SKS Firing Pin Retaining Pin Stuck/ Slam Fire

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BCBOY

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Hi Everyone,

I new at this, just bought my first rifle. Decided to go with an sks as I heard for the price they are an excellent buy. I got a 1954 Russian model at Canadian Tire, never fired, non-refurbished, I took it apart, cleaned up all the cosmoline, fully restored the stock to a beautiful finish, but had a hell of a time trying to get the firing pin's retaining pin out. After reading a bunch of forums and I ended up leaving it alone as I was getting nowhere. I flushed it out using boiling water with simple green and then many rounds of brake cleaner. Which seemed to do the trick the firing pin seemed to be moving freely better than most videos I've seen on youtube no problem whatsoever. So I went out to the firing range loaded up 5 rounds and soon as i let the bolt close it slam fired! Scared the hell out me! It really caught me by surprise, Good thing I had it point down range and was on top of that. It didn't slam fire after that but when I got it home I decided the pin has to be taken apart for further investigation. As that is dangerous. One thing I noticed is the retaining pin looks slightly crooked compared most pictures vids I've seen. Almost as if when it was manufactured someone put it in wrong. I've tried everything and I can't get the pin to budge. And now after taking it out the one time, I cleaned it up again, and even though it seems to move well every once in a while it sticks, like it's getting caught on something. I'm super frustrated. SO much time and effort wasted, and at thsi point my money as well. Is there maybe somewhere I can just buy the whole assembly online? I looked on ebay and nothing? All these vids I see of guys with a hammer and a punch are ridiculous. They make it look so easy, there is no way mine is coming out that way. and Believe me, I've wailed on it. So any advice? All input greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Dang, that is so weird. I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles. It is never fun when a new gun doesn't work right, I feel your pain and have been in your shoes many times.

Don't give up yet. Try to soak it in penetrating oil. Also a picture of the retainer would help us to see if something is amiss.
 
Go to SKSboards. Many of the members are familiar with any and all problems. I have a pair of Yugo M59s: C series.

One primary cause of slam fire can be too much cosmo, or dirt in the firing pin channel.
They Always recommend that you shake the bolt, whereby you can hear the pin rattle.

With so many SKS in Canada, there should be plenty of spare parts, maybe some gun smiths to help out at a modest charge.
 
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The SKS firing pin retaining pin is a tough nut to crack. Yeah, you might lose the teeny retaining pin on your AR, but you can service or repair your firing pin in seconds. But I digress...

Anyhow, I got them out by soaking in the toughest penetrating oil I could find - this stuff called "PB Blaster" that'll liquefy Cosmoline on contact. Then I used a punch. I placed the bolt placed over a shell divider from a box of .45 ACP ammo and drove the pin out with a hammer. But they are tough to move - no argument there.
 
Murray's is a good option, being in Canada could complicate shipping back (I don't know) but if not you can send your bolt and have them do the install.
 
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The Murrays fix is excellent. Also, some commercial ammo has softer primers, which don't play well with the floating FP on an SKS. I once had a 4 round burst at the range using Fiocchi...yes, I needed a change of shorts afterward.
 
I'm really glad you or no one else got hurt, and I'm really sorry that happened.

I am a fan of the SKS, but this is arguably THE big thing to watch out for with them. I always keep it in the back of my mind, and any new or even potential owner should know about the risk and respect it.

I took that retaining pin out for one of mine. Didn't really need to in retrospect, but wanted to be sure. I had to take a punch and dead blow hammer to get it out; a little easier to get back in. I don't remember it being as much trouble as you describe.

If I bought one still in cosmo, I would probably go ahead and remove that retaining pin and clean everything up good. Boiling and solvent soaking would leave too much doubt in my mind for my taste.

Or I guess you could always just do the Murray's thing.



Glad you were able to hang on and point in a safe direction!
 
Murray's recommends Hical for you Canadian owners Their website is www.hical.ca .

Watch the first video - http://www.murraysguns.com/sksown.htm

Also note that the bolt must be well supported when trying to drive out the retaining pin. If any movement is possible it will absorb the blows and not transmit the energy to the pin. See this video for example of how to hold the bolt rigidly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKB0_kdtS30
and this one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj3QtnUWCwQ
Click to expand...

That is what I would do. Good advice there BBBBill.

Ron
 
If penetrating oil doesn't work, try heating the bolt in your oven or with a propane torch. Just get it hot but not discoloring the metal hot, then rap it Smartly with a hammer and punch, remove the extractor and spring when you get it about 1/8 of an inch out so you don't accidentally launch them in the process.
Once you get it apart clean it out and lightly oil it. You should be able to shake the firing pin back and forth when its reassembled.
I have a Yugo SKS 59/66, I run TullAmmo all day long out of it, and have never had a malfunction.
 
You could also try putting it in fridge or the freezer for a bit. Any change in temp might allow the bolt and pin to expand or contract at a different rate and break free. And yes, the bolt has to be secured and supported.
 
The Russian SKS has a retractor spring on the firing pin which should go a long way to prevent slam fires. This is what the Murray modification replicates. The retractor spring doesn't fix burrs on the pin or gummy cosmoline, unfortunately.
 
I have installed the Murray unit as I have a later Russian SKS (the earlier ones did have the retractor spring but the later ones do not). Works fine.

My suspicion given the amount of cleaning stuff you poured into it is that there is hardened cosmolene in the channel or you have a burr on the new firing pin.

As mentioned above, make some sort of bench block (with a hole underneath the pin) to knock the pin out and clamp it securely to the block or use padded jaws on a benchvise to hold it securely and then knock it out. Cover the area around the pin with several layers of masking tape if worried about damaging the finish around the pin. Also, some pins must be driven out on one side or the other as they are designed to wedge to prevent walking out--can't remember if this is true of the firing pin retaining pin on the SKS or not.

SKS Boards has some good folks which is where I found out about the Murray Firing pin as well as tech systems peep sights for the SKS.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the replies guys... I think I've fixed the issue...will post back again with details after I take it out to the range once more
 
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