[AaronHorrocks]

I took my AA M1919A4 (in .30-06, yes I know it's a .308 kit converted back to .30-06) out to my girlfriend's parents ranch to test fire some blanks. I was using the Military M6 BFA from BMG parts (not notch shape) and IMI .30-06 blanks made in '92.

First 4 fired off just fine. Let pa try to shoot, and no fire. open top cover to see chambered round! Reload and cock, nothing. cock again and the next two rounds fired fire. Another failure to fire. Reload and cock, and the last two rounds fired okay. (or something to that order). The Primers are intact in the rounds that didn't fire.
What happend?

I notice when I open and cycle the gun that the extractor doesn't freely move up and down. I usually have to push it up or down a tiny bit, so make it around the guides on the RSP. It should fall by gravity, right? It's not like it's hard to push, but it's just not falling on it's own. I was thinking of putting another .308 extractor I have in there just to try it out again later. Or maybe I should buy a .30-06 one for the heck of it?

 

[dawg180]

I am by no means an expert on the 1919A4, but typically if you have a live round chambered, pull the trigger but get nothing and have no dimple on the primer that means the recoil did not reset the firing pin/trigger mechanism.

If I were to take a wild guess, I would say the blanks are just on the boundary of having the required pressure to cycle the gun...hopefully a 1919 expert will chime in in a bit and let us know if that is the case.

 

[pfc15]

Not enough restriction

The M6 lets too much pressure to bypass for most 308 blanks. I ended up welding up all the side flash holes and redid the main hole to 1/8" to run Austrian (very weak) and British blanks out of my A6 setup. You will also need to do some kind of front cartridge guide to take up the distance with the shorter blanks or you will have feed problems. IMI 30 06 blanks? I don't know, maybe try blocking off one or 2 of the flash holes.......be careful, you can blow up a gun with blanks easier than with live ammo!

 

[AaronHorrocks]

I'm shooting .30-06 blanks, not .308 blanks

The IMI .30-06 blanks are full-size, not short blanks. No spacers needed.

 

[pfarber]

If you cycle by hand does it fire? Sound like the top poster was right..... not cycling far enough back to cock the bolt, or your sear might be broke. No indent on the primer is pretty simple.. the firing pin didn't hit it. Start plugging hold on the BFA and see what happens. Spray the guts with lube (LOTS OF IT) and see if the free's it up a bit.

 

[AaronHorrocks]

Prior to shooting these blanks, I had cleaned the gun and well lubed it.

I guess I'll have to run another test this weekend...

 

[mygaranddoesmytalking]

Similar experience

Ive had a similar experience, except I had a guillete bfa with the largest holed plug and used swansons short 3006 blanks with the correct cartridge stop.

I test fired the first five blanks with a belt fine. Then when I went to fire blanks in it again the next day it, the first round fired and then intermittant misfires without the primer dimpled.

I have not been able to mess with it since, but I figured it was a combination of using a belt (hand loaded) which was causing feeding problems and a new gun that has not been broken in yet and not enough lube.

I figured I would take it to the range and run several hundred live rounds through it (without the bfa of course) to get everything worked out and then try some blanks.

Les