SKS Bubba project

mikeystew

mikeystew

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Project SKS, Super-B

I've taken a break from tinkering for a few months but i've got the bug once again. I've been looking at SKS's recently and think this rifle offers many great features, but is held back by several inefficiencies that could be easily corrected. But considering I can get one for a song and I really dont mind cutting up a classic, i think a refurb sks is going to be my next "lump of clay"

Obvious pro's for me chosing the SKS are the cheap round it fires, It's semiauto design, and it's CHEAP!. Where else can i get an unrestricted semiauto carbine in an intermediate caliber for $200 or less?

Cons for me with the sks are also pretty obvious, but the big ones are The bayonet and lug = useless, and the stock has no real action bolt.

Im sure I might not gain any accuracy after tinkering, But just knowing the gun is put together the way i feel it should be will give me piece of mind... and i just need a project.

I plan to do the following,
-Cut bayo lug and sleeve away from the front sight, set the sight back to the step in the barrel, re-pin it there and cut barrel to 18 5/8", re-crown.
-Bed underneath the front stock ferrule
-Remove trigger guard latch and replace with a round or cheeze headed torx bolt which will properly fasten the trigger guard plate to the rear of the action, creating a fulcrum that can actually be torqued, similar to a lee enfield bedding only in reverse.
-Bed the rear of the action, and (carefully) around recoil lug.
-Float the sides of the action
-Cut sling swivel off the gas block and install one where the cleaning rod hole is.
-shim/tighten gas tube assembly
-trigger polish
-butt pad extension, using existing steel plate as a spacer to keep hinge plate intact for access to cleaning kit.
-turn down front sight post to at least half the width
-Wood re-finish in Tung oil
-cut parts re-blued with slow rust method.
-Maybe add a tech sight.

Is it worth it? Probably not really, but who cares. I tinker because i enjoy it. The idea with this lil' project is not to try and make the sks something it's not, It's to make what it is better. It is to have a pseudo sks that has been brought up to speed by getting rid of what i dont like about it. Otherwise i want to keep nearly the original look of the rifle.

Anyone done anything similar? Thoughts? Pics? Looking for some feedback and/or any additional ideas.
 
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Been done many times already to very little effect. One gent even welded a boss to the bottom of the action so he could screw it down. The cleaning rod hole is no place to put a sling attachment & the stock is pretty flimsy in most places. Bedding the action into the stock my have some effect on accuracy but you would be better off handloading.
 
desporterizer said:
Been done many times already to very little effect. One gent even welded a boss to the bottom of the action so he could screw it down. The cleaning rod hole is no place to put a sling attachment & the stock is pretty flimsy in most places. Bedding the action into the stock my have some effect on accuracy but you would be better off handloading.
Click to expand...

I thought about going the boss route too. I think the hole which accepts the trigger guard latch could be threaded easier though, i'd just need to modify the trigger guard slightly to take the head of the bolt.

Sling stud in the cleaning rod hole... I know. I just dont want an empty hole, and honestly im nearly certain i can make it work there.

As for bedding the stock, the way im seeing this rifle, there is no sense in bedding unless you can torque the action down. Otherwise the only torque you have is what the spring under the trigger guard is providing.
 
The weight reduction is well worth it. I have:
Cut to 18 5/8", faced, crowned and threaded for AK slant comp
Turned FSP to .045" and added 3/16" peep to rear sight leaf
Ejection window mod
In depth trigger job with over travel stop
Bedded recoil lug
The value of the rifle has not changed at the moment and its value will not go up with non-raped examples but if I cared about that I'd get into real estate not guns. The weight balance is slightly to the rear and its much more fun to shoot. Post lots of pics and your thoughts on what you've done, I love these builds so much more than cookie cutter bolt-on builds.
 
supernova said:
The weight reduction is well worth it. I have:
Cut to 18 5/8", faced, crowned and threaded for AK slant comp
Turned FSP to .045" and added 3/16" peep to rear sight leaf
Ejection window mod
In depth trigger job with over travel stop
Bedded recoil lug
The value of the rifle has not changed at the moment and its value will not go up with non-raped examples but if I cared about that I'd get into real estate not guns. The weight balance is slightly to the rear and its much more fun to shoot. Post lots of pics and your thoughts on what you've done, I love these builds so much more than cookie cutter bolt-on builds.
Click to expand...


Does it shoot any better?
 
You can buy crowning tools from Brownell's and other gunsmith supply stores, lapping compound on a brass screw or if you're very careful I did mine with a cone stone in a drill at very low speed/pressure checking my work often.
 
I use a countersink bit in my vari-speed hand drill to start the crown and then a bullnose rotary file to finish cutting it in

Polish with 600 grit wet/dry and ultrafine wet/dry
 
No need to cut the bayo lug and sleeve, it can be removed by punching out the two pins and using a gear puller,, you can shorten the barrel later if you really must,,

not trying to save a classic, just save you some work,,
 
I was going to face palm you but decided to read the thread you posted knowing how some conduct themselves around here. I get the sarcasm now. F**k them. They're obviously not skilled enough to do much of anything without a machine to do it for them, unlike us. Therefore their opinions are not much more credible than the town drunkard. I used a zip cut to cut my barrel, a file to face it and a f**king hand drill to crown it and it shoots great. Anyone who wants to tell me I did it wrong is just jealous they didn't make money off it with their lathe. So here's to all the self reliant craftsmen :cheers:

rookie wildcat said:
ACTUALLY, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE. I know, I was set straight here,

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?896880-re-crown-at-machine-shop

Can only be done on a CNC machine...
Click to expand...
 
Not to be a #### but by that point you have a straight pull bolt action that gets out shot by $100 Enfield sporters. The trick does work but punches the SKS in the balls and takes a lot of the fun out if it.

Mark Williams said:
From my limited experience I can say that if you remove the gas system altogether it's a far more accurate rifle.
Click to expand...
 
I say do it. Russian refurb or Chinese, shouldn't really matter. I like mine and I'm thinking of getting a second one and shortening it like supernova's Rat Rod.

Mine does this @ 100 with handloads and a 4x POSP.
VMAX762x3918Nov12_1-fin.jpg
 
supernova said:
Not to be a #### but by that point you have a straight pull bolt action that gets out shot by $100 Enfield sporters. The trick does work but punches the SKS in the balls and takes a lot of the fun out if it.
Click to expand...

Have you compared an SKS without a functioning gas system with a $100 Enfield sporter ?

People say an SKS is not an accurate rifle, that is the main thing that people gripe about. With a simple and quickly reversible modification an SKS can be as accurate as practically any other 7.62 X 39 with a similar length barrel.

Edited to add. I just converted one of my SKS's and it took me all of 25 seconds. It took the same to switch it back again.
 
SoBored said:
I say do it. Russian refurb or Chinese, shouldn't really matter. I like mine and I'm thinking of getting a second one and shortening it like supernova's Rat Rod.

Mine does this @ 100 with handloads and a 4x POSP.
VMAX762x3918Nov12_1-fin.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice shooting SoBored.

Can you post a picture of your scoped SKS ?
 
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I don't need to compare anything to know that I like my semiautomatics semiautomatic but yes my No.5 sporter vastly outshoots my SKS of which shoots pretty good. Converting the SKS to a bolt action takes away its biggest draw and drops it into a class of rifles that it can't compete with. Its like putting an efficient 4 banger in a supercar. Good gas mileage sure but now soccer mom's blow the doors off it in their minivans. No thanks.

Mark Williams said:
Have you compared an SKS without a functioning gas system with a $100 Enfield sporter ?

People say an SKS is not an accurate rifle, that is the main thing that people gripe about. With a simple and quickly reversible modification an SKS can be as accurate as practically any other 7.62 X 39 with a similar length barrel.

Edited to add. I just converted one of my SKS's and it took me all of 25 seconds. It took the same to switch it back again.
Click to expand...
 
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