Need an FAL guru

[EZ3]

Took my FAL out to zero it after having a new locking shoulder and gas piston installed.  It jammed (fail to feed) three times in twenty rounds.  A box of Winchester white box 147 gr FMJ was all I took.  The spent cases all had the FAL signature crushed neck, but also a dent in the case body opposite the crush, about halfway down.  I don't remember that from the last time I had it out, years ago.

The FTF cases all are dimpled at the base of the shoulder, but at the time I didn't notice what part of the ramp or chamber they caught on.  The problem occurred with both of the mags I took, and the only problem I've ever had before was failure to extract (hence the locking shoulder and piston).

Any guidance would be sincerely appreciated.

[arashi]

Could be several things.  Who made the receiver?  Some have known quirks.

The rails could need widening or the ejector block (holds the mag release) could be mounted too low. 

On the FTF, does the bolt override the base of the cartridge, or does it just fail to go fully into battery?

[EZ3]

It's an Imbel upper, and it almost goes into battery on the FTF.

[arashi]

It's an Imbel upper, and it almost goes into battery on the FTF.

Then I would just removed, clean, and reinstall the recoil springs.  If it was built from a kit, many fail to clean these and the hardened grease can really make the carrier return sluggish.

Additionally, did it close on the "go" gauge after headspacing?

[voortrekker]

Took my FAL out to zero it after having a new locking shoulder and gas piston installed.  It jammed (fail to feed) three times in twenty rounds.  A box of Winchester white box 147 gr FMJ was all I took.  The spent cases all had the FAL signature crushed neck, but also a dent in the case body opposite the crush, about halfway down.  I don't remember that from the last time I had it out, years ago.

The FTF cases all are dimpled at the base of the shoulder, but at the time I didn't notice what part of the ramp or chamber they caught on.  The problem occurred with both of the mags I took, and the only problem I've ever had before was failure to extract (hence the locking shoulder and piston).

Any guidance would be sincerely appreciated.

EZ3,

I'll give you my advice, as an owner of a kit built FAL from arizonaresponsesystems.com.   And as a person that has shot well over 10 FALs on the range.

My experience as been that the FAL gobbles up ammo of any kind.  The one time I had problems with ammo shooting the FAL was with CAVIM ammo, the laquer caused some pretty heafty jams that required some effort to get that spent case out of the chamber.

I quit on CAVIM, ever since, narry any problems on jams since then.


Your Imbel reciever is a really good one, therefore, I doubt the receiver is the problem.


Considering your empty cases are getting dented, dimples etc, this just does not sit right with me.  My FAL ejects brass without dents and also the same with the other FALs that I have shot.

Something is not right with that FAL that you are shooting.

Failure to feed is usually a bad magazine, cheap ammo or a filthy rifle.  This situation doesn't seem like it's taken that road.

The ammo you were using during this experience is good clean ammo.



In addition, you stated your are getting dimples below the neck of the spent casings?


That definitely does not sound or look right.


Personally, I would not shoot that rifle anymore until you have it serviced by a good gunsmith.

ARS is very good.  I used them in the past, good work.  I am not affiliated with them in any manner.

I am not an expert on gunsmithing FALs, very far from it, but if you are getting dented brass, especially below the neck of the case, something is definitely not right with that rifle.  It may very well not be safe to shoot.


Another forum where you might get other advice is falfiles.com.


Even that, I would seriously think about send your rifle to a good FAL smith for a good look over.


ARS is very good.

It's simply not worth losing some fingers or eyes going less expensive route.


Get that rifle checked out by a professional gunsmith.




Brett

[Old Dog]

My FAL does not damage the brass either.  After 200 to 250 rounds it needs a good cleaning or you have to start turning up the gas screw every magazine or so.

[zonkertx]

You can often eliminate the brass dings by setting the gas to the greatest amount of venting while still cycling the action reliably.  Too much gas will cause violent ejection and case damage.  Too little will result in the empty blown-out brass not being ejected,  but being rechambered with the full force of the bolt and carrier slamming shut.  You'll need to do the "FAL Pogo" maneuver to force it out.

It is possible to change the angle of the face of the ejector to alter the ejection pattern.  I filed/honed mine on a slight angle so that the edge of the ejector nearest the center of the cartridge head comes into contact before the outer edge.  The face angles slightly to the rifle's left side, and moved the ejections forward a bit.  I don't get the "brass kisses" on the side of the upper anymore, and the brass comes out in decent condition.  Only a slight dent on the case mouth that a die's expander ball will easily fix.

Also, look for the longitudinal stripes caused by the receiver rails digging into the brass.  You can break the edge on the receiver rails with wet-or-dry sandpaper or crocus cloth.  I actually widened the gap between my receiver rails a bit, almost to the profile of the magazine's feed lips.  It made for a LOT more reliable cycling on my STG/IMBEL build.

Here's a link on the receiver rail mod:
http://community-1.webtv.net/ggiilliiee/GGIILLIIEESRAIL/

Just proceed with caution and don't overdo it.  It's hard to put metal back on when you've taken too much off. 

[Nickle]

Well, the smart advice has already been given. Get with Mark (Arizona Response Systems). He's a cantankerous curmudgeon on the surface, but, actually a great guy deep down, and the ONLY FAL smith I'd ever send anyone to. I suggest sending it anyways, to get it at least checked and tuned.

As to being an Imbel, they're the only FN licensed company that's made aftermarket receivers.