Shortening a sks barrel
- Thread starter upinsmokeweldinginc
- Start date
PinkyPlinker
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Kenora, ON
Well timed. I’m just thinking about doing this.
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hello,
I will tell you the best way to do it home made.
0-kick out the retaining pin of the sight. hammer out the sight, mine was really hard to get out.
1- measure your barrel lenght properly, find where to cut. Cut you barrel with a saw as straight as you can. Keep like 1/16 in lenght for later.
2-If you have access to a conventional milling that would help to face your barrel straight. You can also face it other way. Google it to find a trick according to your available tools.
3-Take a drill and use a countersink to do your crown. Try to be as straight possible lol.
4- shine everything with 400 and 1000 sandpaper.
5-re-install your sight. mine, i cut off the bayonet lug, and just slide it back on the barrel with some red locktight. glued there for ever
see the awesome result
other mod you can do (drop free mag);
I will tell you the best way to do it home made.
0-kick out the retaining pin of the sight. hammer out the sight, mine was really hard to get out.
1- measure your barrel lenght properly, find where to cut. Cut you barrel with a saw as straight as you can. Keep like 1/16 in lenght for later.
2-If you have access to a conventional milling that would help to face your barrel straight. You can also face it other way. Google it to find a trick according to your available tools.
3-Take a drill and use a countersink to do your crown. Try to be as straight possible lol.
4- shine everything with 400 and 1000 sandpaper.
5-re-install your sight. mine, i cut off the bayonet lug, and just slide it back on the barrel with some red locktight. glued there for ever
see the awesome result
other mod you can do (drop free mag);
Last edited:
Canadian Dad
CGN Regular
- Location
- West Kootenays, BC
Sorry to resurrect this old thread but I had to search the forum for this.
Inherited a Bubba'ed up SKS (as in they don't want it anymore). The rifle doesn't owe me anything and I have a couple that are stock anyway. I took the rifle to a highly reputable gunsmith and he informs me that you can't resize the barrel as it won't cycle properly. "Spent over 7 hours fixing one before".
Sounded like total BS to me, he probably just didn't feel the job was worth his time.
So now I am going to tool up and try it myself.
But is he right??
Inherited a Bubba'ed up SKS (as in they don't want it anymore). The rifle doesn't owe me anything and I have a couple that are stock anyway. I took the rifle to a highly reputable gunsmith and he informs me that you can't resize the barrel as it won't cycle properly. "Spent over 7 hours fixing one before".
Sounded like total BS to me, he probably just didn't feel the job was worth his time.
So now I am going to tool up and try it myself.
But is he right??
How much is generally removed from the barrel in this mod?
I suppose removing some barrel will affect dwell time but I kinda doubt it will be enough to make the gas pulse too weak to cycle. Worse case scenario one would have to very slightly enlarge the gas port but seeing as how I have never done this to an SKS I am only making an educated guess.
With the m14s/m305 rifles we were going from the factory 22" barrel and cutting/crowning to a finished length of 18.5 - 18.65" with no noticeable effect on the gas system. That said, the odd rifle would present cycling issues after the mod and a very slight enlarging of the gas port was required.
I suppose removing some barrel will affect dwell time but I kinda doubt it will be enough to make the gas pulse too weak to cycle. Worse case scenario one would have to very slightly enlarge the gas port but seeing as how I have never done this to an SKS I am only making an educated guess.
With the m14s/m305 rifles we were going from the factory 22" barrel and cutting/crowning to a finished length of 18.5 - 18.65" with no noticeable effect on the gas system. That said, the odd rifle would present cycling issues after the mod and a very slight enlarging of the gas port was required.
I just searched on Survior's SKSboards.com and the first thing I found is this (you have to be registered to post/search) https://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=134309.15 - regarding cutting very short barrel but I'm sure there's some info somewhere on this board for you.
Or some of their members watch this forum and may get in touch.
Or some of their members watch this forum and may get in touch.
notsorichguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- The city that rhymes with fun
I have done this "mod" to over a dozen SKS rifles.
There has never been an issue with function by removing 1.5" of barrel. I could see there being an issue if the barrel was shortened to 16"...
If you actually want to cut it down to 18.6", the cut in the barrel will be under the FSB/Bayo-Lug sleeve. So you'll have to figure out how much you actually wanna loose and if you actually want a bayonet attached to the rifle....
I have always removed the FSB/Bayo Sleeve, and cut it halfway between the bayonet and FSB. This will allow you to re-attach the FSB to the barrel after you cut and crown it. There is a shoulder in the barrel that the FSB sleeve can use as a rear stop.
The barrel is pinned to the action, so you wont be able to remove the barrel from the action to cut/crown. So you'll likely cut it with a hand tool (hacksaw) or an abrasive wheel saw. Brownelles sells a hand tool Crown cutter which cuts 11 or 45 degree crown. You will need to order the brass guide(s) with the tool to match your bore diameter.
To reattach the Front sight, I have always silver soldered the altered FSB where I want it, then drilled and installed the cross pin.
The cleaner/straighter you make your cuts, the better off you will be. I do not recommend using a "counter sink bit" like a previous poster did. If done properly, the mod really makes the SKS a handy little carbine. I have never had a customer come back and tell me their rifle shoots worse after the mod. I have found that the group size shrinks with mil-surp ammo.
Another "mod" that I used to do quite often was flush the magazine to the stock. The magazine only holds 5 rounds and allows one to carry the rifle at its natural balance point.
There has never been an issue with function by removing 1.5" of barrel. I could see there being an issue if the barrel was shortened to 16"...
If you actually want to cut it down to 18.6", the cut in the barrel will be under the FSB/Bayo-Lug sleeve. So you'll have to figure out how much you actually wanna loose and if you actually want a bayonet attached to the rifle....
I have always removed the FSB/Bayo Sleeve, and cut it halfway between the bayonet and FSB. This will allow you to re-attach the FSB to the barrel after you cut and crown it. There is a shoulder in the barrel that the FSB sleeve can use as a rear stop.
The barrel is pinned to the action, so you wont be able to remove the barrel from the action to cut/crown. So you'll likely cut it with a hand tool (hacksaw) or an abrasive wheel saw. Brownelles sells a hand tool Crown cutter which cuts 11 or 45 degree crown. You will need to order the brass guide(s) with the tool to match your bore diameter.
To reattach the Front sight, I have always silver soldered the altered FSB where I want it, then drilled and installed the cross pin.
The cleaner/straighter you make your cuts, the better off you will be. I do not recommend using a "counter sink bit" like a previous poster did. If done properly, the mod really makes the SKS a handy little carbine. I have never had a customer come back and tell me their rifle shoots worse after the mod. I have found that the group size shrinks with mil-surp ammo.
Another "mod" that I used to do quite often was flush the magazine to the stock. The magazine only holds 5 rounds and allows one to carry the rifle at its natural balance point.
Canadian Dad
CGN Regular
- Location
- West Kootenays, BC
Thanks Guys. Excellent replies. Much appreciated.
Like I said, he probably just didn't feel it was worth his time. Too bad.
I'll take all the info and give it a whirl.
Like I said, he probably just didn't feel it was worth his time. Too bad.
I'll take all the info and give it a whirl.
Some comments on using a lathe to do the barrel shortening and crowning...
The receiver can be held in a 4 jaw chuck with the muzzle supported on the tail center. Adjust the chuck to dial in the breech of the barrel. Set up the muzzle end in the steady rest. Cut and crown. Because of the chrome plating in the bore, cut from the bore out when crowning.
Some later Chinese rifles have pinned barrels; Russian, and many Chinese have barrels threaded in, but they have a reputation of being difficult to remove.
The receiver can be held in a 4 jaw chuck with the muzzle supported on the tail center. Adjust the chuck to dial in the breech of the barrel. Set up the muzzle end in the steady rest. Cut and crown. Because of the chrome plating in the bore, cut from the bore out when crowning.
Some later Chinese rifles have pinned barrels; Russian, and many Chinese have barrels threaded in, but they have a reputation of being difficult to remove.
post #163 : https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...a-short-GSG-16-barrel?p=16448346#post16448346
so im wondering if im reading Dlask's post wrong since we been cutting factory barrels for decades.
so im wondering if im reading Dlask's post wrong since we been cutting factory barrels for decades.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Short barrels? As long as you're over the 18 1/2" the CFO has nothing to say what you do with your personal property.
I believe the prohibition on cutting mentioned above is in connection with shortening so that the resulting barrel is less than 18".
Dlask (or anyone else) cannot cut an 870 barrel to 12", but a new 12" barrel can be made.
So, cutting a SKS barrel to just over 18 1/2" would leave it non-restricted; cutting it to less than 18 1/2" but more than 18" would make it subject to registration as a restricted firearm; and less than 18" would be making a prohibited firearm.
Dlask (or anyone else) cannot cut an 870 barrel to 12", but a new 12" barrel can be made.
So, cutting a SKS barrel to just over 18 1/2" would leave it non-restricted; cutting it to less than 18 1/2" but more than 18" would make it subject to registration as a restricted firearm; and less than 18" would be making a prohibited firearm.
It appears that the interpretation is that a cut barrel cannot be less than 18". This applies even if the barrel started out at less than 18".
So, a 16" barreled .22 cannot have its barrel shortened at all; if rebarreling with a replacement barrel, the only length that matters is the overall length.
So, a 16" barreled .22 cannot have its barrel shortened at all; if rebarreling with a replacement barrel, the only length that matters is the overall length.
ya I don't understand those Dlask posts from 2019 either. In fact it was they who shortened well over 100 factory 22" norinco m14 barrels to 18.6" rethreaded and crowned. Could be over 200 in fact. Now I was not taking them barrels in 2019 so maybe I'm missing something or the BC CFO decided to offer an "opinion" that dlask must then follow in order to renew that manufacturer's license every year. Who knows. They (rcmp) decided to offer an opinion on the selling of "finish at home" receiver kits for AR's and some pistols several years ago and so anyone selling them or manufacturing them from forgings was no longer able to sell them or produce them for sale or they wouldn't get that precious firearms business license renewed .
As for shortening barrels at home and keeping them over 18.5" I'm just gonna do what I do and not post about it on the internet haha
As for shortening barrels at home and keeping them over 18.5" I'm just gonna do what I do and not post about it on the internet haha
The B.C. CFO is wrong in this case, or the question was not understood.
Quite legal , if staying over 18.5 in. I always left 1/2" min in case something happened and you need to fix / re crown.
I find it hard to believe that Dlask would even have to ask, and no the regulations have not changed.
Quite legal , if staying over 18.5 in. I always left 1/2" min in case something happened and you need to fix / re crown.
I find it hard to believe that Dlask would even have to ask, and no the regulations have not changed.
