Finally got to the range

Plink said:
ammo1.JPG
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1964 ain't that old for milsurp ammo. :D
 
'64 isn't that old. One of the cases I just got is marked '59 and '60 on the case.

I'm assuming one is the manufacture date and one is the packing date? :confused:
 
You know, that's entirely possible about the oil. It was cold here on the weekend, and because I had just cleaned all the cosmoline off it, I had left a fair bit of residual oil floating around. Perhaps that's why it was not striking enough... Hmmm, gonna soak the block in varsol for the week and try it again this weekend. Keep you all posted. Thanks for the advice!

:D
 
dh79 said:
make sure the firing pin is completely dry; no oil at all. Rule of thumb, the pin should rattle in the bolt.
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2x , no oil in the bolt and gas rod area, very light oil in the receiver.

also if you put alot of oil in the trigger group then that might be slowing the hammer down so soak that too, let it dry completely and oil it very lightly.
 
Metal to metal, moving parts should always be oiled IMHO.

On the SKS's I own the gas tube piston, and bolt gets a light coat of oil, and also my firing pin. Just do regular oil changes...ie cleaning.

Clean Oil will not hurt your firearm, but dirty oil, or a lack of oil will.

I'm also experimenting with graphite spray with some good results.
 
For the sks firing pin, I don't see the point of oil. The pin is not going to wear out from the metal to metal contact. The oil has viscosity and surface tension; even though it stops metal wear, it will act to resist the free motion of the firing pin. Will the oil slow the pin down enough to make a difference? Usually probably not, but maybe sometimes it will; such as in this case. In the cold the oil will have even more effect.
Anyway, in the name of science at least, do a little experiment. Perhaps a little oil on the base of the bolt, but absolutely none on/in/around the firing pin. It's a perfect excuse to go back to the range.
 
Small amount of surface tension vs the amount of spring pressure is pretty much moot.
It takes some hard core cosmoline plug-up (and usually rust) to cause problems.

A clean film of oil will not hurt.
 
Just so you guys understand. I never leave THAT much oil on my rifle when going to the range. I just had cleaned it and oiled it good simply because I figured it might be a while before I got around to firing it again. That amount is what I leave on it for storage. She'd be cleaned of 90% of all oils before firing again.
 
Even after a long varsol soak and some work with an old dental pick my FP would occasionally stick when the bolt was shook. I removed the FP and cleaned up the surfaces where it runs through the bolt on a wire wheel and then reassembled it DRY.

Amazing difference.
 
dh79 said:
For the sks firing pin, I don't see the point of oil. The pin is not going to wear out from the metal to metal contact. The oil has viscosity and surface tension; even though it stops metal wear, it will act to resist the free motion of the firing pin. Will the oil slow the pin down enough to make a difference? Usually probably not, but maybe sometimes it will; such as in this case. In the cold the oil will have even more effect.
Anyway, in the name of science at least, do a little experiment. Perhaps a little oil on the base of the bolt, but absolutely none on/in/around the firing pin. It's a perfect excuse to go back to the range.
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well, in the name of science , i did a little experiment. what effects has sub-zero cold have on primer compared to room temp.

i was able to duplicated the softer hits that is shown in plinks pic.

my pic shows two casings from the same box, both went off but casing B (room temp) had deeper hit than casing A (frozen).

i concluded that part of the plink problem is the cold weather but bcos these are surplus ammo are they made to withstand severe cold?

skscasings008Custom.jpg
 
curtton said:
well, in the name of science , i did a little experiment. what effects has sub-zero cold have on primer compared to room temp.

i was able to duplicated the softer hits that is shown in plinks pic.

my pic shows two casings from the same box, both went off but casing B (room temp) had deeper hit than casing A (frozen).

i concluded that part of the plink problem is the cold weather but bcos these are surplus ammo are they made to withstand severe cold?

skscasings008Custom.jpg
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Well done Dr. Curtton!

How long did you leave the "cold" round chilling before firing?
I'm going to try the same test - 5 rounds room temp (70 F) and 5 rounds that had been left out overnight in -10 C.

Hope to have the results soon.
 
curtton said:
well, in the name of science , i did a little experiment. what effects has sub-zero cold have on primer compared to room temp.

i was able to duplicated the softer hits that is shown in plinks pic.

my pic shows two casings from the same box, both went off but casing B (room temp) had deeper hit than casing A (frozen).

i concluded that part of the plink problem is the cold weather but bcos these are surplus ammo are they made to withstand severe cold?
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Wow, I'm suprised to see that much difference just from freezing the bullets. It makes sense, but I am also wondering what happens in really, really cold weather. Is czech ammo siberia-proof?

Very interesting.
dh
 
curtton said:
well, in the name of science , i did a little experiment. what effects has sub-zero cold have on primer compared to room temp.

i was able to duplicated the softer hits that is shown in plinks pic.

my pic shows two casings from the same box, both went off but casing B (room temp) had deeper hit than casing A (frozen).

i concluded that part of the plink problem is the cold weather but bcos these are surplus ammo are they made to withstand severe cold?

skscasings008Custom.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow - great post.....
 
Camo tung said:
Well done Dr. Curtton!

How long did you leave the "cold" round chilling before firing?
I'm going to try the same test - 5 rounds room temp (70 F) and 5 rounds that had been left out overnight in -10 C.

Hope to have the results soon.
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thanks fellas . DR nothing, i was just curious.:D

i wish i did a bigger experiment , one more frozen round with no oil in the action to see the effect on the primer, i only removed the bullet and powder on two rounds , i had to use my freezer cos its +5c at daytime, i froze one in the freezer (-19c) along with the bolt and trigger group for an hour with average amount of oil. i thought an hour would be the longest i would last if i was out there in that frigid temp. LOL.
 
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OK, here's my new theory.

Rifle is new, and even though I cleaned it well, there was most definitely still some cosmo in the firing pin channel. Also, I went to the range on Sunday, but, I'd been trying to get to the range since Saturday, so, the rifle, AND ammo had been in my truck for a long time in the cold in my garage by the time I got out to the range.

I suspect a combination of factors.

1) Based on the above info from Curtton, there may be a relation to cold weather and poor performance of said ammo.
2) This may be compounded by the extra "goo" that was still on the firing pin and inside the block.

I've been soaking the block all week in varsol and will finish cleaning it up this weekend when I get 5 minutes to do so.
Also, I'll take the ammo out of my cache in the basement just before I leave. See if that makes any difference.
Will get it to the range again this weekend (temps supposed to be about the same) and post my results.

Cheers
 
Calum said:
I doubt much is Siberia proof. :D

Neat experiment curtton.

Another bonus to keeping my ammo warm on my Chinese chest bandoleer. :D
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good idea with the bandoleer but i dont have one so i was thinking of throwing in a "hand warmer" into the ammo box, that should work.
 
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