Can you really find a sks under 400$ anymore? Do matching numbers really matter?

05RAV said:
My 1950 Tula SKS has exactly this. The non-chromelined bore and the spring loaded firing pin. The non-chromelined bore is sort of a pain in the a...s because it has a strong tendency to develop rust. After every shooting with corrosive ammo it must be very thoroughly brushed (bronze or plastic bore brush) and then cleaned with whatever bore cleaner (personally I use Ballistol). Every month I inspect the bore to see if there is any trace of rust. On the other hand, the spring loaded firing pin is an excellent design and great enjoyment during disassembly. In 1951 Soviets discontinued its usage as a cost cutting measure. All in all, I would avoid a 1950 Soviet/Russian SKS since the non-chromelined bore creates more hassles than the enjoyment from the spring loaded firing pin. Unless, one will use only non-corrosive ammo but that would be very costly.
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You are not cleaning out the corrosive salts from your bore. Run some boiling water down the barrel after your done shooting, dry it and do whatever you normally do for cleaning. That is literally all I do to deal with corrosive ammo and I do not have a issue with rusting. I did have that issue before I did this though.
 
Quote Originally Posted by 05RAV View Post
My 1950 Tula SKS has exactly this. The non-chromelined bore and the spring loaded firing pin. The non-chromelined bore is sort of a pain in the a...s because it has a strong tendency to develop rust. After every shooting with corrosive ammo it must be very thoroughly brushed (bronze or plastic bore brush) and then cleaned with whatever bore cleaner (personally I use Ballistol). Every month I inspect the bore to see if there is any trace of rust. On the other hand, the spring loaded firing pin is an excellent design and great enjoyment during disassembly. In 1951 Soviets discontinued its usage as a cost cutting measure. All in all, I would avoid a 1950 Soviet/Russian SKS since the non-chromelined bore creates more hassles than the enjoyment from the spring loaded firing pin. Unless, one will use only non-corrosive ammo but that would be very costly.
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Eaglelord17 said:
You are not cleaning out the corrosive salts from your bore. Run some boiling water down the barrel after your done shooting, dry it and do whatever you normally do for cleaning. That is literally all I do to deal with corrosive ammo and I do not have a issue with rusting. I did have that issue before I did this though.
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Yes I'm cleaning out all corrosive salts. Ballistol cleans all corrosive salts (read about that). It can also be mixed with water. None of my other milsurps has any problem like I described earlier. Obviously, the SKS's with the chromelined bores do not have any problems. The only one showing that strange behavior is the non-chromelined 1950 Tula SKS. Most likely it's a crappy steel batch for that one (impurities like sulfur and phosphorus). With regard to cleaning with water do you imagine how much water would be needed on the front line in 1914-18 and 1939-45 to clean hundreds of millions of barrels? Water was very precious and badly needed for soldiers.
 
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I have some Tulas with no dates on them, assuming they all late production `56. 2013-2014 they were around $350 with a case of Czech or Russian ammo. Ammo by itself was $199 a case. Maybe it was the rifle by itself. They vary in accuracy, but not terribly so. They`ve never fired non- corrosive ammo since i`ve had them. Part of the shooting sport to me is cleaning them. If i can`t get to the range and need a gun fix- i`ll set aside an afternoon and select a few to clean again. Hot water cleaning after shooting, followed up by CPL or Ed`s Red. Also a black powder shooter, so cleaning is part of that ritual too.
How much is ammo now? $300 a case?
 
Corrosive ammo on sale last week was about $380 before taxes and shipping. Most places a crate of Chinese is $400-$450 or so. No corrosive about double the price. Hunting rounds noticeably higher than they used to be.
 
05RAV said:
Yes I'm cleaning out all corrosive salts. Ballistol cleans all corrosive salts (read about that). It can also be mixed with water. None of my other milsurps has any problem like I described earlier. Obviously, the SKS's with the chromelined bores do not have any problems. The only one showing that strange behavior is the non-chromelined 1950 Tula SKS. Most likely it's a crappy steel batch for that one (impurities like sulfur and phosphorus). With regard to cleaning with water do you imagine how much water would be needed on the front line in 1914-18 and 1939-45 to clean hundreds of millions of barrels? Water was very precious and badly needed for soldiers.
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Apparently, you're NOT "cleaning out all corrosive salts". Please listen to people who are trying to help you.

Here's how I teach anyone with a nonchromed SKS to clean after shooting corrosive:
Field strip completely.
Set aside the stock, trigger group, rear cover, return spring, and the secondary piston and its spring.
Toss the bolt, bolt carrier, and the main piston in a 5 gallon pail. If the gas tube has a non wooden handguard on it, toss it in too.
Boil up a full electric kettle.
Pour some boiling water into the gas tube over the pail.
Place the barreled action muzzle down in the pail and rinse through the chamber, secondary piston hole, and gas port.
Also give the inside of the receiver a good splashing while you're at it.
Set the action aside and give the pail a nice swirl.
Drain and let dry. It's hot, so it'll dry very fast.
Clean and lube as usual.

I am personally aware of close to a dozen nonchromed SKSs that have NOT had a problem since their owners adopted this method.
Also, I am not aware of any significant part of the Warsaw Pact that was in want of water...
 
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