Went to the range today to practice and set up a paper target for myself. Then two deputies came out with their new rifles. One had an AR which he put together and another had a FN-FAL type rifle.
Well, the AR man wasn't really an armorer so he asked the rangemaster to inspect it. The rangemaster deferred to me and I did a function check. Also opened it up and looked inside. Tried the disconnector and it sprung back sharply. Checked the assembly of the bolt and noted that one of the hex keys wasn't staked that well. Apart from not having any headspace gauges (hey, I came to have fun, not to work), I gave him the green light and helped him sight in. We played with the sights and had him in the black in no time.
The deputy with the FN proved more challenging. No ejection. Well, at least it's Calif. legal since it's a straight pull bolt weapon. Checked the ejector and it was in place and should have worked fine. I marked the bolt and the receiver with a couple of lines drawn with a grease pencil. This would help me discern the movement of the bolt when he fired. It moved only slightly. Aha! It's a FN with an adjustable gas port. Adjust it I suggest. He does and with each successive shot, has to pull the bolt back. I suggested that he clean it and make sure nothing was fouling the gas tube or piston. This he does and again it would not function in semi-auto mode.
We returned to the range shack and I had him disassemble it. At that point, I noticed that the gas port was inserted wrong and in the shut off position. He then reassembled it under my supervision and we returned to the firing line. It worked and like his buddy, he was now a happy camper and both were plinking away. Darn if I didn't ruin a potential purchase at a great price.
Freed, it was my turn to shoot and so it went with the strong hand, weak hand, as well as shooting from the ground. Overall, a fine day at the range.
Well, the AR man wasn't really an armorer so he asked the rangemaster to inspect it. The rangemaster deferred to me and I did a function check. Also opened it up and looked inside. Tried the disconnector and it sprung back sharply. Checked the assembly of the bolt and noted that one of the hex keys wasn't staked that well. Apart from not having any headspace gauges (hey, I came to have fun, not to work), I gave him the green light and helped him sight in. We played with the sights and had him in the black in no time.
The deputy with the FN proved more challenging. No ejection. Well, at least it's Calif. legal since it's a straight pull bolt weapon. Checked the ejector and it was in place and should have worked fine. I marked the bolt and the receiver with a couple of lines drawn with a grease pencil. This would help me discern the movement of the bolt when he fired. It moved only slightly. Aha! It's a FN with an adjustable gas port. Adjust it I suggest. He does and with each successive shot, has to pull the bolt back. I suggested that he clean it and make sure nothing was fouling the gas tube or piston. This he does and again it would not function in semi-auto mode.
We returned to the range shack and I had him disassemble it. At that point, I noticed that the gas port was inserted wrong and in the shut off position. He then reassembled it under my supervision and we returned to the firing line. It worked and like his buddy, he was now a happy camper and both were plinking away. Darn if I didn't ruin a potential purchase at a great price.
Freed, it was my turn to shoot and so it went with the strong hand, weak hand, as well as shooting from the ground. Overall, a fine day at the range.