I recently bought a 59/66 Yugo, my first SKS... and am having trouble getting fired shells to extract.Unfired shells cycle thru nice and easy(manually of course), but fired ones are a PAIN to get out ( have to manually work the action by force) My thought is the ammo, been using Wolf steel case FMJ's. I tried an empty fired case in the chamber, and had to force the action with a lot of pressure. New unfired shells work nice and clean. Is this a problem with the ammo ( dont have any brass case ammo to try right now) or is it possible I have a problem with the rifle causing the steel cases to swell and bind? The barrel, action and chamber are clean... bore brush, solvent, and clean patches.... checked to make sure... no marks or grit on the fired cases either.Thanks in advance for any help.
SKS problem
- Thread starter mak43
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MTMilitiaman
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My brother and I ran cases of the older Wolf stuff through our SKSs and saw thousands more of them fired through a couple other SKSs. Problems were very rare. In the 2000+ rounds of it I ran through my SKS before I sold it, I only had two problems and they were both easily cleared without incident. We did notice a slight red lacquer build up around the back edge of the receiver, but it did not appear to affect reliability and was cleaned with some dental picks my brother managed to get ahold of.
He still has an SKS and we both have AK clones. We still run Wolf through them almost exclussively and have no complaints.
If your rifle is having problems extracting and is clean, then I would look at the extractor first. After that I might try having it headspaced and examine deeper or I might just buy another SKS...
He still has an SKS and we both have AK clones. We still run Wolf through them almost exclussively and have no complaints.
If your rifle is having problems extracting and is clean, then I would look at the extractor first. After that I might try having it headspaced and examine deeper or I might just buy another SKS...
jon1996
Member
Mak43
First off make sure the gas cutoff switch is int the right positon, It is used to shut the gas off while launching grenades on the 59/66 sks, if it is right, and it still wont cycle, pull the gas tube off and check for cosmoline inside the gastube, I have seen this on several chicom sks and I have bought a bunch of them dirt cheap due to this, But I would say it is one of the listed problems I mentioned,
later,
jon
First off make sure the gas cutoff switch is int the right positon, It is used to shut the gas off while launching grenades on the 59/66 sks, if it is right, and it still wont cycle, pull the gas tube off and check for cosmoline inside the gastube, I have seen this on several chicom sks and I have bought a bunch of them dirt cheap due to this, But I would say it is one of the listed problems I mentioned,
later,
jon
Exposure
Member
mak43-
The problem may be cooked on cosmoline in the chamber. Others have described the same problem.
I read that a .45 caliber brush is a great way to scrub the chamber clean.
However, I have also read that some Yugo's simply will not digest the Wolf ammo at all, apparently there was some disparity in the chambers on these guns and they can be finicky regarding ammunition. This is just from what I have read though, take it for what it is worth.
I have a full case of the surplus Yugo ammo that I got from AIM and it has been working great in both my beater Yugo and my rearsenalled Yugo. Maybe try to get your hands on some other ammo and give it a try.
The problem may be cooked on cosmoline in the chamber. Others have described the same problem.
I read that a .45 caliber brush is a great way to scrub the chamber clean.
However, I have also read that some Yugo's simply will not digest the Wolf ammo at all, apparently there was some disparity in the chambers on these guns and they can be finicky regarding ammunition. This is just from what I have read though, take it for what it is worth.
I have a full case of the surplus Yugo ammo that I got from AIM and it has been working great in both my beater Yugo and my rearsenalled Yugo. Maybe try to get your hands on some other ammo and give it a try.
RecoilRob
Member
Agree with checking the gas shutoff valve. A friend has a Yugo and had the same problem that was cured by adjusting the valve properly.
If you can manually extract the fired case....even with force....it means that everything mechanically is fine. The gas system is NOT working. Should be easy to fix.
If you can manually extract the fired case....even with force....it means that everything mechanically is fine. The gas system is NOT working. Should be easy to fix.
It isnt the gas switch... even in single mode, you have to forcibly remove the fired shell... and I do mean forcibly remove it... place the rifle butt on the ground, heel of the hand on the bolt, and really shove to get the empty out of the chamber. Dried lacquer or cosmoline in the mouth of the chamber is possible... I used a .357 bore brush, might soak it some, and get a bigger brush... If that doesnt help I will try some brass case ammo. The extractor works fine on full unfired shells, and once you break the fired shell free of the chamber, the extractor and ejector both work as they should. Thanks again for the opinions guys...
I can't really help, but I noticed a similar problem on my nagant yesterday. It digested copper case surplus with no problem (always has) as well as some brass soft point. I tried to use some steel case silver tip ammo I got a while back, and I would have to fight like hell to get the bolt to come up and extract the case. The stuff fired okay, just had a hell of a time getting the bolt open. It did it with 4 or 5 rounds consistently. Once the bolt came open, the empty case popped right out just like normal.
I guess since you said the case actually stick in the chamber, that is not the same as my issue.
Maybe there is some build up in the chamber that sticks to the cases when they get hot from firing. I assume that spent casings put back in don't get stuck?
I guess since you said the case actually stick in the chamber, that is not the same as my issue.
Maybe there is some build up in the chamber that sticks to the cases when they get hot from firing. I assume that spent casings put back in don't get stuck?
RTFM
member
Yeah check for Cosmoline or the varnish from the Wolf (et-all) steel cased rounds which sometimes becomes goo in the chamber.
Bottom Gun
Member
My guess would be that it is dragging on something in the chamber. Hopefully, it's just a buildup of something which can be scrubbed out but it may be pitted. A pitted chamber will cause extraction problems too.
Here is what I have found so far.... I had brushed the barrel, but still had varnish ( dried cosmoline I suppose) in the chamber. The brush I used on the barrel didnt get it. I really soaked and scrubbed the chamber and the fired shells dont stick now,you can cycle them out by hand easy enough but the SKS isnt cycling. I changed from the old wood stock to an ATI synthectic stock, and had to put the gas tube on before putting the barreled action on the frame. If I assembled the action and frame first, the gas tube lever wouldnt latch. After cleaning the chamber and reassembling, when I shoot each round the gas tube latch lever comes open and the action doesnt cycle !!! The hand guard is hitting the stock. I assume since the lever came open, the piston cant do its job and work the action. So tomorrow night I will either go back to the wood stock, or mark and cut the synthetic stock and get the gas tube and handguard to fit properly... Glad I enjoy tinkering...
Bottom Gun
Member
Be careful. The gas tube unlatching like that is a potentially dangerous situation.
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