AK-V Bolt Hold Open Feature - Seems stuck in the open position - Resolved

PSA Products AK-V
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I put a couple of hundred rounds through this AK-V spicy girl since I got her a few days ago, with the original magazine and 2 additional PSA magazines. Everything was going fine until today.

I fired about 70 rounds, then I put her down on the range table to go ask the RSO a question. When I came back and tried to load a round and then chamber it, the bolt would not snap forward to chamber a round off the top of the magazine. It is stuck in the open position, and it will not release even if I remove the magazine. I tried all three magazines, same thing. I doubt it is a magazine issue, all three had been running flawlessly until now.

So, I removed the cover, spring and bolt. I ran the bolt back and forth, and finally put it back together with the bolt in the forward position. I put in a loaded magazine, pulled the bolt back, let it snap forward, and it chambered just fine from the closed bolt position. At the end of that magazine, the bold locked open, I removed the magazine, inserted a new one, and the bolt would not close, again.

Again, I took the cover, spring and bolt apart, put them back in, and with the bolt forward, the cartridge chambered just fine. This issue repeated about 4 times. On the forth and final time, I had added lube, but still the issue persisted.

It is like the bolt is crashing into a block before it even touches the cartridge or magazine. I think it is the bolt hold open mechanism. I thought maybe it is the sliding button on the side of the magazine well, but working it in either direction is not doing anything. I hope it is just that I am missing something with the bolt hold open mechanism (new to me).

I am not finding much on the web, I am just going to clean it now for lack of other options.

AKV
AKV1500Ă—2000 393 KB

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Ak47 GF3 not going into battery
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I took the gun apart and did a heavy cleaning yesterday, taking special care to generously lube the “bolt hold open” bar that seems to have been getting stuck blocking my bolt. I cycled it 10ish times with dummy rounds, one mag at a time, one dummy round at a time so I was constantly getting the bolt hold open upon ejecting the final cartridge shell. It worked then it didn’t, then it did, back and forth a few times until the last few times, it seemed to cycle and work properly again. When it would get stuck, I would manually hold the bolt back and use a flathead screwdriver, to gently push down the bolt hold open bar. It did not need much of a push, but it was stuck enough to keep the bolt from moving forward. I suspect debris got into the mechanism, and I might have worked it out. I am going to test fire again this afternoon.

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Keep us updated.

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that sounds to be the most logical answer, especially with it doing the weird on and off and on and off that yopu were experiencing while dry firing after cleaning. I unfortunately do not have an akv yet so i cannot really help with the troubleshooting as i had went arv instead. I am considering an AKV now however. Please keep us updated with what you find out, and if you cant get her working right for whatever reason, at least PSA has a lifetime warranty, however youll have to contact Customer service for that as they do not have a presence here on this forum. Good luck. Im interested to see what you figure out.

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:arrow_up:

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My new AK-V arrived at my FFL today. I’m curious to see what the LRBHO device looks like.

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ALG Trigger? I call it the John Daly.

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Yes, the ALG Trigger is why I call her “Spicy Girl”, lol. I need to get the darn BHO thing resolved, though.

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A friend of mine is expecting to get one in the next few days, also. He is going to look at the BHO mechanism also, maybe even do a thorough cleaning/inspection on that specific part before using the gun the first time. Let me know your thoughts on your BHO, when you get it.

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My son has mine ATM. A lot going on ATM or I would have looked into mine to see possible areas for inspection.

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Just to clarify, from comments I am seeing, the BHO may not be standard on every AKV. It may be an upgrade on my gun. I will try to get some pictures. Something to look for is a small up/down switch on the side of the mag well, that you do not normally see on an AK.

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There isnt an upgrade to my knowledge with the BHO…i.e PSA hasnt changed it.

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Here are some pictures I just took. One, is the external button that if you want to manually apply BHO, you hold the bolt open and push the button up to lock the bolt open. However, that switch does not seem to be working the other way around, it does not release the bolt when pushed down, maybe it should be doing that. The second picture is approximately where I am lightly pressing with the screw driver, to push the bar out of the way to drop the bolt again for lack of another way to release it, right now.

PSA BHO
PSA BHO1000Ă—1333 212 KB

AKV BHO 2
AKV BHO 21000Ă—1333 103 KB

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Also, here is the write up from the gun.
Palmetto State Armory is proud to introduce the new PSA AK-V 13.7" Pin and Weld! This new product has been designed based on the Vityaz-SN Russian submachine gun, with a few modern improvements. The PSA AK-V is a blowback-operated system to ensure a smooth cycling action. Following in the footsteps of our new PSA AK-47 GF3 models, the AK-V features a forged front trunnion and bolt/carrier. Our design utilizes the Palmetto State Armory U9 35 round magazine, and also features last round bolt hold open. The PSA AK-V can only be guaranteed to function with AKV U-9 magazines.

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So the GF designation has to do with barrel and trigger. Base line is GF3. GF4s have a PSA CHF barrel and an ept trigger. GF5 feature an ALG trigger with FN CHF barrel. The

The AKV is a GF3 but may include an upgraded trigger such as the ALG. Its also the only PSA AK with BHO.

As for the BHO, have you lubed that button really well? It might just need a break in period. Mine was pretty stiff when i got it and i had to push on it a little hard, but it has loosened up.

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@AKGirl I picked mine up today, my bolt catch is spring loaded down so the empty magazine can push it up to lock the bolt back. I can also manually push up on the external button to lock the bolt back. Pushing down releases the bolt into battery so it seems to be working as intended.
Mine works freely, I shot a quick video with the bolt removed, is yours binding or does it move free like this?
Also, unless it’s just the angle of the camera, the setscrew in the center of your button looks like it’s screwed out farther than mine, has it come loose? Looking at the mechanism, I can see where if that screw came loose it might slip down on the bar and bind your bolt catch in the up position sometimes.

image
image4032Ă—3024 2.75 MB

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Thanks for posting the pics and info! This morning, after my last post, I was able to release the bolt for the first time by pushing the BHO lever down. It was not working at all before. I did not notice it much with my first 200 rounds, I am just not used to having a BHO switch on an AK. It was not until the BHO bar locked in the up position, that I noticed the whole mechanism. I played with the button, and it did not work to release the bolt.

I just now took the AKV apart again, and compared it to your pictures. I do seem to remember that the BHO switch was a little loose feeling, when I first played with it. I am going to tighten that bolt down that seems to be sticking out. Maybe I will light up the yard for New Years Eve tonight, and give it another test run. Thanks again, and I will follow up with whether it is working now or not. Have a happy New Year!

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If your setscrew really did come loose, you might need to make sure the BHO bar and the button are both in the fully down position before you tighten the setscrew? Just to make sure the bar is fully clear of the bolt.

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Lol, I did not check that before tightening, but I just took it out in the yard and ran 3 mags and it seemed to be okay. I am not 100% confident, yet, I am going to need to do more mag changes and get used to having a BHO that I don’t have on my other AK’s. I think I will like the BHO, in the long run for competitions.

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I generally run the BHO followers on my AK mags (the 7.62x39 ones), just because I 'm used to it from other platforms. The bolt slams shut when you pull the mag out, but it at least gives you some indication that your empty. The true hold open that they implemented in the AK-V is much nicer. I have fortunately, never had a problem with my V. Sorry to hear yours is giving you grief.

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