Chinese Bubba sks ftf need help pls.

Gmoney47

Gmoney47

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So I took my bubba'd sks to the farm today. Bought it in tapco stock, added magwedge full length rail, 4x32 scope, bipod, and muzzle break. Never fired it till today, it didn't go well. Out of three mags I think 6 rounds fired, the others I ejected after waiting 30 seconds, and picked them up just to see that there was hardly a primer strike at all on the round. I wouldn't even call it an indent, just the slightest mark where the firing pin touched it. The rounds that went off had a very strong indent on the primer as it should be.

I gave up as I was trying to sight in the scope and was frustrated. Brought it home and took it apart. Everything looks fine, took the pin right out of the housing and inspected it, it was clean and free floating. So am I missing something? Any ideas why it's randomly not striking the firing pin? Any help is appreciated.
 
I had the same thing happen recently. Cleaned the inside of bolt with qtip and pipe cleaner and it worked great.

Is the firing pin backwards or upside down?
 
CanadianBaconPancakes said:
I had the same thing happen recently. Cleaned the inside of bolt with qtip and pipe cleaner and it worked great.

Is the firing pin backwards or upside down?
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2nd the above suggestion and also ask if anyone’s replaced the hammer spring with a wolf tune up spring as it won’t light the heavier military primers as I found out —-Dieseldog!
 
Interesting.

Does the bolt serial match the receiver serial? If not, it may be a head space issue.

Were you able to retrieve any of the spent casings of the rounds that did fire? If it's a headspace issue, those spent casing may have some deformation or irregular wear that would point to improper headspace.

When you disassembled the bolt, did you also check firing pin protrusion? I have an Albanian sks with a firing pin hole that was made too small. Standard firing pins won't function unless the tips have been honed to decrease the diameter enough to fit thru the fp hole.

Another thought: Perhaps the recoil spring is worn out and isn't returning the bolt to full battery?
 
I had replaced the gas tube with a ribbed one fire first shot and wouldn't cycle the next round , fiddled with it cleaned it retryed got frustrated and ended up reinstalling the original gas tube so you could like me reinstall all your original parts to see if it will function and go from there .
 
Another thing to check is to make sure the recoil spring is correctly oriented. A backwards recoil spring could also result in the bolt not going fully into battery.
 
Boris Badinov said:
Interesting.

Does the bolt serial match the receiver serial? If not, it may be a head space issue.

Were you able to retrieve any of the spent casings of the rounds that did fire? If it's a headspace issue, those spent casing may have some deformation or irregular wear that would point to improper headspace.

When you disassembled the bolt, did you also check firing pin protrusion? I have an Albanian sks with a firing pin hole that was made too small. Standard firing pins won't function unless the tips have been honed to decrease the diameter enough to fit thru the fp hole.

Another thought: Perhaps the recoil spring is worn out and isn't returning the bolt to full battery?
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Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think your onto something Boris, I pulled the bolt out of another Chinese sks I've got and compared the two firing pins, it looks to me as though the one I was having trouble with does not protrude out as far as the other one, I would say it looks at least a mm or so shorter out the bolt face. I did clean inside the problematic one and it is very clean, but still sticks out less than the other one. Should I just swap bolts and try the other one? Should I be worried about headspace issues swapping bolts if neither of the bolts matches the receivers to begin with?
 
Boris Badinov said:
Another thing to check is to make sure the recoil spring is correctly oriented. A backwards recoil spring could also result in the bolt not going fully into battery.
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I would wager that the bolt is going into battery as he is getting a 'click' when the trigger is pulled... Unless an SKS can fire out of battery? Mine appears like it needs to be in battery to fire.

OP can try pushing forward on the bolt handle ala 'forward assist' to ensure the bolt is fully in battery.

I would wager that there's some gunk in either the trigger group or bolt causing light strikes. Check firing pin protrusion and hammer spring. Maybe the hammer is binding on the aftermarket stock somewhere causing it to slow down on its way to the firing pin?
 
Gmoney47 said:
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think your onto something Boris, I pulled the bolt out of another Chinese sks I've got and compared the two firing pins, it looks to me as though the one I was having trouble with does not protrude out as far as the other one, I would say it looks at least a mm or so shorter out the bolt face. I did clean inside the problematic one and it is very clean, but still sticks out less than the other one. Should I just swap bolts and try the other one? Should I be worried about headspace issues swapping bolts if neither of the bolts matches the receivers to begin with?
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I would be more comfortable swapping firing pins than bolts.. You're sure there's no cosmoline inside the bolt? Spray some brake clean in there. Just because the bolt numbers don't match doesn't mean they aren't fitted... The SKS is a tilting-bolt design so the length of the bolt is how it is fitted for lockup and headspace. I'd be worried about reliable lockup from an unfitted bolt.
 
Gmoney47 said:
Problem bolt on the left other bolt on the right, not sure if you can tell from the pics that left is not out as far as right, also left has the slightest of dents on the tip of the pin, I don't see that causing issue but it there none the less.
http://imgur.com/a/47AN8o9
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I do see that chip out of the firing pin.. it could be possible that the length is reduced due to that damage. I'd try a new pin.
 
gyates93 said:
I would wager that the bolt is going into battery as he is getting a 'click' when the trigger is pulled... Unless an SKS can fire out of battery? Mine appears like it needs to be in battery to fire.

OP can try pushing forward on the bolt handle ala 'forward assist' to ensure the bolt is fully in battery.

I would wager that there's some gunk in either the trigger group or bolt causing light strikes. Check firing pin protrusion and hammer spring. Maybe the hammer is binding on the aftermarket stock somewhere causing it to slow down on its way to the firing pin?
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It's not common but, the sks bolt can reset out of battery and still allow the trigger to move the sear letting the hammer fall without firing.

A good way to break a hand or lose a finger would be to shove the bolt into batter after a failed trigger pull in the situation I just described.
 
gyates93 said:
I do see that chip out of the firing pin.. it could be possible that the length is reduced due to that damage. I'd try a new pin.
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Ya that was my thought to try the other pin. Unfortunately I have got crappy tools and no vice and was unsuccessful driving the pin out of the other bolt to remove firing pin, would not budge, probably would if I had a vice, I was successful in driving a punch into my finger and bleeding all over but that's it. So that's why I asked if I could just switch bolts, plus what if it's a narrow opening on the bolt and the second firing pin only protrudes as far as the first?
 
Boris Badinov said:
It's not common but, the sks bolt can reset out of battery and still allow the trigger to move the sear letting the hammer fall without firing.

A good way to break a hand or lose a finger would be to shove the bolt into batter after a failed trigger pull in the situation I just described.
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I would definitely clarify that I would strike the bolt before pulling the trigger.
 
Gmoney47 said:
Ya that was my thought to try the other pin. Unfortunately I have got crappy tools and no vice and was unsuccessful driving the pin out of the other bolt to remove firing pin, would not budge, probably would if I had a vice, I was successful in driving a punch into my finger and bleeding all over but that's it. So that's why I asked if I could just switch bolts, plus what if it's a narrow opening on the bolt and the second firing pin only protrudes as far as the first?
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Maybe it's time for a visit to the gunsmith.
 
Gmoney47 said:
Unfortunately I have got crappy tools and no vice and was unsuccessful driving the pin out of the other bolt to remove firing pin, would not budge, probably would if I had a vice, I was successful in driving a punch into my finger and bleeding all over but that's it.
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What? You cut your finger? The firing pin retainer should be punched out from the opposite side by a brass or even better steel puncher of the same diameter (or a bit smaller). This is really an easy job. It should come out without much force. Is it rusted or what? If so try WD40 or some other rust remover. Personally, I've been using Ballistol oil on all my guns, including the SKS's for years. It dissolves rust very efficiently. I've never ever had any problems with removing any small pins or other parts. A visit to a gunsmith will cost you quite nicely for a job you could easily do by yourself. It's probably much cheaper to buy a set of punchers (or even one) than going to a gunsmith.
 
05RAV said:
What? You cut your finger? The firing pin retainer should be punched out from the opposite side by a brass or even better steel puncher of the same diameter (or a bit smaller). This is really an easy job. It should come out without much force. Is it rusted or what? If so try WD40 or some other rust remover. Personally, I've been using Ballistol oil on all my guns, including the SKS's for years. It dissolves rust very efficiently. I've never ever had any problems with removing any small pins or other parts. A visit to a gunsmith will cost you quite nicely for a job you could easily do by yourself. It's probably much cheaper to buy a set of punchers (or even one) than going to a gunsmith.
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This is exactly right.
A gunsmith would charge you $200 to punch a pin and you'd have to wait 3 months to get it back.....
The firing pin retaining cross pin has a flat head on one end.
The opposite end is a standard round end.
Brace the bolt on a hard flate surface, make sure the flat head of the firing pin retaining pin is facing down and is over the edge of whatever you are resting it on so it has clearance to move out. Get a solid punch slightly smaller than the firing pin retaining pin and give it a good solid firm tap with a hammer.
It will come out, if it's not moving hit it harder lol
There's very little on any gun that can't be troubleshot and repaired/fixed without a gunsmith and a bit of study. Gunsmiths in Canada are a black hole of money and time. I only engage them if I need machining done which is very very rare.
 
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