WASR-2 Mag catch issue

[mak47]

Hello All,

I picked up a WASR 2 AK-74 a few days ago and unfortunately it won't feed properly. It looks like the mag catch doesn't fit right and allows the rear of the magazine to dip down just low enough that the bolt carrier wont' pick up the cartridges. It just skims over them until it gets caught and cuts into the case.

Anyhow, the mag catch is definitely the issue, which should be an easy fix--but I can't seem to locate a catch and pin (which I assume will be destroyed when I remove the old one).

I'm wondering two things, does anybody know a good source for these things--or even better does anybody have spare parts lying around they'd want to sell?

Secondly, will parts from other AK's fit the bill? I've seen some Chinese Polytech catches for sale but I don't know if they'll fit a Romanian.

Any input would be helpful,

Thanks

[junkmanted]

1st Did you try a differant mag ?
2nd If you lock the mag in is there play at the mag catch ?
If not it sounds like the receiver might need adjusting if theres no play take the mag out get a long pin punch and place it where the mag sits and give it a hit take the hammer for out safty and see if it will feed,, you dont need to chamber a round just see if the bolt is catching the ass end of the round.
If you go to far you can hit it back.

And if theres play at the catch I have added steel with a mig welder with out removing it put a screw driver behind it to hold it then weld it and shape it with a dremmel.

If you need to replace the catch make the pin out of a rivet

I have done all the above

[mak47]

Interesting idea about the receiver being adjusted. In all reality I think that's the real problem, I just figured the reciever wasn't adjustable in any way and that a tighter mag catch might do the trick.

There is a slight amount of play between the tab at the rear of the mag and receiver, not much. With the metal surplus mag it works ok most of the time--unless the magazine gets tilted (it's a WASR and either the person I got if from, or whoever he got it from hogged out the mag-well a little wide and it wobbles a bit to one side)

When I push up on the rear of the mag (metal surplus only) it feeds flawlessly, but will not feed from the aftermarket pro-mags.

It doesn't seem to have any more play than my Tantal does and that feeds from everything without a hitch. (It's also a really nice looking build on a NDS receiver)

Could you explain a little more about the receiver adjustment?

[GunLawyer001]

Just saw this auction on Gunbroker:
"New! Israeli IMI Galil Magazine mag catch AK too?"

Search the listings....

[junkmanted]

i will post pictures tonight

[RaisedByWolves]

I
Could you explain a little more about the receiver adjustment?

Lets not start hitting shit with a hammer.....OK?



Theres reasons that these things get out of whack and its not because the last guy who owned it was hitting it with a sledge to try and make it run right, at least we should hope not.



First thing I would do is try as many mags as you can get your hands on to rule out a mag issue. Second check your mag catch to see if there is appreciable wear, I doubt there is an issue here, but check anyway.



Many times when these things get built there are allowable tolerances that can work for or against proper operation, plus the receivers are made by different company's and will vary from unit to unit and company to company often leading to the problem your having.



The only universally acceptable remedy for your issue is to modify the thickness of the safety catch plate that the mag release mounts on top of. Find your safety catch and youll see the plate is seperate from the trigger guard and the mag catch assembly. Drill out the rivets, grind off whatever amount is needed for proper function and reinstall with new rivets.



You will now not only have a gun that functions properly, but looks right and will be able to be resold should you choose. I for one am not going to buy a gun that has been beat on with a hammer for such a simple fix.


Lord knows what else it was beat on for.


.

[junkmanted]

Hey no one said beat it with a hammer !!

Give it a couple good hits with a nice size pin punch and a ball peen and your done no one will ever know
sometimes when the receivers are bent they bow by the mag catch so the mag will be low if you go to far you can always go back just take your time and keep checking

I have had this happen on 3 build's out of 8 and I would have this thing running in 15 mins !

If you grind the catch plate the mag will wobble up and down.

Go over to akfiles and read up it has been done many times

[RaisedByWolves]

How will grinding the safety catch plate make the mag wobble up/down?



Isint this effectively a cleaner and neater solution to your beat it with a punch that your beating with a hammer method? (-1 for semantics)


If not, then how do you perform this fix on a milled receiver?


.

[GunLawyer001]

How will grinding the safety catch plate make the mag wobble up/down?
. . .

The safety catch plate (or "selector stop plate") interacts with the sloped surface on the spine of the mag. It stops the mag from moving up into the mag well, before it would otherwise stop. The mag catch keeps it from dropping down. Between the 2 parts, the mag is kept from moving up or down. If you remove too much metal from the plate, the mag will never be snugly held from front to back, and may have too much play up/down.

Just went through this myself, I had a couple of AK's that were VERY tight on mags, I tried a few fixes and found that shaving VERY small amounts of metal from the plate made a huge difference in tight mag insertions.

[mak47]

I'm thinking it's a combination of the mag catch being ground too low and magazine wobble.

When the mag is pushed up on, it feeds perfectly (with metal surplus mag). When it is left to it's own devices and stays straight, it feeds ok.

As soon as any pressure tilts the mag to the side, it will not feed at all.

I'm thinking that the catch is low, but still high enough that it can feed (just barely). However, when the bullet is tilted down and out of the way be even a millimeter, it is too low for the carrier to pick up.

I was also informed by someone yesterday that it appears that the gun was a home-made double stack job. Meaning it was bought as a single and was made to a double, not by Century, but by (one of) the original owner(s) and they really hacked the hell out of the receiver.

I'd love to get this thing working, but I'm beginning to have my doubts.