I can't get my SKS back together

[Stinger]

Hey guys and gals,

I am having some trouble getting the bolt and bolt carrier back into my SKS. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Do you have any tricks or suggestions?

The bolt was cocked before I removed it, and the safety is on.

I have visited surplusrifle.com, but that doesn't seem to help me out any.

Thanks,

Stinger

 

[Jim K]

I really can't imagine what you are doing wrong. You assemble the bolt and bolt carrier, drop them, bolt down, into the rear of the receiver, press down and slide forward, pressing the magazine follower down to release the bolt stop. Then you insert the spring (hollow end to the rear), put on the rear housing (receiver cover), press the latch to the left and lock it down. That's it.

Jim

 

[G.I.Jew]

make sure that the magazine is open. It won't work if the magazine follower is in the way of the bolt.

 

[Stinger]

Luckily, a buddy of mine was in the neighborhood, so I called him over to check it out.

He fixed it in about 2 seconds, and showed me what I was doing wrong. I wasn't mating (my terminology) the bolt and bolt carrier together. I thought they went in seperately, but obviously they fit together.

Thanks,

Stinger

 

[foghornl]

Stinger:

Website:

www.SurplusRifle.com

has both still-pix/text & video on SKS takedown/assembly.

I d/l the video so i could put my SKS back together. Same issue as you...forgot to put the bolt & bolt-carrier in as 1 piece.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Get yourself a used copy of W. H. B. Smith's Small Arms of the World as that is the single most useful volume on firearms ever printed. Instruction, history, parts diagram. I can't see how any firearms enthusiast can be without a copy.

 

[Smokey Joe]

SKS as/disas-sembly

Stinger—There's a couple small, cheap books out there; I see 'em at every gun show. Titles are on the order of "The Manual of the SKS" or some such. About $7/ea IIRC. I got one (can't find it to quote right now, natch—thanks once again, Mr. Murphy) when I got my SKS and it was a great help.

There are—or at least were when I was SKS shopping—several websites which discuss cleaning, care & feeding, history and variations of the SKS beastie. Try a search for SKS websites.

The SKS is a really rugged piece of work, was meant to be maintained by an illiterate peasant with a pr. of pliers and a pc. of bent baling wire. If you can't get it to do something it should do, the basic premise is YOU did something wrong, stop and back up and consider.