Any precautions to take before firing an SKS for the first time?

[malix]

I bought a yugo 59/66 sks off of impact guns a couple of months ago, and now im finally getting around to shooting it for the first time. I spent a few hours cleaning all the cosmoline out of it and everything seems to be working fine with snap caps.

But is there anything else i should check before i take it out to the range? Im just kinda nervous about it because ive never had one of these old surplus rifles before... should i get it looked at by a gunsmith or something?

 

[Float Pilot]

Just make sure all the cosmo is out of the gas piston assembly...

 

[22LongRifle]

Bring plenty of ammo!

22lr

 

[MikeG]

Also make sure the firing pin moves freely in the bolt and is not stuck in the forward position. Once in a great while, one does this and goes full auto.

 

[Bartkowski]

Also make sure the firing pin moves freely in the bolt and is not stuck in the forward position. Once in a great while, one does this and goes full auto.

Ya, the firing pin should move back and forth when you shake the bolt, so just in case, the first few shots, I would load it with only one just in case it has some cosmo in it.

 

[MrTuffPaws]

Take the time and disassemble the bolt and clean it well. You don't want a stuck firing pin unless you want a 10 round full auto gun.

 

[Omnivore]

Swab the bore, check all the high pressure parts (bolt lock lug surfaces, bolt face, chamber, bore) for signs of high wear or peening. I have one here with a crack going through the bolt face, right through the firing pin hole.

Then apply all the usual gun handling precautions of course.

SKSs are fun. Have a good time.

 

[easy]

http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php

You'll find all you need to know....

 

[GigaBuist]

Presume you've taken the cleaning instructions to heart:

Load one round in the mag for the first few shots. Better safe than sorry.

Track down the first spent casing. Look for anything that might indicate an unsafe chamber. Basically the case should look just the same as an unspent ones. If there's a weird bulge somewhere you should probably have a gunsmith look at it.

 

[salty]

Disassemble and clean bolt with something like brake cleaner. Make sure bore is clean and free of cosmo.

 

[roscoe]

Only put two rounds in for the first few magazines. That way you will know if it is slamfiring, and won't have to hold on for 10 rounds ripping through it as it starts pulling up. You don't want to put holes in the range roof, do you?

 

[jpwilly]

Take the time and disassemble the bolt and clean it well. You don't want a stuck firing pin unless you want a 10 round full auto gun.

YES, I strongly urge you to diassemble the bolt...my Yugo had lots of cosmoline hidden inside where you couldn't see. When the bolt gets hot it would surely have caused a stuck firing pin and possibly a slam fire could have insued. The slam fire may turn your rifle into a full auto - if your lucky or it could simply blow up in your face.

 

[cslinger]

Like everybody else said make sure the bolt is clean. You should be able to shake the bolt in your hand and hear the firing pin move back and forth. If the channel the firing pin resides in gets gunked up with cosmoline or other crap the firing pin can get stuck protruding from the face of the bolt, this can cause a slamfire or a situation where the next loaded round automatically fires, which loads the next round, which automatically fires.....etc. Technically the weapon becomes fully automatic but NOT IN A SAFE WAY and remember having a weapon fire more then one shot per pull of the trigger without addressing the issue means you have just broken the law.

At any rate, make sure the firing pin channel is clean.

Chris

 

[WeedWhacker]

For any new firearm, I typically take it to an outdoor range, wear safety glasses, and hold the thing, pointing downrange, at arm's length to fire the first shot.

Then I chase down and examine the brass for any signs of abnormal damage.

 

[arjppj]

+1 on the firing pin. Mine had a slam fire one time, luckily i had spent an hour talking to my wife about always point the rifle in a safe direction, but it sure as hell was scary.

 

[The Annoyed Man]

Yes.

Make sure it is pointed down range.

 

[Average Joe]

+2 firing pin. Must be loose, or it will go full auto ( well for at least 10 rds)

 

[blackhawk2000]

One of my Yugo's went auto, and it wasn't the fault of the firing pin. It would literally go off all by itself. Something was messed up in the trigger. I had it double several seconds after firing the previous shot, so it definately wasn't a slam fire, and the bore was too cold for a cook off.