Near new SKS-d Model that has bad bore!

A

armilaria

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Ladner BC
I recently picked up a SKS-D US distribution model ( I have another one that is a milspec model that is much better quality) at a gun show and when I looked at it, the gun appeared to only been fired a couple times if that with virtually no marks on it showing any evidence of being fired(ex: frame indentations, marks in the bluing, and still had original thick oil/grease all over it. When I inspected the bore it was hard to tell as it was dirty from being stored for 20+ years but still a little shinny. The owner claimed it had never been fired and received it a long time ago in a crate of SKS's

After giving it a thorough clean to my dismay the chromed lined barrel has some really bad pitting in the top of the barrel and most of the rifling land grooves(raised rifling) pitted really bad for most of the barrel but the lower rifling portion really shinny and chromed with little pitting. I scrubbed the crap out of it with a copper brush and gun solvent and oiled it well. I suspect it was test fired a long time ago with corrosive ammo and just put away. The rest of the gun is absolute mint for a Chinese gun with no pitting even in the gas tube/piston etc. Also no marks from the clip either. All matching numbers.

I also but a bullet in the top of the barrel to see how much it goes down barrel, and it stops where the bullet increases in diameter(I cannot remember what that is called) and is the same as my unissued Russian. My other SKS-D is well used and the bullet went farther down the barrel past where the bullet diameter begins to increase showing signs of wear but the barrel appears in pretty good shape in comparison to the pitted one.

Anyways very disappointed but as it is plinker though I would see what you guys think. I have not fired it yet. I picked it up for $375

Thanks
 
I'd say $375 for a heavily pitted bore SKS-D is a bit high. I maintain they're not worth any more than $350 but you still see people putting them on the EE for $750 thinking some fool is champing at the bit to part with his money.

The pitting is curious as the bore should have been chrome lined and impervious to corrosive salts, though given 20+ years like you say it could have had enough time to attack it and cause the damage you observed.

The good news is, as Frank has already mentioned, it can likely be rebarreled. Whether you want to sink that kind of investment into an otherwise cheap plinker is another matter. I would simply shoot it first, see how it groups, and as you've already performed the bullet test we know the bore hasn't been shot out (the word you were looking for is ogive (pronounced oh-jyve), BTW. If it still shoots well, be religious with your cleaning if shooting corrosive because the chrome is gone, and it's raw steel that the salts will attack and further worsen the bore. If it shoots like crap, rebarrel it or sell it would be my advice.
 
AK said:
I'd say $375 for a heavily pitted bore SKS-D is a bit high. I maintain they're not worth any more than $350 but you still see people putting them on the EE for $750 thinking some fool is champing at the bit to part with his money.

The pitting is curious as the bore should have been chrome lined and impervious to corrosive salts, though given 20+ years like you say it could have had enough time to attack it and cause the damage you observed.

The good news is, as Frank has already mentioned, it can likely be rebarreled. Whether you want to sink that kind of investment into an otherwise cheap plinker is another matter. I would simply shoot it first, see how it groups, and as you've already performed the bullet test we know the bore hasn't been shot out (the word you were looking for is ogive (pronounced oh-jyve), BTW. If it still shoots well, be religious with your cleaning if shooting corrosive because the chrome is gone, and it's raw steel that the salts will attack and further worsen the bore. If it shoots like crap, rebarrel it or sell it would be my advice.
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Good info, thats what I'd be doing, perhaps someday a better barrell will come along at a good price, but its not a gun I'd spend a lot on restoring.
 
Thanks for your replies. I agree I need to shoot it to see how it groups. This gun is shockingly mint with the exception of the Bore. Wish I ran a rod down it before I bought it. Thanks AK for the term oh-jyve I could not remember. I am pretty sure this thinge has barely seen 20 rounds almost like the barrel was not chromed properly.

Thanks again when I finally get a chance to shoot it I will post my findings. Cleaning this rifle was a task and I still could not obtain a clean patch after hours of scrubing.

What would it cost to re-barrel it?
 
Can't give you an idea for cost on rebarreling, but another option would be to look into getting it counter-bored. I did mine at home *gasp* with a drill *double gasp* and it groups substantially tighter.
 
Lexthedestroyer said:
Can't give you an idea for cost on rebarreling, but another option would be to look into getting it counter-bored. I did mine at home *gasp* with a drill *double gasp* and it groups substantially tighter.
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I thought about that as well. I still need to shoot it to see how bad it is. Been waiting 80 days for my renewal licence. Freaking ridiculous. Hope to get it in the next 2-3 weeks.
 
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