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Yeah, told them about the mallet. They checked head space for me - passed both no and no-go, so they didn't bother to check field.Quote:
Originally Posted by CCHGN
I'm really hoping that the issue turns out to be the rifle being persnickety about ammo during the break-in period. Stay tuned...I'll update after the rifle comes back and I take it to the range.
I know have the rifle back in my possession. I won't have time to get it to the range for another week or so. In the meantime, I'm cycling snap caps and have purchased some Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
In cycling the snap caps, I've noted that the I need to pull that bolt back hard and fast - any waffling results in a FTF. Leads me to think that maybe higher grain rounds might do better in this rifle. It's also leading me to think about a stronger recoil spring.
Anyway, I plan to keep cycling snap caps until I get to the range. Will update after the range trip.
Fedex will ship firearms, just make sure your take it to a hub and not a place that just picks up Fedex packages. That's how i shipped my Sig back for repairs after they sent me a shipping label.
Well, it's been quite a while and I've been through a lot with the AO-130. After lots of trial and error, fussing, and several range trips, I finally have the rifle running reliably. Rather than walk readers through the whole process, I'll just sum up what I've learned.
1. Sending the rifle back to AutoOrdnance/Kahr was an exercise in futility. Really not worth the time. The rile was just as bad after the factory trip as it was when I sent it.
2. In my case, the rifle ran much better after many, many dry-fire cycles. I bought some cheap snap-caps and ran through around 1,200 cycles. I started noticing a difference right around 1,000.
3. The rifle is very persnickety about the ammo it will eat. I've had the best results with Hornady Critical Home Defense FTX HP. Aguila ammo was far and away the worst. It's really takes trial and error to find ammo that works well.
4. The AO-130 runs much better when wet. A quick wipe down with RemOil just before heading to the range improved things quite a bit.
5. The supplied magazine is just this side of junk. I scored some KCI mags that run very, very well.
6. This was really the finishing touch - the mag well in the receiver is a bit too large for the mags. I broke down my rifle and squeezed the sides of the mag well in a padded vise grip - a little squeeze and a check, followed by a little more squeeze and another check. Now my mags fit tightly and I haven't had a FTF since the tweak, other than when using the OEM mag - over 500 rounds.
I'm pretty happy with the rifle now, although I do wish I could find some inexpensive ammo it would eat reliably. But it was definitely a long process to get here. Hope sharing my experience helps someone else out there.
Aguila ammo is really bad -mLots of failures in my WWII Inland carbine as well. I figure if we ever go to war with Mexico we'll have to spot them the ammo just to make it a fair fight.
I've had good luck with the stuff in other calibers. Not so much in .30 carbine.Quote:
Originally Posted by tpelle
I wanted to update as I discovering things with this rifle. I've thrown another several hundred rounds downrange since my last post, trying out different ammo brands. My results:
1. Privi Partisan You'll find good stories about the AO-130 and Privi Partisan all over the internet. But that was not the case for me. Failure To Eject over 90% over 150 rounds. Just as bad as the Aguila stuff.
2. Hornady Critical Defense FTX As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I've gotten perfect performance with this stuff. Not a single failure anything over 250 rounds. Goes bang every time I pull the trigger. Just wish the stuff wasn't so darned expensive.
3. Tula Ammo Tried some of this stuff only because it was all my LGS had in stock when I went shopping for ammo. And I was ever surprised. I've run over 200 rounds of this stuff without a glitch. If not for my concern over running high volumes of steel case ammo through this rifle, this would definitely win as my go-to for plinking.
So I'm still on the hunt for a brass-cased round that runs well and doesn't cost $1 every time I pull the trigger. And I'd appreciate any suggestions.
I'll keep sharing as I get more results. Although I'm sharing in the hopes this will help others, keep in mind that your mileage may vary.
Another update: another few hundred rounds thrown down range. The gun is still not quite as reliable as I'd like. And still very persnickety about ammo.
Last week, I came across another AO-130 owner. He talked about having similar problems to mine until he replaced the recoil spring with a spring from Wolff. In his words: "It's like shooting a different and much smoother gun". So I ordered one, which I'll install this weekend. After I get it out to the range, I'll come back with a report.
Man I hope that works out for you! This is a good thread you've kept running here, thanks.
Regards,
Greg
Thanks for the good thoughts! I'm hoping this thread will help others who own or are considering the AO-130.Quote:
Originally Posted by gb6491