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PPSh 41 does not run correctly


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My first post here, so bear with me. I have a C&R 1943 PPSh 41 that just will not run right. When I got it I ran one drum thru it flawlessly, but it went down hill from there. other drums would not feed and even that first drum would not feed properly when reloaded. Drums do not feed consistently. Live rounds as well as spent casings will stove pipe or T jam and live rounds often nose dive in the drum feed lips. Another problem is the gun will just stop firing on its own. With either stick or drum it might fire a half doz rounds then just stop with the bolt open. I let off the trigger, depress the trigger agian and it will fire 6-8-10 rounds then just stop again. Been using surplus ammo, not sure where it is from. How can I decipher that from the spam can, box, or head stamp? Given price of dirty and corrosive surplus vs price and availability of new manufacture I will probably swithch over. Any ideas about a gunsmith that can help, any ideas of simple things I can try, any ideas on surplus vs new manufacture ammo? ANy help at all. Thanks, CavalryDave, Winchester, VA

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Dave,

 

I owned one back when I used to be cool but it ran like a ____ so here is the tiny basic things I can add:

 

Ammunition is always a possibility - try something else, anything else just to see how it works.

 

Drums can be fickle. If you have a stick/box magazine, give it a run (they are not expensive or used to not be). I had a Polish PPSH, Hungarian drum. They got along fine first time out but then had a territorial dispute of some sort afterwards.

 

If you still have malfunctions after that, start thinking recoil spring replacement.

 

Unfortunately, I'm done after that. Hopefully someone more on the ball will add to it.

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My first post here, so bear with me. I have a C&R 1943 PPSh 41 that just will not run right. When I got it I ran one drum thru it flawlessly, but it went down hill from there. other drums would not feed and even that first drum would not feed properly when reloaded. Drums do not feed consistently. Live rounds as well as spent casings will stove pipe or T jam and live rounds often nose dive in the drum feed lips. Another problem is the gun will just stop firing on its own. With either stick or drum it might fire a half doz rounds then just stop with the bolt open. I let off the trigger, depress the trigger agian and it will fire 6-8-10 rounds then just stop again. Been using surplus ammo, not sure where it is from. How can I decipher that from the spam can, box, or head stamp? Given price of dirty and corrosive surplus vs price and availability of new manufacture I will probably swithch over. Any ideas about a gunsmith that can help, any ideas of simple things I can try, any ideas on surplus vs new manufacture ammo? ANy help at all. Thanks, CavalryDave, Winchester, VA

 

The 1943 Russian PPSh-41 I was shooting had a few stoppages.

We were shooting mostly modern Fiocchi 7.62X25.

Remember that there is a selector in front of the trigger.

That may be why your gun stops firing with the bolt open.

The semi-auto fire is from an open bolt.

The gun I was shooting ran great using a Hungarian bolt, but when you install the original MATCHING Russian bolt, it would jam from time to time.

The jams were with a variety of magazines, it is definately an issue with that bolt!

So, if you can locate a spare PPSh-41 bolt, give that a try.

 

Richard

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  • 2 weeks later...

The drums were originally fitted and numbered to each individual rifle, so it's not uncommon to have drums that don't work . I bought multiple drums for mine and just tried them all. Several worked flawlessly--others not so much. Most stick mags seem to work fine.

 

You'll benefit greatly from one of the new-condition Polish parts kits floating around out there. The Polish parts fit my '44 Russian perfectly. Bill Berg's Ppsh website lists a troubleshooting guide that you might find beneficial.

Good luck!

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  • 3 weeks later...

The guns are pretty simple but the trigger mechanism has a lot of floppy parts that can create issues. The guns are fast and this means mag issues can be common and the upper is pretty flexible so ejection issues are common.

The disconnector can and in some guns frequently does rattle around on its own when the gun is running. This can cause the trigger to be disconnected resulting in semi auto or short bursts. It can be fixed though the repair will be dependent on the individual gun.
For ammo that is diving in the drum you will have to increase spring tension, the spring is worn or things have slipped and the drum can't keep up with the gun. Gunboards.com used to have a great tutorial on adjusting spring tension.
For stovepipes and failures to eject have a look at the ejector and the bolt to make sure that the ejector is actually riding where it should when operating. You can look down into the ejection port while moving the bolt back and forth by hand to see. Many receivers (uppers) are bent and allow the bolt to ride up over the ejector which will cause the empty to miss it and not eject. As the bolt returns forward the empty hits the next case in the mag and falls to one side while the bolt continues to strip a round from the mag. The empty being trapped in the reciever stops the bolt and jams things up with an unfired round on the bolt face. If your receiver is bent or the catch on the rear has warped, bent or otherwise allows the receiver too much upward movement you'll have to come up with a fix based on your own issue. I have done many different things to fix this in order of preference: first is to bend the upper back so there is no bow to it. This keeps the bolt down where it should be. You may have to mod or refit the catch if it is the problem.

Second is to add material to the top of the ejector by welding and then trimming to size and shape. This makes the ejector work despite the warped receiver.

Last is to weld or solder shims into the inside of the receiver in order to keep the bolt down where it belongs and in contact with the ejector. I don't like this method but at least one owner demanded that I not bend the receiver back.

Hope something there helps. They are neat guns and normally run pretty good. Wear a hat or tight collar when shooting one....they tend to throw empties straight up and a hot one down the neck of your shirt can be annoying.

Frank

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Frank took a reweld Ppsh 41 of mine and made it run perfectly. I would recommend him if you want work done on the gun.

 

As for drums buy a lot of them and test and tune the springs in them and those that do not run sell off.

 

I can't remember who but some company was selling 10 drums at a time for a reasonable price. I managed to get 8 running great with my gun and sold off the other 2.

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