Couple SKS Gas Tube Questions

[J_MIL_20]

First off, is it possible to get the original wood hand guard off of the gas tube without ruining it? And secondly, will an aftermarket gas tube have tighter tolerances and get rid of that darned rattling around in there?

 

[fiddler]

You can drive the pins out and the metal will separate from the wood, but total pain in the a$$ and sometimes worse getting it back together. Having no idea how worn or properly maintained your rifle is? there can be some play to allow for heat expansion as the sucker gets just about red hot. Its possible if you got the rifle second hand that its had some rust problem that may have thinned out the metal on the piston and or the gas tube, as this is the area where the rust seems to most happy.

Compare your rifle to someone else's to see if you have some warn parts or the wrong parts. Both aftermarket and original parts are available for most SKS from many dealers.