AK & Related Rifles

Video: SVD Dragunov 7.62×54mmR Sniper Rifle by ArmlistMedia – Great Overview Plus Field Stripping

One of my regrets is that I have not had the funds and opportunity (at the same time) to buy a SVD Dragunov.  For those of you who do not know it, the Dragunov was developed as a designated marksman rifle (DMR) by the USSR and has evolved over the years.  Contrary to what some say, it is not an oversize AK – the Drag’s bolt carrier does not have an attached piston and all the mass associated.  Instead, there is a short stroke piston operating under left & right handguards over the barrel.  You get to see all of that and very straight forward field stripping guidance in this video.

SVD Dragunov sniper rifle in use by soldiers during training exercise.
SVD Dragunov 7.62x54mmR sniper rifle with scope on dry grass
Close-up of the SVD Dragunov sniper rifle's receiver and wooden stock
Man holding SVD Dragunov 7.62x54mmR sniper rifle, field stripping

 

SVD Dragunov bolt assembly, part of a 7.62x54mmR rifle field stripping overview.
Close-up of SVD Dragunov sniper rifle parts during field stripping

I really like this video.  The narration is very straight forward with a touch of humor and the video quality is solid.  Some day, I will own a Drag 🙂

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Air & C02 Rifles and Pistols

Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix: Try #3 – Change the Internal Spring Position – This is the best fix!

Please note that there are three posts in this series.  The method in the third post would fix just about any magazine while the other two helped some of the magazines:

  1. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #1 – Loosen the Center Screw
  2. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #2 – Dry Film Lubricants – Not a Good Fix – But Avoid 3-In-1 Dry Lube Because It Isn’t Dry!
  3. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #3 – Change the Internal Spring Position – This is the best fix!

Now on to the post:

Ok, in the first couple of tries, I had some success loosening the center screw on a couple of the sluggish mags.  Marginal improvement with dry lube but that didn’t fix two.  What resurrected the two worst magazines was to disassemble the magazines and move the spring’s anchor leg to the center hole.   What this did was to increase the tension of the spring and boy, did that fix the problem in spades.  In the future, I would try loosening the center screw and if that didn’t work, I’d go right to this spring adjustment:

Here are the steps:

  1. Note where the spring is at currently my looking in the holes in the back of the magazine.  If you see metal, that is the leg of the spring.  All of my mags have had the spring’s leg in the same place from the factory thus far:Benji Marauder magazine internal spring adjustment for a sluggish mag fix.
  2. Remove the center screw and disassemble the magazine with a 1/16″ hex key.  Pay attention to how it fits together and also look for any debris or burs that might be causing drag:  Bondhus tool adjusting a Benajmin Marauder magazine spring for a fix. Close up of black sewing machine bobbin case with internal spring positioned, gear on side Sluggish Marauder Mag fix parts: internal spring, black sprocket, and clear plastic piece

    In this next photo, look at the spring.  The downward leg is the bottom and the sideways leg is the top and the center of the drum has a slot that the top part of that spring nestles into:
    Close-up of a metal spring, likely for a Marauder magazine fix.
  3. Move the drum’s spring to the center hole in the track where the pellets are carried.  .Marauder magazine parts: internal spring and rotor for sluggish mag fix. Internal spring position of Marauder Mag Fix on a wooden surfaceSee the oily crap … I mean “film” in the mag?  That is courtesy of the 3-in-1 supposed dry lubricant that I will never use again and got cleaned out right after I took this photo:
    Marauder magazine internal spring adjustment, fix for sluggish magIf you aren’t sure what hole I mean, look at this next photo.  Magazines PA2 and PA4 have the spring located to the new hole half way around the magazine track.  PA1 and PA3 still have the springs in the original hole and seem to work ok.  This is also a good example of how labeling your mags helps you keep track of what is going on.  PA1 was the worst by far.Four Marauder magazines labeled PA1, PA2, PA3, PA4, ready for internal spring adjustment.
  4. Align the drum with the top of the spring and then carefully rotate the assembly clockwise slightly angling the long part of the drum so it will clear the part of the magazine that forms the start/end of the magazine area that holds the actual pellets.
    Hand adjusting internal spring position on Marauder Mag fix, showing 54680 USA
  5. Install the top so the brass pin that is embedded in the clear magazine cover rides in the groove of the drum.  I slide the cover on upwards from the bottom while keeping the center secure otherwise it will fly out.
  6. Re-install the screw.  Tighten it down until the cover can’t lift up and adjust the screw in/out until you feel the right amount of tension on the cover and it can move.
  7. Test by turning the top – you should feel way more spring tension now.

So in my testing, this worked great.  If just loosening the cover a bit works for you, then great.  If not, take it apart and move the spring.  Note – I did try spraying the good Dupont Teflon dry lube in one of the magazines and I can’t say that there is a noticeable difference.  You can if you want to experiment, but I’m not going to bother going forward.

Marauder magazine internal spring position adjustment

I hope this helps you out!

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Check out Gregory’s AK with Refinished Wood

Gregory shared this with me and I was so impressed by the clean lines that I had to post it:

Three wooden khukuri handles, showing wood grain and metal ferrules.

I asked what he did for the wood.  Gregory said he rubbed in three coats of red Oak stain.  It’s sharp!

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AK & Related Rifles, Military

Video: Troops training with the Zastava M76 and M91 Designated Marksman Rifles (DMRs)

This video from 2016 shows US, Latvian and other troops firing the Zastava M76 and M91 rifles.  Some may call them sniper rifles but they are more DMRs to me.  It’s always interesting to see rifles in practical use and hear some of the coaching going on.  Please note that these are like giant AK rifles that are over-sized to handle the larger rounds.  In contrast, the Dragunov is a different design including:  A short stroke piston that is separate from the bolt carrier, ,the bolt carrier does not have any provision for a piston so it has far less mass, the trigger is in a removable cartridge and the operating spring is mounted in a locking dust cover.

US military troops train with Zastava M76 and M91 DMRs
Soldier aiming Zastava M76 rifle in desert training

Here’s The Video

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and remain the property of their respective owner(s).

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Air & C02 Rifles and Pistols, Tools

Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix: Try #2 – Dry Film Lubricants – Not a Good Fix – But Avoid 3-In-1 Dry Lube Because It Isn’t Dry!

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Please note that there are three posts in this series.  The method in the third post would fix just about any magazine while the other two helped some of the magazines:

  1. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #1 – Loosen the Center Screw
  2. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #2 – Dry Film Lubricants – Not a Good Fix – But Avoid 3-In-1 Dry Lube Because It Isn’t Dry!
  3. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #3 – Change the Internal Spring Position – This is the best fix!

Now on to the post:

I am less than impressed with Marauder airgun magazines to be honest.  Their spring tension seems to be inconsistent.  The springs are in the same hole and in some cases, simply backing off the center screw was enough.  In other cases, I am finding that it helps to use a dry film lubricant in the magazine.  Why a dry lube?  If you use oil, it will attract dust and grit that will build up and cause problems down the road.  Dry films do not have a liquid that captures contaminants.

Dupont Non-Stick Dry Film Lubricant and 3-In-1 Dry Lube cans with airgun magazines

I experimented with two types of lubricants – 3-In-1 and also Dupont’s Non-Stick Dry Film Lubricant, which is an aerosol Teflon.  In 3 magazines, the 3-in-1 helped.  In the fourth magazine, tension improved with the use of the Dupont product.   In spraying some test pieces of black Kydex, you can see the Dupont product leaves a thick coat of Teflon behind.  The 3-in-1 leaves a greasy residue.  I am betting contaminants will stick to it. Reviewers of it are not mincing words – despite what the label says, it is not a true dry lube.  The first photo shows the Dupont Teflon powder on the left and the greasy/oily feeling residue of the 3-in-1 on the right.  The second photo is a close up of the 3-in-1 residue.

Two black squares with test swatches of "Bugon 1" and "3-In-1 Dry Lube" dry film lubricants. Dry film lubricant test on dark surface: 3-in-1 Dry Lube failure

After doing more reading and testing, I have changed all four magazines over to the Dupont product to avoid problems down the road.  To make a long story short, the magazines all turn much more freely and I would tell you do NOT to buy the supposed 3-in-1 dry lube because its greasy surface will likely be a problem down the road.  The next photo shows a magazine with the Teflon residue visible.

Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix attempt 2 with dry film lubricants, avoid 3-in-1

The magazines are better but do not feel as snappy as I think they should.  I’d say it helped some but my worst magazine, PA4, still feels way to light.   In my next post, I will adjust the spring position internally.

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Check out Derreck’s Yugo M72B1 with our handguards!!

Derreck’s Yugoslav/Zastava M72B1 with our M72 handguard set looks sweet!!

Yugo M72B1 rifle with black handguards Yugo M72B1 rifle with handguards on white paper

Click here to visit our M72 handguard page in our store.

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Video: Brownells’ Four Part Series on AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance

Three wooden khukuri handles, showing wood grain and metal ferrules. Three wooden khukuri handles, showing wood grain and metal ferrules. Three wooden khukuri handles, showing wood grain and metal ferrules.

Brownells has turned out a nice for video set regarding AK 47/74 Maintenance.  Here they are:

AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance: Part 1 Disassembly

AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance: Part 2 Cleaning

AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance: Part 3 Lubrication

AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance: Part 4 Reassembly

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Air & C02 Rifles and Pistols

Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix: Try #1 – Loosen the Center Screw

Please note that there are three posts in this series.  The method in the third post would fix just about any magazine while the other two helped some of the magazines:

  1. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #1 – Loosen the Center Screw
  2. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #2 – Dry Film Lubricants – Not a Good Fix – But Avoid 3-In-1 Dry Lube Because It Isn’t Dry!
  3. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #3 – Change the Internal Spring Position – This is the best fix!

Now on to the post:

I just bought eight brand new .22 Marauder magazines for my BNM breach and about half of them were sluggish. In other words they didn’t really want to come back around and feed the pellets the way they should. In closer investigation, some had been over tightened during assembly. I simply backed the cover screw off with a 1/16 inch Allen key and that easy change did help a couple of the mags but not all. I would turn a little bit and test, turn little bit and test, etc.. I bet I backed off less than 1/4-1/2 a turn for the magazines that had problems.  It didn’t fix all of them.  Two were still sluggish.  This is quick, easy and worth trying if you have a problem:

Note, the allen screws uses a 1/16″ key:

Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix tools on a wooden table including a yellow screw and black screws

The other recommendation I would make is to use a silver Sharpie pen and label your magazines so you can keep track of how they perform. I’m also experimenting with spring position some and will write that up in another post. I have started putting a silver dot on the factory spring  hole.  So far all eight were in the exact same hole.

Screwdriver and mag fix components labeled PA4 and PA2 on a wooden table

Frankly, I think they went with a cheap design.  I still have two things I want to try – using a dry lube and changing the internal spring position.  These will be in my next two blog posts.

 

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