From: Jonathan Wienke <JonWienk@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 03:39:22 +0800
To: ichudov@Algebra.COM
Subject: Re: Lock and Load (fwd)
In-Reply-To: <199712230422.WAA22160@einstein.ssz.com>
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19980105111943.006ce590@popd.netcruiser>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



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At 10:37 PM 12/22/97 -0600, Igor Chudov @ home wrote:

>You can't lock and load an AK. I remember that very well even though it
>has been a while. The bolt just would not go far enough back to pick up
>the cartridge. The bolt carrier's charging handle would only go as far
>as to allow for the weapon inspection.

I own a Norinco MAK-90 (a semi-auto only AK variant) and it is designed so
that a round cannot be chambered with the safety on.  If the weapon is not
cocked, the hammer hits the top of the sear (which is locked by the safety)
and prevents the bolt from traveling more than 1 inch to the rear.  If the
weapon is cocked, the charging handle on the side of the bolt hits the
front of the safety lever, which stops the rearward travel of the bolt at
about 2.5 inches, which is not sufficient to chamber a round.  The magazine
can be inserted or removed regardless of the position of the safety or the
bolt.

On my Winchester 1300 Defender 12-gauge, (a pump gun with a 7-round
magazine) the safety cannot be engaged until the weapon has been cocked,
which requires the action to be cycled.  This will chamber a round unless
the magazine is empty.

On my Norinco Model 320 carbine (a semi-auto only Uzi lookalike) if the
weapon is not cocked, and the grip safety is not depressed, the bolt is
locked in the forward position, which makes it rather difficult to chamber
a round.  However, the safe/fire selector (the sliding button on the left
side of the grip) has no effect on the bolt.  Neither safety has any effect
on inserting or removing a magazine.

ObOddGunTrivia:
One of the oddities of the SKS is that a magazine cannot be inserted or
removed unless the bolt is locked in the rearmost position.  The sides of
the bolt have grooves machined in them that the lips of the magazine occupy
when the bolt is forward.  This can make changing a half-full magazine kind
of annoying.

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Jonathan Wienke

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3312 6597 8258 9A9E D9FA  4878 C245 D245 EAA7 0DCC

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print pack"C*",split/\D+/,`echo "16iII*o\U@{$/=$z;[(pop,pop,unpack"H*",<>
)]}\EsMsKsN0[lN*1lK[d2%Sa2/d0<X+d*lMLa^*lN%0]dsXx++lMlN/dsM0<J]dsJxp"|dc`