of rounds I'd get a FTE where the rim of the fired round would get caught in the ejection port and would block the bolt from chambering the next round all the way (I had it on gas setting "2" the whole time). I haven't had this problem in the past with the same ammo so I got to thinking what was different since the last time I shot it.

 

I had a buffer in there so I took that out and shot some more thinking that it may be the culprit, it wasn't. The only other thing that I could think of is that I cleaned out the gas system recently. Does it matter how many threads are showing on the gas regulator cap? I have mine screwed down almost all the way to where it only has enough thread left to move between the "1" and "2" settings, could having it screwed down this far maybe block some of the gas even on the "2" setting?

[hoop762 0]

i dont know about having so many threads exposed or whatever, but this is how i do it. Screw the gas regulator all the wat down as far as it will go, then back it out. the first click will be the number one setting, then keep backing it out till you get to the number two setting. works great for me....truth be told, you prolly should go back through your gas tube and over the "plug" piston with some cleaner and make sure everything is nice and smooth in there...hope this helps

[Nysaigaowner 0]

you said you just cleaned the gas system, did you use any cleaning oils to clean it? if you did you want to make sure there is none left in the gas tube or piston. I once left some in there and it would fte and try and double feed all the time. just a thought. good luck

[Bvamp 604]

check your gas piston to see if it is loose on the bolt carrier. my s12 after thousands of rounds, suddenly decided to loosen up a little bit, and the low brass rounds suddenly FTE'd pretty consistantly. I remedied the problem with a welder.

 

as you suspect, it may also be the gas regulator. try unscrewing it ONE turn. if you go two turns, be sure when you return it to setting "1" that you screw it in, not out.it doesnt seem to matter past the one or two turns out, so dont bother going further. also try using some oil or grease as a seal on the threads of the gas reg., maybe that will help too.

 

it is also possible that the ammo is slightly different than the last batch you used.

[csspecs 1,987]

What brand of shells?

[topmaul 42]

On your bolt carrier, there is a spring loaded claw and a fixed claw, I had to file the fixed claw down a little bit on my son's Saiga to solve that problem. Remove the buffer pad and try again also clean out the gas system remove the piston and clean all the gunk out of the gas tube.

[kahrak 2]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Csspecs, they were Federal 2.75" 7 1/2 birdshot from a 100 round bulk pack, not the best ammo but I haven't had problems with it in the past. When I cleaned the gas system I didn't use any solvents or oils, I just went at it with some brushes to get the carbon out. I took the buffer out while I was at the range and shot it but that wasn't the problem so I'll have to look into unscrewing the piston some and maybe filing down the fixed claw. My piston doesn't seem to be loose but I notice that the gas regulator disc doesn't rattle around inside like it used to when it was new, is this just because it is dirty again or is this normal after break in?

[v3r71g0 0]

You should be able to tip your saiga back and forth and hear the little piston slide in the gas tube with ease.

 

Try using a bit of solevent and clean out the gas tube and the piston. Then if that dosent get the pistong moving freely you can add the smallest amount of oil on the sides of the piston.

[topmaul 42]

if you have a bolt lock, lock your bolt to the rear, then shake your gun, if you don't hear the piston moving up and down it's too dirty you need to pop it out and clean it, and the piston chamber that will cause you no end of problems, BTW my little nub on the bolt fixed paw is gone worn off so if you choos to take a little off I would not worry about it. My Saiga has thousands of rounds through it.

[G O B 3,516]

The regulator may not be in far enough! I had to use a mill file on the end of the gasblock to get mine in far enough. Some crud and cleaner made the finish swell up there.

Was it the same mag each time? You need to number mags somewhere that you can see easily, If you get a second FTE/FTF with the same mag it may need to be "file to make most perfect fit"

(instructions on russian mags)

[kahrak 2]

I used two 10 round mags and the stock 5 rounder and had the same problem with all three of them. Before this my 5 rounder has always been reliable. I'll do some serious cleaning to the gas tube to see if that helps, hopefully it'll be that simple.

[Bvamp 604]

clean your gas ports and grease the threads on the gas regulator, while you are at it. if you didnt clear the gas ports good when you last put powder solvent in there, it can clog them right up in a quick way.

[kahrak 2]

I finally got a chance to take it apart and clean it today and I gotta say wow, looks like I got an extra dirty batch of ammo. Its only been about 100 rounds since I cleaned the gas system last and it was already packed with powder residue and what I assume is plastic shavings from the wads. One of the grooves in the gas regulator "puck" was totally filled in with the plastic/powder mix and I had to use a dowel and a mallet to get it out of the gas tube. The gas ports look like they have some of the gunk partly blocking them too, I'm going to go at them with a pipe cleaner and some solvent. My gas piston is a tad bit loose on the bolt carrier too, I don't have access to a welder though, do you think red loctite would work to fix that? Anyway, thanks for all the help guys.

[erikm98 0]

I finally got a chance to take it apart and clean it today and I gotta say wow, looks like I got an extra dirty batch of ammo. Its only been about 100 rounds since I cleaned the gas system last and it was already packed with powder residue and what I assume is plastic shavings from the wads. One of the grooves in the gas regulator "puck" was totally filled in with the plastic/powder mix and I had to use a dowel and a mallet to get it out of the gas tube. The gas ports look like they have some of the gunk partly blocking them too, I'm going to go at them with a pipe cleaner and some solvent. My gas piston is a tad bit loose on the bolt carrier too, I don't have access to a welder though, do you think red loctite would work to fix that? Anyway, thanks for all the help guys.

 

 

Does the gas piston on the bolt carrier move around a bit or can you unthread it from the bolt carrier?

 

On AK's the gas piston is threaded in then drilled though and rivited to the bolt carrier so its normal for there to be a little slack in its movement.

[kahrak 2]

Does the gas piston on the bolt carrier move around a bit or can you unthread it from the bolt carrier?

 

On AK's the gas piston is threaded in then drilled though and rivited to the bolt carrier so its normal for there to be a little slack in its movement.

 

You're right, I wasn't sure since I couldn't remember if it was loose to begin with but after messing with it I remembered that it was riveted and some slack was ok.