SKS changes

[Kevinkris]

just picked up an SKS and was thinking of making a few relatively small changes.

first the front sight post is a bit bent so it needs to be replaced. should i stick to factory part replacement or is it okay to take some of the colored third party options? either side of that would cost less than $10 to fix including the tool.

can adding a T-rail to the gas port cover cause problems? kinda wanted to put a low power optic on the rifle and what i have found in researching proper placement of most low powered optics, they should be about mid length of the rifle. this is a bit past that but would be firm mounted more to the barrel than the receiver cover (which has a bit of wiggle on all SKS's). if this is okay to do are there any considerations i should take into account when adding metal parts to a wooden part? should i be installing columns to the wood before screwing the rail on? would it be a good idea to buy an extra cover to practice on?

last thing is a spring loaded firing pin. ive seen a lot of different options for these and many of the sales groups say it decreases the likely hood of slam fires. anyone personally use these? will it actually help prevent this or should i just stick to giving it the extra care it needs?

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[Teufel_Hunden]

Slam fires can be cool!


Sorry......just kidding!

Most optics mounted on SKS rifles are done over the bolt carrier cover. I know corvallis guns has some of these in stock.

and I'd opt for the colored front post.

Happy shooting!

 

[Kevinkris]

yea, ive seen the receiver covers with the rail on them but they are never stable and have a poor effect on the accuracy when it comes to mid to long range shots. i was curious is it is suitable to put a rail on the wooden gas tube cover, to give a stable mount position. i realize it may look a bit funky but according to installation instruction for most low powered optics and many marksman experts its better to have those mounted further down the rifle for better accuracy. looking at the rifle, it may be a bit far for it still. would installing a rail there weaken the cover, or will it not matter?

 

[halmbarte]

I wouldn't trust mounting anything on the upper handguard. Any kind of force is just going to break that thin wood. The receiver cover mounts suck too.

If I wanted optics on a SKS I'd install one of these: Side Rails

H

 

[Kevinkris]

that looks like it would work really well. thanks

 

[WasrNwarpaint]

Im not a fan of the gas tube mounts and the reciever cover mounts are worse..side quick mounts as mentioned above are good.....your best bet for the only rock solid mount is the rail type picatinny, thats mounted to the drilled and tapped reciever ...both the 1 piece side rail choate type or the quick release will need some modifications to your stock to get them to fit
see choate scope mount here:
Choate Scope Mount SKS Steel Blue

As to the spring loaded firing pins....wouldn't touch them with a 10ft pole, 80% of those that have them installed have issues just beginning , broken springs, popped primers, BENT FIRING PINS AND BROKEN FIRING PINS.....leave the original firing pin alone...soak it in warmed paint thinner for 20 min and blow dry with compressed air..you dont even need to disassemble the bolt..as long as the pin rattles when you shake the bolt your good to go

do a serious search on spring loaded firing pins before you leap, I can show you pages and pages of complaints after the FP upgrade....the obvious over tempered spring and pins were ignored (till sold out I suspect) because apparently one manufacturer has been recently advertising new improved pins instead of being honest from the get go....I wouldnt want to be the guinea pig for this guy's new batch, problems maybe blamed on everything but their pins & springs again, till there is more than overwhelming proof...again do a search

A trigger job makes a nice improvement in these gritty feeling trigger groups

check your trigger group for postive or negative engagement....you want your hammer to fall backwards for a split second before it falls forward to slam the FP (positive engagement)
Yooper John's Gun Information

and the most important thing to know about your sks is ......the safety only holds the trigger ONLY....NOT THE HAMMER OR SEAR....this means you can never leave a round in the chamber, a good jolt and the gun can fire the round in the chamber. with a negative sear engagement I can make an sks accidentally fire 1 out of 10 attempts!......this issue needs attention

If you choose to get some detachable hi capacity mags, you will want to do the Bolt MOD
the bolt mod allows you to remove and insert full mags without having to hold the bolt carrier back with one hand while you insert the mag...Installing a detachable mag without the BOLT MOD is very dangerous....because this method forces you to chamber a round when you let go of the bolt carrier....
<broken link removed> this mod is not exacting work....just be certain you polish the bolt smooth again after hogging out the bottom to allow to feed lips to slip over the bolt

I also made you tube videos of "how to custom fit" both the 75rnd drum mags and the polymere banana clip type mags, if you choose to go this route PM me for links


Google these issues get a firm understanding before you go to work on the gun....if you run into issues private message me for my email addy

 

[Kevinkris]

excellent response, hitting on all of the questions i was asking. thanks for the help, i will be sure to look into the things you are talkn about and see what makes the most sense.