SKS cleaning question?

Was it packed in cosmoline? If so, then you will want to clean it thoroughly, especially the firing pin channel. Otherwise you might end up with it doubling, or worse.

Are you referring to the take down lever at the rear of the receiver? The SKS is easy to clean. Can you post pictures of the problem?

sks are a easy clean, be 100% the bore is clear and the piston.put the gun in the sun for a hour and you will see why. i like using the simple green then use your oil of choice. find out how to field strip it and all will be fine. keep the bolt and firing pin clean or it could go full auto on you.

bos19 said:

Yes. So I had to take pliers to pull the lever out. I was able to successfully disassemble the SKS and it didn't look too dirty inside, but I started reading about slam fires and doubling, so I put the gun back together. I basically don't trust myself to clean the gun well enough to prevent those issues.

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When it comes to doubling, it's not a problem as long as your firing pin moves freely. Shake the bolt to check. Unless your bolt is full of cosmoline, it should't be an issue.

It's simple to keep the firing pin clear. Pull the bolt. There is one pin to drive out and the pin comes right out. You don't even have to go that far. If you shake the bolt length wise and it rattles then the pin is free. Everytime I clean mine I submerge the bolt in a container of nitrsol while I clean the rest of the parts. Then I use compressed air to blow out the cleaner bolt from each end. A few drops of light oil and shake for rattle then install. Thurough cleaning is paramount with auto loaders. Been shooting my SK over 20 years and never had any issues.

Don't be afraid of your SKS. It is not the only gun with this type of firing pin arrangement, the Garand, AR15/M16, and others have a free floating firing pin. Not a problem unless enough gunk keeps it retracted. Most SKS's are imported after being in long term storage slathered in cosmoline, and the problems have come from folks not willing to remove it.

bos19 said:

I recently bought a used Norinco SKS and have never cleaned it before. I was planning on shooting it tomorrow, but am having issues cleaning it. The lever that you're supposed to pull up on in the back before you get to the spring won't go up all the way, like there's something blocking it, so I can't wiggle it and remove it from the rifle. I'm considering just taking it to the range anyway, but would prefer to clean it first. Every video I watch has the person just pulling it up and that's it, but I can't even do that.

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So, the good news is, once you’ve cleaned and very lightly lubricated the piston extension that is locked on the receiver you really only need to repeat this operation annually unless you get the firearm wet, and it isn’t necessary for a standard field strip and clean. Secondly, I’m not sure how you disassembled the piston extension, but if you aren’t putting some inward pressure on the piston extension, enough to slightly compress the spring and take pressure off the latch, the latch will be very hard to move. Use a punch or short cleaning rod to press on the head of the position extension to compress the spring and the latch should move without the need for tools.

The SKS is a wonderful firearm and one of the most reliable semi-automatic firearms ever made. Don’t let the slam fires scare you off. I’ve never seen a slam fire that wasn’t the result of negligence. Negligence to disassemble the bolt and clean the firing pin channel. You’ll find hundreds of videos and descriptions of how to do this so I won’t repeat it here. The short of it is, if you shake the bolt assembly forward and back and can’t hear and feel the firing pin clicking back and forth, it isn’t clean enough to fire. Keep it clean, and keep it dry, and you will have no issue. The most important thing to understand about and SKS though, is that it effectively has no true safety. It has a trigger block that keeps the trigger from being pressed. Due to the way the fire control system is built on an SKS though, it has the potential to release the hammer without the trigger being pulled if it is dropped or jolted violently. The easy fix to this is have muzzle discipline, and never leave a cartridge chambered unless you have full control of the firearm. You should be following these rules anyway.

Disassembly and reassembly of the SKS is simple for just about everything except the fire control group. That is actually pretty simple as well, but you’ll want to watch a YouTube video of it to ensure your don’t have springs go flying never to be seen again. You really can’t screw it up unless you try. The firearm will operate as dirty as can be and it will be safe as long as the firing pin remains free floating. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me. I’ve been shooting SKSs for 30 years.

You were given some very good advice.
If the firing pin moves freely, it's good. To test the fire control group, empty the chamber, close the bolt and slam the butt of the gun on the ground a couple times. "Not break the stock hard, but slightly harder than I dropped it"
If it doesn't go click it's good to go. Now put it on safe and pull the trigger if it doesn't go click, it's good.
Enjoy your SKS. I love shooting them, especially offhand at reactive targets.