AK supposed to eat anything; same can't be said for HK91/PTR?

[The_Armed_Therapist]

PTR91F, AW series.

Like I said, it seems to be an X-factor. I've had no problems, but obviously others have. The only mishap I've had was a light primer strike and/or a bad round (really not sure which is most likely), but that was with good ammo, not steel or surplus or anything.

 

[jason41987]

problem with the HK91 is it literally eats your ammo... fluted chambers tend to weaken brass by leaving longitudinal creases in the metal.. just reduces how often you can reuse your brass... also, HKs tend to get dirtier quicker than for example, an AK, due to being blowback in nature you tend to get more gasses blown into it

however, with all of this ive still never known one to be unreliable

AKs very from country to country, factory to factory and there never really was any standardization, and quality control is suspect from some places so its not uncommon to get an AK that jams often... so i think it would be erroneous to assume AKs wont jam

 

[M1key]

Trent, thanks very much for the detailed description. I am actually really surprised because based on what I read / hear, the HK91 is supposed to be the most durable, even more than the AK, and should NEVER require cleaning, and eat anything. Designed as the ultimate durable battle rifle for extended field conditions without support or maintenance.

No?

Ask the Contras in Central America how reliable they were. With no/low maintenance they rusted shut with regularity. They were nowhere nearly as reliable as the AK.

Also, if you ever dent the charging handle housing hard enough, you will have a non-functioning weapon.

Keep the rollers clean and oiled...

M

 

[Trent]

M1key - judging by the condition of some of the bolts I've seen in the G3 parts kits I've handled, I COMPLETELY believe those stories.

(Then again, I've personally SEEN an Ak-47 rusted shut after it was shot in the rain and not cleaned or used for 3 months - happened to a friend of mine. We had to use a 6 pound sledge hammer to break the bolt loose. The piston was rusted SOLID in to the gas tube.)

 

[M1key]

But it worked then right?

M

 

[AK103K]

problem with the HK91 is it literally eats your ammo... fluted chambers tend to weaken brass by leaving longitudinal creases in the metal.. just reduces how often you can reuse your brass...

What tends to beat up the brass is not using a port buffer. The cases tend to get heavy dents in the case form impact with the edge of the ejection port.

The flutes dont normally do any damage to the brass that effects reloading. Hard extraction and ejection, especially into hard objects does.

The only time I ever saw brass damaged to the point of not being reloadable, was when using 9mm Uzi "black tip" in my MP5. It actually started to fire form the brass into the flutes, leaving a raised portions in the brass. I dont know if it was a bad lot of brass, or overly hot loads, or maybe a combo of both, but it was the only time it occurred. I never had any troubles with any of the hot SMG only ammo I fired in it.

The soot on the brass cleans right up in the tumbler, the scratches from the flutes are usually just very light and barely noticeable.

The HK's in the rifle calibers are a lot harder on the brass than the pistol calibers. I ususally loaded the 9mm's to failure and they last forever. The rifle brass was somewhat shorter lived than my other .308 autos, and I usually only got 6-8 loads out of them, where the others were 10+.

 

[jason41987]

the flutes do effect the brass.. you can still reload it, but it will limit the number of times you can reload it, because even though its slight, it increases every time you fire the brass through it... not nearly as bad as the lack of a buffer though

another issue though with delayed blowbacks is before the bolt fully flies rearward, as the rollers are being pushed out of the way, bolt comes out slowly while the chambers still under pressure which can over-expand the mouth of the brass and further weaken it this way which is a problem of all roller or lever delayed blowbacks that im familiar with, which isnt going to be a problem on pistol calibers, which is probably why you notice their SMGs having less issues

 

[AK103K]

Ive reloaded a lot of HK91 fired brass, and the scratches from the flutes were never an issue, or at least for me.

Beat up case mouths, and sometimes the cases themselves, from impacting hard surfaces, and "stretched" brass, requiring more trimming and bringing on the case head separation "ring" sooner, were the main causes of brass being taken out of service.

 

[Driftertank]

Just watch out for AW-serial numbers below 8000. That's PTR-91F, KF, KMF, etc.

Most A# guns and AW# over about 8000 don't have issues, as far as i'm aware.