Life Expectancy of a SKS?

brapjack

brapjack

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Iv probably eaten up 4000 rounds with my Norinco SKS, i have replaced an extractor spring and a firing pin. But She just keeps eating all my 7.62X39mm. i ALWAYS give her the love she deserves after a day at the range.

But how long can i expect it to live?

After how many rounds will i see my groups permanently open up?

How many rounds do you have through your SKS? And what did it take to keep her alive?

Will the gun become dangerous to fire after X amount of rounds?:confused:
 
Man, why so worry since it's SKS so my advice is buy a few more. We never know when they run out, I don't think China or Russian has too many stock pile left. Do like other gunnutz alway do.
 
KND said:
Man, why so worry since it's SKS so my advice is buy a few more. We never know when they run out, I don't think China or Russian has too many stock pile left. Do like other gunnutz alway do.
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I do have several, But they are just safe Queens still covered in cosmoline. i Have one that i always shoot and tinker with. The others are waiting!!! Their time will come.

Huh good to know about the non Chrome lined. Looks like the CZ gets to spend more time in the safe.
 
Mine has about 7000 rds through. It has been cleaned well perhaps three times. Mostly just shoot till it slows down then pour gas in and blow off,add oil and go. BUT it did quit last month. The knob on the piston rod broke off and would hardly cycle. Orderede a new on and should be ready to rock. It also rusted so badly once that after wire brushing it I just painted it green and yellow (John Deere) Never had so much fun for $99.00
SKS D from Levers.
 
A non chrome lined barrel will last about 5000 rounds. Heat is the biggest killer of non chrome lined barrels and dumping 2 or 3 30 round magazines really fast will greatly reduce the barrels life span. Chrome lined barrels can last 2x - 3x longer then a non-chrome lined barrel with a small sacrifice of being slighly less accurate. You probably wouldn't be able to tell the accuracy difference. Chrome lined barrels are also easier to clean and with stand heat better then non-chrome lined. Think about how they use to chromeline cylinders in 2 stroke dirt bikes. The cylinder lasted way longer then a steel sleeve cylinder but when they were worn out, you couldn't rebore it and use a bigger piston. Instead, you had to either get a new cylinder, or send the old cylinder off to get re-chromed. The lenght of time a chrome lined cylinder lasted though, was well worth it.
 
If you're not cooking the barrel they last alot more than 5000 rounds, even a non chrome bore. I have a cousin in N.H. that has a MAK-90 (same caliber/chrome bore as your SKS) with over 12000 in it and it doesnt look shot out yet. Heat kills a barrel more than anything, that an improper cleaning techniques. Unless you abuse it (and I mean ABUSE!!!!) you won't wear out that rifle
 
non chrome lined barrel will last about 5000 rounds.
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not sure about that , the 7.62 x39 mm is a low velocity cartridge , not a barrel burner it probably take more than 5000 shoot , probably like 10-15k , my cz858 is near the 3k mark and accuracy is the same before and after that , i'm sure this summer i will past the 5-6k mark and the barrel will be like a new
 
brapjack said:
Iv probably eaten up 4000 rounds with my Norinco SKS, i have replaced an extractor spring and a firing pin. But She just keeps eating all my 7.62X39mm. i ALWAYS give her the love she deserves after a day at the range.

But how long can i expect it to live?

After how many rounds will i see my groups permanently open up?

How many rounds do you have through your SKS? And what did it take to keep her alive?

Will the gun become dangerous to fire after X amount of rounds?:confused:
Click to expand...
Giving our mag limited to 5 rds and the 7.62x39 is far from a hot round, a non chrome bore would be good for close to 50 000 rds. The gas tube would need to be replaced before the bore get shot out. The point is, you will probably never afford the ammo to wear out a chrome bore, a SKS will outlast you!

Joce
 
Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
A non chrome lined barrel will last about 5000 rounds. Heat is the biggest killer of non chrome lined barrels and dumping 2 or 3 30 round magazines really fast will greatly reduce the barrels life span. Chrome lined barrels can last 2x - 3x longer then a non-chrome lined barrel with a small sacrifice of being slighly less accurate. You probably wouldn't be able to tell the accuracy difference. Chrome lined barrels are also easier to clean and with stand heat better then non-chrome lined. Think about how they use to chromeline cylinders in 2 stroke dirt bikes. The cylinder lasted way longer then a steel sleeve cylinder but when they were worn out, you couldn't rebore it and use a bigger piston. Instead, you had to either get a new cylinder, or send the old cylinder off to get re-chromed. The lenght of time a chrome lined cylinder lasted though, was well worth it.
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Huh iv never heard of chrome lined cylinders. I have had a few cylinders sent out for Re Nikasil. Is it the same? LOL this was also before i learnt that replacing a top end a few times a season saves alot of money.
 
svt1940 said:
Giving our mag limited to 5 rds and the 7.62x39 is far from a hot round, a non chrome bore would be good for close to 50 000 rds. The gas tube would need to be replaced before the bore get shot out. The point is, you will probably never afford the ammo to wear out a chrome bore, a SKS will outlast you!

Joce
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Joce, i would have to say that you are probably right about the gas tube. it seems to take the brunt of the crud and is one of the worst parts of cleaning. my piston is starting to pit. i have recently started pulling the piston out right after shooting while its still hot and giving it a good wipe. hope my kids will get to enjoy this rifle. and by the sounds of it. they most likely will.

I guess the safe Queens will stay crowned from years to come.
 
Interesting thread. With corrosive ammo; if you clean the rifle religiously, does it really matter whether the bore is chrome lined or not? I understood that the culprit has more to do with NOT cleaning after shooting corrosive?

Reading some of the posts above, I am getting the impression that if your bore is not chromed, you are doomed. So why clean the rifle at all?

I realize this is over simplifying things a bit.

On another point, most bores are worn out from improper/too vigorous cleaning anyhow. (Or is that what lazy asses say, to justify not cleaning LOL!)
 
svt1940 said:
Giving our mag limited to 5 rds and the 7.62x39 is far from a hot round, a non chrome bore would be good for close to 50 000 rds. The gas tube would need to be replaced before the bore get shot out. The point is, you will probably never afford the ammo to wear out a chrome bore, a SKS will outlast you!

Joce
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x2 I seem to recall a thread when NEA was still around on here, saying they had 100,000 rounds through a non-chrome CZ858 test mule without huge accuracy loss.
 
I saw a show about Mongolia on TLC (or one of those channels) where there was a gathering of nomads, and they were competing in various traditional competitions, one of the events involved riding at a full run and shooting at six inch plates mounted on poles from about 50 yards. These guys all had SKS's, and the majority of them had square gas blocks. Some of the pictures of the rifles pointed to decades of hard use, but they could still hit a six inch plate from horseback. I wouldn't sweat about wearing out an SKS.
 
I find it difficult to believe the soviet army would use anything that wasn't indestructible. These things went to every armpit revolution all over the world, used by people who hardly understood a set of pliers, let alone a firearm.
To put it simply, "Soviet SKS wears out you."
 
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