New Vepr- range report.... Some problems! Help!

[glennjason 0]

Ok... Just got my Vepr 12 and was obviously super excited to test it out. I was lucky enough to score 6 SGM 12 round mags and 6 factory 5-round mags.... Thank god! These are hard to come by and I hope to get my hands on some Russian 8-rounders.

 

Day 1-

Had 3 boxes of Winchester & Fiocchi 7 1/2 birdshot, 2 boxes of Hornady Tap 00buck and 20 rounds of Federal rifled slugs. I brought all the factory mags and 2 SGM mags. I've read countless times that the SGM mags suck but I was optimistic.

 

The factory mags rocked! Not one problem. Now it was time for the SGM's. Keepin' my fingers crossed. Loaded them up and WHAMMO not one failure! Yeeeeeehaw!!! I'm in love! And yes, it is possible to fall in love with a fighting machine.

 

100 rounds or so and not one problem except for a super sore shoulder.

 

Day 2-

This time I decided to buy some light and extra light 7 1/2 and 8 birdshot. I also brought along about 50 rounds of Fiocchi 7 1/2 high brass. The light and extra light was a nightmare. FTE's were a constant annoyance. This happened with both the factory and SGM mags.

 

I decided to really make sure my stance and grip were nothing but that of a statue. I figured maybe that would fix the problem but nope. Anyone else experience that problem of light and extra light not ejecting???

 

Then I loaded up the exact same shot shells as used on my first day at the range some Winchester and Fiocchi 7 1/2 shot and although the FTE rate improved I still had some issues. Man.... I was so pissed!

 

Any reason why the same ammo worked perfectly one day and not the next???

 

Also... My magazine catch doesn't always catch? It needs a wiggle to left and it catches. How can I fix this???

[MAKAK47 21]

My Vepr-12 hates anything that goes below 1290 fps, that's my border line, I will not shoot anything slower than that

I find Federal game loads 1290 fps 7-1/2 shot shoots amazingly well, only one FTE through the factory magazines, anything faster than that I've had no issues with

I tried winchester bulk 1145 or so FPS and it jammed about every 2-3 shells

[glennjason 0]

That's almost exactly how much mine jammed!

 

Funny but my benelli M2 will cycle anything! Wish the Vepr was the same!

 

Also, any ideas about the mag catch not grabbing? It happens with the factory mags and SGM mags. A wiggle will get it to catch but in a stressful situation, needing to give it a wiggle can get you killed!

[ec4321 113]

M2 is self regulating.

 

Vepr is not.

[DresNightfire 39]

The M2 also has a smaller/lighter bolt. With the lower powered (lighter loads) shells you will either need to stick with the minimum of 1290fps 1oz shells or use a lighter recoil spring. Some users have trimmed off two coils off of their factory recoil spring (which matches the Saiga 12 factory spring), but I wouldn't recommend doing that. I threw in a factory Saiga 12 recoil spring or you upgrade to the low recoil performance spring (CSS did this to cycle light loads more efficiently).

[Aries144 10]

I tried a lighter 1911 recoil spring and that worked for birdshot, but I wasn't really happy with that solution as it wasn't just increasing bolt carrier velocity, it was probably also affecting the timing of unlocking. This was not something I wanted to do if I also wanted to shoot heavier loads. I didn't want to have to switch out recoil springs between birdshot and slugs or buck, so I kept looking for another solution.

My Vepr 12's FCG had the most resistance to cocking the hammer of any AK FCG I've ever worked with. The hammer encounters a lot of resistance pushing past the disconnector. If you watch as you cock the hammer while pulling the bolt to the rear, this extra resistance robs the bolt assembly of velocity just millimeters before an extracted hull reaches the ejector. This is like watching a kid slamming on the brakes for a second right before trying to jump his bike on a ramp.

I decided to modify a trigger hammer and disconnector to resemble the "match" FCG PapaZorro (I think) posted pics of on this forum. I found that the areas different between the Match FCG and stock one addressed every issue I found when examining the stock parts. Changing the geometry of these FCG parts eliminated 99% of my FTE issues. I now only have issues with the cheap Estate #7 1/2 shot that has the deeply recessed crimp and excessively protruding lip. (The lip often deforms during feeding and gets caught on the upper extractor groove)

If you're mechanically inclined at all, modifying an FCG with a dremel, file, and sandpaper might be the best solution.

Edited February 21, 2013 by Aries144

[glennjason 0]

Hey... Thanks for the advice! I am by far not savvy enough to re-wrok the FCG but I have a guy in Ohio, where I'm from that can definitely get the job done! I'm gonna give it a shot.

 

Thank you for the feedback! Will keep you posted!

[Aries144 10]

This link will give you some visual aid on how to solve the issue. Here is a pic of the standard trigger and disconnector vs the "IPSC" factory modified trigger and disconnector: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_QN6llnN2rI/TsVSlmD0bGI/AAAAAAAABTk/IhJJUR_Ajqo/s912/IMG_9530.JPG

 

The picture doesn't show it well, but there is some meat removed from the front-facing slant on the disconnector as well. I also removed some metal from the mating section of the hammer.

If you explain that you want to reduce the amount of force needed to get the hammer to latch and show these pictures, any competent gunsmith should be able to get this done.