New from TX - Gas piston issue

[SaguutuPagru]

hello everyone,
 My name is Daniel and I own a lot of firearms, but recently purchased a VZ2008. I shot 60 rounds thru the gun with one failure to feed. Once I took apart the gun to clean it, the gas piston is stuck and I can't remove it. any suggestions? The first thing I did when I got the gun was take it apart and clean/lubricate all the parts. I shot maybe 30 rounds then changed the original wooden grips with fab defense grips, then added a reflex sight and shot a additional 30 rounds thru it. I know prior to shooting the gun the gas piston came out easily, I'm thinking the failure to feed may be a reason behind the piston being stuck. thanks in advance.

[Cali Crash]

Welcome from California, sorry I can't help with the issue you're having but I'm sure someone will come along that can.

[SaguutuPagru]

thanks Cali-

One thing I wanted to ask as well, is it safe to fire the gun still? I shot 10 rounds after the FTF, and one thing I noticed when it jammed the charging handle was difficult to pull back and whatever the mechanism that the gas piston has that is below the front iron sight was sticking out which I assume is a normal function of the gun.

[SaguutuPagru]

Well, I took off the front iron sight and used a Allen wrench and hammer to knock the piston out. the front end had a small dent that caused it to jam. I filed it down and now it works, well at least manually. I called the place I bought it from and they may want me to send it back, but that was before I fixed it. I think I'll test fire it first and if it happens again I'll send it off. It doesnt seem like this has happened to anyone, from what ive researched.

[1SOW]

Welcome to the forum from South TX.
Daniel, Sorry to hear about your rifle trouble.

If you post this in the centerfire rifle Gunsmithing section,  someone may have experiences with your problem.

[RedState]

My brother's VZ2008 was operating fine; then on the last shot open bolt, we could see the end of the piston rod extending out the bolt end of the rear sight block. We were able to get it undone after taking the piston upper hand guard off and using some lubricant and a little force. It worked fine after that. However, I noticed that the piston did not move as smoothly as my VZ2008's with manual movement. I think that the spring was out of place or something like that (not really sure what the issue was), because now, after carefully replacing the spring and piston, it operates as smoothly as my VZ2008 does.

[SaguutuPagru]

Thanks for the input RedState.

I had a failure to feed or jam of some sort in which the bolt carrier was half way open and like you said piston rod extending out the bolt end of the rear sight block was visible during the FTF/jam. Thats probably what caused the gas piston to get the dent and get stuck. I had yet to fire the weapon after i sanded the dent that was causing the piston to jam...im sure it should work just fine. Im dont have a while lot of knowledge when it comes to assault rifles. I only own the VZ2008 and a Armalite AR-180 made in Howa, Japan which is not a very common rifle.

[RSR]

For piston springs, and actually for the other parts he has too, these are the best new piston springs and for spare surplus parts, the cheapest strikers and firing pins I've seen (well, same price as bonesteel but they're the cheapest I've seen): http://www.czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=49474.0

[RSR]

Thanks for the input RedState.

I had a failure to feed or jam of some sort in which the bolt carrier was half way open and like you said piston rod extending out the bolt end of the rear sight block was visible during the FTF/jam. Thats probably what caused the gas piston to get the dent and get stuck. I had yet to fire the weapon after i sanded the dent that was causing the piston to jam...im sure it should work just fine. Im dont have a while lot of knowledge when it comes to assault rifles. I only own the VZ2008 and a Armalite AR-180 made in Howa, Japan which is not a very common rifle.

On soapbox.

*Not assault rifles, military inspired weapons ( http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/312452/military-style-weapons-john-r-lott-jr ), modern sporting rifles ( http://www.nssf.org/msr/about.cfm#item11 ), semi-automatic sporting rifle, etc.  Just like 30 round AK/AR mags are "standard capacity magazines," not high capacity magazines. 

Point being, the words and definitions we use do matter, especially when others use those words to denigrate and demonize our firearms to ultimately infringe on our rights.

Good video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbDQUADaIkE

Off soapbox...

[WGolden]

Point being, the words and definitions we use do matter, especially when others use those words to denigrate and demonize our firearms to ultimately infringe on our rights.

Well said! That's a great video.