vz2008 bolt hold open issues

[ooticamitica]

I have owned my vz2008 for a few years now and have never had any issues with feeding, ejection or anything else magazine related other than the fact that about half of my 10 magazines dont consistently hold the bolt open after the last round.  If you insert a magazine they are kind of sloppy on the back side, they can go in a bit more so if i hold the magazines with rearward pressure the bolt hold open will work consistently.  Anyone else ever have issues with this? anyone have a fix?

[Airacuda]

Only thing that comes to mind is to try a new magazine release. It is possibly out of spec. Quick way to test that would be to put a piece of duct tape on the ledge of the release that catches the mag. Then try it out. If the BHO works every time on all the mags you know what it is.
  The other possibility is that half of your mags have a weak spring......which I doubt but is possible.

[wanderson]

Based on your description I'd say mag catch as well. My lockup is solid with no play side to side or back to back.

Last batch of surplus mags I got did have some seriously weak springs, so whether it's causing your hold open issue or not I'd make sure they're up to spec.

[TJNewton]

I have a few dozen surplus mags.  A few arrived NOS, but most have seen some significant use.  Only three of four of them are solid when inserted with no wiggle -- the rest can be moved back-and-forth and side-to-side a bit.  All of them hold the bolt open and work without a problem.  I did have a handful that wouldn't hold the bolt open.  I took one of them apart and switched parts around with a good mag until I narrowed it down to the follower.  I compared that follower to one that would hold the bolt open.  Looking at it from the side, I saw that the follower was slightly "pinched" in.  I pried it gently apart to match the good follower, and now it works.  It was maybe 1, 1.5 mm difference. 

As a lot of these parts came from different designs, years, runs, and factories, they may not match up perfectly, especially with an aftermarket receiver.  If tweaking the followers a bit doesn't work, then your bolt catch may be just a titch short.  You may want to add a little material with JB Weld and file it down to fit and function.  While the JB Weld will be under stress when the follower comes up to engage the bolt catch, it should hold okay.  If not then use the JB Weld to affix a small piece of metal and then file that to fit.

I know that some of the AR crowd put a strip of Velcro either on their magazines or in the receiver to tighten things up, although I don't know how well this would work with a VZ 58 type rifle.

[RSR]

1) clean your surplus mags.  I've found all sorts of crap in the VZ58 used mags I've received.
2) considering all costs/time involved, I recommend buying nos/reman/refurb mags whenever possible.
3) AK mag springs should work if needed, though Czechpoint did sell new VZ58 mag springs at one point, should still -- I actually haven't disassembled side by side to compare AK to VZ58 though.  On my to do for about a year now actually, mainly for photographs and evaluation for an older thread...   
4) unless your mags are really worn, that slop is concerning.  While it's possible there's an issue with the tbr/mag release pin hole itself in the receiver being drilled too low, my first thought is mag release -- only if it's not your mags.  Have any new/like new mags?  How do they function?  Try another mag release lever as well -- should be able to acquire a NOS one fairly cheaply.

[ooticamitica]

So all of my magazines function fine except for the bolt holdback issues on about half of them, they are all in very good condition however I will take them apart and clean them.  I am thinking the mag release should be replaced maybe it was worn down, I dont really see how steel will wear when engaging aluminum mags but its worth a try.

[CitizenPete]

So all of my magazines function fine except for the bolt holdback issues on about half of them, they are all in very good condition however I will take them apart and clean them.  I am thinking the mag release should be replaced maybe it was worn down, I dont really see how steel will wear when engaging aluminum mags but its worth a try.

Some of my newer mags get stuck and don't BHO.  I work the followers a bit take them apart and look for the wear points and lightly file those points. then I oil them up inside a bit as-well-as wiping the the follower and spring with a oily rag.  That fixed all of mine except maybe one that had a bad follower that I replaced. (bent?)  If you need a couple milspec followers or base plate IM me, I have lots of extras since I made a lot of 922R -2 mags.  Just pay for mail cost.

[ooticamitica]

I took 3 magazines apart and spread the front and back runners ever so slightly so the follower is a bit tighter and the bolt hold open tab sticks up farther in the magazine.  2 of the 3 mags were spotless inside the one was dirty so I cleaned that one and lubed all of the followers on the front and back side where they contact the inside of the magazine.  The 3 mags now lock the bolt back  , I will do the same for the rest of the mags that aren't working.  I also do think the magazine catch is worn there is bare metal on top and I will probably replace the bolt hold open at the same time. 

[CitizenPete]

I took 3 magazines apart and spread the front and back runners ever so slightly so the follower is a bit tighter and the bolt hold open tab sticks up farther in the magazine.  2 of the 3 mags were spotless inside the one was dirty so I cleaned that one and lubed all of the followers on the front and back side where they contact the inside of the magazine.  The 3 mags now lock the bolt back  , I will do the same for the rest of the mags that aren't working.  I also do think the magazine catch is worn there is bare metal on top and I will probably replace the bolt hold open at the same time.

Are you replacing with stock milsurplus? If so, PM me ...I have some.

[RSR]

Symmetrical, cow tongue mag release was intended to be used only with early wire loop, unprotected mag release trigger guards. 

Dog eared/cutaway mag release was intended to be used w/ trigger guards that have protected mag releases.

Let's see if those weird descriptions stick...

[RSR]

Some of my newer mags get stuck and don't BHO.  I work the followers a bit take them apart and look for the wear points and lightly file those points. then I oil them up inside a bit as-well-as wiping the the follower and spring with a oily rag.  That fixed all of mine except maybe one that had a bad follower that I replaced. (bent?)  If you need a couple milspec followers or base plate IM me, I have lots of extras since I made a lot of 922R -2 mags.  Just pay for mail cost.

On some of the refurb/reman mags that Apex was selling, I found it to be less the followers and more the internals of the mags were a little rough (paint or anodizing or whatever they used).  Running them a half dozen times seemed to smooth out that issue -- but a little oil on the mag spring and running an oily rag through the interior as well seemed to make it resolve faster... 
Now the true NOS mags were stored with oil on the exterior in shrink wrap plastic and the ones I disassembled had protective grease on the internals that also served to keep everything well-lubed.  So it's hard to do a 1:1 comparison, but the issues I've seen...  I've only had a handful of issues w/ the follower though -- one well used mag had a dent in that channel that binded the follower.  But that was the main biggie I recall.

[ooticamitica]

I would like to replace the mag release and bolt hold open with mil spec parts yes, I just received 4 more mags from apex today, none of them hold the bolt open......

[TJNewton]

It may indeed be your bolt release that's the problem.  My mags are almost all very well used and all hold the bolt open.  That half of your ten mags and four you just got from Apex won't hold the bolt open seems odd.  Try replacing the bolt release and see if that cures the problem.  Based on my own mags, and from what I've read, most VZ58 mags have that slop when inserted but work anyway.  It's looks as though Numrich has them in stock for about $10.  They have a shipping promo code if you call their toll-free number during business hours.

[RSR]

Regarding the bolt release -- it's possible that the channel might have a burr or something in it too.   Have you removed your bolt release/last shot hold open to check?

Have you also lubed the post on the same part? 

Not 100% on how teflon is applied, but my understanding is that it goes on like paint, so some variances should be expected from gun to gun of tefloned surfaces.  So it wouldn't hurt to polish/remove some/all of the teflon in that channel either if seeming to fit tight with spring removed.  It should go up and down on its own w/o the spring.  Any notable resistance w/ the spring in should be noticeable, but not always...  Also if your mag release isn't to spec, it could also result in the mag spring applying tension to the bolt release/hold open at an angle rather than directly from positioned it was designed to, which may cause issues as well.

FWIW, I want to say the Zend TBR has a longer engagement arm (part that interacts with mag follower) than the OE one when not engaged (lining up w/ bottom of receiver), but don't have both/either one actually -- side by side/in front of me. 

[CitizenPete]

From experience the NOS mags I have that are unused factory new wrapped in paper and sealed 10 to a plastic bag (purchased years ago at such a high price you would poop you pants if I relieved it to you) have appear to work without issue. 


Some of the "excellent condition" used mags I have purchased off gun broker stick a bit (<2%)-- were the followers replaced?


The older beat mags (mostly came from CAI with the vz2008) work just fine, albiet at least one had a cracked feed top in the back of the mag feed area -- went into the bin. 


All the mags I painted with the flecktarn pattern (except for the fore mentioned cracked one) work great and I haven't had to replace a spring (yet).


The black (stripped and repainted?) mags that I have from OOW all work without a hitch.


Problem I had about a year ago
I built a qty (10-20) 922R (-2 parts) mags for my SBR by replacing the OEM Czech follower with CPUSA (Czechpoint-USA) Us made polymer follower, and the OEM Czech base plate with either the CPUSA US polymer base plate or the OOW US flat steel base ($4.50 each - ouch) and all appeared to work well, with one caveat that I discussed several times with Dan at CPUSA.  The polymer follower was stopping the carrier when the mag was empty as if the carrier was hanging up on the follower when going back.  You could finesse it or pull back with all your might and it just hung up.   This of course would prevent the last round BHO function.  I made a video for Dan at CPUSA showing that the polymer follower was flexing front to back exacerbating the problem -- but he said he had never heard of this problem EVER before -- he had been responsible for the design and manufacture of the polymer follower so he would know.  Using a flat file I removed a tiny bit of seam material off the front "nose" of the follower smooth and that didn't help much. What I found was -- not making this up -- if I put the mag in one of my OOW rifles and charged it several times, it would then work fine in my CSA and vz2008 rifles.  Does the OOW charging activity remove some little burr? -- I don't know, but it works every time, and filing doesn't work, and I cant figure it out.  <vz.58 fairies and pixie dust I guess>