Jammed trigger, then bolt/op rod jammed solid, full aft.

[Laufer]

Bought my first AK clone two days ago. Minimal wear, and the ARM Maadi is reported to be much better than the MISR 90 version.

The previous owner said he only used one box of ammo, and the only tweaking he did was to file, or polish the hammer, so that the "bolt won't catch". Moving the bolt/op rod felt just like on my Saiga.

The only slight difference in feel between my unmodified Saiga 7.62x39 and this new "ARM Maadi" is that when re-assembling,
the Maadi's recoil spring is a bit weaker than in my "nib" Saiga.

First glitch today: the trigger felt frozen, so I pulled the bolt to the rear and emptied the chamber. It was sehr dumm und doof to operate it after the trigger felt locked in the reset position, I realize that.

When the next round fired, the trigger froze Again, and then either I pulled the bolt all the way back, or the recoil pushed it All the way back. It feels welded all the way to the rear.

The dust cover button can Not be depressed, dust cover can't be gently pried open with small screwdriver, and the gas tube can't be removed because of the piston inside.

It will go to the gun smith. With no idea how to upload photos, just imagine your bolt stuck in the full aft position.That's the picture.
What would you imagine is the most likely cause? 
My only uneducated guess is that it's something in the trigger/hammer Blocking the bolt's return, and maybe there's no other expensive damage to the gun?

[Onepoint]

Sounds like the bolt carrier may have jumped the rails or something. Can't tell unless we can see it.

[AKBLUE]

It sounds like the carrier is stuck to the rear blocking the action.

Try using a mallet to drive the recoil assembly button forward so the receiver cover can be removed..  Or alternatively use some force to try t drive the charging handle forward by striking it with a mallet.

[Laufer]

Thanks very much.

I'm much more comfortable (having no mallet) letting a gun smith do it.
After posting this topic, various Google searches revealed that it should be the bolt carrier 'jumpng the track, blockage by the hammer.

As to how trigger movement had been blocked even Before the op rod was jammed to the rear seems strange.

Is this known to happen even in some of the better semi-auto AKs which were Not tweaked internally?
The prev. owner told me that he only polished the upper hammer area, but never indicated that any of it had been removed.

[Onepoint]

Some receivers had the support rails just slightly short and that let the bolt carrier jump over them when recoil forced it back.  I don't recall which ones it was exactly, the easy fix was using a recoil buffer to take up the extra room.

The trigger locking could possibly be the hammer being held down by the bolt and not letting it reset.  Just my guess.

[Laufer]

Thanks. Read about the buffer on Google. Will order one.

When the gun smith sees the gun in a few days (if timing is good), if he decides that the hammer is also a problem, can they do a permanent fix, such as a tiny bit of extra grinding/polishing which allows a normal operation?

[Onepoint]

Yeah, maybe if that's the problem, I am just going by a vague memory of what others had gone through.  It may not need anything once the bolt carrier issue is resolved.

[Laufer]

Putting the dust cover back on was impossible without a little filing on the hole's bottom edge-maybe this helped prevent the bolt carrier getting jammed any more. Seems to have solved it. Still plan to install Brownell's recoil buffer, if this still seems a good idea (?).

Today, Except  for the safety lever once, maybe twice (again) moving itself upwards about 2mm from the fully lowered Safe position, and blocking the trigger, it was perfect with all 80 rds., or so.

As the safety lever's color doesn't Quite match the color of the receiver, possibly it was a substitute?

[AKBLUE]

A mallet is cheap at any hardware store or Harbor Freight. It is harmless. But if you wish to pay a gunsmith it is up to you.
Generally the carrier cannot jump the rail very far with the spring guide in place.

It is hard to tell what the previous owner may have done to the firearm.  The fact that he noted the modification might be a negative thing in this case.  Your experience and the nature of the "jammed" carrier etc. is not common unless there is a flaws somewhere. Or you may just be babying the method to free up the action.  With no hands on or pics it is only a guessing game.  Good Luck and hopefully something simple.

[Laufer]

AKBLUE: To summarize, a few moderate thumps with a small blunt object onto a screwdriver knocked the button, and stuck op rod loose. The dust cover 'button' now protrudes farther than it did (this helps the bolt carrier?). The op rod was fine at the range.

Other than the safety lever once/twice Moving Itself just 2mm upwards (yes-am a Lefty), which blocked the trigger,
 it was a Perfect operation today.

And no gun smith is needed, at least for a while.

[AKBLUE]

Maybe some pictures if the carrier is hanging at the rear with the receiver cover removed. Or of the filing done to the hammer face etc.

[Laufer]

UPDATE:
Last 300 rds. (up to April 9th) were perfect ops. Seems very reliable. To clarify, ordered the Recoil Buffer from Brownell's, just in case.

For 'trigger slap', cut short bit of thin, narrow plastic strap from old backpack, wrapped twice around the trigger-stapled it.
It's mo' better now, and pleasant.

No idea how to Upload photos, but apparently his light hammer polishing was not connected.
What Did seem to help was when I hand-filed the lower edge of the dust cover's button opening (square hole). The button now seems to protrude further. Maybe a coincidence.

On some AKs, the rails might be a tiny bit too short at the aft limits and bolt carriers reportedly have gotten off track.
Others can have a suspected hangup somewhere in the recoil spring rod, based on my Google readings.

[Danjal]

If you're getting trigger slap you may have too much face on your hammer. Which may point to the other issues happening here.

Lots of variables come into play on the AK. There's been a host of issues with hammers, carriers, rails, and so on through the years.

[Dino412]

I have a Vepr that did the same thing when I bought it, and what is was was the recoil binded up in the carrier because the rear on the recoil spring was too high being held high because of the button opening on the dust cover. Filed down the opening and BAM, another fine weapon that some one sold and I gained, because of a little hiccup.

[Laufer]

Danjal:
That Maadi 'ARM' since then has had a perfect operation. Approx. 1,000 rds. or more.

As for basic feeding (also perfect), the main mag. has been a Hun. Tanker, for what it might be worth.