When you see a m1919a4 stop and the charging handle get pulled. What’s the cause?

[cjsoccer3]

I’m interested in getting a m1919a4 and I frequently see some sort of stoppage on YouTube where the user has to pull the charging handle. Sometimes 2-3 times over the course of a minute. What is this? A jam? Cheap ammo? How does one find a belt fed that doesn’t do this?

Thank You - newbie in this realm of firearms.

 

[Strangeranger]

You have to cycle a Browning twice by hand to charge the gun. Foe any failure to fire or failure to feed the SOP is to assume that you are starting from zero and to cycle the gun twice manually

 

[slimshady]

The 1919 uses a pull out type of belt, not a push through. When you load it the first round in the belt is just left of the extractor, The first pull of the handle advances the belt one cartridge, putting the round inline with the extractor. As the bolt slams forward, the extractor overrides the case and engages the extractor groove. The second pull of the handle extracts the cartridge from the belt and as it hits the rear end of travel the extractor pushes the round down into the T slot on the boltface, inline with the chamber. Forward travel chambers the round while of course the next round in the belt advances and is grabbed by the extractor.

As was mentioned, any fail to fire could be a lack of a chambered round, so the gun is cycled again to put a fresh round in the chamber, if the fail to feed was due to the belt not advancing then you are back to the same situation where you need two cycles to load the chamber. Some folks have been known to repeatedly cycle the gun until a live round is ejected, signifying the gun is feeding once again.

1919s are just what the name says, a gun first fielded in 1919, production for the .MIL ended in 1945. While the Israeli .308 conversion and other variants used new parts here and there, even those are mighty old so you have to deal with worn parts simply because of the age of the guns. So you get occasional misfeeds.

 

[root]

Looks like SlimShady may have written the FM on the 1919 for college.
His explanation is excellent and detailed.

Another item that will cause failure to feed are short projectiles in the links or belts. IE: trying to charge the gun for firing.


I load speer varmiter 110 grn 30 cal projos. into 06 cases for my 760 gamemaster for woodchuck hunting.

Tried them once in the 1919 they are short enough to let the belt jump forward and the feed prawl will miss the rear of the case.

one way to use short lighter projos is to load one in between longer 147 Grn ammo so the longer round will keep the belt/links from jumping forward as it goes through the chute.

Big difference with the short projectiles is it won't matter haw many times you rack the handle if the prawl can't get a hold on the rear of the case rim it just won't feed.
This will require you pop the top cover and manually set the belt/link by hand since you won't have a pull tab to pull through if it happens mid belt.

I learned in one belt to just not mess with the shorter lighter loads.

If you get a run away belt just twist it in a 1/2 circle that will bind up the feed chute where it can't pull rounds in to feed.
I haven't seen anyone post about a run away in probably 15 years though.

There are other 1919 tricks
odd fact : it's one of the few guns that can kill you on disassembly ( rod of death)

 

[MG34_Dan]

I’m interested in getting a m1919a4 and I frequently see some sort of stoppage on YouTube where the user has to pull the charging handle. Sometimes 2-3 times over the course of a minute. What is this? A jam? Cheap ammo? How does one find a belt fed that doesn’t do this?

Thank You - newbie in this realm of firearms.

I would highly suggest you ask your questions over on 1919A4 dot com.

 

[theduke]

They can be a touch finiky....Generally Not.

Many many Semi's have been built by lots of different makers and home builds.

They were never semi from day one..Full auto only and some open bolt.

Once tuned which isn't rocket surgery....they work and work well.

Theres a reason they were used for soo long...by multiple countries and many wars.
They work.

Whatever video you watched .....may not have been the best introduction.

As stated....Theres a home for Beltfed guys and its 1919a4.com