Saiga .308 bolt carrier?

[Dunedain 44]

Hi guys,

 

This might seem like a silly question, but I was re-assembling a Saiga .308 after checking it out, and I'm having trouble getting the bolt carrier/bolt slid back into the receiver.

 

I made sure the bolt was fully inserted and rotated into place in the forward position in the bolt carrier and tried to place the carrier with bolt in it into the receiver, but it doesn't want to fit properly. I put the carrier all the way back into the rear-most part of the receiver to try to get the machined rails on the bolt carrier pressed down into the receiver to go onto the rear receiver rails, but when I try to line up the lugs on the bolt that stick out on the left and right side of the bolt with the notches cut into the receiver rails, the bolt won't fit fully into the notches when I try to press down on the carrier, it's a little too wide. I can get one side of the bolt to fit into a notch or the other side, but not both, the left side bolt lug seems to especially be a problem.

 

I tried to rotate the bolt somewhat inside the carrier, thinking that might let the left lug slip through the left side receiver rail notch, but when I do that it makes the bolt stem stick out of the back of the carrier and hit the rear trunion, which prevents the rear bolt carrier rails from being able to fit down into the rear receiver rail notches.

 

I'd appreciate it if someone could clearly explain (because it can be hard to visualize) in detail if there's some trick to how to position the carrier and the bolt in the carrier to make the bolt carrier and bolt drop into the receiver easily. Perhaps some close-up detailed photos or a video could be shown that would show the precise position the bolt needs to be in inside the carrier and exact position the carrier needs to be in for the bolt carrier group to drop down into the receiver rails smoothly so it can then be pushed forward toward the barrel and re-assembly be completed? Any tips on how to make this easy would be great to hear and/or see.

 

Thanks very much for any help!

Edited May 4, 2009 by Dunedain

[kevins7189 1]

I haven't had mine long, and noticed it is very tricky to get back together. it takes a lot of wiggling and finagling to get it to go in. I usually try to line up the bolt to the front lug (while it is not sticking out from the back), and then slide and push the rear lugs into place and wiggle the carrier until it all goes in, sometimes I have to depress the hammer down while holding the bolt straight to get it to slide easier (that seems to help the most), that is where it seems to bind to me. It is kind of a pain. Sorry I'm not more help.

[quatin 0]

Put the bolt in the bolt carrier. Move the bolt into the forward position. Place the assembly on the slots in the receiver (two slots on the back for the carrier, two slots near the middle for the bolt). If pushing down on the bolt doesn't work, you may need to hit the bolt with your hand to get it to slide in. The problem is the hammer is pushing up against the bolt when you're trying to put it back in. I have to use some force to get my new 308 carrier assembly to go in.

[Dunedain 44]

Thanks for the help, guys! Apparently I had it right the first time, you just have to push awfully hard to make the left lug on the bolt slip past the left receiver rail notch, no doubt due in large part to the heavy resistance of the hammer pushing up. I was worried that the resistance might be because of the lugs on the bolt being slightly mis-aligned on the rail notches, and I was worried about bending or chewing up the rails (which you want to stay nice and smooth), so I was being very careful and not applying too much force.

 

But as with all things AK-47, if something isn't working, it's probably because you're just not hitting it hard enough.

[oxyehho 8]

Put the bolt in the bolt carrier. Move the bolt into the forward position. Place the assembly on the slots in the receiver (two slots on the back for the carrier, two slots near the middle for the bolt). If pushing down on the bolt doesn't work, you may need to hit the bolt with your hand to get it to slide in. The problem is the hammer is pushing up against the bolt when you're trying to put it back in. I have to use some force to get my new 308 carrier assembly to go in.

Pulling on the trigger while pushing down the bolt carrier might ease things up too - hammer goes down a bit and is held by disconnector. Works for me every time.

[Dunedain 44]

oxyehho: Do you mean partially pull the trigger, or fully pull the trigger all the way to the rear as if to fire the weapon? If you mean to fully pull the trigger, wouldn't that release the hammer and make it hit the underside of the bolt carrier, or at the very least release the hammer so that it wants to swing up and push up even harder on the bolt from underneath (we obviously don't want the hammer to push upward any harder on the bolt than it already is)?

[oxyehho 8]

oxyehho: Do you mean partially pull the trigger, or fully pull the trigger all the way to the rear as if to fire the weapon? If you mean to fully pull the trigger, wouldn't that release the hammer and make it hit the underside of the bolt carrier, or at the very least release the hammer so that it wants to swing up and push up even harder on the bolt from underneath (we obviously don't want the hammer to push upward any harder on the bolt than it already is)?

Pull it fully. Don't worry about the hammer pushing back - you are stronger

Seriously though, make sure you place/align the carrier and bolt correctly into the rail openings, push down on it from the top, pull the trigger fully while pushing down - hammer will get caught by the disconnector at a lower position, so it won't even be "pushing back" so to speak. This maneuver simply gives you more clearance for the bolt and the carrier and the assembly slides onto the rails easily. Try it with your hands if you don't believe me - remove carrier/bolt assembly, engage hammer manually, then while pushing firmly down on the hammer with your fingers, pull the trigger, you will see that it gets caught by the disconnector.

[Dunedain 44]

Ah, I see. Since the hammer is caught at a lower than usual position when you squeeze the trigger while pushing down on the hammer, that then lessens the pressure the hammer can push upwards on the bolt with, making it easier to push the bolt carrier all the way down into the receiver. Makes sense, thanks for the great info!

 

Is that a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle smiley?