Failure to feed on new VZ2008

[Chip N Sawbones]

Hi everyone,
I just got one of PSA's VZ2008s.  I'm already very impressed with this rifle, and I haven't even had a chance to shoot it yet.  The only problem I'm having is that it refuses to properly feed ammo out of the magazine.  When I push the bolt forward the rounds start going into the chamber, but get jammed at an angle.  The base of the cartridge will still be touching the follower plate or the next round in the mag, and the side of it seems to be caught against the bottom of the bolt guide rail.  If I push the follower plate down slightly then it's easy to lift the cartridge up and into the chamber.  The problem is the same no matter which mag I use and if the mag has one round or more in it.  I filed the bottom edges of the bolt guide rails slightly at an angle.  That seemed to help a little, but the rounds still jam every time.  I didn't want to do too much before seeking advice here.

Here's what the jam looks like:

[GWL]

When they are new you have to pull and completely release the bolt. If you ride it even a little it will not feed. Cannot say for sure if that is your problem. If it is, a few magazines through it will smooth things out.

[RSR]

See this thread: http://www.czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=66980.0

I see nothing in that picture that shows me it won't feed properly.  Looks like the above issue. 

Always be sure to thoroughly clean and lube your weapon, put at least a few hundred rounds through it, and try different mags before you assume there is a problem...

[Chip N Sawbones]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I tried releasing the bolt carrier to let it go forward freely and that didn't help.  It still jams every time.  I thoroughly cleaned and oiled the rifle and I've tried all of my mags.  The action cycles smoothly when there is no mag in the gun.

[RSR]

FMJs or hollowpoints?

[Chip N Sawbones]

Wolf FMJ.  It cycles fine in my AMD-65.

[GWL]

I just cycled my well functioning VZ by hand trying to see why your jam is occurring. I ended up with the exact same jam trying to watch how the round feeds. It must cycle under full power or it will give the jam up that your rifle displays.

[RSR]

Tried w/ the top round on the left side of the mag?

[nickndfl]

I had one rifle with serial number in 5000s get a little sticky, but that was because the mag was bad.  It would seat properly, but fell out under fire.  What serial number is that one?

[Chip N Sawbones]

Serial #0102xx.  The mags seem to seat properly, but I haven't had a chance to fire the gun yet.

I've tried with the top round on both sides of the mag.  Same problem either way.

[RSR]

Might want to edit your post to XX your last few numbers on your serial.  Never a good idea to fully reveal...

[newcastleadam]

Mine arrived with 2 types of mags, the 4 pack of what I assume are military surplus ones (have crossed swords stamp, assume its an acceptance mark), and 1 other mag with no markings but whose feed lips and rear section of the top were thicker and formed a bit differently.  That lone mag would cause occasional FTF similar to what you describe, but seemed limited to right side feeding issues.  You definitely noticed a difference loading the mags by hand, the rounds seemed to stack up and get caught on the front portion much easier.

This is the crossed swords stamp on mine, located directly above the floorplate on the front side next to the lowest spot weld.



In any case, post up photos of your mag feed lips perhaps something is off.  Hard to imagine it with all 5 mags, but weirder things have happened 

[Chip N Sawbones]

All right, I think I've got it figured out.  I found that if I release the bolt and slow its forward travel even in the slightest bit it'll jam.  Anything less than an absolutely perfect release won't work.  Sometimes it still jams though, usually on the last round.  I'm guessing this is an issue with the follower plate?  The jamming seems to lessen with repeated use, so maybe the rifle is just getting broken in.

My mags all had the circle-OTK mark and most had the crossed swords.  It was hard to tell under the paint.  They were all used but the feed lips looked pretty good.

Another thing I noticed is that after being cycled through the gun, the cartridges had very light dents in the primers from the firing pin.  Is this normal?  I don't know exactly how deep the dent has to be for detonation, but I sure don't want to find out when I'm not at the range.

[RSR]

Replace your springs.  There's a brand new 2 set coming out of the Czech Republic for $15 plus shipping on ebay.  That should fix this issue when manually charging.  On recoil/when firing, I don't think you'll have an issue.