SKS prep

Stogies

Stogies

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I acquired a nice SKS rifle about 2 years ago, commercial production Chinese (no bayonet) from a private collection. It looks like it has not been shot if shot at all.

I was gonna take it to the range without putting too much preparation into it, maybe apply some oil at the moving parts. There is no cosmoline or anything to remove.

Anything I should know or specifically look after before I hit the range?
 
If its pretty free of cosmo, Id punch the bore to make sure, make sure the gas system is clear for sure, and make ABSOLUTELY positively sure the firing pin is moving free....if it isnt, hit the bolt with something to clear out any hardened cosmo thats keeping it "sticky". (The risk of a slam fire becomes very real if the firing pin is "sticky")

Then function check it, give it some oil, and run it. But be prepared if you run it a bit to find more cosmo then you may be expecting, as it will be hiding in all sorts of places, and will come out when it gets warm.
 
Best thing I could think of is remove the bolt and make sure the firing pin moves freely, and then check the hammer spring. Recently saw one that’s hammer spring was compressed and couldn’t produce enough force to ignite primers.


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I will try to get some pics or video.

The rifle worked just fine but I really think it had not been shot much before. The wood started profusely sweating some thin oily substance to the point of the rifle being really slippery. Anybody had that issue?

One ejection failure but otherwise no issues, stripper clips don't seem to be speeding reloads up very much (maybe I am not very proficient at using them?).
 
Stogies said:
I will try to get some pics or video.

The rifle worked just fine but I really think it had not been shot much before. The wood started profusely sweating some thin oily substance to the point of the rifle being really slippery. Anybody had that issue?

One ejection failure but otherwise no issues, stripper clips don't seem to be speeding reloads up very much (maybe I am not very proficient at using them?).
Click to expand...

That's just cosmoline melting out of the gun as it gets hot. To remove it easier, wrap your SKS in newspaper, and then put it in a trash bag. Leave it in a hot car all day. The cosmo will melt and the paper will soak it up.
 
Stogies said:
I will try to get some pics or video.

The rifle worked just fine but I really think it had not been shot much before. The wood started profusely sweating some thin oily substance to the point of the rifle being really slippery. Anybody had that issue?

One ejection failure but otherwise no issues, stripper clips don't seem to be speeding reloads up very much (maybe I am not very proficient at using them?).
Click to expand...
Another method to remove cosmoline is to get a black garbage bag and kitty litter.
Put the stock in the bag and pour in the kitty litter, tie up the end of the bag, then place out in the sun.
The kitty litter will soak up the cosmoline.
 
RedneckFur said:
That's just cosmoline melting out of the gun as it gets hot. To remove it easier, wrap your SKS in newspaper, and then put it in a trash bag. Leave it in a hot car all day. The cosmo will melt and the paper will soak it up.
Click to expand...
I did this very thing, works quite well.

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I was under the impression that mine was not preserved with cosmoline since it presumably came here straight for commercial sale. But I will give the hot car a try, does not cost anything. Thx!
 
All Chinese SKS's were made on the same production line as the military issue guns and received the same attention that the rest got, including a preservative coating of grease/cosmoline. The importer may have wiped it off before selling them but that didn't do anything about the oil in the stock. Acetone will suck the grease and oil out of a stock but it is nasty stuff. Your stock isn't a candidate for acetone because I think it is stained and not oil finish. If you ever do use acetone, wear gloves and use it outside. My dad ended up in the hospital during WW2 degreasing firearms with acetone in an arms room. It did a number on him.
 
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I guess into the trunk it goes for a few days, wrapped in bath towels ;-)
 
RedneckFur said:
That's just cosmoline melting out of the gun as it gets hot. To remove it easier, wrap your SKS in newspaper, and then put it in a trash bag. Leave it in a hot car all day. The cosmo will melt and the paper will soak it up.
Click to expand...
For some reason it took me a year to get around to it but I had it marinating in my trunk all of last week and afterwards the towels it was wrapped in had nice brown stains. Worked like a charm.
 
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