SKS Questions

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JaxNovice

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I am a newbie to rifles (especially the SKS) so I wanted to ask a few questions before I spent $$ on aftermarket parts. I figure asking dumb questions is better than making dumb mistakes.

I bought an SKS from Aim Surplus today. Here are my questions.

1) When I first get it, what should I look for to make sure it is OK to use?

2) I was thinking about buying a tapco stock for it and was wondering if it will have any issues with the SKS I purchased. Here is the one I purchased:

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Yugoslavian_Model_59_66_7_62x39_SKS_Rifle.html

and here is the tapco stock i was thinking of installing:

http://www.tapco.com/proddesc.aspx?id=8ee0f3e8-c786-4919-b0c5-6a6a555560f3

3) Hypothetically, if I were to be invited hunting would the 7.62x39 cartridge be ok to whack a small deer or boar?

These questions might sound fairly novice but I appreciate the input.
 
1. I would disassemble the gun, clean it real well, and put it back together. www.surplusrifle.com has a helpful step-by-step how-to. Anything broken, damaged or out of place will probably be very noticeable. Make especially sure to take apart the bolt and clean out the firing pin channel. Mine was gummed up real bad with cosmoline.

2. I dont know. I like my SKS the way it is and never thought about putting a different stock on it.

3. Absolutely. Use a good bullet and practice your accuracy. The trigger and sights arent the best on these guns, but with some effort you can certainly get it done. 123 grain pointed soft point is the standard hunting round for this caliber. Winchester, Remington, Federal, and Sellier & Bellot all make the round, but the S&B is about 3 times cheaper than the rest.
 
No problem, enjoy your rifle!

P.S. Stay far, far away from Wolf Military Classic ammo, it damaged my SKS. Wolf was kind enough to pay for repairs and the unused portion, but save yourself the trouble. :uhoh:
 
^ can you elaborate on what exactly happened with Wolf Military Classic and your SKS, please? I have some of this ammo and would really appreciate the info. Thanks.
 
Rightly or wrongly I'm paranoid about slam-fire so when I got my SKS I also bought a firing pin kit from Murray's Guns as cheap insurance.
This page also shows how cosmoline can get inside the firing pin area so it's vitally important to get that sucker clean.

If you let people know roughly where you live, you may find that somebody near you is experienced with the SKS and might be willing to give it a once over.
 
^ can you elaborate on what exactly happened with Wolf Military Classic and your SKS, please? I have some of this ammo and would really appreciate the info. Thanks.

Absolutely. In 55 rounds, I suffered at least two pierced primers. (of the casings I recovered) This bent my firing pin so badly that it no longer moves freely in the firing pin channel. It also dinged my firing pin retaining pin up bad enough that i need a new one. I had to push the firing pin out of the bolt with a punch. Still waiting on replacements, and Wolf says they will cover the cost of repairs, which is about $26, assuming the bolt is fine.

Worst ammo I've ever experienced.
 
Thanks very much for responding, I really appreciate it. I have heard mixed-to-negative reviews on that particular brand and make of x39 ammo, this certainly isn't the first. First time I heard of it damaging a gun, though.


Again, my sincere thanks for sharing your experience with WMC.
 
luv sks

The sks is a great rifle. I like it better than ak cant say why just like feel and PRICE.

I have some modern top of the line rifles and the sks is a great staple around the farm. It's dependable and bush accurate, decent firepower. It absolutely can drop a deer or buck and boar. I have a nother post on this somewhere.

My buddy got a collapsible stock, I dont really like it. I enjoy shooting my tiger striped/burn pattern wood stock coated with an amber finish.

The sks needs a buttstock extension. Here's the only add ons I recommend;

buttstock ext., flash hider/muzzle rise compensator (4 upward vents), 20 rd. detachable mag's for plinking/target shooting (30 in the way!), compact scope (nothing expensive, hell mine is missing parts and works awesome). IMPORTANT: get a see through/Hi rise scope mount when you get to that point. It's built into the receiver, dont get the cheap Leapers side mounted scope riser. One drop on a rock and that things history.
Sling.

+1 on pin inspection. I destroyed a bolt once! Bullet was hanging up on junk in chamber and extractor pulled hard to get case out. Eventually a crack formed on the bolt face around the firing pin. Inspect that area carefully.

I think you'll find your SKS to be a good friend; faithful, dependable, honest, and not too expensive.

Wolf ammo; well, no one around here would agre I suppose. I've put over a thousand rounds of wolf through my rifle and haven't had a problem.

BEWARE inconspicuously marked cartridges from e. europe/russia. I had some that said "HUNTING SPECS" on side which even had a little lead blob on the tip which looked like it was a soft point or covered a hollow point tip. It was pure mil FMJ and bounced way out of my range landing near a neighbor up the mtn! And it corroded an old barrel. lesson learned that week, man......:(
 
I own the exact SKS that you just purchased, and I suggest against using after-market magazines. I had a 30-round one for my rifle, I couldn't get more than 15 in the darn thing because the spring in it was really hard to overcome. Stick with the 10-round magazines built with the rifle, and get good with stripper clips. Here's a tip on making sure your firing pin is loose: point the rifle up (after opening the action and making sure it's not loaded, of course) and shake it a bit. Listen very closely. If you hear something rattle around inside the rifle, that's good, that means the firing pin isn't gummed up. If the pin gets stuck, you can have a slam fire. Not a good thing. As for the aftermarket stock... I'm perfectly happy with the wooden stock that it came with, but maybe you're built differently, or you want to make your SKS look tacticool. (Nothing wrong with that!) And when you do disassemble or field strip it, don't be gentle and nice with the SKS. You're not going to hurt it, it was MADE to be abused. I haven't used much Wolf ammo, but the only problem I noticed is that it is really dirty and smelly. Enjoy!
 
(I own the exact SKS that you just purchased, and I suggest against using after-market magazines. I had a 30-round one for my rifle, I couldn't get more than 15 in the darn thing because the spring in it was really hard to overcome. ) i can tell you a little cheap fix for that get a spring and fallower out of a AK mag . fallower that will need a little work to fit . but it worked great on mine i hope this can help someone
 
My 2 cents:

Make sure you clean it thoroughly. Try to get the bolt apart, but if you can't soak it in mineral spirits over night. This will get cosmoline out of the bolt. At least it worked for me.

If you don't like the basic sights, try an upgrade to Tech Sights. www.tech-sights.com It gives you a peep sight in the rear and might give you more sight adjustment if you need it. My sights were off enough on mine that I couldn't adjust it to be on target.

IMHO, I like the original stock. It is a beefy stock that is tough and strong. I didn't do much more cleaning than wipe mine down, but others have refinished them and such.

Get plenty of stripper clips.
The black box Wolf has worked well in my gun. Silver Bear also. They make soft point ammo also.
Sportsman's Guide and others sell chest rigs designed to hold 20 or so stripper clips.

Reports I have seen say the aftermarket 20 or 30 round mag upgrades are not reliable. Some have gotten them to work, but most have gone back to the stock 10 round mag. I like the idea of using stripper clips. Makes it unique for me, but I have other mag fed rifles.
 
I agree with just about everything that has been posted here. Concerning ammo for yor SKS,it is important to remember that ammo for these rifles and the AKs is different than that for American commercial rifles i.e. Rugers Mini 30 et.al. The common commercial ammo Winchester, Remington etc has a .308 cal bullet whereas the SKS and Ak have a .311 inch bore. I would recommend (after using these little rifles for 15 years or so) Wolf, S&B or even military ammo of late manufacture. Commercial ammo is safe in the little rifle it just lacks a little in the accuracy dept. Do not use military ammo in the Ruger or similar rifles. It usually isn't dangerous as a rule but could damage your Ruger. The most useful (if you need it you WILL be glad that you have it!) accessory is a broken shell extractor.
 
I just did the same mod to the same rifle about 3 days ago and there were no issues. I have had no bad experiences with the 30 round mags for either of my sks's but maybe I have just been lucky. I would use the 30 round mags besause one day you might not be able to so you should enjoy them now.
 
I guess I too have been lucky with the 30 rdrs. (3) Mine is in the 10 rd config for legal reasons now, but I have taken it to the range a bunch of times with the 30's and they feed great and don't jam. I am going to keep them for SHTF, but until then I will use my Saiga that can use detachable hi-caps.
 
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