9mm empties are just barely dribbling out of my Vector FA. Lots of stovepipe jams. So I smashed it against a tree and it broke apart.

[Dirk Hawthorne]

Hi, everyone!

I am getting weak extraction from my full size FA vector

I tried making my handloads hotter and I tried CCI 147 grain factory ammo.

Still getting weak ejection.

Made sure my bolt slides freely back and forth. About 0.008 clearance to the top cover.

Made sure my bolt is IMI and the extractor is a FA and in good shape.

BWE rewelded the back plate and trunnions and gave it a once over. The barrel is a BWE, but I also tried it with one of those huge-mouth barrels that US Barrel Shrouds used to sell.

I don't know what else

 

[Dirk Hawthorne]

to do, except maybe try +p ammo in it.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

[K2]

Hi Dirk,

Verify the recoil spring force. There is an old thread that details the procedure.

Try a different bolt. Any SMG bolt will fit the Vector. Swap extractors also.

Feel the end of the ejector: The end should be normal to the bore axis.

Try a different lube. Sounds weird but some guns like certain lubes.

Make sure you check the top cover clearance w/o the recoil spring in place.

Check the rails on the inside of the top cover for straightness. Sometimes a "hump" in the top cover is missed when setting the cover gap.

Try a different grip frame. The height of the magazine may be messing with the empty brass getting knocked off the extractor before it hits the ejector.

Good guns. Sometimes frustrating. I've a pair right now coming in for similar problems (in this case both are IMI conversions).

Good luck, keep us posted.

Enjoy,

K2

 

[MGMAN45]

Try some 124 gr NATO ammo in it and see what happens?

 

[hkg3k]

A loose ejector will also cause the symptoms you are having...any movement at all of the ejector is no good.

 

[Samuel_Hoggson]

I'm thinking ejector issue, too. Vector .22 kits came with instructions to take a file (judiciously, duh) to the ejector if needed. Little bit at a time means different things to people.

 

[124NATO]

If you take a new de-primed brass you can check to see if there are any alignment issues between the barrel and bolt face causing friction during ejection, it would show down the works .
Not sure if this is helpful ...

 

[brenbuilds]

+1 on the ejector. If the hook profile is not correct it will cause malfunctions and if it is crooked or loose it can bind the bolt. I think investigating the top cover again would be good too.

 

[trilogymac]

My buddy just had stovepipes/crushed cases. The fix was as simple as removing the ejector and cleaning the hardened carbon deposits off.

 

[chili17]

The extractor hole in the bolt might be dirty or it has lost tension

 

[mike400]

+ P ammo will help, however it just may power through another problem. I would lean towards recoil spring tension, loose ejector and I would clean the extractor(including the hole in the bolt it resides in). Let us know what happens. The UZI is a simple system with relatively cheap parts to swap in, Good Luck!

 

[Hey...]

Best thread title, ever.

 

[Chef]

Best thread title, ever.

100%

When I read it, I was hoping for some pictures!
I thought, here's a guy who actually did what I've thought about doing on occasion, except at my age, it's not my empties that are "dribbling out"...

 

[gorillastomp]

The extractor hole in the bolt might be dirty or it has lost tension

This is the exact same thing that I had an issue with. Remove the extractor and clean it. Just a simple thing but it was my fix.

 

[Dirk Hawthorne]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

For starters, I'm going to swap out my spring, bolt and extractor for brand new and I loaded up some 124s with the max charge of Unique.

Hopefully I'll have an update today.

 

[Dirk Hawthorne]

Hi Dirk,

Verify the recoil spring force. There is an old thread that details the procedure.

Try a different bolt. Any SMG bolt will fit the Vector. Swap extractors also.

Feel the end of the ejector: The end should be normal to the bore axis.

Try a different lube. Sounds weird but some guns like certain lubes.

Make sure you check the top cover clearance w/o the recoil spring in place.

Check the rails on the inside of the top cover for straightness. Sometimes a "hump" in the top cover is missed when setting the cover gap.

Try a different grip frame. The height of the magazine may be messing with the empty brass getting knocked off the extractor before it hits the ejector.

Good guns. Sometimes frustrating. I've a pair right now coming in for similar problems (in this case both are IMI conversions).

Good luck, keep us posted.

Enjoy,

K2

Can you please direct me to the old thread about checking the recoil spring? I think it might have gone into the Internet Memory Hole.

Just an FYI for everyone, I tried using Lubriplate gun grease instead of my usual Mobil One, and it sucked. It slowed the bolt down like a screen door damper. Definitely not the thing for an SMG bolt.

I don't use regular gun oil in my UZI, because it tended to bake when I had my MAC10. It would literally turn into baked grit ooze. Mobil One seems to do the job.

 

[Dirk Hawthorne]

How far away from you do your empties fly?

If it's only 4 feet or so, I guess I'm GTG. Seems like it should be more than that.

 

[Dirk Hawthorne]

This guy's empties don't seem to be flying that far, about like what I was seeing with factory ammo.

 

[Dirk Hawthorne]

Update -

I tried checking and swapping everything one thing at a time.

Turned out that a new extractor and higher velocity ammo pretty much fixed the problem.

My reloads with 124 grain lead bullets and 12 year old Unique powder land on the floor about 2 feet away, and new CCI ammo empties land about 4 or 5 feet.

It still runs poorly when my Bowers CAC9 with barrel nut mount system are attached, which I find strange.

The new extractor is more bent than the old one, I guess the old one took a "set" and relaxed spring tension a little. Aside from that it looks fine. Maybe I'll rebend it and try it out.

 

[Operator45]

Update -

I tried checking and swapping everything one thing at a time.

Turned out that a new extractor and higher velocity ammo pretty much fixed the problem.

My reloads with 124 grain lead bullets and 12 year old Unique powder land on the floor about 2 feet away, and new CCI ammo empties land about 4 or 5 feet.

It still runs poorly when my Bowers CAC9 with barrel nut mount system are attached, which I find strange.

The new extractor is more bent than the old one, I guess the old one took a "set" and relaxed spring tension a little. Aside from that it looks fine. Maybe I'll rebend it and try it out.

First, kudos on that traffic-stopping thread title! Thanks for the laugh.

Second, while I don't have experience with the Bowers, I do have with a couple other cans running on Sig P320s used in the Flux Raider platform. Recoil spring tuning is 'a thing'. While a PITA, if you buy a replacement spring, chop a few coils, stretch back to length and then try, maybe it'll help. FWIW and YMMV.

Third, extractors, like all machined parts, have some variability. Carefully tuning extractors in 1911s was a thing in my IPSC days many many (many) years ago. Suggest if your budget allows, have a couple spares just in case.