SKS Firing Pin removal question

[nwilliams]

Ok so I want to clean the bolt on my Norinco SKS and I can't for the life of me get the retaining pin out. I'm following the instructions here http://www.surplusrifle.com/sks/boltdisassemble/hs.asp to the letter but no matter how hard I whack the punch I can't get that pin to move. I'm afraid to pound on it too hard or for too long, I don't want to damage anything.

Any advice on how I can get that pin out, am I missing something here? The firing pin channel needs to be cleaned that much I'm sure of.

Thanks

Oops I guess I should have put this thread under gunsmithing huh?

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

I am thinking let it sit in some solvent or penetrating oil for awhile and try it again.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

Your hammer isn't big enough.

I'm not kidding. The first time I removed the firing pin from my Yugo SKS I used a three pound sledgehammer.

ZM

 

[Mr White]

Zeke is right. If the retaining pin isn't coming out, its only because you're not hitting it hard enough.

Remember, you can't hurt an SKS by beating it with a hammer.

 

[nwilliams]

WHAT!

OMG I'm really not hitting hard enough in that case! Time to get medieval on that little sucker I guess

Thanks guys.

 

[Limeyfellow]

Those pins can get really stuck. Some haven't been removed in 40-50 years.

You can leave it soaking in a good penetrating oil. That sometimes helps. Other than that put a little more welly into the hits with the hammer. I had some that have been a pain in the arse to remove and others that required almost no effort at all.

 

[Bartkowski]

I couldn't get mine out and didn't want to screw the thing up, so I just sprayed it with carburator cleaner until I was satisfied, oiled it up and put it back in.

 

[Dienekes]

The bigger hammer may hold the solution. Tossing the bolt in the freezer overnight might help things along as well.

On the two I removed, I reduced the pin diameter with emery cloth until they went in and out much, much easier. No sense fighting the same battle twice.

 

[MMcfpd]

Part of the trick for me is to have it on a solid base when tapping.

Also, use a steel tap:

 

[Zek]

I tried doing the same thing a few yeas ago and was having the same problems. Someone suggested to me to put the whole bolt in a pot of water and boil it. I don’t know if this is right or wrong, but I did it, sure enough the pin came out a lot easer (still had to pound on it but, but not as hard). I could see the cosmoline coming out of it when it was boiling, also I think the tolerances of the metal got a little bigger when it go hot. So this helped me but again I don’t know if this is a good way of solving this problem.

 

[pdowg881]

I put mine over an open vice so the pin could back out between the vice clamps. As everyone has said, make sure you use a steel punch, and a good sized hammer. Don't worry about hurting anything.

 

[inherentical]

Steel punch and a 4 pound hammer. I drilled a hole in a foot long length of 2 x 4 to let the pin drop into, and it still took me a few good whacks to get it out.

 

[redman900]

Yeah,I had the same problem. I used a half a stick of dynamite wrapped in det cord and then still had to wack it with a 20lb sledge hammer.
but it comes out easier now ...

 

[Technosavant]

I put mine over an open vice so the pin could back out between the vice clamps.

That's what I did, but I also clamped some wood pieces in between the jaws to hold the bolt steady.

I've got a 20 ounce anti-vibration hammer. I took that and the punch and worked out some frustration; that pin came out.

 

[Geronimo45]

Don't you people know that these weapons were issued to multiple people in a unit? You used your comrade's rifle as a hammer as required. If your Mosin bolt was sticking in place, pound on the bolt with another Mosin. A diamond cuts a diamond, and a Mosin can fix another Mosin. You don't want to buy just one Soviet gun. You must buy two, so you can repair one gun with the other.
Soviet weapons were intended as tools first, weapons second. Thus the shape of the M44 bayonet. The M44 is simply a screwdriver with a rifle attached as an afterthought.

 

[mrmeval]

I put my bolt in boiling water and watched the cosmoline ooze out. Because of that I beat that pin out. Hardened tool steel rod and a 5 pound sledge hammer removed it.

I installed one of Murray's firing pins and springs, reassembled and it works perfect.

 

[foghornl]

If it ain't at least a 4-LB hand sledge, you are using too small a hammer.

Soaked my bolt in mineral spirits for a couple of days, then use a hot-air gun (paint stripper type hot-air blower) to heat stuff up, and pounded the pooey out of it. My firing pin retainer pin was also a bit rough, so I gently hand-polished it with Flitz after I got it out.

It is still snug, but not that stubborn now...only takes a 3.75-Lb sledge now. A bit of penetrating oil helps, too.