SKS / wolf ammo trouble

[Seancass]

i have been shooting black box wolf FMJ 122 gr. stuff, shoots reliably. The purchased some wolf "military classic" 124 FMJ mil spec ammo. these rounds have the little red band where the bullet seats in the shell (water proofing?). The mil spec ammo would not cycle. worse yet, it wouldnt come out! i had to unload the gun, pull down hard on the bolt while slamming the butt of the gun into the ground to get it to pull out. i really didnt like have to do that, but i had to do it over and over. almost every round.

whats going on here? is there anything i can do to get the rest of the ammo to feed? i always keep my gun clean, but i have cleaned it and oiled it up. also, the firing pin was getting a little stickier than i'd like it to be, cleaned it too.

 

[lamazza]

The Wolf black box is the new polymer coated ammo-the military classic is the old lacquer coated stuff. I haven't had a problem with either in sks.
the lacquer coated ammo is a potential sticky mess-maybe your sks doesn't like it.

 

[Lonestar.45]

Lamazza is right about the difference between the black box wolf and the military classic.

It sounds to me like your chamber might be gummed up from lacquer build up. Scrub the chamber really well and I bet it will clear up. I haven't had any problems with either of the Wolf types, but my chambers are clean.

 

[BobTheTomato]

Is the gas valve bad? My SKS had a similar problem....I had to karate chop the bolt open 2 or 3 times. You can buy a new gas valve to try or use a paper clip to make a seal. Mine worked okay with the paper clip trick. Do a web search for it and there are a few sites that have good explanations and pictures.

http://www.sksboards.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4191

 

[ZeSpectre]

I'm thinking along the same lines here.
Could be you need to clean the gas port in the barrel but it does sound like the rounds are just stuck in too hard. I'd field strip the gun and run some solvent into the chamber. Make sure you give it plenty of time to work (set it aside for 20 min or longer) and then clean it out. Try that a few times and see if you get gunk out of the chamber.

Make sure you take a good bright light and inspect the chamber too. It's possible you got a sliver of metal wedged in there somemplace that is causing things to hang up.

Report back and let us know what you find!

 

[CNYCacher]

I had to karate chop the bolt open 2 or 3 times.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Bad valve or weak gas flow wouldn't cause it to stick. It has to be something gummed up in the chamber. I've used plenty of the Wolf with the red sealant and never had a problem. But I shoot slow, so maybe my chamber never got hot enough to melt the sealant. In any case, I agree with the advice to clean the chamber.

What kind of solvent would be good for getting the lacquer or sealant out of there? Lacquer thinner? Toluene?

 

[mainmech48]

Unless it's a Yugo, there is no valve in the gas system. The first place to check in the gas system is the port itself. Make sure that it's not clogged up or otherwise obstructed. Clean if necessary.

Ditto cleaning the chamber. Use a good solvent and bronze, nylon or ss brushes of sufficient diameter for the body, neck and throat.

Next check and clean the primary and secondary gas pistons and the tubes they run in. Primary is the big one up front, secondary is in the "tunnel" inside the rear sight body. Make sure that both are clean, and run smoothly with hand pressure. Make sure that the spring in the secondary returns the piston completely.

IMO, a dirty or corroded (if it's a Yugo without the hard chrome plating) chamber is the most likely problem here, given your description. I have several models of the SKS, and a clean one should cycle just about anything factory-made of the proper caliber you care to stick in it, Wolf of both flavors included, unless there's some part obviously broken or the chamber itself is damaged.

 

[MikeH]

I had to karate chop the bolt open 2 or 3 times.

I've seen a guy hold the rifle upright and step on the bolt handle to force it open, all the while complimenting Mr. Simonov's mother.

 

[MrTuffPaws]

Hoppes and a wire brush. I think one for a 45 will work well in the chamber.

 

[Waywatcher]

Wolf Military Classic ammo is bad news. I im in the process right now of having my SKS fixed after some pierced primers that bent (!) the firing pin and dented the retaining pin. The firing pin was bent so bad it didnt move freely in the channel anymore. This was after 55 rounds of this ammo.

Wolf was kind enough to refund me for my unused ammo, and said they will pay for the reapirs, but, its still in progress. I will let you guys know how it fans out.

I won't shoot this ammo through my SKS ever again.

 

[Ilovemyglock]

Are you having problems with the 5 round mag?? the new 20,30,40 round mags pinch in the wood and have a lot of FTF..... just sand off the wood that pinches the aftermarket mag. if thats the case??

 

[blackhawk2000]

FWIW I opened up the gas valve on my Yugo, just to see what happens. The gun fired fine, and like expected did not cycle. The surprising part was that I too had to karate chop the bolt a few times to make it open. I'm leaning towards bad gas valve. Also as far as the laquer goes, I'm pretty sure I remember a post somewhere where they heated a laquer case up with a torch, and nothing came off.