pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) Got a WASR last week (new CAI) and went to test it out yesterday. A few bangs then click. Changed ammo, mags, etc, and click. Primer getting strike, but not firing. Took it home and tore it down. Firing pin was not moving in bolt. Tore bolt down and 2 pieces of metal came out. Reinstalled, and pin moved freely. Went back out and one bang and then click. Tore down rifle again. Pin not free moving. To add a bit, the tip of the pin looks flat and almost mushroomed and the groove at the base of the "cone" looks really grooved. Pin is measuring right at 3.25 inches. My saiga pin looks like it sticks out a bit more and is clearly rounded. Can anyone tell from the pic if this pin is worn? Ordered a new pin yesterday, so we'll see what happens. Edited February 19, 2012 by pinetopfirefighter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Photos are too blurry to see what you're talking about. Hopefully your replacement pin solves the issue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Thanks mancat. Hope the issue will be resolved with the new pin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 i just measured a spare pin i have and it came to 3-3/8" long. id say the new one should take care of the issue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks Captain. I am wondering though if the headspace may be a problem as well. The two pieces of metal that I cleaned out after firing could have been from the primers. I bought an AK for reliability, so this is really disappointing. I would have gotten another Saiga, but few to be had around here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 were the cases that fired, damaged? if so then that dont mean its a headspace problem for certain, but if they all do it, then there could be a problem. if your in doubt, then pick up some gauges and check it. get some go/no go gauges are all you really need. i wouldnt buy a field gauge. this is one of the only downsides to buying century builds. some are great, and some are problematic. and if it is a headspace problem, id send it back to century and make them fix it. it does have a warranty dont it? ive never dealt with their customer service so i have no clue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 No, the cases did not appear damaged. The primers were struck, and it looked as though it would be sufficient to fire the cartridge. And, might this poor head space cause the end of the pin to mushroom? I called the store where I got it, and they said just bring it back in. Honestly, it will cost me more in gas to drive back up there or ship it. I have a call and email into Century as well. Now if it were headspace, does that mean the bolt is messed up or the rifle itself? If it's just the bolt, I have no problem justy buying a new one. If there is more to it, I can take it to a gunsmith down the road and have him go through it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 well if the headspace is messed up then the only way to fix it is to move the barrel and re-pin it. but to answer your question, it would be the rifle. bolts on ak's are fitted to the rifles. out of spec headspace is dangerous to say the least. the primers could have been duds, but the pin shouldnt have mushroomed on you. id try the new pin and see what happens. what kind of ammo where you using? i get a lot of duds when i use east german surplus with the 04 headstamps. i try to run better ammo, but in my 5.45 i dont have many problems (if any) with russian 7n6. the pin could have been damaged from the start of the build. hard to say. after you get the new pin in, test fire it a few times and check the pin to see if its damaging it. if it was going to far into the primer, then the gas would blow back towards the bolt instead of pushing the bullet out. that'd be bad. what im thinking right off hand, 1. light primer strikes/hard primers 2. damaged firing pin from the start/too short of a pin. i wouldnt think that century (or any company for that matter) , would put a rifle to sell without headspacing it. that would be a law suit waiting to happen. its just hard to say if the pin was like this when you bought it. i wouldnt think that a hard primer would damage the pin a whole 1/8 inch. what i would do after your put in this new pin, if your still in doubt, then pick up some gauges. it may be a pain in the ass but at least you'll have a set and know for sure without sending your rifle off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 heres 3 of mine. they all measure the same 3 3/8. although hard to tell in the pic. and these are old surplus pins i got from sov. military. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 You are a wealth of info Captain!! I appreciate it. I used both Wolf and Tulaammo, which I had just bought and it really looked like the primer strikes were more than sufficient. In comparing the pin to my Saiga, they both appear to stick out about the same distance, but the WASR pin is definitely mushroomed. Thats what scares me. I'll take your advise and install the pin when it gets here. To play it safe though, I'll spend the $40 to have a gunsmith check the headspace. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 heres 3 of mine. they all measure the same 3 3/8. although hard to tell in the pic. and these are old surplus pins i got from sov. military. My firing pin looks NOTHING like those!! The "nipple" part is pretty much gone and is definitely flat. So the million dollar question is did they put a crappy used pin in (which also freezes in the bolt) or did poor headspace cause the pin to mushroom and get worn down in less than 10 rounds...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 well honestly, if it were me, id do the same. you'd be better safe than sorry. and for 40 bucks, it'd be better to know for certain and have some peace of mind than a trip to the ER or worse. and if you were using that ammo then i wouldnt think it would be the ammo. both of them companies use good primers. (still could be though, but doubtful.) if i had to guess, id say that the pin was bad from the start. cuz when checking headspace you have to strip the bolt in order to get an accurate reading with the gauge. so more than likely the pin is the culprit. and the damage on the front of it could be what is causing it to hang up in the bolt stem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
atakacorp 147 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 (edited) Man ,this is not a pin ,I had same problem with my PSL check hammer spring and clean the gas tube ,I think the spring is weak . Edited February 21, 2012 by atakacorp Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 (edited) what im thinking right off hand, 1. light primer strikes/hard primers 2. damaged firing pin from the start/too short of a pin. id still change it though if its getting stuck in the channel. edit: oops, i quoted myself by accident. Edited February 21, 2012 by Captain Hero Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I do have an extra hammer spring I can swap out. I have ordered a new fp and spoke with Century this morning. They are sending me a fp as well. They told me to try the new pin and if that is not the problem, then send the AK in to them. She said that they do run in to head space issues. If they know this, why can't they just start ensuring their products DONT SUCK and build them right the first time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WhiskeyMinion 300 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 She said that they do run in to head space issues. If they know this, why can't they just start ensuring their products DONT SUCK and build them right the first time. Because they are Century and they are not concerned with quality. Their only concern is pumping out rifles as fast as they can to make money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 well hopefully this will fix the problem, but if it dont then hold them to thier word and send it in. you will have done more than what you should have had to do to begin with imo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 I do have an extra hammer spring I can swap out. I have ordered a new fp and spoke with Century this morning. They are sending me a fp as well. They told me to try the new pin and if that is not the problem, then send the AK in to them. She said that they do run in to head space issues. If they know this, why can't they just start ensuring their products DONT SUCK and build them right the first time. Century doesn't build the WASR. It comes pretty much as-is from Romania, and Century installs the necessary 922r parts. I'm not saying that maybe they shouldn't check headspace on imported rifles that they didn't build - maybe they should - but the huge majority of these rifles work 100% out of the box. If your firing pin is getting stuck in the bolt, it's probably NOT a headspace issue. I would hold off on paying a gunsmith to do anything until you've swapped out the pin. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MT Predator 2,294 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I do have an extra hammer spring I can swap out. I have ordered a new fp and spoke with Century this morning. They are sending me a fp as well. They told me to try the new pin and if that is not the problem, then send the AK in to them. She said that they do run in to head space issues. If they know this, why can't they just start ensuring their products DONT SUCK and build them right the first time. Century doesn't build the WASR. It comes pretty much as-is from Romania, and Century installs the necessary 922r parts. I'm not saying that maybe they shouldn't check headspace on imported rifles that they didn't build - maybe they should - but the huge majority of these rifles work 100% out of the box. If your firing pin is getting stuck in the bolt, it's probably NOT a headspace issue. I would hold off on paying a gunsmith to do anything until you've swapped out the pin. +1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Got the new pin installed last night and test fired this morning. Shot 2 different types of ammo in both fmj and hp and everything ran just fine. Thanks to all for the wealth of information and help!! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Got the new pin installed last night and test fired this morning. Shot 2 different types of ammo in both fmj and hp and everything ran just fine. Thanks to all for the wealth of information and help!! your welcome! glad to see you got it running right. i had a feeling everything would be ok. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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