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GSG 5p failurs to eject/extract


redhawk

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I currently own a GSG 5p pistol with about 800-1000 rounds through it.  The gun has never been 100% reliable, but seems to do better on some days than others.  Periodically I have noticed that the gun jams because a 22 shell is still stuck in the barrel, and did not extract.  Sometimes the 22 shell is empty, and sometimes the bullet is still in it (and slightly bent).  This past weekend I was shooting the GSG in the snow (about 20 degrees) ,and it was displaying this kind of malfunction constantly (multiple times per magazine).  I was using Federal bulk ammo.  The shells were jammed so badly into the bore on occasion that I had to use a flathead screwdriver to pry them out.  Does anybody have any idea what's going on with my gun?  I clean it regularly.  Is it possible that the GSG's don't like the cold?

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Cold can cause problems for sure, and for a rifle designed mainly for plinking I don't know if the maker would do cold weather testing or not, like they would for something they're trying to sell to the military.

Even your choice of lube could be a factor in the cold.

Also you might want to search the Ammo area here, there have been more than a few discussions about the ammo best for the different tactical .22s

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I currently own a GSG 5p pistol with about 800-1000 rounds through it.  The gun has never been 100% reliable, but seems to do better on some days than others.  Periodically I have noticed that the gun jams because a 22 shell is still stuck in the barrel, and did not extract.  Sometimes the 22 shell is empty, and sometimes the bullet is still in it (and slightly bent).  This past weekend I was shooting the GSG in the snow (about 20 degrees) ,and it was displaying this kind of malfunction constantly (multiple times per magazine).  I was using Federal bulk ammo.  The shells were jammed so badly into the bore on occasion that I had to use a flathead screwdriver to pry them out.  Does anybody have any idea what's going on with my gun?  I clean it regularly.  Is it possible that the GSG's don't like the cold?

Yes I do.  Your gun is short-cycling.  Let's take each stated issue in turn:

It fires but you end up with the bolt closed on an empty case...the round fired with insufficient energy to fully cycle the bolt, but still the bolt opened "early" (we're talking nano-seconds).  The bolt kicked back from breech face pressure, but the round lacked enough energy to kick the bolt far enough back to cause the case rim to strike the ejector, or in fact, the case mouth may not have cleared the chamber at all before being shoved back in.  Due to the "early" opening tendency, the almost ejecting case expanded excessively so when slammed BACK into the chamber it becomes quite "stuck" requiring the use of a thin blade to lever it out.  Of course you are wondering why the EXTRACTOR didn't/can't simply snatch the empty case out, and the answer is because the extractor claw is actually pushed aside by the extractor groove, and depending on tolerance variation, some GSG's will routinely fail to extract a dud, or non-fired round during a manual cocking stroke because the extractor claw fails to obtain adequate purchase on the rounded cartridge rim.  Bear in mind that during FIRING the case itself provides all "primary" extraction as it "blows back" the bolt with the extractor basically along for the ride, and coming into play secondarily to trap the case rim on the ejection port side as the interior side is snapped against the ejector thus kicking the case out.

The case AND bullet lodged in the chamber is also a product of short cycling, yet not as short as the situation above.  In this situation the bolt kicks back with enough force to eject the empty and chamber a new round, HOWEVER it fails to move back far enough to actuate the disconnector, and in fact moves just barely far enough to snag the next round in the magazine and push it into the barrel.  You did not state this, but since you were moved to cycle the action to discover the "cartridge" in the chamber, this means the hammer was already down and when you pulled the trigger you got nothing...so you cycled the action only to find a "live round" in there...the un-disconnected hammer followed the bolt forward in this instance.  There is actually a point where the bolt goes almost far enough to disconnect but fails and the hammer carries sufficient inertia to cause a slam fire on closing which the shooter perceives as "doubling" or "tripling".

The bottom line for you is that the ammo is not providing enough power to fully cycle the action via that simple reason, or by virtue of low powered ammo combined with a build-up of firing residue within the action that increases cycling friction.

Additionally, you stated you have the GSG-5P and this is significant because the short barreled version is far more sensitive to low powered ammo and internal grit which reduce free cycling energy.  The carbine and pistol versions share the same springs yet the pistol barrel is over 7" shorter meaning less bore time and less back pressure to cycle.

If you want 100% cycling you can go with higher powered ammo, keep the "innards" scrupulously clean, or mount a suppressor, or a muzzle mounted "booster", or longer barrel.

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Sorry I forgot to address the "cold" factor...yes cold weather does negatively impact semi-auto weapons function because the lubricants tend to be slightly more viscous, and the ammo produces lower pressures and velocity, and therefore bolt opening thrust.

BTW the Federal bulk pack is pretty decent for normal cycling, but combine it with cold weather, pistol barrel, a modicum of internal debris build-up and the GSG starts to bog down.

Also, the twin recoil springs are somewhat weak at rest (bolt closed) yet by mid-stroke are providing substantial resistance....result, bolt opens early, decelerates early unless a greater recoil impulse is present.

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Kilibreaux,

Thank you for the outstanding analysis and explanation for my problem.  You have totally shed light on why this is occurring.  I will probably switch to better rounds (CCI), and might get myself a fake suppressor also (I've been looking for an excuse to do so).

-Thanks again

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