G43 I found & bought recently (New to G43 Collecting)

Thanks! I'll try this out.

I picked up a case of 200 rounds of Prvi Partizan PPU 8mm ammo so no issues. I also have 300 rounds of Greek WW2 surplus ammo but I mean if the rifle is so expensive/rare then I can invest a little more into premium "under-powered" non-corrosive ammo.

Would it be better to just leave it on so a more experienced collector may choose to expertly remove it in the future?

FWIW I don't trust surplus in any of my semi-auto rifles. The guns are too expensive to screw around with ammo that is 50-80 years old at this point. Ammo doesn't age like fine wine, the decomposition products of smokeless powder can do some scary stuff to brass, and the G/K43 in particular doesn't have the best supported chamber in the world. I've personally had two rounds of '53 dated Yugo 8mm split across the case head (head, not neck) in K98ks, and maybe about 10 years ago that stuff killed a few G/K43s.

Really I don't even trust it with the bolt actions, although I still have a few crates of surplus 7.62x54r that I keep telling myself I'll use. I need to just get a bullet puller and turn those into components.

Guns are expensive, medical bills even more so. Ammo in comparison is dirt cheap. Trying to save a few cents per trigger pull when firing a multi-thousand dollar rifle is a false economy.
 
Update on the situation:
I got calipers, measured the "shim distance" as 0.042-0.044 inches. A toothed washer came with Apfeltor's kit so I used that. It seemed to fit it perfectly....almost too perfectly where there was absolutely 0 play but the bolt was all the way forward. From AxisGun's guide for shimming on youtube he suggested about .020 inches of play. Should I go with the toothed washer with 0 play (what issues does 0 play bring?), get a different washer from Home Depot, or use it without any washer and just deal with ~0.044 inches of play (will that damage the rifle or is it too much?).

I also oiled the whole rifle but it seems to "drag", when I release the bolt from the rear, it gets stuck halfway and needs a light finger tap to send all the way home. It seems to get "stuck" in different positions along the track sometimes. I am able to reliably pull back the bolt halfway across the magazine chamber (with the magazine out) and it will stay there unless I push it slightly forward, then it sends home. Any ideas of how to fix this?
 
Update on the situation:
I got calipers, measured the "shim distance" as 0.042-0.044 inches. A toothed washer came with Apfeltor's kit so I used that. It seemed to fit it perfectly....almost too perfectly where there was absolutely 0 play but the bolt was all the way forward. From AxisGun's guide for shimming on youtube he suggested about .020 inches of play. Should I go with the toothed washer with 0 play (what issues does 0 play bring?), get a different washer from Home Depot, or use it without any washer and just deal with ~0.044 inches of play (will that damage the rifle or is it too much?).

I've never heard of play in the gas system causing damage. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but it's not the kind of thing where the parts are going to batter themselves if they're not fully in contact 100% of the time. As long as they engage with each other well (aren't jumping loose while the gun is cycling) I wouldn't worry too much about it. Certainly not over less than half of a tenth of an inch.
 
I've never heard of play in the gas system causing damage. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but it's not the kind of thing where the parts are going to batter themselves if they're not fully in contact 100% of the time. As long as they engage with each other well (aren't jumping loose while the gun is cycling) I wouldn't worry too much about it. Certainly not over less than half of a tenth of an inch.
He is talking about the operating rod having significant distance to the bolt carrier. Over time the rod will mushroom if there is too much distance before making contact. When installing the shooters kit, shimming it cuts down on this length of travel.
 
How does it function without a magazine in it?
It still gets stuck halfway quite often (although not all the time) when I release the bolt. It usually requires me to "tap" it gently and it will send home. I replaced the recoil springs so that shouldn't be the issue. This is the issue with an empty magazine in, although when I have snapcaps in it seems to do it less although it still does it.
 
It still gets stuck halfway quite often (although not all the time) when I release the bolt. It usually requires me to "tap" it gently and it will send home. I replaced the recoil springs so that shouldn't be the issue. This is the issue with an empty magazine in, although when I have snapcaps in it seems to do it less although it still does it.
They all have somewhat of a drag midway when the bottom of the bolt comes in contact with the hammer. Does it get any better if you put a little oil on the bolt hump that comes in contact with the bolt? Do this without a magazine in it.
 
Do you have pictures of the forward and aft ends of the scope mount? There should be machining index holes visible, just below where the scope band screw rests.
 
Do you have pictures of the forward and aft ends of the scope mount? There should be machining index holes visible, just below where the scope band screw rests.
1683577301439.jpeg1683577324291.jpeg
I think these are the machined index holes. What do they signify?

They all have somewhat of a drag midway when the bottom of the bolt comes in contact with the hammer. Does it get any better if you put a little oil on the bolt hump that comes in contact with the bolt? Do this without a magazine in it.
That makes me feel better, I put some oil on the bolt hump as well as the hammer. Seems to be a bit better but I took some videos of it with the magazine in and out:

I think you did great. I expected you to say you paid four to five grand for that setup.
Thank you, the wood stock might be stained/varnished a darker colour but numbers all match. It might not be as quite the steal as some have gotten but it seems every month G43's just get more expensive. I figured I might as well buy it now before they're nonexistent in 15 years. The scope seems to be for a Walther rifle and is not matching to the gun (BLM) but that's no biggie. I posted the serial number on the other forum post for trading scopes incase anyone has a Walther rifle with that #. Taking her out this weekend to shoot for the first time.
 
Update on the situation:
I got calipers, measured the "shim distance" as 0.042-0.044 inches. A toothed washer came with Apfeltor's kit so I used that. It seemed to fit it perfectly....almost too perfectly where there was absolutely 0 play but the bolt was all the way forward. From AxisGun's guide for shimming on youtube he suggested about .020 inches of play. Should I go with the toothed washer with 0 play (what issues does 0 play bring?), get a different washer from Home Depot, or use it without any washer and just deal with ~0.044 inches of play (will that damage the rifle or is it too much?).

I also oiled the whole rifle but it seems to "drag", when I release the bolt from the rear, it gets stuck halfway and needs a light finger tap to send all the way home. It seems to get "stuck" in different positions along the track sometimes. I am able to reliably pull back the bolt halfway across the magazine chamber (with the magazine out) and it will stay there unless I push it slightly forward, then it sends home. Any ideas of how to fix this?
Drag on bolt carrier is normal. don't worry about it, yes sometimes even gets stuck. They all do it. Just. Use smallest gas plug and try few shots, as long as it clears and spent round is ejected, you should be good. get some Prvi ammo, like someone said stay away from surplus milsurp. Just remember summer shooting user little bigger orifice plug, winter use smallest one. Now, get busy, I like to see some paper targets, show me what you can do!;)
 
Got in a little late on this conversation.

Your rifle is an “e block”, not a “k block”. BLM cursive letters are a little bit of a study. The bolt assembly drag is a normal thing with these rifles. Some people can do a good job getting the varnish off of the wood, and some make it worse. Once you start doing anything like removing the varnish from the wood, you can’t go back. I’d say that was a decent price tag for this rifle as it came with a scope mount assembly and shooter’s kit as well. I can’t help with anything as far as shooting the rifle as I’ve never fired any of mine and never fired one.
 
Update on the situation:
I got calipers, measured the "shim distance" as 0.042-0.044 inches. A toothed washer came with Apfeltor's kit so I used that. It seemed to fit it perfectly....almost too perfectly where there was absolutely 0 play but the bolt was all the way forward. From AxisGun's guide for shimming on youtube he suggested about .020 inches of play. Should I go with the toothed washer with 0 play (what issues does 0 play bring?), get a different washer from Home Depot, or use it without any washer and just deal with ~0.044 inches of play (will that damage the rifle or is it too much?).

I also oiled the whole rifle but it seems to "drag", when I release the bolt from the rear, it gets stuck halfway and needs a light finger tap to send all the way home. It seems to get "stuck" in different positions along the track sometimes. I am able to reliably pull back the bolt halfway across the magazine chamber (with the magazine out) and it will stay there unless I push it slightly forward, then it sends home. Any ideas of how to fix this?
My DUV 44 also hangs up halfway like your video shows, but only if I slowly let it forward. When I rack the charging handle back and let it fly home at full force, it doesn't hang up. I think it's normal.
 
Back
Top