STG-58 carbine troubles?

[BATS]

i have a dsa carbine built from a stg-58 kit, i have had it for about two years. it has a problem. every now and then, it will fail to go into battery like the bolt carrier is dragging. it only does it from time to time. it has been sent back to the factory, they say all is well. i have used all different kinds of ammo, mags, ran it dry,well lubed, over lubed, you name it. i am at my wits end and i am ready to sell. does anyone have any ideas. i am stumped.

[vmtz]

Have you cleaned out the recoil spring in the buttstock?

Vince

[Survey Punk]

What kind of ammo you runnin'?

JB

[BATS]

yeah,it's clean, all is well in that area. i am shooting port, winchester ball ammo, and some win ballistic silvertips (hunting rounds). i can find no pattern at all. i am going to remove the dsa scope mount, possibly binding? i have tried everything else. is this a possibility?

[dougjones31]

If it is binding then you will see the shiney spots on the inside of the mount where it is rubbing.

[BATS]

all looks fine inside and the carrier slides back and forth with ease. this is a real pain in the rectumalis major!

[Gunga Din]

It does sound like weak recoil springs perhaps partially retarded by some grease in the tube. In a situation like this, new springs are called for, along with cleaning out the recoil spring tube with a cleaning rod and cleaning patches. Then use oil, only, on the new springs. If this has been done, then all is truly well there, and the problem is elsewhere.
Are the affected cases marked by the action in any way? Scratches or gouges from the rails or magazine feed lips? Could it be magazine specific?

[BATS]

yeah, all that has been addressed by me early on, new springs and all. mags are all varieties, with the same result. it may shoot fine with one certain mag all day and then the next time you load up it will fail to throw out an empty, you charge it and the carrier feels slow and sluggish- it won't fully feed the next round. it will do that about four or five times before i can get a round to fully go into battery- then all is well for quite awhile til it decides to screw up again. could be minutes, could be months, but it always hangs up again, eventually. kinda losing faith in this rifle, something may be dimensionally out of spec, i have no idea at this point.

[ce]

Chamber is too tight, and so is the headspace.
Best assay is with another bolt, one you can wiggle when closed by reaching up through the mag well. See if you can wiggle yours first.
For the tight chamber, wrap some 320 grit sandpaper around a .45 caliber swab, and spin it in the chamber on a drill, just don't shove it past the shoulder.

What have you got to lose, the POS don't work now.

[Vulcan]

Check to make sure that the recoil springs are not turning in the same direction. One should be clockwise and the other counter clockwise. This helps eliminate binding.

[BATS]

thanks for all the advice, guys. i will check and recheck everything and see what i can find. hey, if all else fails, i have been wanting a dpms .308, might make a quick trade. thanks again everybody.

[Hebrew Battle Rifle]

Where are you BATS?

[BATS]

i am in the middle of nowhere, right about the middle. i work in tuscaloosa and i live outside of fayette, al. only upside is lots of good places to shoot. are you close by?

[Wolf Spyder]

BATS

I want to start off by saying I am not a certified WEC SOG rep.

Secondly, please do not sand or dremil anything on your rifle just yet.

I have read this post from start to finish. I would not sell your rifle, or trade it off just because of this misterious problem. Unless you sell it to me, really cheap.

It sounds like you have checked every thing, several times. To the point that you are pissed off at the rifle.

My advise to you. Grab a buddy that knows alittle bit about gunsmithing. Buy a case of port. Go to the range and start shooting. When it hangs up... open it up and take a look. Use lots of light, even a magnifing glass if you have to. Go very slow, very carefully... it sounds silly, but it works.

I play paintball. I use an older Autococker. They get tempermental. They develope leaks... or loose timing... or something. It never fails. Then I start looking for the problem... only to get stumped for a while. It works fine for a while then it doesn't, it is enough to drive you nuts.

My point is this. Some foreign matter, of some shape or size, is causing it to bind every once in a while. Not enough to be readily apparent to the naked eye. Just enough to piss you off. Be patient. You have a good rifle. It is worth the money you paid for it. I like to think GOD is testing us.... At any rate, when you do find the problem, you will be that much wiser for having found it.

Good luck.

[Wolf Spyder]

If the above post doesn't help... use gas and set the rifle on fire. You'll feel better for about a minute, maybe two...

[martin35]

Dont do anything you cant undo.
A gas operated weapon working on the margin (barely working) can be caused by a gas port fouled, worn gas piston and or tube or a gas setting to open to atmosphere. a bolt dragging slightly on a mag could be a problem. These weapons are a revelation to many owners and give them thier first real firearms experience, dont give up.

[bykerhd]

New springs might help a bit. The recoil spring tube needs to be clean & smooth. Make sure your gas piston is straight & not binding and that your gas port in the barrel is not partially blocked. Things to think about anyway.

[BATS]

yeah, i bought a new gastech piston and resprung the entire gun about six months ago, so , that is out. i keep it relatively clean and cleaned it again last night. not any undo fouling or build-up that i noticed, but i don't shoot like some do. i might have 1500 rounds through the gun since i bought it new. that is why i said it is very puzzling. unless it drags slightly on every mag i have?! which is 10 or 12 different mags, some steyr, some FN, etc. i wish i had a good smith in my area, i am usually the guy that fixes everybody else's guns, if this was a 1911, i could fix it. but this has me stumped. but, thanks again for the advice and recommendations.

[bykerhd]

I had some running/reliability issues with my DSA stg for the first couple hundred rounds, but none now. Yours should certainly be broken in with 1500 rounds through it. Did you change springs due to problems at the time ? What springs did you install ? I have had the best luck with the sets from DSA and TAPCO(bought from GunPartsGuy for much less than TAPCO).
What is the diameter of the head of your new gas piston ? And the original ? Also, is your new piston straight ?
Seems I have all questions and no real answers for you.

[BATS]

yes, i changed everything because of the same problems, i bought the new springs from tapco and the piston as well. piston was inspected on arrival from tapco and again last night, it is as right as the mail. but this rifle will hang up on the first hand chambered round in a mag as well as when firing. that kinda rules out just the gas system. something is causing it to drag or lose velocity when chambering as well. changing mags and ammo has no effect. factory said they had no problems, either. like i said it will run for several hundred rounds and i think i debugged it and then it starts all over. i can insert an full mag and run the charging handle ( or drop the bolt release, makes no difference) and the first round will fail to go all the way into battery. i charge it to throw out the offending shell, it won't fully set the next round, each successive round gets closer and closer to fully chambering til it finally goes into battery and it will run fine from then on. no one mag or ammo is suspect and i can find cause other than it is just screwing with me.

[rob1]

Is the gas tube retaining pin there?

[BATS]

retaining pin is fine, as is everything else as far as i can tell. should i keep troubleshooting or trade up? this is giving me a headache. wait, would an out of spec mag catch be the culprit? holding the mags to high in the receiver and causing a drag on the carrier?

[bykerhd]

If you changed catches then it might be worthwhile to try it again with the original back in it. The original part was military and likely in spec.
What kind did you install ?

[BATS]

i haven't installed a mag catch, still has original. i was just wondering if it might be bad. i might try another to see if that cures the problem.

[CATM Larry]

Having a similar problem with my 16" carbine. DSA bbl with their short gas tube. I have the regulator closed all of the way and still not locking the bolt reliably, some times fails to lock into battery. I am going to try an oversized gas piston next

Larry

[Hebrew Battle Rifle]

I think that you are on the right track by suspecting the mag catch. You may also want to inspect the top of the BHO to see if it is dragging on the bottom of the bolt.

You could try removing the mag catch, putting some duct tape along the feed lips of a mag, insert the mag, rest the bottom of the mag on a table top and cycle ammo through the rifle( with the firing pin removed) and see if the hanging/dragging stops.

[martin35]

The efficiency of the spring used to return to battery can be the problem, a stronger spring will increase the need for a higher gas setting. also dry ammo will not feed as well as slightly oiled, increase the force to return the bolt and lessen the drag of the bolt. The short barrels can be less efficient, less duration of expanded gases.
Back in the dark ages ( BAR & M-1's) we used a red hair dressing (oil) called Brillintine, we didn't have any hair but put some on a patch and coated each round, it worked, and allowed use of full mags with max. reliability

[BamaFal]

Maybe I missed it. However, have you taken the front sight post off and checked the gas port for size and obstructions?

I live in the Tuscaloosa area if you need another set of eyes or just want to pop some targets let me know.

BamaFal