leadslinger 37 Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 (edited) I might be behind the curve on this one but what purpose do the holes in the gas tube serve? do the keep the barrel cooler? keep gas ports clean? soften recoil? I don't think it would affect the velocity as the bullet has probably already left the barrel by the time the bleed off and recoil is operating. thanks in advance. Edited April 6, 2010 by leadslinger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RoughRider666 47 Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 maybe im wrong, but it seems to me that i heard a long time ago that those holes are for higher pressure rounds like the 5.45 and .223 to let the gasses escape faster. I dont think you need them or even makes a difference on the 7.62 rounds, but im sure someone will come around and straighten things out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wispa78 1 Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 maybe im wrong, but it seems to me that i heard a long time ago that those holes are for higher pressure rounds like the 5.45 and .223 to let the gasses escape faster. I dont think you need them or even makes a difference on the 7.62 rounds, but im sure someone will come around and straighten things out. My .223 version doesn't have the vents. It might help to have them but I guess they're not needed. I'm interested to learn more about the differences though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shades_of_grey 1,092 Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 (edited) Afaik, all military AK-pattern rifles, (not just Russian but Chinese, Bulgarian, Romanian, etc), have vented gas tubes. It's actually the gas blocks that're vented, right where the mil-spec gas tubes attach. The vents obviously serve a purpose, though are apparently not absolutely necessary. My guess is that they serve to bleed off excess gas not needed to cycle the weapon, helping to dampen some of the recoil and/or lessen wear on the rifle. Just a guess, but it seems logical. Edited April 7, 2010 by post-apocalyptic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a81lp 5 Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 i just looked at my rifles. my 5.45 has vents , my 7.62 does not. would it be benificial to have vents on the latter rifle? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shellshock1918 1 Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 The original AK design has ports in the gas tube. They later removed them with the AK-74M. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peterabbits 1 Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 when i converted my 7.62 i opted to replace the gas tube w/ a vented one - gun still operates just fine, it does feel as though the recoil was slightly lessened and the spent casings most definitely do not get ejected as far from the gun (used to get thrown a good 15 feet from the gun, now it's more like 7-8 feet). i am hoping that the lighter recoil will also serve to reduce the wear and tear on the gun overall. zero FTF or FTE with the vented tube as an FYI. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Klassy Kalashnikov 1,393 Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 Afaik, all military AK-pattern rifles, (not just Russian but Chinese, Bulgarian, Romanian, etc), have vented gas tubes. It's actually the gas blocks that're vented, right where the mil-spec gas tubes attach. The vents obviously serve a purpose, though are apparently not absolutely necessary. My guess is that they serve to bleed off excess gas not needed to cycle the weapon, helping to dampen some of the recoil and/or lessen wear on the rifle. Just a guess, but it seems logical. I read the same thing elsewhere. This makes the most sense to me as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jamesavery22 54 Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 ... I read the same thing elsewhere. This makes the most sense to me as well. Ditto. The initial "knock" of gas hitting the face of the piston is more than enough energy to cycle the entire action. As long as the rifle is built correctly(which we don't have to worry about with Saigas). When you get into short short barrels you might have to ask questions about gas hole size in the barrel and GB, and muzzle devices. Letting the gas that expands into the gas tube exit the system as quickly as possible after the piston gets that first "knock" back = less excessive force on the bolt carrier(too much gas can slam the carrier into the rear trunnion and beat things up over time) as well as less heat. Theres a youtube vid of someone firing an AK with basically no gas block. You can see the action cycle just fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
t3mac21 1 Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 (edited) I think my 7.62x39 is vented edit - tube isn't/block is (on my wasr of course ) Edited May 18, 2010 by t3mac21 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a81lp 5 Posted May 18, 2010 Report Share Posted May 18, 2010 I was thinking of drilling 2 small holes on the edge of the gas block, like on my 5.45. Anyone else tried this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
t3mac21 1 Posted May 18, 2010 Report Share Posted May 18, 2010 You could, I don't see how it will make any difference. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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