Close call with my SKS....

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Pietro Beretta

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Hello everyone,

Well let me start out by saying, I hardly ever clean out my SKS. I wipe it down after use, but generally leave it dirty. I clean it only after I put a half a case of wolf through her. Anyway I pulled out the SKS wich had been sitting for about 6 months. I cycle the action a couple of times, and loaded her with a stripper clip of 10 new rounds that came out of a new wolf box. I cycle the rounds through her and put her away.

I put those rounds that I cycled through my SKS back on the stripper clip, and put the clip full of rounds on my desk. Well some how for some reason, today I examined the rounds... just staring in awe of the 7.62X39mm round.

Then I noticed a firing pin strike on the primer of 1 of the rounds, it was VERY light. I didnt think too much about it untill I found the 2nd one, with a much deeper strike. It is still a light strike, but I think it was capeable of firing off a round.

I figure that the firing pin was stuck out because of gun powder grime and muck, sitting for six months caused it to stick a bit.

I'm still looking at this round, I still think it *should have* went off...


A close call, and I was lucky to notice it. Tomorrow I will post a pic.
 
+1 on what dmckean44 said.

Most rifles with floating firing pins will leave a light strike on primer when a live round is cycled. Look at a fired round and you will see a much deeper strike in the primer. Military surplus and imported steel case ammo "usually" have harder primers to prevent ignition (slam fires). Had you used domestic production ammo you might not have been so lucky.

This is one of those 1 in 10,000 odds of having a slam fire. Maybe, maybe not. But this is one gamble I don't take. Live ammo only gets chambered at the range (immanent home defense needs not withstanding).

This is also a very good reason to make sure your bolt and firing pin are cleaned. Had your firing pin really been stuck from fouling, you would have had a slam fire.

Here is a little tip of you want your SKS loaded for emergencies. After you load a 10 rd stripper clip, there should be just enough room left to push the rounds down far enough to close the bolt over top of the rounds. Much safer way to have it loaded. Then all you need to do is pull the handle back.

P.S. M-16/AR-15s leave marks on the primers too.
 
Alot of firearms will leave "dimples" in the primers of ammo.

Completely normal for free-floating firing pins. My revolvers leave marks if you "thumb" the hammer down.......pretty common I think.
 
Well that night I took out all my guns, they have all been sitting in there gun cases for about 6 months. I usually dont leave them in there cases but I just went through a break-up and move, anyhoo it was time to wipe them down again.

Anyhoo the SKS was last, I pulled out my sks and with the magazine un-latched pulled the bolt back, then rode the bolt forward. I noticed it was catching before the bolt would fully close, I never noticed this before. I thought perhaps I put the bolt in wrong, or something, but ive been taking apart this sks for years, but I never noticed that slight catch when the bolt closes.

Anyhoo after a quick examination everything was correct, so I filled a stripper clip with 10 rounds, and cycled the rounds to make sure everything fed right.

Well everything was feeding right, so I put her away, and put the rounds back on the stripper clip.

Well only 2 rounds have primer strikes, 1 light and not too worried about, 1 that I cant stop shaking my head at.


You know, I have heard that the sks has a floating firing pin, but I wasnt sure exactly what that could "mean."
 
Floating firing pin

Pietro Beretta--Well, now you know that the SKS DOES have a floating firing pin--no firing pin return spring--(as do several other milsurps, among them the Garand!) which can get stuck in the forward position.

When that occurs, and you cycle a round through, you can get what is called a slam-fire. It also happens when shooting the SKS; the thing goes full-auto until it empties its magazine or jams.

At the range it's surprising but not inherently dangerous, as long as you keep the rifle pointed downrange until it gets done with its foolishness. At home, of course, it's a dangerous, possibly tragic event plus a nasty liberal headline in the local paper, waiting to happen.

I have had one slam-fire with an SKS at the range. The rifle jammed on the 3rd cartridge--It's not made to be an automatic firing weapon.

The solution is manifold. #1: Clean clean clean the SKS's firing pin channel, then lube with very light oil if at all. #2: Have a firing pin return spring installed. There is a company that does this. #3: Only use military 7.62x39 ammo, not commercial rounds. The military primers are harder, to counteract the slamfire tendency. #4: With reloads, use CCI #34 primers, which are mil-spec; see #3.

As to cleaning the firing pin channel, if the firing pin is free to slide back and forward of its own weight as you tip the gun muzzle-up and muzzle-down with the bolt open (so you can observe the pin) you're good to go. If the pin hesitates or sticks, take out the bolt and clean some more.

And of course, the ultimate tragedy prevention, SAFE GUN HANDLING, which will save you no matter what stupid thing happens, if you practice it 100% of the time.
 
I foresee an ND in the future if this method of function checking continues (with any firearm).
 
I too am left wondering at what advantage cycling 10 live rounds through ANY firearm offers, whilst indoors, when all you are doing is cleaning said firearm???
 
My friend had an old old old mossberg .22 and it was so dirty you couldn't hear the bolt being cycled becuase it slid on a layer of fuzz and gunk, no mettalic sounds. He didn't know what I meant when I asked him when the last time he cleaned it was. He didn't know he had to clean it. After, he cleaned it by shoving a paper towel down the barrel. I don't think it had been cleaned since his grandfather owned it.:banghead:
 
Cycling live ammo through the action of any firearm when not actually shooting isn't good practice, to say the very least. Using live ammo to function-check when you suspect there might be a problem and you are anyplace where the weapon cannot be discharged safely and legally is just plain dumb.

The magazine on an SKS has a "dump" function for precisely that reason: to avoid the necessity of cycling ammo through the action to unload the weapon.

Get some snap caps or action-proving "dummies" pronto. NEVER cycle live ammo through the action unless you are preparing to fire. You literally "dodged a bullet" this time. Don't push your luck.

IIWY, I'd heed the precautionary advice re: floating FPs, ammo choices, etc. I'd also stick with mil-spec commercial or surplus ammo for general use in any SKS. I had one experience with "slamfire FA" and several instances of "doubling" with US-made commercial SP hunting ammo in one of my SKSes. The FA incident saw an entire mag full go down range in one extremely disconcerting and most embarassing burst. Several years later, and I still haven't heard the last of it from those who were there.
 
Well I would agree that cycling live ammunition through an SKS at a place where you do NOT want it to discharge is not a recommended practice; I would say that if your SKS is in good functioning condition and you are using military ammunition a ND is highly unlikely. I have fired many of thousands of rounds through various SKS rifles and can only recall one slamfire and it was with Winchester ammo. I wouldn't sweat it too much, just think about what you are doing and be careful.
 
Definitely NOT a smart move to cycle live ammo thru the weapon while not at the range.

Also, not smart to go 6 mos or 1/2 case of ammo between cleanings. These 2 practices are a recipe for a tragic accident that could have been avoided with proper safety/handling procedures.
 
First and foremost dont believe the myths an SKS an AK clones need to be fully cleaned after every time you shoot it not after a case of ammo if you expect it to preform correctly 100% of the time.

The stories of slam fires and it emptying rarely happens if all of the cosmoline has been removed from the gun before begining to use it and you clean it regularly. Which it cant be removed unless you have all of the parts submerged in solvent or heating it above 140 degrees then cleaning it. Ive had my cheap yugo clone for 3 years now with about 15,000 rounds with no slamfires nor it emptying.
 
Smokey Joe,

Slamfires at the range can indeed be dangerous. I greatly increases the chances of your gun firing out of battery.
 
Well I never let my firearms sit for 6months, well cant say never anymore. The reason for this was due to the fact I "lost" my fiancee of 4 years, and had to find a place of my own, my firearms staid in there cases, until recently.

Yes, I do have and use snap caps for all my other firearms, even my 30-30, but no I don't have any snap caps for my SKS.

The thing that was bugging me was that, when the bolt is closed against the barrel the bolt carrier still moves forward like a half inch. It was sticking just a little bit when I rode the bolt carrier down with my hand. This is what bugged me.


You know, if a rifle range was easily accessible to me, I might have waited the next day to take her to the range. However my only rifle range near me is only open thursday/friday/saturday/sunday 8am -4pm. The days I just happen to work. Also all the local shooting spots have been closed for fire season. Also my local gunshops only have a handgun range, no rifles anymore.


Anyhoo, yes I cleaned the cosmo out of this baby, it took a month for it to fully stop oozing out of the stock, and even on a hot day, it still sweats. I did the mineral spirits method with the SKS down a fat PVC pipe. I cleaned everything, including the bolt, so there is no cosmo left in her.


Someone told me once that cleaning your rifle out after every shooting is not necessary. "Our grandfathers used to clean out there rifles after every shooting, because corrosive ammo was the norm, you had to clean our your weapon" He also was telling me that after you clean your rifle, you should fire about 100 rounds to get her dirty and warm so your shots will "settle down". Im not sure if he was speaking truth or not, but I thought I would just bring that up.


I was in my garage, so if she did go off in a slam fire situation, it would have hit bricks, for some reason if one made it through, it would have hit foundation. I would have pry been hurt by a ricashe or debris from the rounds/bricks. Jesus christ, im a moron.
 
Ok, now Im questioning the way I handle my Bedside gun.

I keep my bedside gun in condition 1, Cocked and Locked, in a holster, not visable to anyone that doesnt know its there.

Almost every other morning I eject the magazine, eject the round in the chamber, put the round back in the magazine in a different position, re-insert the magazine, and put her back in Condition 1 and put her away. The reason I do this is to re-affirm the fact, in my head that my gun is in condition 1 ALWAYS, and I will never question that guns readyness. Also to rotate around the rounds that have been chamberd.

Is this a bad idea? I have always had it in my head that a handgun wont go off, unless I pull the trigger... is that just dumb thinking?

Crap..... maybe its time for me to take the NRA class again, bah.
 
"Also to rotate around the rounds that have been chamberd."

I don't know why the rounds would need to be rotated. Also, very time you chamber a round there's a chance for the bullet to be set back from the hammering it takes against the feed ramp. I had it happen with good factory ammo that was ejected and reloaded just one too many times. So I'd skip the rotation part, as I don't know what good it does and I do know what bad it can do.

Perhaps you can check to see that it's loaded without unloading it in the process. On my pistol, the slide only has to come back a fraction of an inch for me to see brass in the chamber.

The recent thread The Chamber Check - WHY? is about why one should (or should not) check to see that their weapon is loaded.
 
Sounds more to me like you were cycling rounds through your rifle while "playing". Loading and unloading the rifle. I sometimes do the same. Practicing different shooting stances and holding the rifle steady....But I use snap caps which are dummy rounds not live ammo. cycling live ammo in the house is a big no no

Pitro: When I took my concealed weapons class, the training officer told us of an FBI agent friend of his that use to do the same with his Glock every night when he would come home. He would pull out the round from the chamber and take out the mag. Problem is, that over time the rim on the back of the cartridge can wear down, and in this particuarl instance, when he unloaded the mag, and cycled the action, the bullet didnt catch on the Extractor. So when he "decocked" the gun by pulling the trigger he ended up with a new hole in his foot. :what: Just something to keep in mind if you continually load/unload rounds into your gun.
 
First and foremost dont believe the myths an SKS an AK clones need to be fully cleaned after every time you shoot it not after a case of ammo if you expect it to preform correctly 100% of the time.
Click to expand...

I dunno...I have one SKS (an SKS-M) that I've had for several years. I've never "detail striped" it and it has about 5000 rounds through it since I've owned it. For cleaning, I just patch the bore and clean what I can get at, with my fingers. every 1000-2000 rounds or so I give it a quick blast of carb cleaner. I put 1 drop of oil on the firing pin (as well as lubricating other areas). Never a misfire, nor a slam fire. And 99% of the ammo through this gun is Wolf, which is REALLY dirty. YMMV of course.
 
First and foremost dont believe the myths an SKS an AK clones need to be fully cleaned after every time you shoot it not after a case of ammo if you expect it to preform correctly 100% of the time.
Click to expand...

Unless, of course, you are using corrosive ammo.

Well I would agree that cycling live ammunition through an SKS at a place where you do NOT want it to discharge is not a recommended practice; I would say that if your SKS is in good functioning condition and you are using military ammunition a ND is highly unlikely. I have fired many of thousands of rounds through various SKS rifles and can only recall one slamfire and it was with Winchester ammo. I wouldn't sweat it too much, just think about what you are doing and be careful.
Click to expand...

The cause of NDs are not strictly mechanical failures in inappropriate settings.
 
From Pietro Beretta
The thing that was bugging me was that, when the bolt is closed against the barrel the bolt carrier still moves forward like a half inch. It was sticking just a little bit when I rode the bolt carrier down with my hand. This is what bugged me.
Click to expand...

This is normal for an SKS. That last half inch of travel is the bolt locking into battery. It does not "stick" when the bolt/bolt carrier closes under normal conditions. It only appears stick when riding the bolt closed.
 
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