05Aug05

At an Urban Rifle Course in PA last weekend we had the usual assortment of weapons. All worked well, with the exception of my JLD PTR-91 (domestic co py of the HK-91). After digesting various brands of 308 ammunition, it starte d choking, particularly during high-volume exercises. The problem was extraction failure. We're replacing the extractor spring, and I'll be exercising it again shortly. I really want to like this rifle, but I can't live with reliability problems. More later.

A student using a Robinson Arms VEPR (7.62X39) did just fine, until he trie d to feed it MagSafe ammunition. Upon feeding, the MagSafe bullet consistently pushed back into the case so far that the feeding cycle could n ot complete. It happened with round after round. When we replaced the MagSafe ammunition with some cheap, Russian military stuff, the rifle, once again, worked perfectly. Ammunition intended to be used in military rifles had better ha ve a robust crimp around the bullet, so it doesn't set back (or become loose) during the feeding cycle. Ammunition with only casual bonding of bullet to case is suitable only for non-serious purposes and should be used only in non-serious rifles.

/John