Have three of those fellas - first was a Yugo which was indeed 'Cosmo disadvantaged' Major clean up on that one plus - it has a black barrel but hey - it shoots, sorta OK. Then got a used Norinco - much better - chromed barrel and altogether a nice piece. Finally with the deal on my FAL - took a Romanian SKS off same guy. That too is quite a nice piece.
I would not tho personally see these as ideal hunting rifles at all. At reasonable ranges then sure, like a 30-30 maybe - they would take a deer but accuracy is IMO an issue. Instead of keeping the shot within a 4' circle let's say - the error could be more like 12' - certainly with some examples. 7.62x39 sure ain't.308! Way better than nothing of course and as a combat weapon reasonably useful. Thing is also, state game laws - in many places only bolt op' is permitted and semi's are no-no's.
I don't think I have yet ever taken a pic of the Romanian but here are the Yugo and Norinco. Well - field stripping is not too bad really but do suggest ( and no link handy right this minute) you go do some search on the web - there are details around re stripping and cleaning etc. Worth reading up on first. Much as I hate WD40 on guns - have to say it served me well with Cosmo removal - just lay out a sheet of poly' on a big table - and newspaper on top of that for absorbency - then get some used toothbrushes and get busy!! Maybe some carb cleaner at last stage - much more and fumes are hazardous.
I did incidentally have probs with my Yugo' - the gas valve was leaky. I machined a new valve insert to remedy the prob. I have pics of that. Hopefully most will be fine once cleaned up.
Hi, I seem to be the resident SKS geek. The 'ars' of SKS care is sksboards.com. Ask anything and they will answer definitively within a couple hours, and no flames.
Rather kooky politics and tinfoil hat discussions, but for technical help they are great. Surplusrifle.com has a good pictorial on how to break it down. Is an exploded diagram, is a.zip of the US Army's SKS manual. Why the US Army has an SKS manual, I don't know. Basically, keep it clean inside. Try to only shoot ammo thats labeled non-corrosive. If you shoot corrosive ammo, squirt some ammonia-based window cleaner down the bore to neutralize the salts left behind.
It's hard to remove the firing pin, but you need to do so to clean it. If it gets gummed up, the rifle will slam-fire; that is, go full-auto.
It looks like that's a Russian one, the marking on top of the receiver cover will tell the tale. It's a nice little rifle, easy to take down, fun to shoot, cheap to feed. Manual on workshop practice by scitech publications india. I recommend you hit up a place like cheaperthandirt.com and get a set of stripper clips, a sling, and the sight adjustment tool. They all come in handy.
Also there is a little cleaning kit you can get that fits into a hole in the butt, which is nifty but relatively useless if you already have a kit. Looks like yours already had the cosmoline taken off, so nothing to worry about there. Oh, and dansammo.com has decent prices low shipping prices. Ammunitionstore.com and cheaperthandirt.com also usually have good prices on 7.62x39. As far as I can tell, Wolf is the cheapest, but dirtiest brand.
Barnaul Arsenal and Brown Bear are the exact same stuff with a different box. Silver Bear is the upgrade to Brown Bear, it has an aluminum case, and they make a hollowpoint effect round that looks like a FMJ but expands like a HP, in case you want to hunt in a place that doesn't allow HP and you still want expansion. There is South African surplus on the market that is all steel, a lot of ranges don't like it because it throws spark if it hits anything other than wet mud. Some people advise you not to shoot steel cased ammo too much, as it would cause excessive wear and tear compared to softer brass cases, but I am inclined to believe that is horsecrap.
The Warsaw pact nations never once made 7.62x39 in brass and the guns are still going great. Stealth edits aplenty! That's a pretty SKS; indeed looks like a Russian one from the deep red stock and lack of grenade launcher.
As Backstop said, the main thing you want to watch for is slam fires. Because the SKS has a floating firing pin, the pin will come into contact with the primer when you release the bolt (and don't 'ride' the bolt - pull it back, release, and let the recoil spring close it) so if there is accumulated gunk that causes the pin to stick - you get a fun little surprise and your SKS goes full auto until the magazine is empty. Because most SKS's were stored in sticky, goey cosmolene, you need to get that all out of the bolt carrier and firing pin. Soaking it overnight in brake cleaner is one suggestion.
Cleaning Yugo Sks Manuals Online
There is even a guy that specializes in installing a return spring inside the bolt carrier that virtually eliminates the possibility of slam fires. I think he charges around $30 to do it, but I could be way off. I can look him up if you're interested.
With the bolt carrier removed, you should be able to shake it and the pin should rattle around freely and not get stuck in any position. I don't want to make you think that SKS's are notorious for slam firing - I've shot thousands of rounds through mine and never had a problem, but it is possible. This is also why you always point it down range when you release the bolt. Speaking of cosmolene - has that one been cleaned of it? If not, a detailed cleaning is definately in order. There are many tricks to getting cosmo out of the stock - I put mine in the oven @ 200 degrees, wiping it down every 20 minutes or so over a few hours. Ben Murray is the guy who does the firing pin spring.
I don't really think it's necessary though. I think there was some anectotal evidence that it increases the chance of a misfire with Russian surplus ammo. If you wanted to spend money improving the SKS, Tom ' Prince's trigger work seems to be the best around. You send him your trigger group, he will send it back with a clean break in the 5-7 pound range with no creep or grit, and a safe positive engagement. I think it's like $70 shipped. But again, I haven't had it done because the trigger is good enough for me. Quote: I have one and I love it.
Im considering putting a 30 rnd clip on it but im not sure if it is worth the trouble. Anyone have any experience with this? I've heard of one anecdoteal evidence that this mod makes the weapon unreliable. Besides, if you really want to do that, why not just buy an AK? Actually, I have heard only a couple cases where someone put a 30-round mag on and didn't have trouble. Most guys either put up with the misfeeds, or take the thing off and try to re-sell it. There's an SKS-D that was built to accept AK mags, but they are pretty rare and accordingly priced.
Is good Soviet rifle! Actually, Jessica, is that the Russian SKS? It doesn't look like the Albanian to me, and the Chinese one has a spike for a bayonet.
I have a Yugo, which has some ugly 'accessories' on it, namely the grenade 'attachment.' To add to the advice about cosmoline: You want to get the firing pin out of the bolt by getting a punch and pounding the retaining pin out of there. We can give you pictures if you want. It will be difficult on many SKSes, but you are supposed to do it and I would highly recommend that you do, because you don't know where that SKS has been. Cosmoline can get in there and ruin your day by making the rifle double or even go full auto. Yes, it's definitely one of the most confusing parts I've ever had to disassemble. It just seems like it's not supposed to come out-only it is.
And I had to royally wail on mine with a hammer and a steel punch (which bent, btw) before I could get it removed. It comes out just a tiny bit easier now after having coated it (and only it) with a very light amount of FP-10 so as not to get it in the channel. Since Jessica has the Russian, it's highly possible that there's a spring in there already, which is good. The Russkies didn't skimp on that aspect of their SKS-just the client states. But it should still be inspected and cleaned, because spring or no spring a chunk of cosmoline could cause a problem.
The area will heat up after several rounds and there's no telling what could happen-even if it seems fine now. And Jessica: If you like old milsurps, I would suggest looking into a CMP Garand before they run out of good ones. You can give them your DD214 as proof of firearms experience and you'll be eligible to buy from them.
Through Federal exemption, you get the Garand shipped to your house. It's such a big part of our nation's history that no self-respecting milsurp enthusiast should be without one if they can afford it. The anti-gun people may now scream. As several of you know who frequent the chat boards, I recently purchased a SKS. But that was on Wednesday. Today, I found out I owned a gun.
People talk about buying and selling guns. I used to think that way too, until I sat on my living room floor with my SKS in several pieces. At that moment, I hadn't bought a gun, I owned one.
The difference is a slight one, and one that most people don't notice. If you buy a gun, it's another thing to tuck away among all the CDs and DVDs. When you own it, you care about it, clean it and suddenly, its not a thing on your shelf or in your closet; you can't invest that much time and effort into cleaning and caring for something and remain indifferent. I've always loved weapons, been fascinated by them.
The first thing I ever fired was a crossbow, a specially made one that worked closer to a rifle. I remember that moment, cradling it in my hands, lining up the shot.
The sights were for a lefty, but not knowing better, I just moved the crossbow off my shoulder until they worked and made my shot. The butt of the crossbow slammed into my face, splitting my lip, but I barely felt it. I stared at my shot, a good one, and I was in love.
I remember thinking, I was born in the wrong century. I was so crazy-in-love that the thought that I was the wrong gender for medieval warfare didn't occur to me. I haven't looked back. Today, I'm about to go out to the range and shoot my SKS for the first time.
I feel like it's a first date. I know it might hurt; recoil is a bitch.
Sks Cleaning Kit Instructions
But then, so is Love. It's still the best feeling in the world. And, I am pleased to report that:.
upon our pre-firing inspection, the firing pin was smoothly free-floating and all parts were in excellent condition. our range firing using Silver Bear went beautifully. The action was smooth as silk, trigger pressure was just right, and the thing is dead-on accurate. we have disassembly, cleaning, and assembly down to 15 minutes. All in all, this is a wonderful rifle. I may have to get a second one in my own name, if I can find another Russian SKS in as good of condition. Originally posted by Jessica: And, I am pleased to report that:.
upon our pre-firing inspection, the firing pin was smoothly free-floating and all parts were in excellent condition. our range firing using Silver Bear went beautifully. The action was smooth as silk, trigger pressure was just right, and the thing is dead-on accurate. we have disassembly, cleaning, and assembly down to 15 minutes. All in all, this is a wonderful rifle. I may have to get a second one in my own name, if I can find another Russian SKS in as good of condition. Half the fun is cleaning out the cosmo.
OK, not really. But you do really need to hammer the bolt carrier thingy out and clean the firing pin track if you haven't done so. The recoil on 7.62x39 isn't bad, is it?
If you ever get to try a Tokarev SVT-40 shooting 7.62x54R - now that's recoil!. SKS takedown is very simple. It was made to be disassembled by the masses. Simple, reliable and rugged.cheap to feed.What more could you ask? You can pick up a nice Yugoslovian model for about $159. They don't have chromed bores, but that's no real biggie, especially if you aren't shooting corrosive ammo. They have some extras - grenade launcher and sight, but are otherwise identical.
AIM surplus was selling 1000 rds of Golden Tiger 7.62x39 FMJ for $79 awhile back, but looks like they're out now. Stinky, but decent ammo. Steel case new production Russian.
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