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Dropping The Bolt On a Chambred Round?


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Just wondering if doing this is bad for the extractor or any other parts. Also,what are the chances of a slam fire when doing this, especially with a free floating firing pin like most x39 AKs have? I'm guessing the chances are slim, but just want to make sure.

 

The reason I ask is because when using SP ammo, I noticed the exposed lead tip of the bullet just barely catches the edge of the bullet guide when chambering, slightly deforming it in the process. I'm sure this more than likely has a negative effect on accuracy. I was hoping to avoid this by manually chambering the round, then dropping the bolt.

 

Thanks for any input.     

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From what I've gathered, the primers for the x39 cartridge should be harder so that they cannot be slam fired due to free floating firing pins. Also, manually manipulating the bolt via the charging handle will never generate the forces experienced upon firing.

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It depends on how you chamber the round and whether you've done it before. If you chamber a round by pulling the charging handle back and releasing it, allowing the bolt to slam forward - the chance of a slam fire is minimal the first time. However, if you inspect the cartridge you will probably find a small dent in the primer due to the floating firing pin. One that primer is a little dented, it really isn't safe to chamber in that fashion a second time. If you gently close the action to chamber the round, there's never enough inertia for the firing pin to dent the primer, and you're fine. No greater chance of slamfire upon re-chambering that same round.

Just for the fuck of it I chambered the same round over and over trying to get a slam fire out of a Romanian AK. I used Russian non-corrosive blanks, chambered each one 10 times before giving up. I did this with 5 blanks, and none of them went off - by the time I was done each one had a severely dented primer. Note that while doing this fairly stupid thing that could have easily resulted in an out-of-battery detonation, I was wearing a full leather welding coat, welding gloves, and face shield. Despite the damage to the primers, they all fired and cycled just fine afterwards.

I'm not suggesting a slamfire can't happen - it definitely can. I would imagine it's a bigger problem in a round with a softer primer, like commercial .223 or .308. Pardon my ignorance - can anyone tell me whether the Saiga rifles in those calibers have floating firing pins?

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It depends on how you chamber the round and whether you've done it before. If you chamber a round by pulling the charging handle back and releasing it, allowing the bolt to slam forward - the chance of a slam fire is minimal the first time. However, if you inspect the cartridge you will probably find a small dent in the primer due to the floating firing pin. One that primer is a little dented, it really isn't safe to chamber in that fashion a second time. If you gently close the action to chamber the round, there's never enough inertia for the firing pin to dent the primer, and you're fine. No greater chance of slamfire upon re-chambering that same round.

 

Just for the fuck of it I chambered the same round over and over trying to get a slam fire out of a Romanian AK. I used Russian non-corrosive blanks, chambered each one 10 times before giving up. I did this with 5 blanks, and none of them went off - by the time I was done each one had a severely dented primer. Note that while doing this fairly stupid thing that could have easily resulted in an out-of-battery detonation, I was wearing a full leather welding coat, welding gloves, and face shield. Despite the damage to the primers, they all fired and cycled just fine afterwards.

 

I'm not suggesting a slamfire can't happen - it definitely can. I would imagine it's a bigger problem in a round with a softer primer, like commercial .223 or .308. Pardon my ignorance - can anyone tell me whether the Saiga rifles in those calibers have floating firing pins?

 

.308 is spring loaded. .223 I'd assume is probably the same.

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The reason I ask is because when using SP ammo, I noticed the exposed lead tip of the bullet just barely catches the edge of the bullet guide when chambering, slightly deforming it in the process. I'm sure this more than likely has a negative effect on accuracy. I was hoping to avoid this by manually chambering the round, then dropping the bolt.

 

Thanks for any input.     

 

Why bother? Unless you chamber them all individually, every round that cycles after that will do the same thing anyway.

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The reason I ask is because when using SP ammo, I noticed the exposed lead tip of the bullet just barely catches the edge of the bullet guide when chambering, slightly deforming it in the process. I'm sure this more than likely has a negative effect on accuracy. I was hoping to avoid this by manually chambering the round, then dropping the bolt.

 

Thanks for any input.     

 

Why bother? Unless you chamber them all individually, every round that cycles after that will do the same thing anyway.

 

 

True.

 

I just want to see what kind of accuracy I can get with the SP ammo without the tip being deformed. I'm going to try polishing the edge of the bullet guide as Lone Eagle mentioned to see if that helps. Until then, I'm fine with chambering each round individually.   

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The reason I ask is because when using SP ammo, I noticed the exposed lead tip of the bullet just barely catches the edge of the bullet guide when chambering, slightly deforming it in the process. I'm sure this more than likely has a negative effect on accuracy. I was hoping to avoid this by manually chambering the round, then dropping the bolt.

 

Thanks for any input.     

 

Why bother? Unless you chamber them all individually, every round that cycles after that will do the same thing anyway.

 

 

True.

 

I just want to see what kind of accuracy I can get with the SP ammo without the tip being deformed. I'm going to try polishing the edge of the bullet guide as Lone Eagle mentioned to see if that helps. Until then, I'm fine with chambering each round individually.   

 

Gotcha. Well that being said, the extractor will be fine. The stress the extractor experiences in either scenario is pretty much identical.

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