sw44 0 Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 A friend and I bought new Saiga 12 shotguns and he got to shoot his the other day. He only put 5 rounds through it and when he was cleaning it he noticed that there was peening of the bolt carrier channel where the lug on the bolt rides. The damage was to the back side of the channel to the front of the carrier. When you hold the carrier upside down it is the dog leg to the right. The bolt lug has no peening. This area would be impacted when the bolt starts to close. Its as if the bolt's lug impacts the flat area of the channel before the bolt starts to rotate into battery. My AK in 7.62x39 has a smaller flat area before the channel slopes back and has no wear at all. I looked at my unfired Saiga 12 and it has some minor peening in the same area. Probably from letting the carrier/bolt slide home on an empty chamber. Has anyone else seen this before? does it cause problems? Should I machine the shelf at an angle to smooth the transition to rotating the bolt? I really want to shoot the new toy!! Just don't want to create some problem if the carrier wasn't heat treated right (or something) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Leo.Kermes 1 Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Can you post a photo? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 I've noticed the same thing on my new S12. I figured I would just clearance by interference. ~200rnds so far and no trouble. I noticed the back side of the leg on the bolt showed some harsh wear too. I'll take some pics when I get home. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sw44 0 Posted March 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Can you post a photo? I will see I can get one posted tonight of the minor peening on my new carrier. I will ask my friend if he has a digital camera to send me a picture of his. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Here is a pic of the receiver through the mag opening, as well as the mating surface of the bolt. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waltham_41 52 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I've shot a couple hundred rounds through my shotty so far and I do not see any wear like that on mine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I've shot a couple hundred rounds through my shotty so far and I do not see any wear like that on mine. Ohboy. So what is the cause? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Leo.Kermes 1 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I would take a part the bolt, clean up the damage with a file and then case hard the bolt http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/pro...ail.aspx?p=7626 if the shelf doesn't match your other s12 then reshape it to match, also harden that surface as well. that wear looks excessive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rock 1 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 If it is a new gun call RAAC and let them know about they might help you out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sw44 0 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) This is a picture of my bolt carrier that has not been fired. The peening is small but surprising that there is anything at all. You have to look for the white spot that is bare steel in the center of the photo. The rest of the carrier is black. No luck getting pictures of my friends carrier yet. Edited March 12, 2008 by sw44 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) This is a picture of my bolt carrier that has not been fired. The peening is small but surprising that there is anything at all. You have to look for the white spot that is bare steel in the center of the photo. The rest of the carrier is black. No luck getting pictures of my friends carrier yet. I'll have to look at that part when I get home. It looks like the bolt is getting hung up in that channel in your pic preventing it from rotating. Looks like the top of that channel got milled out too far forward. Will somebody please post a picture of what a healthy bolt channel is supposed to look like? Edited March 12, 2008 by hobbyshooter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
whatmanual 44 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) Edited March 12, 2008 by whatmanual Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oldandslow 3 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 You can probably fix the problem. I could fix the problem. With a new gun, RAA should replace it. I can't see a reason they won't replace it. As a matter of fact, how do they get away with not providing spare parts? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sw44 0 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I am leaning towards cutting the corner back so that the bolt lug is hitting an angled channel when the bolt closes. The earlier recommendation to use Kasenit to case harden the surface also sounds like a good idea. (Unfortunately Brownells is out of stock) Thanks everyone. I will keep checking the thread for new info anyone has. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 My bolt carrier looks fine. A little bit of a shiny spot but no wear. Mine is from the rear part of the bolt and it's channel that I've posted pics of above. I think something (I can't tell what yet) scared that corner, and the mash of the corner is what scared the back of the ear on my bolt. I'm not sure what to do about it yet either. I guess I'll take a file to the mash of the channel corner, but I really wanted to talk to RAAC first (no phone answer, no email answer yet). I'll update when I can. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) You can probably fix the problem.I could fix the problem. The funny thing about this problem is that it hasn't affected feed or eject at all. When I pull the lever back manually I notice it hang a little, but based on the responses to whatmanual's thread a few weeks back everybody said that was normal so I just kept shooting. Edited March 13, 2008 by hobbyshooter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sw44 0 Posted March 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 I have taken the plunge to fix the interferance that seems to be causing the problem. I used a cut off wheel in my flex shaft dremmel tool to cut the channel in the bolt carrier back about 1/8". Now when the bolt goes to close, the bolt lug flows smoothly down the channel without banging against the "shelf" first. Hopefully no banging no peening. The bolt still fully rotates on closing. The action closes without the hitch like before. I only feel a little resistance when the extractor compresses. Can't wait to try it out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
polik6887 0 Posted April 11, 2008 Report Share Posted April 11, 2008 I have a similar peening problem, only on the receiver lug. looking down at the gun, with the receiver cover off, the tip of the right receiver lug is wearing on the top. the carrier looks, fine, but a notch has worn off the front of the lug. I have had this shotgun for 2 years and have never seen it before. should i be worried? I will try and get some pics, but I dont own a digital camera. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted April 11, 2008 Report Share Posted April 11, 2008 RAAC is a great company to deal with. Email them pics of anything you are worried about and see what they say. I've never been as impressed with a companies customer service as I have with RAAC. http://www.raacfirearms.com/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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