SKS Qs

Shandley

Shandley

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West BC, Canada
Greetings!

I had the opportunity to buy a very common piece of history: Russian SKS.

Stripping it down and cleaning, I noticed there were no forced matched numbers but all numbers matched. I don't know if that means anything at all but at the very least, looks cool.

So, on to my questions (remember, I am new as of early August):

1. What should be cleaned? I know the obvious ones (everything) but is there anything I should not clean?
2. What should be lubed? I know not everything needs to be lubed and not all moving parts have to be but as I am going to be using this gun, I want to know the ins and outs to keep this gun usable for a long long time.
3. Any other tips at all. I am new so I am open to anything you have to say.

Much thanks!
 
Most rust will be in the gas tube and assembly. With the exception of early years of production the bore is most likely chrome lined. Give it a complete wipedown after shooting and keep the bolt and firing pin dry and able to rattle it loosely.


Shoot lots, Enjoy, and don't worry about that corrosive ammo thing, its just a marketing gimmick. Buy what cheapest and blast away.
 
Keep in mind, many (if not most), SKS's on the market are not "force matched"....I'm guessing you are seeing stamped serials and electro-penciled (scribed) serials. Certain parts of the rifle were scribed instead of stamped due to thin walled metal (ex: gas tube).
 
Thank you all for the replies!
@Cb750k: That link is fantastic. I ripped her apart again just to follow some of the steps there to clean out the cosmoline... the one thing I cannot do is strip it so how do I clean the stock? It's right full of grease.
 
It is easier to get the grease out of a stock in July or August. Hot sun works wonders. Here in Edmonton we are supposed to be in the mid 20's again by the end of the week. Check your weather forecast, and it it is going to get sunny, put it someplace where it can really drink it up. If you have something black to lay it on, all the better!

*edit* Also, remember to take the butt plate off and take out the spring. There is often a bunch of grease in the cleaning kit cavity as well.
 
Great idea!

I was thinking about putting it in the oven at the lowest setting (120*F, and constant... gotta love the old electric ranges). I've done that to dry out herbs and it works wonders.

I saw a guy do the sun thing on YouTube but he said that conditioning will be needed after as the wood will get dry. What is a good conditioner for these stocks?
 
I had put mine on a tray made from tinfoil and set in on the dash of my car. Went in and wiped it down and flipped it every 45mins or so over about 8 hours on a high 20s day. This worked quite well. I have a couple thousand rnds through mine now and if I get it really hot then I still get some seapage from the wood. Not much but enough to notice.
 
I guess I got lucky with my laminate stock, all I did was wipe it down really well. It hasn't seemed to seep any large ammounts of cosmoline either in the heat or after firing. It smells a bit like it when I'm cleaning the rifle after shooting corrosive ammo but I haven't noticed any globs of the stuff like after I bought it. Next one I pick up will be a birch stock so we shall see if its any different.

I'd probably put it in the attic over a hot couple days and let it leach out, just had the roof redone this summer and was up in the attic not long after it was done. Goddamn it was hot up there...
 
If you fail to clean the stock properly, the grease will ooze out all over the place when the gun gets hot from shooting. I completely remove the stock from All my SKS rifles, wrap in newspaper and leave on the dash in your old car in the hot sun for a few days. There is no such thing as too much newspaper or paper towel.

This method works best, but put some plastic on your dashboard first.
 
Shandley said:
Great idea!

I was thinking about putting it in the oven at the lowest setting (120*F, and constant... gotta love the old electric ranges). I've done that to dry out herbs and it works wonders.

I saw a guy do the sun thing on YouTube but he said that conditioning will be needed after as the wood will get dry. What is a good conditioner for these stocks?
Click to expand...

If you do the oven thing, make sure that:

a) You leave all the windows open - that goop stinks to high heaven when it melts.
b) You're a bachelor - because if you aren't, and you stink up the place with cosmo, you soon will be.

In the summer I just dangle the stock from the ceiling of my garage over a couple of hot days - my garage is like a dry sauna in the summertime. I pop in every few hours to wipe it down.

For conditioner on the East Block surps I use Tung Oil (I use pure Tung, as opposed to the quick drying stuff that has solvents in it). Tung was very common as a wood conditioner in the East Block - the Chinese were happy to sell it by the tanker full, and it's very good stuff for woodworking. I prefer it to BLO, although BLO is more "true" for Western milsurps.
 
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