How common are slamfires on an SKS?

biggest rule of thumb with an sks if your the first guy to buy it out of a crate
clean all the cosmo out of the firing pin, either with brake clean or by taking it
out physically. then its just regular cleaning after that. and 99.9% of slam fire issue's you
will not have. Also do not ride the action when cocking it, pull firmly to the rear and let it go
in a snap.
my sks easily has 4000 rds through it, and never a slam fire and only a few miss feeds
and still works like it was new.
I witnessed a friend slam fire his and nearly broke his thumb, and couldn't sit on it for a week lol
it happened because he rode the action and the gun was still new.
I hope this clears up some issues about sks slam fire
 
I had an issue with my trigger group in my D-model and it started to do 2 round bursts to eventially dropping the clip every time you pulled the trigger. It ended up being poor sear engagement in the trigger group. Took me a long time to figure out as I was stuck on the whole slam fire thing. I finally paid someone to pull the trigger group apart and had it fixed. I almost was thinking of turning the gun in as it was very unsafe. 500 rounds later no more issue.
 
EL34/6L6 said:
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Just so that everyone is clear, posting insults and baiting and then deleting them is still contrary to the rules and will attract infractions.

There really is no reason why we can't discuss these topics and even disagree in a civil manner. This should have been a straightforward discussion.

Once these threads degrade to the point where they can't be easily cleaned up, they get locked or recycled and any good content is lost to folks who could benefit.

If you have nothing positive to contribute, don't. If the thread is going in the toilet, do everyone a favour and report the posts sooner rather than later.
 
jongun said:
When testing reloads for proper chambering/ease of feeding at home I always remove the firing pin.
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Be very careful of a primer standing proud on a reload. A primer that is not seated or is held proud by debris, fouling, or just a shallow primer pocket may well be set off from the force of the bolt without the firing pin.
 
10x said:
Be very careful of a primer standing proud on a reload. A primer that is not seated or is held proud by debris, fouling, or just a shallow primer pocket may well be set off from the force of the bolt without the firing pin.
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Very sound advice. When seating primers I always sit the primed brass on a flat surface to make sure there's no wobbly ones.
 
DVX said:
I've been trying to convince a buddy of mine to get one, but he's dead set against it because of "slamfire issues". I honestly never heard the term before then (I'm new to the SKS, and only put about a hundred rounds through mine), and never had the issue. He said he knows of a lot of people who have them at least once when they go to the range. I don't know if he's full of crap, or if I'm just lucky. Anyone else experience them and are they that common?
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If he would want to shoot the cheap corrosive ammo out of his SKS then he'd have one option, both to keep his SKS from rusting out and to prevent the firing pin from corroding/sticking and possibly causing a slamfire...clean the gun thoroughly after every shooting session.
If your friend would shoot it now and then and wouldn't have an issue with buying better quality non corrosive ammo, for one he wouldn't have to be quite as fanatical about his cleaning of the gun, and he can buy a Murray's stainless firing pin with spring...forget slamfires. No reason now for your buddy to not get an SKS. :)
 
Looks like this is may be a dead thread but in case anyone is still reading it I'll mention my personal observations for what their worth. Last summer I experienced slam fires from my SKS with Federal Fusion 123gr. SPs, but no ammunition I've fired prior or since has resulted in a similar event. The first time it happened I immediately unloaded the remaining rounds out of the rifle and checked them but could see no obvious irregularities or problems with the primer seating depth. I striped the gun and bolt down to see what was going on and could not see any problems or damage, so I reassembled the rifle. As I was somewhat suspicious of the ammo at this point, I tested a variety of surplus ammo and even some of my handloads along with another 40 rounds of the Federal Fusion. The evidence was conclusive: I could repeat the result consistently with just the Federal ammo; every 5 rounds loaded would result in at least a two round burst, and once resulted in a three round burst. It was interesting to have happen but a remarkable waste of decent ammunition costing more than a buck a shot, so I set aside the Federal 7.62x39 for another rifle. I found the Federal Fusion to be decidedly inaccurate out of the SKS, yet fine out of a Baikal single shot, so I wasn't exactly heartbroken.

I have since confined my SKS to surplus or handloads using CCI primers and after a couple of thousand rounds have not seen another slam fire. I have heard that federal primers are a little soft/sensitive and caution should be used when using them for mil spec semi auto rifles: from what I've seen it must be true.
 
I have not read the whole thread, so if this has been covered before, please forgive me.

I have had 1 slam fire, and it was WITH a spring loaded pin. But the fault was not the pin, but my own error in putting the bolt back together. I had the firing pin turned maybe 1/4 of a turn the wrong way, and the retaining pin still went in just fine. But the pin was stuck in the forward position. When I pulled back the charger handle to chamber a round, it slam fired. By this time the firing pin had wedged itself forward. Luckily (but dangerously) it fired BEFORE it was fully in battery and so the bolt stayed back due to the next round not being able to chamber past the spent one which had failed to eject.

What did I learn?

1) ALWAYS visually inspect the bolt and firing pin protrusion before charging the weapon.
2) Those lessons drilled into me about proper muzzle control? Thanks Dad.
3) When reassembling any rifle, or any rifle components, take your time, work carefully, and be sure you understand EXACTLY how things are supposed to go together.
4) Swallow your pride about how you have never had to wear glasses in your whole life, and WEAR YOUR DAMN READING GLASSES when putting a rifle together!!
 
Slam fires are very dangerous and is a common trait to SKS rifles. My Norinco had this problem. The problem is easily fixed. Cleanliness is a plus, but the real problem lies with the sear and hammer engagement. You can search "sks slam fires" to easily fix this problem. I suggest you all do it as it is a very dangerous rifle with negative sear/hammer engagement.
 
Slam fires are very dangerous and is a common trait to SKS rifles. My Norinco had this problem. The problem is easily fixed. Cleanliness is a plus, but the real problem lies with the sear and hammer engagement. You can search "sks slam fires" to easily fix this problem. I suggest you all do it as it is a very dangerous rifle with negative sear/hammer engagement.
 
A slamfire is when the pin is stuck protruding and the primer of the round being fed into the chamber is touched off by the bolt moving forward. The sear and hammer can be working fine, and you can still get a slamfire if the pin is stuck forward. In fact, I could get an SKS to slamfire even if you removed the entire trigger group, sear, hammer, and all.

Accidental discharge due to sear/hammer issues is another matter. Probably more dangerous than a slamfire really, because the rifle can discharge if dropped or bumped.
 
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