[mrbieler]

Took the AA 1919 to the range for the 2nd time today. Two 100 round belts of South African and one 100 round belt of brand new Remington 150gr .308.

The trigger work I did after the last range visit has done wonders. The trigger is smooth, lighter, and 100% reliable.

The gun munched through both SA belts without a single hiccup, misfeed, etc. I was clanging the 300 yard plate with ease and loving life.

After the SA ammo was gone, I pulled the gun and rechecked headspace with the new RP ammo. From the get go, things went wrong. I could chamber a round, and it would fire, but would not pick up the 2nd round. I could rack the charging handle all day and nothing worked. However, if I open the top cover and charge the gun, it would chamber the round manually. I tried the belt in both direction with the same results. I took off the trunion protection and nothing changed. Sometimes it would fire a string of 2~3 rounds, but it would always stop again.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any SA left with me to retest to see if it was the ammo or the gun.

Any thoughts? I'd like to think I just have an ammo issue and will save this stuff for my FAL's in the future, but wanted to get some other ideas as well.

 

[afghanvet]

I'm really new with the 1919a4, but I'm going to try and help. I had the same problem with mine. It was a headspace issue. After changing the headspace one click at a time, I finally found the sweet spot. Good luck!!!

 

[2ndamndmnt]

is the remington soft point or fmj?

 

[mrbieler]

Wish I had kept the boxes for it. It's FMJ.

 

[mrbieler]

I'm an idiot.

Came back in from cleaning the gun and have been staring at things to figure out the problem.

The commercial Remington rounds are too short. If I had had left over SA ammo, I probably would have spotted it quicker at the range. Now that I'm home I am comparing it to the other surplus I have and have watched both cycle through the gun by hand.

The Remington bullet is a fair bit smaller then the surplus. The bolt is pushing the round forward out of the extractor.

I'm probably in good shape. I'll know with the next range trip. Going to bring a mix of South African, Santa Barbara, and some Pindad.

The Remington will get run through the FAL's from now on.

 

[kkkriverrats]

I beg to differ

You are not an idiot, to the contrary you are a smart guy.

You examined the problem, and figured it out all by your self.

Instead of poking hot bamboo splinters under your toenails, because you didn't figure it out sooner, open a beer and congratulate yourself for your competence.

 

[Lucky#13]

Agreed with kkkriverrats. You done good. This has become a fairly common issue. My local range has rules eliminating my stash of Greek surplus -06, so I got some commercial stuff and it was a mess. Some foreign brands I tried once worked, but this U.S. commercial was way too short. Have 30 or so rounds left.

Then I was perusing a manual, and noted the issue "short round stop", which specifically mentions it is for, wonder of wonders, ammo that is too short. Now I have a couple of those lying around somewhere and never thought much about them. Has anybody here ever fired a 30-06 1919 with the short round stop installed? I don't know that it will help in this case, but I intend to find mine, install it and see if it makes a difference.

 

[kkkriverrats]

Yes

I tried it once just for the hell of it. OOW sent one when they exchanged the 7.62 parts for the .30'06 kit that I ordered. Took a while to figure out WTF it was. It made no difference since I was shooting CMP LC ball. I think it will be needing it since I am running low on M2 ball projectiles and am planning to use Hornaday 147 gn FMJBT this projectile has an entirely different profile, I think it's a copy of the 7.62 M80, than the M2 and will require developing a new load since the 147 gn will require deeper seating , creating a shorter OAL, for the case mouth to catch the cannalure. Getting to the point where the CMP Greek is almost a break even with reloading. Hopefully, some more M2 ball projectiles will surface.

I believe that the original was supposed to be peened in place. I plan on using a tapped hole in the top of short round stop with a counterbore extending down into the front cartridge stop and using a locking set screw.

 

[mrbieler]

Thanks. I'm happy I was able to walk myself through this. Frustrated I didn't see it earlier.

Yeah, I was bummed about the Greek stuff as well. The price was right, but not being able to shoot it at the ranges kills things. Only use it in my Garand and 03a3, but still.

 

[Commander47]

]Has anybody here ever fired a 30-06 1919 with the short round stop installed?[/B].

I did the exact same thing after completing my 1919. I had a bunch of loose .308 laying around and linked it up.

Got to the range and discovered all the rounds were short and would jam.

Duhhhhh, could have had a V-8.

I forgot that .308 NATO is longer. This was never a problem with my FAL as it seems to not mind the shorter rounds at all.

I posted a pic about a year or so ago of a guide I made that can be put in and removed in order to shoot the pricey hunting rounds. What happens is that the short rounds get pushed forward a bit and the extractor arm can't grab the rim. It just slides off.

I"ll try to find it and repost again. I was able to fashion a rather simple drop in bullet guide on the feed tray which allowed me to burn up all that old .308.

 

[Mouse]

Yeah, I was bummed about the Greek stuff as well. The price was right, but not being able to shoot it at the ranges kills things.

What's wrong with it? Does it attract a magnet so they won't let you shoot it?

 

[overbore]

Ammo length

Yesterday I posted a ammo length response to new reloader so I will hit the highlights here: I cheated and took a precision caliper to my Izzy 7.62 build and discovered that the max interior cartridge space for 7.62 rounds in my build is 2.832". The maximum specs for rounds is 2.801". As a 45+ year of reloading type, I check the bullet lengths to verify that even the new polymer tip bullets vary in length thereby changing the loaded round length so I set my Dillon seating die ( hint hint ) at such length so that my length tolerances are plus or minus a small tad from 2.800". The Hornady 150gr soft point bullets have what they call a locking ring or grove to bond the jacket to the core; this is NOT the place to seat your bullets if you have a great tight crimp die like Lee or Dillon. Set to the proper length!!! If any new reloader need help send me a PM or e-mail <[email protected]> Cordially, Overbore

 

[mrbieler]

What's wrong with it? Does it attract a magnet so they won't let you shoot it?

Yeah, the CMP Greek ammo attracts the magnet.

I still use it when we go to the desert to shoot, but I have no desire to be the guy who causes another large California wild fire.