Learned something about SKS

[TimboKhan]

It's designed to run reliably dry. Anything more than a little oil on the bolt assembly is overkill.

I sure would like to know where the idea that guns need to be bathed in oil to work came from. Just a little bit, if any, is all that is needed. I honestly don't think I have ever oiled my SKS, to be honest. For that matter, I don't literally oil any of my guns. I use graphite grease on my autos, and that's about it. The only time I use "oil" at all is when I store them long term, at which point they get a healthy coating of WD-40.

 

[armoredman]

I use CCI-200 primers in my SKS handloads, no issues.

 

[kcw12]

I sure would like to know where the idea that guns need to be bathed in oil to work came from. Just a little bit, if any, is all that is needed. I honestly don't think I have ever oiled my SKS, to be honest. For that matter, I don't literally oil any of my guns. I use graphite grease on my autos, and that's about it. The only time I use "oil" at all is when I store them long term, at which point they get a healthy coating of WD-40.

Well if you ask me most guns should be lubed up pretty good, and cleaned regularlly. They're sort of like cars, yeah you don't have to change the oil, but they will wear out quicker.

I'm more of a shotgun type guy, and owning mostly old american pumps and SxSs oil or some type of lube is needed. This and a mosin nagant being my first real rifles (other then a 22). Im going to try a dry lube on these guns and see what happens.

 

[Technosavant]

Some guns like to be run wet. Others like to be run dry. The SKS prefers it dry, and I'd think the AK would also be pretty happy mostly dry. Meanwhile, the AR likes to be run wet, and I'd rather run a 1911 wet than dry.

And WD-40 doesn't get near my guns. Come to think of it, I don't think I have any of that gunk in the house. It's useful only to displace water, but it is not a preservative, nor is it a lubricant. It turns to muck over time. For lubrication, I use a teflon or silicone spray, but for guns I use real lube/oil. Graphite grease should also work, but you do need to be rather careful of how much you apply when you use grease- it captures dirt and grime better than oil.

 

[Funderb]

there will always be the wd 40 haters.
oh dear, we must all learn to get along.

 

[jdc1244]

My SKSs gets ‘oiled’ when I clean them. My cleaning rag has a little Corrosion X on it when I clean the receiver and bolt carrier. This is mostly to keep rust away. They both run fine.

 

[dewage83]

were you shooting wolfs? dirty ammo, lots of oil to collect the grim, surefire way to create a slam fire situation. clean the bolt real well with carbrator cleaner and keep it dry, why waste all the time and money to replace it with a spring one.

 

[K3]

I did this with mine:

http://www.murraysguns.com/sksown.htm

I like the Norinco's myself.

Before I did the mod with the spring, I would use Rem-Oil on the firing pin. Doesn't gunk up, but it is slick.

 

[PTK]

Well if you ask me most guns should be lubed up pretty good, and cleaned regularly. They're sort of like cars, yeah you don't have to change the oil, but they will wear out quicker.

And if you ask any major gunsmith, they will disagree with you, as will I. Cleaning, of course, is mostly a good thing when done properly.

 

[TimboKhan]

It's useful only to displace water, but it is not a preservative, nor is it a lubricant.

The only reason I use it is to displace moisture. As far as it turning to gunk, all I can say to that is that my dad has stored guns with WD-40 for decades, and I have yet to see a gunky gun as a result. You are correct about it not being a lubricant, and I don't use it as such.

I read a thread here on THR a while back where a guy said he was using three tablespoons of oil each time he cleaned his gun. Thats far, far too much by any reasonable definition.

Also, AR's do not need to be ran "wet". A tiny amount of oil is appropriate, but I can tell you from experience in Desert Storm that even slightly too much oil leads to a considerably more difficult cleaning on account of all the dirt swimming around. It got to the point there that we ran them dry on the theory that lack of lube was better than oily sandpaper. Whether that was right or not, I do not know, but thats what we did.

 

[kcw12]

Aye, I really don't feel like arguing with you all. I will agree the SKS doesn't like oil, but every other gun of mine does like it. To each his own i guess.

 

[Technosavant]

Also, AR's do not need to be ran "wet". A tiny amount of oil is appropriate, but I can tell you from experience in Desert Storm that even slightly too much oil leads to a considerably more difficult cleaning on account of all the dirt swimming around. It got to the point there that we ran them dry on the theory that lack of lube was better than oily sandpaper. Whether that was right or not, I do not know, but thats what we did.

The AR-15 = run wet thing I picked up on ARFcom. I can't say that I've used mine enough to be able to speak authoritatively on my own experience. Basically, they said in lieu of cleaning, some extra lube on the bolt will keep you going for another couple hundred rounds.

Meh, in my own life I don't expect that to ever be an issue. If I need to shoot thousands of rounds without cleaning out of any of my guns, things are supremely suboptimal.

 

[TimboKhan]

If I need to shoot thousands of rounds without cleaning out of any of my guns, things are supremely suboptimal.

Indeed.

 

[dispatch55126]

My firing pin and bolt will build up with the primer sealer Wolf uses. I just have to wipe the pin and spray nitro solvent into the bolt face where the pin retracts. The straw fits perfectly into the hole and it eats/blasts the sealer and gunk out.

 

[MartinS]

Shake the bolt after cleaning, if you don't hear the firing pin clicking back and forth (for those without springs) don't load it.

 

[PaStEuRiZeD]

Technosavant wrote:
"Meh, in my own life I don't expect that to ever be an issue. If I need to shoot thousands of rounds without cleaning out of any of my guns, things are supremely suboptimal."

If you need to shoot thousands of rounds without cleaning your rifle you need an AK

 

[Evenflo76]

+1 for Murray's Guns SKS firing pin with the spring. My Yugo was purchased with a full serving of Cosmoline. After thoroughly cleaning the entire rifle, I noticed that the pin was still sticking forward. Most noticeably by shaking the assembled bolt and not hearing any noise.

After reading the info on Murray's, as well as others' websites, I noticed that the firing pin channel in the bolt carrier was worn out,, causing a dimple and allowing the pin to become stuck. The money spent on the pin with the return spring is well worth it. I now know for sure this type of malfunction will never happen with my SKS