Just How Much Abuse Can an SKS Take?

[REOIV]

Completely not true.

Oh so I imagined this exact scenario when my extractor ripped the rim off a cartridge and the next round was halfway out of the mag smashed against the stuck round in the chamber.

That I had to physically reach in through the ejection port push the round back into the magazine to get the mag to drop free.

I must have imagined this.

How exactly do you get a mag to drop free when the round is still under the mag feed lips but not out of the mag entirely in an AR15.

Magic?

 

[Bartkowski]

Unburnt gunpowder, wadding, lacquer etc get flung into the action by the direct impingement. It gets on the bolt, the bolt carrier the inside of the upper. The lubricant starts to collect and bunch up with all the rest of the crap until the AR15 becomes a single shot rifle is what I mean. This requires hundreds upon hundreds of rounds mind you to do this. Problem is you introduce stuff like sand, dust, mud, leaves etc it speeds up the process.

Yes I know, thats why I said I assume you mean things will stick to the lubricant.

And what laquer is being flung back into the action? The laquer on ammo like wolf? If that is what you mean, why would it be flung back in any more than on another design? The laquer isn't going down the barrel and through the gas tube.

 

[REOIV]

The lacquer causes problems because you already have a tight tolerance gun that is swimming in lubricant getting gun powder flung all over on purpose every time you pull the trigger and lacquer getting flung all over it from the edges of the bullet traveling down the barrel and back through the DI in addition to coming off the case as it is ejected from the rifle.

Add sand to the mix and your bolt carrier can start to get hung up quite easily in an AR15 vs an SKS or AK47.

Even so the AR15 is still a good rifle just not as reliable as the SKS or AK. But what is lacks in reliability it makes up for in spades in ergonomics, and accuracy.

 

[Bartkowski]

in addition to coming off the case as it is ejected from the rifle.

This is not something that is only with the AR so it isn't something that makes an AR less reliable, it makes every gun less reliable.

And about laquer from the bullet? I don't think there is laquer on my bullets, but if there is it would go into the tube that holds piston on an SKS easily too. So it could cause a failure if it builds up in the tube.

 

[mr.trooper]

IMO the SKS is usually underrated, while the AK is over.

 

[CBS220]

Even so the AR15 is still a good rifle just not as reliable as the SKS or AK. But what is lacks in reliability it makes up for in spades in ergonomics, and accuracy.

A fan of blanket statements?

 

[REOIV]

This is not something that is only with the AR so it isn't something that makes an AR less reliable, it makes every gun less reliable.

And about laquer from the bullet? I don't think there is laquer on my bullets, but if there is it would go into the tube that holds piston on an SKS easily too. So it could cause a failure if it builds up in the tube.

If you can't see that there are some very tight tolerances in an AR compared to an SKS no amount of posting from me will convince you.

I didn't say it was only an AR15 only problem It is a problem inherent to any weapon designed to tight tolerances. The Luger is a great pistol but was designed to such strict tolerances that caused it problems when exposed to mud and dirt. SAME ISSUE HERE.

An SKS you can fill with mud and the damn thing will still work.

An AR15... not so much.

Lacquer getting into the receiver is something you have to be concerned about with an AR15 in an SKS you don't and even if it does gum up the gas ports on the SKS it takes literally 30 seconds to pop off the gas tube run a stick or metal rod from your cleaning kit in the gas port and you're good to go again.

If you shoot wolf or surplus ammo chances are you've shot some with lacquer sealing on them.

There is a helluva lot more play with an SKS piston and op rod than there is with an AR15 bolt and bolt carrier and you can't as easily clean out your gas ports on the AR15 as you can on the SKS.

So again it is less reliable.

The amount of crap you'd need to gum up an SKS is much much higher than the AR15.

AR15 = coffee stir straw
SKS = Big Gulp/Route 44oz Straw.

Which one will get clogged first?

 

[REOIV]

A fan of blanket statements?

It is true is it not? I just summarized why it isn't as reliable maybe you should read the whole thread before just jumping in on that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGwkHktkTxU

Gas Piston AR15 vs DI AR15...

Funny how when you add a gas piston to the AR15 (just like the AK47 and SKS) it ceases to explode when fired after being submerged.

 

[REOIV]

Hell the contractor threads in Strategies and Tactics show that even with loads of cleaning the AR platform just jams.

They ended up switching to AKs to make it through the rest of the course.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=266018

All that said the AR15 is still a good rifle. It isn't this sneeze and it jams rifle people say it is.

But when compared to the SKS and AK it doesn't hold up. Much like the SKS and AK aren't as accurate as the AR15 is out of the box.

There are literally thousands of dead Iraqis and Vietnamese that died to a less reliable firearm.

And by reliable I'm talking days without cleaning, used in adverse conditions (sand, rain, mud) and thousands of rounds.

 

[longdayjake]

An SKS you can fill with mud and the damn thing will still work.

If that isnt the most exaggerated statement that I have heard on these forums then poop on me.

Try shooting one before you clean the cosmoline out. Good luck!

 

[Bartkowski]

If you can't see that there are some very tight tolerances in an AR compared to an SKS no amount of posting from me will convince you.

I don't know when I said otherwise, but if you want to keep saying that go ahead.

And if you don't mind looking, there are videos of AR's shooting after being in sand and mud with out malfunction. Oberland arms has a few videos on there website if you want to look.

 

[grimjaw]

Isn't all this AR comparison getting away from the OP's question?

jm

 

[esmith]

If that isnt the most exaggerated statement that I have heard on these forums then poop on me.

Try shooting one before you clean the cosmoline out. Good luck!

The most that would happen to dampen the functionality of the gun would be a stuck firing pin, usually resulting in FA burst. Gun would still go boom.

 

[sarduy]

Isn't all this AR comparison getting away from the OP's question?

jm

hehehe...from sks vs ak to sks vs ar to ar vs hk.... what's next? mauser vs mosin, 9mm vs .45 or even .308 vs 30-06...

came on people lets face it. ar15 don't like to get dirty/sand/wet even thought the work dirty/sanded/wet "sometimes" the ak love dirt/sand/water because is a dirty weapon and will work dirty/sanded/wet.. Then come the sks which is something in between the AK and ar15 in terms on dirt tolerance!

anyone back this up? or it's jst me?

BTW...

 

[Bartkowski]

The most that would happen to dampen the functionality of the gun would be a stuck firing pin, usually resulting in FA burst. Gun would still go boom.

The action might not go all the way back, or the chamber might be filled up with mud not letting a round in. There are many things that can happen to an sks filled with mud. So it is an exageratted statement.

 

[esmith]

The action might not go all the way back, or the chamber might be filled up with mud not letting a round in. There are many things that can happen to an sks filled with mud. So it is an exageratted statement.

Wasn't talking about mud. Read the post before making a reply. Think!

 

[Bartkowski]

Wasn't talking about mud. Read the post before making a reply. Think!

When you replied, you quoted a comment that said that "you can fill an sks with mud and it would still work" an exageration.

So you were talking about mud and or cosmoline. So you "think!" and be clear when you post.

 

[Poor East Texan]

"Okay listen. Barack sucks. So does Hilary Clinton. That's all you need to know."

Er, Uh based on what I've heard from Rush, Savage, Beck and others is that McCain ain't a whole lot better.

More than EVER before I'm gonna have to put a clothspin on my nose to vote for him.

If the gas system gets dirty enough the SKS becomes a single shot bolt rifle. But it will still shoot!

 

[LeibstandarteAdH]

SKS's have one big ass weakness, the gas tube tolerances are very bad. if anything wacky happens with the gas tube it wont operate the action right. it can leak very easily with just a little bit of gap/play that can be caused by anything from incorrect fitting in the first place, to wear/corrosion, to getting it wacked too hard in the field. Other than that, the sks is a really robust design that (with a one piece gas tube/chamber setup) i would take over the AK in terms of field condition tolerence. SKS's are more solidly built and may take more hits, and AK's may bend or brake easier, but the AK has a lot of tolerence so it has to be pretty bad to be detrimental to the action of the gun, where the SKS rather small things would put it out of action.