Adjam5 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 If anyone here shoots the steel case 7.62X39 ammo. Make sure you guys have a broken case extractor. The steel expands at a greater rate than brass cases and does not retract like the soft brass cases do when extraction/ejection takes place. If the case wall gets stuck in the chamber, the gun is useless unless you have a broken case extractor. My AK pulled the shoulder off these cases and mashed another. That is the broken shell extractor on the right, intact cartridge on the left and instances of steel case ammo not performing the way it should. I have learned this a while back, and tonight while packing some ammo in cans, I found these old broken cases and thought I'd share this pic with y'all. I also have the broken case extractor in .223, these are caliber specific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Wow, never seen that anthony. I dont shoot my sks so much anymore, but never shot steel cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Those are some pretty extreme and scarey failures. I think one such catastrophic failure like that would have me swearing off those cases forever. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Those are some pretty extreme and scarey failures. I think one such catastrophic failure like that would have me swearing off those cases forever. Doc Yes they are, and I thought the same thing. So I sought out a friend of a friend who was in the Russian military and ran this occurrence by him. From that point I was only looking to shoot brass case ammo. I was told that this is common is AK and SKS rifles. These guns were designed to shoot this steel case stuff, that is all they had in the USSR due to brass always being a precious metal there. I could shoot brass case ammo out of them, he also told me it would be like putting super unleaded in a weed wacker. The upgrade in performance would be minimal. The extraction would be positive and always take place, but that is why they issued a broken case extractor with with your rifle in Russia, for that reason. I have not had any failures since and I have put quite a few hundred rounds through my pre ban AKM and SKS since. Maybe it was a bad batch. But I am glad to have this tool in case this happens again. The bulged case is from the breech block not locking up completely and the round firing. See how the bottle neck is re sized and almost non existant? That happend in a post ban MAK90 in Feb 97. I no longer have that gun. Matter of fact, that is THE only gun I have ever gotten rid of. I sold it broken and told the buyer what took place. They bought it anyway. I got my exact money back what I paid for it($180) and put about 500 rds through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) Weird...I got an e mail that there was a reply from Handgunner and it is not posted on the thread. I'll go back to the e mail and cut n paste it here. "The cases you show that are broken are sure signs that your gun likely has excessive headspace. The ammo probably isn't the issue at all. I strongly suggest getting that rifle to a competent gunsmith to get the headspace checked. What worries me more is the case second from the left. That round was fired when the rifle wasn't in battery. In other words the slide wasn't fully forward when ignition occured. That is a bad accident waiting to happen. I'd say your rifle has several issues that need to be attended to before another range session takes place. hangunnr" Handgunner, I NO LONGER OWN that rifle. The day all of those cases failed was the 1st day I ever fired that rifle. Fresh from a gun show the previous weekend, it came in the box all oiled up and appeared completely new and un used. It was one of the el cheapo Norinco post ban versions of the AK, the MAK90. That was back in Feb 97 and the gun is no longer in my stable. Hey it was $180 and it showed me what a Chinese $180 gun was capable of:rolleyes:. I have since purchased a pre ban AKM and have shot many steel case rounds through it without any failures like that again. Edited March 18, 2009 by Adjam5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tink Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 How a SE work I never saw one? Tink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 How a SE work I never saw one? Tink It is a collet type tool that is shaped like the case it was made to extract, just a bit smaller, so it can fit into the broken case. Place it in the chamber and the bolt slams it into battery, and it expands on the inside of the wall of the broken case with pressure from the bolt. The extractor is then grabbed by the bolt face and when you retract the bolt manually, the broken case should be on the broken case extractor. You need to unscrew the broken case extractor to remove the broken shell. In the pic up top on the far right is the tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangunnr Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Handgunner, I NO LONGER OWN that rifle. The day all of those cases failed was the 1st day I ever fired that rifle. Fresh from a gun show the previous weekend, it came in the box all oiled up and appeared completely new and un used. It was one of the el cheapo Norinco post ban versions of the AK, the MAK90. That was back in Feb 97 and the gun is no longer in my stable. Hey it was $180 and it showed me what a Chinese $180 gun was capable of:rolleyes:. I have since purchased a pre ban AKM and have shot many steel case rounds through it without any failures like that again. Yep, I deleted the post because I didn't see your reply about not having that particular firearm until after I posted....Guess that'll teach me to read the entire thread. hangunnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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