classics sks range report

[1bulletBarney]

Decosmoed my "not so new" new classicfirearms sks and finally got her out for a test fire. First range session 11-8-12, packed 120 rounds of golden tiger FMJ. Set up at 25 yrds to zero in. 2 rounds at a time to start, let bolt carrier snap into battery, all is good. About 20 rounds in I load 3 rounds, only this time i dont let bolt carrier snap into battery, I lazily hand charged carrier into battery, pull trigger...click. I hold rifle about 25 seconds in case of hangfire, dump mag, eject chambered round then inspect, no dimple on primer...odd. Reload same 3 rounds, 3rd round stovepiped with round vertical, bullet pointing up, pinched between bolt carrier and chamber. Rest of session I let carrier snap into battery. Same failure occured about 15 rounds later, last 80 rounds gun cycled without incident. Went home, tore her apart, OCD clean and take her out today. Much better, 100 rounds of golden tiger. No failures. Zerod in and accurate, Final 10 rounds @ 100 yrds I put 9 of 10 in a 6" circle, not bad for a blind man...I dont have dig camara or smart phone, pics will come...someday. BTW ,,serial # H3346 /26\ nice gun...

[Joe Register]

Did you do full disassembly on bolt? Mine were gunked with cosmo even after long mineral spirits soak.

[1bulletBarney]

Yes, I removed firing pin and cleaned pin and channel in bolt along with every nook and cranny known to man...lol

[One78Shovel]

Yea, give that bolt a good shake. Should hear the firing pin rattle.

I love shooting my SKS. A ruskie tack driver

Enjoy your SKS

-178S

[Max Power!]

You could send the bolt to Murray's. He will clean it up and install a spring-loaded firing pin. That is what I did with mine. It was money well spent.

[Elwood_Blues]

Not to hijack your thread, just input from another shooter with an SKS, also from Classic. I was so stoked to shoot it, that I forgot to bring my sight adjustment tool. Bench rested, 25 yards. After I figured out how much off it is, I was aiming dead center, at the very bottom of the circle, right where it says "N*C"

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Thanks for the report. Why would you "lazily hand charged carrier into battery"?
Just about every semi-auto weapon in the world will fail to return to battery when that is done.

P.S. Glad you got the kinks worked out. I have quite a bit of experience dealing with SKS rifles and they are almost always hyper-reliable, and indifferent to ammo or cleanliness.

I highly recommend Murray's. It isn't a necessity, but they will install the spring loaded pin and smooth out the bolt face as well. It isn't expensive and the turnaround time is fast. My first ever SKS, an unissued Norinco, had the firing pin ruined by a pierced primer on defective ammo. I gave it the Murray's treatment and the rifle is now boringly reliable.

[1bulletBarney]

Thanks for the report. Why would you "lazily hand charged carrier into battery"?
Just about every semi-auto weapon in the world will fail to return to battery when that is done.

P.S. Glad you got the kinks worked out. I have quite a bit of experience dealing with SKS rifles and they are almost always hyper-reliable, and indifferent to ammo or cleanliness.

I highly recommend Murray's. It isn't a necessity, but they will install the spring loaded pin and smooth out the bolt face as well. It isn't expensive and the turnaround time is fast. My first ever SKS, an unissued Norinco, had the firing pin ruined by a pierced primer on defective ammo. I gave it the Murray's treatment and the rifle is now boringly reliable.

To anwser your question..I just made a mistake, I own 3 other semi-autos and never do this. Lessoned learned. I have done some research into having a Murray's firing pin and dressing up bolt face and carrier, I am considering it. Thanks for the reply.