My SKS Project
- Thread starter Dakk
- Start date
Thanks for the great advice supernova. I don't have any cobalt bits, but I do have some titanium ones. I don't mind wrecking a few of those, so I'll probably save the 8-40 drill until there's just a bit more hole to widen out. My friend's planning to take a smithing course, so he's putting together some tools, including a drill press & vice, which he should have today or tomorrow. We'll be using some oil for sure, and using slow, small moves.
Before deciding to take on the job myself, I shopped around for a gunsmith. The only one I could find told me he wouldn't drill & tap an SKS just because the receiver walls are very thin. But I figure that with other people pulling it off successfully, I shouldn't let one man's opinion get in my way, even if he is a gunsmith.
PARKINGLOT
CGN Regular
- Location
- St. Thomas/Elgin
Looks awesome! I wish I had a friend sell me a nice rifle for $100 
- Location
- Where I hunt.
autocrash
CGN Regular
I'd have liked it better if it looked better...
love the Watchmen logo, but that ain't it...
http://4.bp.########.com/-LdXGblVNxdc/Tyr1vOT6tII/AAAAAAAAANo/pErzvxSQ9TY/s1600/WATCHMEN-smiley.jpg
Danimal247
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Toronto, ON
nice restore
Well, I'm happy to report that the drilling and tapping went beautifully. Hopefully I'll have some pictures soon. We used a drill press, and went with a 1/16 high speed drill bit for pilot holes. Then worked our way up several sizes, just expanding the pilot holes slightly in several stages until we got to the #28 drill. No drill bits damaged at all. We then tapped the holes by hand. we started with one hole, secured the mount with one of the 8-40 screws, then positioned the mount where it should be, using a bore sighter and the scope to get the mount close to level. Then we used the mount's remaining screw holes as a guide for marking and drilling out the remaining three holes. Now I just have to sand the cut-out on the stock a bit, and touch up the stock's finish where we cut. Then of course, there will be the field test at the range. We haven't used the lock-tite yet, and plan to put a few rounds through her before we do, just to test out the hold of the drill & tap job. The mount is on there pretty tight.
Having done the drill & tap for this Choate mount now, I can definately say its entirely doable with a little forethought and the right tools. Though we were holding our breath a little during the tapping procedure.
My friend might not be the best at re-finishing stocks, but he's definately got the knack for working with the metal hardware. He'd like to take a smithing course, and he should; but I think he should train to be a machinist as well. A machinist with a gunsmithing business on the side.
Having done the drill & tap for this Choate mount now, I can definately say its entirely doable with a little forethought and the right tools. Though we were holding our breath a little during the tapping procedure.
My friend might not be the best at re-finishing stocks, but he's definately got the knack for working with the metal hardware. He'd like to take a smithing course, and he should; but I think he should train to be a machinist as well. A machinist with a gunsmithing business on the side.
Here's some pictures of the completed Choate scope mount install with scope.
The Choate mount definately makes it a bit trickier to get the bolt and bolt carrier into and out of the receiver. They have to be loaded into the receiver one piece at a time. But it works. If I had one piece of advice for anyone who is considering installing one of these Choate mounts, definately consider the clearance for the bolt & bolt carrier when you plot your drill points. The instructions that come with the Choate mount only give you the distance from the rear of the receiver to the back of the mount as being 1.5", and says nothing about verticle mounting measurements. I read some place that the mount needed to be positioned so that the bottoms of the triangular holes were 1/16" above the receiver. I took it with a grain of salt and was more concerned about getting the mount close to level with zero. I coincidently positioned the mount a little higher than flat even with the receiver. But the verticle distance is very important and anyone positioning dead even with the receiver may find it impossible to get the bolt carrier inserted.
The iron sights are still useable, but for my aging eyes, the illuminated scope will be a nice aid. As you can see, the stripper clips still slide in fine.
I was warned that adding a scope to an SKS would mean having to lift my head uncomfortably to use it. But actually, for basic fit & feel, I find the scope very comfortable. Then again, I also find the natural fit & length of pull of the SKS just right for me, but the iron sights a bit uncomfortable. So I'm pretty happy with the feel of the modified rifle.
I also added a recoil buffer to the back of the receiver cover. Apparently the recoil buffers keep the spring from moving around at the back of the receiver cover. Checking the receiver cover I found that there were indeed swirl marks on the metal, formed when the spring was slipping around during firing. Keeping the sping in place should slightly increase the tension of the sping during recoil, since it can no longer slip laterally in response to being compressed.
The Choate mount definately makes it a bit trickier to get the bolt and bolt carrier into and out of the receiver. They have to be loaded into the receiver one piece at a time. But it works. If I had one piece of advice for anyone who is considering installing one of these Choate mounts, definately consider the clearance for the bolt & bolt carrier when you plot your drill points. The instructions that come with the Choate mount only give you the distance from the rear of the receiver to the back of the mount as being 1.5", and says nothing about verticle mounting measurements. I read some place that the mount needed to be positioned so that the bottoms of the triangular holes were 1/16" above the receiver. I took it with a grain of salt and was more concerned about getting the mount close to level with zero. I coincidently positioned the mount a little higher than flat even with the receiver. But the verticle distance is very important and anyone positioning dead even with the receiver may find it impossible to get the bolt carrier inserted.
The iron sights are still useable, but for my aging eyes, the illuminated scope will be a nice aid. As you can see, the stripper clips still slide in fine.
I was warned that adding a scope to an SKS would mean having to lift my head uncomfortably to use it. But actually, for basic fit & feel, I find the scope very comfortable. Then again, I also find the natural fit & length of pull of the SKS just right for me, but the iron sights a bit uncomfortable. So I'm pretty happy with the feel of the modified rifle.
I also added a recoil buffer to the back of the receiver cover. Apparently the recoil buffers keep the spring from moving around at the back of the receiver cover. Checking the receiver cover I found that there were indeed swirl marks on the metal, formed when the spring was slipping around during firing. Keeping the sping in place should slightly increase the tension of the sping during recoil, since it can no longer slip laterally in response to being compressed.
Last edited:
Its a used cheapo NcStar Mark III tactical. Illuminated with bullet drop compensator. Its been on the rifle before, but with a no smithing mount (before I owned them). The scope held zero apparently, but the mount was crap. It was also used on a tactical shotgun shooting slugs, so its held up pretty well for an inexpensive tactical scope, and will probably last for awhile on the Choate mount (hopefully).
If the rifle works out well, I may get a better scope down the road. Probably after I have a few different rifles to use it on.
pisces-guy
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- West Kelowna, B.C.
Well done, you took a butchery and restored it back into a pretty rifle...nice job!
Thanks guys.
I've had some questions about the sources for the stuff I needed to do the scope mount, so I thought I should mention that info here.
The Choate scope mount was purchased from Dave at www.hical.ca
The tap & drill set needed to install the Choate mount may be common to gunsmiths, but its a non-standard size in the gerneral world of tap & die sets. The Choate mount requires a #28 drill, and an 8-40 tap. I looked high & low for 8-40 tap and found that basically its not available in standard tap sets found in hardware stores, etc. But I found the set available in Canada at Cabelas here: http://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pageID=71&&ID=2645 ($17.49) It includes both the #28 drill and the 8-40 tap.
I know some people just use a different sized tap & drill, but I wanted to use the proper screws that came with the Choate mount.
I've had some questions about the sources for the stuff I needed to do the scope mount, so I thought I should mention that info here.
The Choate scope mount was purchased from Dave at www.hical.ca
The tap & drill set needed to install the Choate mount may be common to gunsmiths, but its a non-standard size in the gerneral world of tap & die sets. The Choate mount requires a #28 drill, and an 8-40 tap. I looked high & low for 8-40 tap and found that basically its not available in standard tap sets found in hardware stores, etc. But I found the set available in Canada at Cabelas here: http://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pageID=71&&ID=2645 ($17.49) It includes both the #28 drill and the 8-40 tap.
I know some people just use a different sized tap & drill, but I wanted to use the proper screws that came with the Choate mount.
Well, I finally made it to the range to test the SKS out!
The Choate mount (sans loctite) held nicely. I watched the ejected casings leaving the rifle and it looks like the ejection port mod won't be necessary on this particular rifle, which is nice. No casings were hitting the scope or scope mount. The illumiated tactical scope makes the SKS so much nicer to aim. Here's my 50 & 100 yards shots while zeroing in the scope. There were a few times I couldn't resist the urge to pop off all five rounds in close succession.
50 yards
100 yards
The Choate mount (sans loctite) held nicely. I watched the ejected casings leaving the rifle and it looks like the ejection port mod won't be necessary on this particular rifle, which is nice. No casings were hitting the scope or scope mount. The illumiated tactical scope makes the SKS so much nicer to aim. Here's my 50 & 100 yards shots while zeroing in the scope. There were a few times I couldn't resist the urge to pop off all five rounds in close succession.
50 yards
100 yards
