HUDSON M3A1 kit firing problems....go figure

Hello

It's hard to tell what is going on. When the bolt closes, is the cartridge missing the chamber? Or is is getting stuck
partially in the chamber at an angle? I think if you can take a still, close up photo of the stuck cartridge, it would help.

Another question. If you put a single round in the magazine, will it feed correctly and fire?

Hiya Romagnus,

Is the magazine that tight a fit you HAVE to bang it into the mag'well Could be worth checking that the feed lips haven't been flattened due to the mag being thumped against the closed bolt
If the lips are bent the round won't sit at the right angle and won't be stripped out correctly maybe.
My MGC Thompson's mag feed lips got bent lke that and wouldn't feed right.

My factory assembled Grease Gun's mag only needs to be slid into the well until it clicks the catch.
I've also found with all my guns that inserting the mag with the bolt open is easier than when the bolt's closed.
It does look like the cartridge isn't being fed all the way into the chamber, as Fledermaus says is the cartridge jamming part way in

it seems like the round isn't getting pushed all the way in. i am going to try an adjustment in the next few days and will let you know.

I posted a response to your "Instructions" , I noticed your kit's diagrams show the old Open Cartridges and Detonator Pin...
You won't have open cartridges otherwise you'd have questioned the loading guide I sent you but I assume the Detonator Pin your gun has is Not the Open Cart. type is it

Another thought, the Hudson c.p. inner pistons are shorter than MGC types. They can tip over in the cartridge body and jam up...
Try loading the cartridge by gently pushing the piston all the way down until it almost touches the cap then screw the top on.
Will the cartridge feed into the chamber now

well I tried adjusting the feed ramp in the barrel but no change. itappears that the bolt slows down conciderably as soon as it makes contact with the magazine. it fires fine with the magazine removed. the carts are going onto the detonator pin fine, just not with enough force. I will see if I can modify/shave any parts to help it move along.

I'll take some photos of my Grease Gun's magazine today. Hopefully I can show you how the cartridges sit in the lips.

Maybe rubbing down the lips' edges will help Any burrs or rough edges there might be grabbing the cartridges.

I'll measure the mag spring free length too,

I took apart my mag today and lubed the sides and even filed down some corners. I did find the ejector rubbing on the bolt so I took care of that. It really hits hard until the magazine is in place. I did get it to fire from the magazine once but then I loaded 5 rounds and it did like before. believe it or not, this is a fun part of model guns for me, trying to figure it out!

As promised, here are those photos of my Grease Gun's mag...













The spring's free length is 425mm

Hudson did re-work the magazine recently (ref https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/modelgun-news-f3/hudson-m3a1-news-t642.htm ) I would assume mine has the older magazine and there's a possibility yours will be the new one.
I can tell you though that mine feeds well and fires consistently.

Hope this helps

hey! in the 4th picture down the bullet feed in the magazine looks like there is a groove cut into it to the right of the "bullet". Is that a groove cut into it? That is exactly where my bolt hits mine and slows down! I have wear marks on mine. If yours is grooved I will file mine down!

Is this the groove you've spotted

The follower is a plastic moulding on mine, and I can't recall if it was grooved when it was new or not
I'm inclined to think now, especially as you say your's is showing signs of scratches, that the bolt's feed ramps have been rubbing through it over time.
I would've thought that the bolt would only rub along the follower when

• the bolt closes after the last round's been fired
  
  
• dry firing with an empty mag
  

A loaded mag would push the follower down into the mag's body and well out of the way wouldn't it

Is your bolt is being stopped dead, or slowed right down as it runs over a loaded magazine
Does the bolt get stopped / slowed by an empty mag
Your bolt slams shut without the mag doesn't it
Could the mag' be sitting too high into the receiver

i understand what you mean. my bolt slows down weather themag is full or empty. i tried firing with the magazine not fully seated and it still wouldn't load right. i think i will find some stronger springs for the bolt, they could be just weak.

You would think that the springs supplied in the kit should be up to the job as they're brand new wouldn't you
As long as they are stored without any tension on them they ought to be fine

I used to keep my steel STEN stored fully assembled, but with the bolt closed thinking that there wouldn't be enough tension on the recoil spring to cause problems.
Later attempts at firing would have the bolt slow to a stop as it struggled to strip a round out of the magazine. Much the same problem as you describe with your M3 now.

I found that the spring had become coil bound and wasn't strong enough to overcome the mag spring pressure. Take a look at this photo...

A new spring cured the problem instantly. I would have expected the spring to be damaged if the gun had been stored with the bolt cocked or way back in Safety but not just assembled. I store the STEN without it's recoil spring now
That said, it's the only instance I've had with this problem. All my other models are stored assembled and fire OK.

If you place a round in the chamber by hand, remove the mag and pull the trigger it'll fire and extract / eject fine won't it
There's no possibility of any moulding flash, high spots, burrs etc around the breach, mag well, ejection port that's fouling the bolt enough to slow it down that much

Could you slip some tubing over the recoil spring guide rods to put some pre-load on them
That might make them a little "stiffer" but might be too strong for the blow-back...

Ok. The problem is with the springs. I took some automotive plastic vacuum tubeing and drilled out the center and cut to equal length. I inserted them on the rods and here you can see the final out come that actually startled me! You can see me jump because I was sooo not expecting it! enjoy....

oh you can`t beat the sound of those heavy rounds thwacking into walls etc

Mate ..there is some weirdness happening with your barrel nut too ...


DOC

Looks like you are getting closer. Since you believe the bolt is dragging on the magazine since it only
seems to drag when the mag is in place, have you seen any scoring, rub marks, etc on either the bolt or the magazine?

Now THAT's more like it

As Doc points out, the barrel nut's loose and moving up the barrel...

The sooner you get yourself about 30 cartridges to give it a proper try out the better now romagnus

yea the barrel nut is real cheap. as a matter of fact the receiver already has a crack in it! i will fix it though. tnere are plastic welding kits out there.
thanks for everyones help. i will get more rounds and make more movies.

It's a pleasure romagnus, it's great to know your new gun's working now

I wonder if the barrel from the assembled version would fit The barrel and nut are one piece and just thred on as a unit.

Looking forwards to some of your great movies now

Yep I fixed the barrel nut issue. I used the loctite glue on it and I went and glued the receiver together too. I cleaned up some caps and carts and guess what.....yep NOT ONE PROBLEM! It fired all 6 carts and the barrel nut didn't move and the crack in the receiver didn't show its ugly head either! I also find that the gun works better and better the more I use it.

Great news that

You're going to have to ask Francky for 30 or so .45CP rounds now. You can us MGC Thompson .45s in the M3A1 without any modifcation.
The MGC "piston" isn't drilled through like Hudson's version and tends to seal the gas pressure better giving better blowback.

From what you're saying now, your Hudson rds are working just fine though

ok, it's broken again. It went back to square one today, just like the first video and then I saw the problem....the receiver tube is cracked where the barrel screws on. I took the barrel off and pulled the pin out only to find the screw that holds the pin in place is bent now. too much force. this cheap kit is just that... cheap. stay away from it. I will try to salvage it as it was a gift from my wife.

ok, cool. guess what, the receiver cracked... a lot. I contacted the guys at wwiiguns.com and they asked for a picture of the damage soI sent it and they are replacing the reciever and all of the little stuff that gets glued onto it too...for free! Talk about a company that backs their products! They have been great to work with. I just hope it gets here before I leave for training.

Well it's nice to hear that wwii guns are getting you fixed up with replacement parts

This is one company that has take it's share of bad press on various forums I've read for poor delivery etc so it makes a nice change to see them helping a customer out.