Jammed and Locked up VZ

[wisecane]

Son home on R&R from Afghanistan so I took him out to our range so he could fire my VZ. Shooting Tula 122gr FMJ. First mag and about the 5th rnd we get a round hung up in the process of ejection. I remove the mag, clear the casing, cycle the action a couple of times, reseat the mag and load one up.

He fires two or three more rounds and then "click". I try to cycle back the action and nothing. Stuck tighter than Dick's hatband. It will move about 1/4" to3/8" rearward and then it sticks like it is hitting a brick wall.

I removed the dust cover and see that the striker can move freely reaward and back, but nothing else catches my eye. I'm not an expert on these rifles, but I can field strip one to clean and reassemble with confidence (I have done this several times for practice and have shot this rifle since my last cleaning).

This rifle has never jammed, failed to fire, failed to eject....nothing. I talked it up to my son about how much sweeter it is than your standard AK, better design, etc., etc.  Any ideas on what the cause is or what I can do to clear it?

Thanks in advance

[Grendel]

Squib round stuck in the barrel with a jammed casing behind it? If that's the case, it may need a gunsmith to fix.

[armoredman]

Off to the side, doncha just hate when you brag on something and it fails? Murphy is a jerk.
If it's a CzechpointUSA rifle, call them and ask - they'll help. My first though it is reminds me of some hangups I had with cheap ammo in AKs in the past, had to hammer on the bolt handle with a rubber mallet to get it to pop open.

[Davemon]

Had a similar problem with mine.  It was a headspace issue.  Sent it back to czechpoint and Dan took care of me.  Now it runs like a top.  Have a local smith check it, or if you have a gauge you can check it yourself.  Is this the first time you've tried Tula ammo in the rifle?

[wisecane]

I have shot Tula before with no problems, Golden Tiger, Wolf too. It has always ran like a sewing machine for me. I am loathe to whack it with a rubber mallet but I have one at my shop  . One other thing I noticed after I cooled down and looked again: The bolt carrier and all of the goodies inside are stopping about 3/8" in short of full battery. Does that narrow anything down or help with a diagnosis?

[jwc007]

Invert the Rifle and hold the Muzzle end up at an angle, Spray some Penetrating Oil down the Muzzle End of the Bore, spraying additional Penetrating Oil in every hour or so, and it should break free at some point.  You might even let it soak for a day.

For Penetrating Oil, I use PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, or Balistol (Thinned Mineral Oil).

As for stopping 3/8" short of Battery, could be the Locking Wedge is hanging up, but how and on what would be the questions needing answers if this is the problem.

[Stevo]

I've had a stuck case like that a couple of times. Happens when, for whatever reason, the gun short-strokes and feeds the empty back into the chamber.

I've cleared it by kick-starting the charging handle or smacking the charging handle into the edge of a handy post or bench.

If you end up tearing the rim off the case, you can then clear it with a rod. If you blow the bottom out of the case with your rod, use a broken case extractor.

[armoredman]

Hmm, bad factory load that caused short stroke and empty case hangup? I can buy that more than the rifle failing.

[wisecane]

One light whack with the rubber mallet cured it. Stevo's method would have worked just as well. It short-stroked and tried to reload an empty. I put three mags through it with the same ammo and no hiccups......reputation restored, lol.

[knoxy]

Had this happen to me the other day. Fortunately there were no witnesses to my rifle's shame.

Found the rubber mallet suggestion here, and it cleared the jam, but in my case, it was a live round. Looks like it may have been a light primer strike, very small dimple in the primer. First jam after ~500 rounds of Golden Tiger.

I noticed some light scrapes on the bullet that was extracted. They seem to drag across the edge of the feed ramp. There's some copper build up there. I might try smoothing that out.

[wilynole]

One light whack with the rubber mallet cured it. Stevo's method would have worked just as well. It short-stroked and tried to reload an empty. I put three mags through it with the same ammo and no hiccups......reputation restored, lol.

In my experience Tula is notorious for having low powder charge in there carts.

[Stevo]

Had this happen to me the other day. Fortunately there were no witnesses to my rifle's shame.

Found the rubber mallet suggestion here, and it cleared the jam, but in my case, it was a live round. Looks like it may have been a light primer strike, very small dimple in the primer. First jam after ~500 rounds of Golden Tiger.

I noticed some light scrapes on the bullet that was extracted. They seem to drag across the edge of the feed ramp. There's some copper build up there. I might try smoothing that out.

Every round fed into the VZ will have the small dimple. It's due to the free-floating firing pin.

If the round didn't fire it may not have been in battery or you may have experienced the trigger reset gremlin. What make and model of the VZ do you have?

[knoxy]

Every round fed into the VZ will have the small dimple. It's due to the free-floating firing pin.

If the round didn't fire it may not have been in battery or you may have experienced the trigger reset gremlin. What make and model of the VZ do you have?

It's a VZ2008. Had fired ~500 rounds through it.  That day, I was 26 rounds into my 2nd mag when it locked up. I've since put another 500 or so rounds through it with no problems.