SKS:Need advice

[BuckeyeDude]

I just purchased a Yugo SKS for $100. Thats the good news. Bad news is the inside of barrell shows some rust when you shine a flashlight down it. The only rifle I have ever owned is a 10/22 and Mossberg 500 shotgun. Should I attempt to clean it or should I have it done professionally. ( I thought SKS s had chrome lined barrels )

Thanks

 

[WardenWolf]

Only a few SKS's had chrome-lined barrels. Early-model Russians and some Romanians. Yugos did not. If the rifling otherwise looks good and it's not too badly pitted, get some gun scrubber and clean it thoroughly.

 

[rule303]

Clean it until you can't stand anymore, then clean it again. I wouldn't worry about the barrel so much, but the gas valve and tube tend to be pitted on the Yugo's too. All non-commercial 7.62x39 is corrosive, and the Yugos never had chrome lined barrels, and most were heavily used.

 

[Babarsac]

I say clean it. Heck you paid $100 for it. Is it a little or a lot of rust? Is the rifling still strong?

 

[SleazyRider]

Chore Boy to the rescue!

You've got nothing to lose by taking some Chore Boy (copper wool) and wrapping it around your bristle brush, then sending it down the bore with some Naval Jelly, or if that scares you, Diet Coke. I've done this with a few Mosins and, assuming it's rust, the results were spectacular. Then flush it with plenty of hot water, dry, and proceed with some Hoppes.

 

[okiewita40]

The yugo's are the only SKS's w/o chrome lined bores. As long as the barrel isn't pitted too bad it should be a shooter. I would just clean and shoot as usual. You may want to check out the sks section at http://www.surplusrifle.com/sks/index.asp

That has a lot of info there.

 

[isc]

Okie is right. ALL SKSs have chrome lined bore EXCEPT Yugos. Yugos also have a gas valve that no other SKS has that is prone to corrosion. To compound matters, yugo issue ammo is corrosive, the Yugoslavian soldiers that were issued SKSs were ill trained conscripts, and Yugoslavia used their SKS in a war.

It would be hard to go wrong for $100, but do a thorough cleaning, paying special attention to the gas valve, gas block, and gas piston. If it doesn't cycle the first suspect should be the gas valve, gas piston, and gas tube- in that order.

Yugos are generally considered the least desirable variety by collectors when compared to othe SKSs in similar condition. Be prepared for malfunctions. Fortunately those malfunctions are directly related to rifle condition and are exceedingly rare with unissued or excellent condition rifles.

They can have the nicest wood and a new yugo barrel usually outperforms a chrome lined barrel.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

you may consider shooting it (After you check funcion and basics). I find that if buy a rifle in that condition, shooting it helps.

Its best to clean from the receiver side (Take it apart and push the cleaning rod from the inside, same direction as the bullet travels.) The goal is not to round over the lands at the muzzle. Aggressively rubbing a metal cleaning rod against them is a good way to ruin a barrel.

Start with the wire brush, switch to a mop or patches with your solvent of choice. (I like hopes) clean until the patches come out clean...

 

[nfafan]

The PROFESSIONAL Yugo soldiers were well trained and like all armies; when they weren't marching around pointlessly or painting anything that didn't move - they were cleaning their guns. They never used chrome even in their 8mm Mausers - real soldiers clean guns.

Their civil war changed all that.

Run a few rounds thru it - it may take down the frost in the barrell and make it easier to clean. It will also reveal if the gas-valve used for grenade launching is mucked with rust; turning your semi into a bolt-action. Replacement valves are probably still to be found.

 

[jawn]

Outside of the bore and gas parts, what else should one look for when shopping for an SKS? I know this is BuckeyeDude's thread, but I'm also in the market for one of these, and I found one at a LGS. I want to make sure I cover my bases before I pick it up.

 

[69Rebel]

^^^ If you aren't especially familiar with the SKS, the safe choice is to get a Russian.

 

[WardenWolf]

Actually, 69Rebel, the best choice, IMO, is a Romanian. They're not always lookers (though mine is), but they're all chrome-lined. Not all Russians are chrome-lined, either. Only the earliest ones and the ones intended for honor guard use were chrome-lined. The Romanians, on the other hand, are direct copies of the EARLY Russians, and are all chromed. The wood on Romanians is often rough, but they're still mechanically sound. Occasionally you'll get a gem like mine:



If you look on GunBroker right now, there's 2 with nice wood and 1 with rough wood.

The ones now are kind of overpriced. I got my SKS about 4 months ago. I paid $275 for it. The Romanians are definitely worth a premium over the run-of-the-mill Yugos and Norincos, though. You get what you pay for.

 

[isc]

Not all Russians are chrome-lined, either. Only the earliest ones and the ones intended for honor guard use were chrome-lined. The Romanians, on the other hand, are direct copies of the EARLY Russians, and are all chromed.

Warden, where are you coming up with this? I own 2 russians, and have had at least 5 other russians over the years, all chrome lined barrels. I've never seen an SKS other than a yugo that wasn't chrome lined. That includes my romanians, Chinese, and Albanian SKS. I've heard that the earliest Russians had unlined barrels and spring loaded firing pins, but never seen or communicated with anyone that ever saw one like that. every early russian rifle I've ever handled was re-arsenled into the latest configuration: Chrome lined barrel with no firing pin spring.

You either don't know what you are talking about or have stumbled across a bunch of really rare rifles and don't realize what you have. If you happen to have an early Russian that wasn't rearsonaled to the modern configuration, I'd love to see it.

 

[SleazyRider]

Outside of the bore and gas parts, what else should one look for when shopping for an SKS? I know this is BuckeyeDude's thread, but I'm also in the market for one of these, and I found one at a LGS. I want to make sure I cover my bases before I pick it up.

You ought to take a good hard look at SOG's brandy-new Yugo SKSs before deciding. They are unissued and packed in cosmoline; so rust isn't an issue, and with reasonable care, never will be despite the fact that the barrel isn't chrome lined. After a thorough cleaning and degreasing they function flawlessly, so you will spend more time at the range actually shooting it instead of in the shop dealing with rust and corrosion.

 

[sarge83]

All SKS variants except for the Yugo's have chrome lined barrels. Sounds like someone didn't clean their weapon after firing it. As posted clean, re-clean and then some more...

 

[69Rebel]

Yeah. AFAIK, they're all chrome lined but for the Yugos. Not 100% sure about the commercial Norincos.
I didn't bother mentioning the Romanian or Albanian variants cause they're kinda rare. If you can find one, great! But don't hold your breath.
I stand by my original advice: If you are new to SKS and don't really know what to look for, go with a Russian version. They are common and typically quite good. The Yugos are hit and miss, IME. I recently picked up a choice '89 KBI still in the box and it's absolutely beautiful. I've seen other Yugos on GS tables that were pretty much parts guns.

 

[bruzer]

Clean it, inspect it, shoot it and have fun. It is $100 that I believe will probably shoot just as well as the $300 SKS's. Would that be funny if it actually tightened up the groups?
Mike

 

[isc]

Classic arms has romanians for $289. They are made to the russian pattarn. I think that it isn't a coincidence that the dates on the Romanian SKSs start after the Russian dates end. I think that the Russians gave/traded/sold the tooling and machinery to the Romanians after they were done with it when they got the bugs worked out of the AKM design.

The only downside to the Romanians is that they were never refurbished, so some of them saw alot of training use. poor bluing and worn parts aren't uncommon. I have two and one is every bit as pristine as my russian and one is a good basic shooter.

My yugo is the only surviving rifle from 7. I initially bought 4, of those 2 wouldn't function as semiautos. The spent case would partially extract then get pushed bask in by the bolt. I sent those two back and they sent me 2 more, of that 2 one of them did the same thing. I sent it back and the replacement did the same thing again. the last replacement rifle functioned reliably. In the decade since then I traded or sold three of those yugos, keeping the best one for myself. I have quite a few rifles that I've never shot, but a yugo SKS is one of the few guns that I would demand to test fire before buying.

I've never fired my Albanian, it's still in cosmoline.

 

[ball3006]

Out of all the SKSs I have had, the Chinese SKSs were the best shooters. Alot of folks badmouth the Chinese guns but they are reliable and accurate....I have a Yugo 59 with a dark bore and it shoots just fine.......chris3