SKS Rifle still won't cycle

[ShootingFool]

Okay, I have a Yugo SKS that will fire, but not cycle.
I have changed the gas valve and spring and the gas piston. Still will not cycle.

Here's the thing though... if I fire it, it is so hard to break open manually, that I can see why the gas system cant open it. I have to actually bang it on the table to get the bolt back.

Also, if I manually insert a bullet into the chamber, and close the bolt, its STILL hard to open, even if I don't fire off that round. With no round in the gun, I can cycle the bolt easily with my hand, nothing looks broken or unduly worn in any way.

Any tips greatly appreciated.

 

[Supertac45]

Try a differant brand of ammo.

 

[george d dennis]

sks

is it put back together right? or try cleaning it. if its new sometimes
theres a lot of cosmoline.

 

[jem375]

Make sure the button is locked down the right way for the Yugo, one way is for the grenade launcher.. I sold mine and can't remember which way it goes... It will not work in semi auto in the launcher mode...either that or the chamber is corroded by ammo..

 

[Nugilum]

Have you scrubbed the chamber? If the rifle has been shot a lot with laquered ammo or stored with cosmoline the chamber can get sticky.

Are the shells deformed or scratched when thy come out?

 

[winchester '97]

See if the gas port is clogged, and check the grenade setting as has been stated. Also you should check the gas tube and piston fo bending or other deformation.

 

[ShootingFool]

thanks for the feedback guys.

The gas valve is in the right place, as the grenade sight will not go up if its set correctly for semiauto. You can see where the port is in the valve.

The gas port appears to be okay, I ran a piece of wire through there, and there was no gunk or obstructions.

I really think the first poster might be on to something. This ammo seems to fit really almost too tight when its chambered. Has anyone ever heard of that? Its surplus ammo, and I have only tried firing from this one batch so far.

 

[EyebrowZing]

I would say it's the ammo. I got a Yugo SKS several years ago that developed this problem in a singe range trip.
It worked fine for the first few mags of Wolf, but then I started getting consistent FTE and stovepipes. The advice I got from here was clean the chamber. So I got a 12GA. bore brush, and popped that and my cleaning rod into a drill and with liberal application of hoppes I scrubbed the chamber until I couldn't stand it any more. Unfortunately, the problem persisted, so I changed ammo. Brown Bear and anything brass cased I feed it works just fine, but Wolf has never worked since the first day I shot it.

 

[ShootingFool]

There does appear to be a small flat spot on the spent casings. Probably 1mm wide, 2mm long. I am going to pick up a couple of boxes of different brands of ammo and give it a shot.