Does your SKS ever do this?

I get stovepipes occasionally with 1 of my 2 sks's... Usually only with surplus ammo, and when it happens, I can tell without looking, it "sounds" different - light loaded round. Even then, I have to put 200+ rounds through in an afternoon before it happens. Some of the surplus I've shot through it has been crazy inconsistent, but it mostly runs fine anyway.

My other SKS I've only had for a couple months and haven't had a 200+ round day with it yet, and only run commercial ammo through it. To be honest, not sure that I've run 200 rounds total through it. I have a magwedge rail on it and I'm trying to work it up for accuracy, and that only needs 20 or so rounds through it in a day. Which is really a way of saying "it has yet to jam, but it's set up funny and I haven't run enough ammo through it yet"... Although I suspect the way the magwedge rail is shaped and forces the ammo to fly off to the side, if anything I'll get fewer stovepipes in the long run.

From what I can tell with my other one, though, it isn't so much heat, as it is fouling which is the culprit. Really skanky surplus ammo cakes into the chamber and gas piston quite heavily, quite quickly. I can really tell the difference cleaning it from one batch to the next. The dirtier the ammo, the more likely it is to get stovepipes and other problems sooner.
 
Thanks Grelmar. I have a Magwedge too and I this didn't happen until just before the 200 round mark on a hot day and some rapid fire. I was wondering if a light chamber polish with steal wool would help.
 
...thanks for the post...never knew that was possible...not happened to mine yet...and as for me, i'd start with polishing compound rather than wool and proceed to other media if that didn't work...

best
 
I wish it were that simple. The mounted rail causes it to happen sideways and when it happens sideways its a full out jam and jams into the rail. I had to dump the magazine and smack it open with a hammer all while keeping it pointed down range because there is always one in the pipe too.

I'm not blaming the rail at all, its a great invention, but I was thinking that if chamber polishing doesn't help... there is a part of the rail with a groove carved into it for shell deflection. It thickens out again top center over head the chamber. If that groove was extended down a bit further to the leaf spring area, it might give a weekly ejected casing a little more tumble room to expel from the port and in theory there would be less rail for the carrier to slam the brass into. It might allow the brass to be launched when hit by the carrier instead of a jam. Just a thought. More testing is needed though and of course my attention is on the chamber first. It could be a little rough and that might cause things to stick a little with that much heat. I'm using Romanian surplus.
 
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The only time happened was on my beat up russian,the gas cylinder was worn and the gas block mounting point so had loss of pressure. After replacing the cylinder,never had problems of any kind.

Joce
 
svt1940 said:
The only time happened was on my beat up russian,the gas cylinder was worn and the gas block mounting point so had loss of pressure. After replacing the cylinder,never had problems of any kind.

Joce
Click to expand...

By gas cylinder I assume you mean the gas tube? What was wrong with the mounting point? Sounds like something worth taking a look at. Any visible signs to look for specifically?
 
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