Still FTE... AGAIN

[madman201]

I'm getting frustrated need some good advice….

Just talked to the gunsmith that is working on my Centaury Arms Golani and now he is saying that the problem with my rifle for failure to eject is because of the mags. I had purchased a number of mags from Midway USA and went to the range after he had replaced the ejector. After 3 or 4 rounds using each mag I would get a FTE. So now I’m looking for brand new mags.

What do you think of the TAPCO mags they have for sale at Midway USA.?

TAPCO Magazine Galil, Century Golani Sporter 223 Remington 30-Round Polymer Black $13.19

Am I wasting more money on this thing???


Thanks ALL

 

[drumenigma]

Have you taken the mags apart at all? Some of the surplus mags internals are in pretty bad shape. You should be able to replace the springs with Wolf ar-15 30 round extra power springs which should help with mag function. Also give the inside a scrub and also the follower and floorplate if needed. I had to do this to a few of mine and they work 100%.

 

[fingaz]

Replaced the <ejector>? That is a bog job, did you mean to say extractor?

When I first got my Golani it had a real problem with failure to eject (and often extract) with all 4 of my mags. On a trip to the range the first mag through the gun would work fine, but after that, 20% issues or so.

I bought a new extractor and spring set from polygunbags and it has been 100% perfect regardless of ammo ever since!

 

[DoctorV]

Do you have a case stuck in the chamber? In all mags that you tried?

 

[Jagdraben]

I would suggest that one remembers that Tapco has earned every letter of their endearing nickname of 'Crapco'. I would look to IMI steel and Orlite magazines only. If you want to try the Tapco magazines, I would buy only one and test it to destruction before looking at sinking a bunch of money into them. And at $13 a magazine, there's not much to be lost in doing so.

 

[Tom5390]

The Tapco mags work great in my golani. I actually think they fit the Century receivers better than the originals (at least in my experience). No wobble and the feed lips fit the tightest to the rails compared to the originals, course this is due to the US receivers used being out of spec. They seem to sit up a tad bit higher as well which can also help fix bolt over ride problems that some golani's can experience. Course each century golani seems to like different mags depending on their variances.

Getting back to the original post...I would think a mag problem would tend to cause FTF, rather than FTE, unless I'm missing something here. If you are having failures to extract it could be your chamber needs a little polishing/cleaning or you may have a worn extractor and or spring. If you are having failures to eject I'd take a look at the ejector. Another thing I'd check is to hand cycle some rounds and see if the bullet tips are getting smashed into the cases as this is a common problem with many of the century golani's if the rounds hit the bottom of the chamber opening. This too in turn can cause FTE's sometimes as well.

 

[Che]

"Another thing I'd check is to hand cycle some rounds and see if the bullet tips are getting smashed into the cases as this is a common problem with many of the century golani's if the rounds hit the bottom of the chamber opening. This too in turn can cause FTE's sometimes as well."

And can be dangerous, especially if the bullet is pushed back into the case which can cause pressures to go beyond safe levels.

I agree with others, that I do not think you have a mag problem but more extractor or ejector worn/not angled correctly. If you do this slowly WITH A DUMMY /PLASTIC ROUND with the top cover off, what happens? Does the case come out of the chamber? Does the round extract but not eject away from the inside of the rifle?

 

[Jagdraben]

Che, I did your test with my Golani as it is having similar problems. The snap-caps promptly flew out of the receiver as soon as they hit the ejector. Before I got my snap-caps out, though, I tried it with a spent cartridge and it was tight. Took a good whack on the charging handle (with my girly hands. Not with a rubber mallet or similar) to get the bolt to come out of battery. Does this indicate that the chamber is rough? Or is the weapon overgassed and the bolt is unlocking early and the brass is subsequently stretching? Or... is that normal with an auto-loader? I've never put once-fired (but pre-reloaded) brass into the chamber of an auto-loader before.

EDIT: I have replaced the extractor spring and the recoil guide rod assembly spring, as both were worn (and the latter was rusty). There is also definite wear at the back of the receiver from the bolt/bolt carrier striking the rear of the weapon. I'll probably get an R4 buffer to fix that. (It appears that the same thing is happening with my AKS-74 in 5.56mm, but the marks are less definite and I have put a lot more rounds through the AK.)

 

[DoctorV]

And following up on the FTE and magazines: can somebody explain, how a bad magazine can cause the FTE mechanistically? I heard it could, but I cannot see how. Once the round is in the chamber and the extractor is engaged, how can a magazine interfere with the backward movement of the bolt? Unless there is something in the magazine that prevents the proper chambering? Sorry for rumbling, but I have some FTE issues myself and I still try to get an idea what are possible causative factors.
Val

 

[White Phosphorus]

FTE issues in the Galil can have a number of sources. Your extractor and extractor spring can be bad, your chamber can be out of spec..... or the gas system timing can be off. There could also be drag on the moving parts at some point, which could be caused by a faulty magazine.

Most of these have easy fixes but if that hole in your barrel is too big or too small........

Also, a gunsmith's word should be taken with a grain of salt unless they have specific knowledge about the weapon in question. I've seen some horrible decisions made by a proficient gunsmith when he starts working on something he's not familiar with.

V.