How common are slamfires on an SKS?

Evil_Edie said:
not true actually. as i recently discovered, you can actually just use the base of the cleaning kit tube and the punch to tap the pin out with very little effort. but anyhow there's no harm in whacking it hard with a hammer, it just comes out faster. Just wanted to mention that for the off chance you may get stuck somewhere needing to clean the extractor and firing pin with nothing suitable around to use as a hammer.
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Depends on the pin. Some are VERY tight the first bunch of times and takes a bit of time for them to work themselves less tight.
 
Be very mindful of how the firing pin goes into the holder as in don't put it in upside down. If asembled properly the firing pin should rattle a bit forwards and back if you shake the bolt.

Also one of my old Chinese SKS used to dimple the primer, so when I started using loads I made for hunting I used harder CCI Arsenal primers...just in case.

Just clean it, then a light spray of G96 on sliding parts (not the firing pin) and then at the range try loading two rounds, fire one, then eject the unfired one from the chamber and inspect it's primer for imprints.

A light scuff should be ok but a dimple may be something that would need looking into.
 
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Somerset Bar said:
There is an upgrade kit that adds a spring to the firing pin to reduce the possibility of slam fires. My 1950 sks had a factory spring, but they went floating pin after 51' or something like that.
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Knottybuoy said:
Or you could always look for a 1950 Russian, they have spring-loaded firing pins
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Great Crouton said:
Somewhat related.....

I have an SKS (1950) that has the springloaded firing pin. While it may be a way to help prevent slamfire, the other feature of this bolt I do not like is the extractor is held in by spring tension only, no pin to keep it in place.
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EL34/6L6 said:
Do people read a thread before posting?
This one is just full of posts saying the same thing over and over again. "Clean it and you won't have a problem"

Like there's an echo in here or something.

Here's a new suggestion; Find a 1950 model, as they don't have free floating firing pins.
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Yes, thats a new suggestion in this thread. As you can see when you read the thread before posting...
 
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EL34/6L6 said:
Yeah I was waiting for a smartass to proclaim their corrective nature on that one. That's why i posted another echo suggestion. Tongue in cheek. Hook line and sinker. You took the bait.
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Whatever you gotta tell yourself, brother...you removed the post, though, didn't you. LOL!
 
lacesout said:
ive had a slam fire on my sks. i would never attempt to chamber a round in my house.
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Slam fire or not, stick with snap caps in the house!

As others have said, clean your bolt!!!!!! Q-tips down the firing pin hole works wonders, don't stop till it's spotless! If it rattles when you shake it, you're good!
 
sunray said:
Your buddy is confused. Slam fires are caused primarily by improperly loaded ammo, not the rifle. Usually high primers. Mind you, not cleaning the shipping perservative(it's not actually cosmoline, but that doesn't matter) out of the bolt can do it too.
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Technically speaking, 'slam fires' are the result of the firing pin being stuck forward and initiating a discharge when the bolt is closed (thus the name 'slam fire'), which on a semi-auto results in yet more rounds being loaded and discharged in succession. The pin getting stuck forward is the result of improper cleaning of the bolt. The bolt should be pulled apart and cleaned properly every few uses at least. As you mentioned, the firing pin can also become dirty and stuck due to primer fouling, but its not the only cause.

The SKS is prone to 'slam fires' because most models didn't have a spring to push the firing pin back. Most models have a free floating firing pin. Free floating firing pins are fine as long as you don't let the channel the firing pin travels in get mucked up with dirt.
 
Dakk said:
I used to take mine apart and I found that a Q-tip soaked in cleaner was the perfect tool for cleaning out the channel.
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It was a rhethorical question for that particular poster as I was pretty sure he wasn't taking out the firing pin, but your method's just fine. Since I used to shoot a lot of corrosive until the steel core ban, mine got soaked in hot water with simple green (along with all the other small parts), scrubbed and rinsed. None of my Tulas/Norcs ever had a single slamfire.
 
TRaTSeRiF said:
How do you keep the firing pin and the firing pin channel clean?
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1) remove the bolt from the gun
2) remove the extractor from the bolt
3) remove the firing pin retainer pin from the bolt
4) remove the firing pin.
5) place all bolt parts in a pot of boiling water with CLR (to remove rust)
6) rinse all parts in boiling water, dry with hair dryer
7) lightly oil with a quality oil, wipe off excess. Remove excess oil from firing pin channel the the bolt.
8) reassemble bolt

Any "slam fire" or "doubling " with the SKS is a result of not cleaning properly. Both slam fires and doubling will damage the bearing surfaces on the locking face of the bolt and the locking face of the action and will result in increased headspace very quickly.
The result will be a gun that does not fire at all or will not cycle properly.

There is some claim that "soft primers" in reloads will lead to slam fires and doubling. This is extremely unlikely as the firing pin simply does not have the mass to dent a soft primer let alone set it off. There may be some problem with folks that do not clean primer pockets so the new primer stands proud of the face of the cartridge.

Bottom line, if your SKS doubles (fires two rounds with one pull of the trigger) it is time to stop shooting and clean it before it damages the bolt lockup bearing surfaces.

On corrosive ammo. It is salts from the priming compound that are corrosive. These are solid and they will remain in the bore and in the gas tube assembly. Some may migrate into the firing pin channel. Salts and acids are not soluble in oil or some oil based commercial cleaning compounds. Salts and acids are soluble in water. That is why after shooting corrosive ammo we clean with hot water first, then our favorite mouse milk cleaning solution, then oil lightly.

One of the mistakes some make when getting that new or used SKS is to NOT clean the firing pin channel in the bolt prior to firing. That channel can be full of cosmoline, rust, or dirt, or all three. Also cleaning lets you inspect the parts for wear and corrosion.

A clean SKS is a happy and functional SKS....
 
10x said:
One of the mistakes some make when getting that new or used SKS is to NOT clean the firing pin channel in the bolt prior to firing. That channel can be full of cosmoline, rust, or dirt, or all three. Also cleaning lets you inspect the parts for wear and corrosion.
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Great point.. That's how I detected a cracked bolt on mine that could have caused some.... excitement.. Fortunately Marstar was there for me and got me a replacement bolt
 
EL34/6L6 said:
do your homework wise guy , I remove all my posts...always have.
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And, yet, post #87 is still there this morning... More than 12 hours later. Whatever. Apparently you value your contributions to this site so much that you remove your posts? That's helpful. Anyway, done with this...
 
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