AK carrier/bolt question

[stagpanther]

My PSA AK extractor broke about a month ago and I just got around to replacing it today, my first time doing this for an AK. Let's get something out of the way first, I already know that PSA's AK is not premium quality and is known to take shortcuts. There are worse AK alternatives, though.

Getting the bolt apart was easy, getting the Arsenal replacement parts back in it wasn't. For whatever reason the replacement extractor retaining pin I bought simply would not fit in the PSA bolt, so I had to reuse the PSA's. Upon firing pin install I also reused PSA's firing pin retaining pin--it was then I noticed that they put a pretty significant peen on the end of the pin. I've reassembled everything and taken it out and the rifle functions just as it should with no issues.

My question is this--that peen on the pin rides atop the lug ever so slightly, which as far as I can figure out by examining the various parts possibly induces a slight cant to the bolt when it rotates within the carrier--do all AK bolts have the same peened head to the firing pin retaining pin? Trying to figure out if I'm over-concerned.

PS: I've looked at some videos on-line of other AK bolts and it seems like the bolt lug has a recess so that firing pin retaining pin peened head does not protrude above the bearing surface of the lug--the PSA bolt I have does not have this recess.

[chadio]

Stag - good to hear your rifle is now running well.

I'm curious to know more about this very subject ... (and all things AK). One would think that there is a utoob on bolt and extractor minutiae.

[stagpanther]

Stag - good to hear your rifle is now running well.

I'm curious to know more about this very subject ... (and all things AK). One would think that there is a utoob on bolt and extractor minutiae.

Thanks--There are--but there are wide variations depending manufacturer and type of gun. What I'm trying to find out is whether or not this feature will prematurely wear upon all the components and increase the likelihood of a failure. My experience tells me it's a definite possibility, but I don't know AK's nearly as well as I know AR's.

Here's the peen on the pin that I'm talking about--you can clearly see how it protrudes above the surface of the lug and it's obvious it's a wear point. AK tolerances are "loosey goosey" to begin with--so I'm not sure that it really is a major concern, but the evidence I see says it's not a good thing in general.

[jetinteriorguy]

Compared to the bolt in my MAC90 that looks so unrefined, not impressed with PSA. All the pins in my bolt are recessed slightly in their respective holes. Personally I’d take a file and just file it flush, can’t hurt anything and may help avoid any potential problems.

[chadio]

Would it be feasible / advisable to chamfer the 'pictured end' of the hole for the pin, so that the resulting peen is flush?

/edit/

Keep in mind, I am not a gunsmith or machinist or AK authority, this just seems like a possible answer. I envision that the hardness of the bolt would sacrifice a drill bit (for introducing a chamfer) and a new pin would be involved.

[stagpanther]

Compared to the bolt in my MAC90 that looks so unrefined, not impressed with PSA. All the pins in my bolt are recessed slightly in their respective holes. Personally I’d take a file and just file it flush, can’t hurt anything and may help avoid any potential problems.

I thought about that--but I've read that the firing pin retaining pin is slightly tapered; so I'm not sure if it would properly retain the firing pin if I did that. If I knew that another make carrier and bolt would fit I'd probably just get a new one--but knowing PSA's approach I suspect there is a slight dimensional variation that would not allow that.

Would it be feasible / advisable to chamfer the 'pictured end' of the hole for the pin, so that the resulting peen is flush?

That's a good idea as well--though I have seen bolts that have a slight recess where that peen head sits so that it does not protrude the way it does on this bolt.

[stagpanther]

Went out again today for more testing, I thought I really had everything licked--but POIs started wandering and after going down the list of usual suspects I discovered the Zhukov stock had yet again worked its way loose, something it's done several times in the past but I had forgotten about. I'm done with the stupid thing and now want a permanently solid attachment stock--any suggestions?

Discovered the retaining nut for the main screw was gone.

[stagpanther]

After removing the stock I took a deeper look at the other parts, was kinda surprised to find magpul's lower hand guard is secured by bolting a hefty alum. plate--I think it might actually double as a heat shield (left of the hand guard in the pic) to the barrel by two clamps. The hand guard itself slides over this and plugs into the receiver and is held in place with two screws into the plate. I decided I'm not especially fond of this arrangement and ordered PSA's cheapest polymer furniture set to replace the Zhukov stuff--which I suspect will also significantly lighten the weight of the rifle. Notice that the barrel is missing the lower hand guard band, I thought that was going to be a major hassle to get one on--but actually that should make it easier when transitioning to something like Sureshot's free-float hand guard which I will probably try one day. In the meantime a bit of googling turned up Carolina Shooter's Supply which actually makes a clamshell bolt-on retaining band. That should save me from banging and scratching the barrel.

[stagpanther]

Since the wait on PSA might very well take a long time--I decided to do some dressing up, added a jard adjustable trigger bringing the pull down from 6.5 lbs to around 3 lbs. Also gave it a coat of Brownell's Coyote--my all-around favorite firearm color and paint treatment. Reinstalled the Zhukov stock but I'm going to wait on the lower Handguard.

[seanc]

My Vepr's pins have no peening at all. From my recollection, the Saiga's I used to have didn't have any peen either.

Also, I've put a couple thousand rounds of 7.62x39 through my Vepr and the bolt still looks new. Again, my recollection of my Saiga's was the same, and I put a lot more rounds through those.

[stagpanther]

My Vepr's pins have no peening at all. From my recollection, the Saiga's I used to have didn't have any peen either.

Also, I've put a couple thousand rounds of 7.62x39 through my Vepr and the bolt still looks new. Again, my recollection of my Saiga's was the same, and I put a lot more rounds through those.

I might just machine it down and see what happens, worst case scenario (hopefully) is I have to buy a new retaining pin. After having built dozens of AR's over the years I'm getting closer to trying to build an AK from parts and stripped receiver from the ground up.

[Ignition Override]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxk1wAOznsU

Rob's results on a specific PSA model here are encouraging.

5,000 rds. total.

[stagpanther]

I love Rob's stuff--he seems a bit overenthusiastic about PSA AK's IMO--but he loves them so no harm in that. I'd gladly throw mine in a swamp for a Zastava.

[stagpanther]

Good grief! I just received notice from a vendor that they have some legacy complete Russian AK parts kits (Tula and Izmash) dating from the 60's/70's for just a hair under 2K!

Also decided to use a Burris RT3 prism optic in place of the bulkski primary arms AK scope which is only 4x max mag anyway. That should bring the all-up weight down around 7.5 lbs, comparable to my decked out AR's.

[chadio]

Thanks for the photos, stag.... your paint job looks cool!!!!!

I hope the heat doesn't bother the paint....

[stagpanther]

I hope the heat doesn't bother the paint....

Never has on any of my other builds that I painted the same way, but I'm not a continuous-fire mag-dumper, either.

[chadio]

re: not a mag dumper ... same here, serves no purpose

What do you think of the bi-color two-tone paint theme? Not my rifle, but a good looking one..... might work on an AK

[stagpanther]

What do you think of the bi-color two-tone paint theme? Not my rifle, but a good looking one..... might work on an AK

The only thing that matters is that YOU like it! (and of course you can shoot it well). I generally like my painted stuff to be simple, but i have been known to take a few "wild benders" for the fun of it. I'm already getting tired of waiting on psa and am running out of things to do while waiting for the additional parts--though I decided to color-coordinate the prism scope as well.

[stagpanther]

The PSA parts order is still lost in space--so I ordered Magpul's conventional AK/AKM grips from Midway and they arrived yesterday. I actually like the lower better than the Zhukov version they also make. Carolina Shooter's clamshell retainer fits perfectly and the lower grip is solidly retained with zero movement. This is a great option for changing grip configurations since you don't have to worry about removing the other barrel attachments. Also, with the shorter handguard, the bayonet mount fitting is accessible again.

[chadio]

Looking good!!! Since you are generous with pictures, can we be greedy and ask to see the bayonet on your rifle

[stagpanther]

Looking good!!! Since you are generous with pictures, can we be greedy and ask to see the bayonet on your rifle

Ah--that I don't have.

After a week and a half PSA has successfully printed a shipping label, so I guess some progress is being made.

[stagpanther]

Since you like pics...

Here's a new load I've never tried before, AA 5744 driving 123 varmegeddons. Crazy as it sounds, I've conserving my supply of Russian-made steel-case Wolf ammo since it's likely it will never again be imported in my lifetime.

[jetinteriorguy]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

Since you like pics...

Here's a new load I've never tried before, AA 5744 driving 123 varmegeddons. Crazy as it sounds, I've conserving my supply of Russian-made steel-case Wolf ammo since it's likely it will never again be imported in my lifetime.

Those Varmageddons have been the most accurate I’ve used in my AR47, haven’t tried them in my MAC90 though. Funny thing, I started loading 7.62x39 so I could shoot my MAC more without dipping into my other stash, but it beats up the brass so bad I picked up an AR Stoner upper and put together a lower pretty cheap so I could shoot my handloads more without tearing up the brass.

[stagpanther]

I picked up an AR Stoner upper and put together a lower pretty cheap so I could shoot my handloads more without tearing up the brass.

Mine seems to be moderately torturous with brass, but if everything is just right it usually ejects brass very far away--sometimes 20 yds with minimal damage. Test firing yesterday I made a major mistake of going out late in the afternoon--so I had to use red illumination--on a red paper target mounted on a red piece of cardboard. Not my best decision. Did manage to find a couple of groups with promise, though. I've been using almost exclusively my stash of Genix primers since I bought 5,000 of them and they were the only ones available at the time. Yesterday I had lost count in my shots and since the PSA AK does not lock back I had pulled the trigger on one magazine and there was no bang, I waited a few seconds before reaching to clear and was about to pull the handle when BANG--off she went, that was a hang fire of something between 5 to 10 seconds.

I generally prefer fine powders like 1680 for my AK/AR47 loads, but 5744 is a pretty large stick powder--it doesn't flow well through my powder dispenser either. I'll try it again since I did have a couple of groups where most of the shots in the group were almost touching at 110 yds.

[jetinteriorguy]

I’ve use a lot of 1680 since it’s the powder, but I’ve also had good results with H335 and extremely good results with RE7, wished I could find an 8 pounder of that or even a few one ponders.