PTR-91 Mystery

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rruss2827	PTR-91 Mystery	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1232 (04/22/09 02:17 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None Took the PTR to the range last weekend. This is only the second time I've fired the rifle. Worked like a charm the first trip to the range (which was over three months ago). After that trip the rifle got a good cleaning and went back into the safe. This weekend I used the same ammo I used on the earlier outing (Surplus South African 7.62; berdan; brass case). Here's the mystery: I'd load five to ten rounds to a mag and insert the mag. Chamber a round, pull the trigger. Bang! So far, so good. Pull the trigger to send the next round down range......nothing. There was nothing 'cause the spent case from the first shot did not extract 'cause the the op rod, bolt, etc. did not recoil. So I cycle the cocking lever, extract the first round, release the lever and let the bolt fly home and chamber another round. Pull the trigger and everything works fine. As a mater of fact, everything works as advertised for the remaining rounds in the magazine. Hmmmm. Just fluke, I say. I load up another mag and go at it again. Same thing happens. First round fires; rifle fails to cycle; I cycle the cocking lever to extract the spent case and load a fresh round; the remaining rounds fire as they should. This happened in this exact order for three separate mags. Now, oh, ye of much knowledge, why did this happen? Three times? Why did the first round fail to cycle the weapon, but all subsequent rounds in the mag did? I'm open to ideas.
ThePitbullofLove		#1	[-]
Posts: 6530 (04/22/09 08:11 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Some say South African is not the ammo of choice for HK style rifles. Those "in the know" claim that SA ammo being a bit "dirty" and using a tar based primer sealant is problematic for some roller lock guns. It may be an ammo related issue. Is the gun clean? Are the flutes clean? How do the extracted rounds look? Was the chamber properly cleaned? Was the rifle properly assembled? (hey, I had to ask....) Life is the crummiest book I ever read, there isn't a hook; Just a lot of cheap shots, pictures to shock, and characters an amateur would never dream up...
maineack		#2	[-]
Posts: 8 (04/23/09 02:12 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	rruss2827, My ptr 91 would not cycle the s. african ammo at all. I went to ptr's booth at the shot show in febuary and asked them what was wrong. They told me that s/a ammo is sealed with tar and this tar gets into the flutes in the chamber and makes the cases stick. I was also told that winchester white box is also sealed with tar. Iwer Thumler is the sales manager I spoke with, send him a email and ask him for a list of suggested surplus ammo (Iver@ptr91.com). Radway Green British Military surplus .308 / 7.62 NATO is some of the ammo going around on the internet sales sites and works fine in my rifle. OH by the way , I now spray automotive brake cleaner in the chamber and use a chamber brush then I clean as usual wihh hoppes #9 and patches.
m1 talker		#3	[-]
Posts: 6686 (04/23/09 08:15 AM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I still don't quite understand why the other rounds would shoot good, but it was always the first round that would not extract. Is it because of the heat buildup that keeps the tar soft? I would be for looking at other things, like the magazine follower spring maybe putting too much pressure on the top round in the magazine. What happens if you only partially load up a magazine? Have you tried other magazines? Curt
rruss2827	PTR-91 Mystery	#4	[-]
Posts: 1233 (04/23/09 11:00 AM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Thanks to all for your responses. I welcome and look forward to even more input. Let me address the comments, concerns and questions put forth so far. I was not aware of the tar sealer on the SA ammo. Good information. All of the cases had a black smudge all over them, but I attributed that to possibly having left too much Ed's Red from the previous cleaning. All of the extracted rounds had the black smudge leaving 'flute lines'. And all of the necks were crimped from the rather forceful extraction and ejection (I do love to watch the spent cases coming out of a HK or PTR). I'll try some other brands next time out. The weapon was clean all the way around. Barrel, chamber, flutes, etc. As I mentioned, I may have left too much of a oil/cleaning solution residue, but that would have burnt off pretty quickly. I was using three different mags and this happened with all three. All are HK originals (one of them came with the PTR) and all were clean and in good shape. I only had three, five or ten rounds in the mags at a time. I tend not to put a full load in any 10, 20 or 30 round mag. That helps limit my desire to blaze away at the target and ignore grouping. This was more of an irritant than anything at the range. Now it is more of a puzzle that I have become obsessed with. How strange that the other rounds in each mag went off without a hitch and the weapon cycled perfectly. Could the rifle cooling down between me switching mags and checking out the target with the scope be a factor? This making my head hurt. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE the PTR. I've wanted one for years and I'm very glad I got one, even though it meant not spending that money on other firearms. Last Edited By: rruss2827 04/23/09 11:04 AM. Edited 1 times.
BiggBore		#5	[-]
Posts: 43 (06/03/09 04:33 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	How are you chambering the round? Are you letting the bolt slam home or are you riding the charging handle home? If you are riding it home then the extractor might not be getting as good a grip on the case rim as it should. Let that sucker fly home like it means it, stripping the round from the mag as it goes. Is your serial number below 250? The first 250 or so PTR-91s had a chamber problem that had to be corrected. Mine was a single shot right out of the box and nothing would extract. After they made the chambers more to HK specs it has run just fine. If you are letting the bolt slam home and the flutes are clean, you might want to check the bolt gap but I really doubt that is a problem. Join the N.R.A.