SKS in .357 Magnum

[LAGS]

@ghoasthawk.
It all goes back to my upbringing.
I was told by one parrent, " You Cant do that, You Dont know How".
And the other parent saying, "If someone else can do it ,so can You " And "If you dont know how, then Learn. Even if you have to teach yourself "
Guess which parrent, I followed ?
And Thank you Armoredman.
You have seen some of my Funky Ideas turn into realality over the years havent you ?

And the thought of the same rifle being able to shoot both .38s and .357s ?
That WILL take a lot of work like lightening the bolt and the springs to shoot the .38s and then have an adjustable Gas System that you can switch or adjust to work with the .357s.
That part of the build is the DREAM
But getting a Functioning Semi Auto SKS in .357 mag was the goal, And I do see it becoming a reality some day.
And No, I do not do this so I can be the Envy of everyone at the range.
There is lots of projects that Work, but I never take out and shoot.
I built them for Me, and not some kind of recognition.

[jmorris]

I'm not sure why people get so negative over someone who is perusing an idea that has nothing to do with cost or practicality but just plain fun?

Edit to add - jmorris, was that your bowling ball cannon? Fun toy.

Yes, it is. The reason why you don't understand is why I generally don't start threads until after I finish a project. No reason to tell a guy something is a waste of time after he already wasted it.

I figure I have saved myself thousands of dollars on beer alone keeping my hands busy, so I know where the OP is coming from.

If I started a thread about how to make a photoelectric controlled, time delayed, regulated, pneumatic beer can crusher, folks would call me nuts or suggest other viable options.

Post a video of it working and someone is going to think it's kind of cool and others will just say I have too much time on my hands.

[DCM]

Jmorris:"is why I generally don't start threads until after I finish a project."

You are not alone!!! Too much negative input from those that most often never bother to actually try.

Please read my signature lines Lags.


Edit: I was just looking in the smithing forum and thinking about how many threads the nay-sayers talked the OP out of their ideas. Just sad. I guess all Mausers should be in 7 or 8mm Mauser and all 1911s should be 45ACP with 5" barrels, we should only use the 200g projectiles those 1911s were originally designed for ... ... ... ...

[DCM]

110 , 296 or 2400 are my preferred powders in this caliber.
But a lot has been said so far about the .357 being a lower pressure round.
So my thinking was to start by building the rifle in .357 magnum.
Then if the pressure or gas volume is not enough for reliable cycling , then ream it deeper for the .357 Max

I was thinking the same things both the powder and the 357 maximum.
I would have to check case lengths but bet as a last resort maybe it could be reamed to the 9X39 if all else failed and irritation got too be too much.
Not sure you would need to go that far though, thinking of how the 7.62X39 seems to exit these rifles with way more energy than necessary.
Another thought is that the action spring would not need to be quite as robust as it comes originally to help cycling. I would not make this among my first modifications though.
I would recommend a good Strong crimp on all ammo to help avoid bullet setback when feeding. (I know I am being captain obvious, but this is an important detail.)

[Texas by God]

Also , If I can get the rifle to mechanical function and feed out of the Magazine but not be able to get it to work with the Gas System, I could still use it as a Straight Pull rifle or turn it onto a Pump Rifle configuration.
30 years ago , I helped a friend turn a LE into a Semi Auto Rifle.
Crude and funky but it worked.
We called it Clanky.

Lags- did it resemble the John Browning/92 Win conversion or the Bill Ruger/99Sav conversion?
Carry on and get it done.
I can't wait to see it and I'm not alone.
Best, Thomas.

[LAGS]

@ DCM
The things you mentioned was the reason to start with the .357 Magnum.
And leave everything like the spring and gas port or piston the standard size.
Then if it has issues, then you have a base line to make improvements or modifications.
And if Feeding a rimmed cartridge is the only major issue that can not be overcome, then the bolt face can be modified smaller to use the .357 Rimless round.
If that doesnt work, then the .357x 39 would be the next option.
But if the .357 Mag just doesnt have the power or enough gas to operate the action, the .357 Max would be the next step up, before the .357x39.

But what if people would have told some Cowboy back in the '30s that making a more powerful .38 special in a revolver was a Stupid Idea.
The .38 Special was already a big improvement over the .38 Long Colt, so just leave it alone.
Then Elmer Keith would not be almost a Household name among handgunners.
I have done some considerable thinking on this project, and just wish I had the Time to get it started.

[LAGS]

@ Texas by God.
The .303 conversion my friend did was a Semi Auto version of what he called a Charlston conversion, built in New Zehland in Full Auto back in WW2.
Strictly a Fixed position supression gun, but interesting .
The original bolt worked off a Bell Crank set up.

[jmorris]

But what if people would have told some Cowboy back in the '30s that making a more powerful .38 special in a revolver was a Stupid Idea.

There were and still are or the 38 special would be an obsolete round, as it stands all these years later, 38 brass is cheaper and easier to find than 357 mag.

In anycase you shouldn't let the feelings of others hurt yours.

[LAGS]

My feelings don't get hurt.
Because of the way I was raise , it inspires me to accomplish more or do what they say can't be done.
Not out of arrogance , but just to test my own limits and build my knowledge.

[jmorris]

inspires me to accomplish more or do what they say can't be done.
Not out of arrogance , but just to test my own limits and build my knowledge.

That pretty much sums up myself as well.

[GhostHawk]

Lags sir I was lucky. Somehow both of my parents incouraged me to do every single thing that they thought I had a chance of accomplishing. And a few things that I am sure they were positive that I would not be able to do. Mostly it instilled in me a simple belief that you will never know if you don't try. And that we learn a lot more from failure than we do from success.

Fall down, get up and try again. My dad picked gravel out of my knees one summer for 3 months straight, I swear the scabs would not be off and he would be in picking gravel again. He never took my bike away.

He gave me a few good pieces of advise. And the next year they paved the county hiway that was also our main street. He still had to pick some gravel, not as much.

Most of it was done with me sitting on the kitchen stool, no pants. Mom beside me acting as nurse, wiping and blotting. And dad with a sharp pointed paring knife picking the gravel chunks out of the skin.

I don't know where he found the guts.

You do what you have to do. And some projects just have to be done, just cause.

I never rode the short bus, they did not have those back in my day.
If they had I'd of been on it, cept I lived about a block kitywhumpus wise from the school.

But hey, look at me now. I am married 21 years, my little house is paid for, I owe no one anything, anywhere. No debt. And I did not step on anyone else to get here.

Good enough for me.

[nekshot]

One other question I have that would really help push me over the edge to action is, Does the accuracy improve over the x39 in original gun with the 35 caliber?

[LAGS]

From what I have seen, it would all depend on the bullet and the load.
That would be a custom affair in the .357 x 39 anyway, so there is more of a potential if you work at it, to develope the most accurate combination for Your Perticular rifle.
But the .357 Mag is a hit and miss at this point with Factory Ammo.
But you know it Could improve with Handloading.
But I have no idea if it would top the 7.32x39 in the accuracy department.
But most people shoot the cheapest Mil Surp stuff in the SKS anyway, so there is bound to be an improvement anyway with Factory ammo selected to your bore diameter and twist rate in the barrel you choose.
But I bet the .357 is Minute of Hog in any load you choose that might function in the conversion.

[RU shooter]

I hope this project continues it's a neat idea and wish I had the time ,skill and coin to attempt things like this . The gas volume issue should not be to bad to work around look at the 300 BO basically a 357 mag necked down . Yes works differently than a piston ak/SKS but fiddling with spring weight and location and dia. Of the port would probably do it . The feeding of a rimmed ctg I'm sure can be overcome too . Look at all the bolt action and other semiauto rifles that feed a ctg with a big rim . An idea that may help is a ctg interruptor like the Mosin Nagant rifles use . No need to worry if the rounds are stacked in the magazine properly or not . Another successful semiauto rifle dealing with a rim is the svt 38/40 the Russians used in ww2 , 10 rd box mag

Tim

[LAGS]

Thank you.
I am familiar with the MN s cartridge feed interrupted and that was one option I have considered looking into if feeding becomes an issue

[armoredman]

If there is any rifle LAGS knows better than the Mauser it's the Mosin - he has some pretty nice rebuilds he's done. Now ask him to work on an AR and he'll give you a dirty look, but a milsurp? All over it like stink on politicians.

[OldManFomOklahoma]

I know I am resurrecting an old thread, but I have wanted to build one of these for along time and I believe I have some ideas to add.

I have thought about converting a SKS to 38 Special, 357 Magnum and 357 Max. It would be for the joy of the journey not for economics It would sure need an adjustable gas system and maybe a manual pump on the fore end to help out on lower pressure rounds. Another approach would be a William's Tappet with an adjustable length of travel with a screw from the front that limited how far forward the tappet could go so the higher the pressure the less time the Tappet had to build up energy on its way back to smack the operating rod. It would probably require modification of the operating rod as well.

It might be possible by using a long Tapped and 2 or 3 gas ports to the barrel using a tappet that can rotated to block none, 1, 2, or all three holes to have a rifle that functions over a wide range of pressure and could be used with a silencer with subsonic loads or grenade launcher.

The bolt face size is close as SKS stripper clips are great for keeping 357 Mag ammo in order and not rolling around loose.

The Brits got the Bren to feed double stacked 303 Enfield ammo just fine. While the rim diameter to length of a 357 Magnum is a bid different I can't see much different problems. Somewhere I seem to remember a magazine that had a track much like a stripper clip on the back of the magazine that held the rim of the cartridges much as stripper clip does. That would lower the round count but allow feeding almost anything from a 38 Short Colt to a 357 Max if the bolt were modified to firmly hold the head of the cartridge case.

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There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil. -Ayn Rand

[Texas by God]

I wish you nothing but good luck in your project. Having said that, I've been around a long time and I've never seen an SKS converted to fire any other cartridge than 7.62 x39 mm and I think you will discover why. They are perfect for the cartridge they are designed for.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Bill*B]

GostHawk -
I just read your post #91 and boy, did it ring true to me. God bless you. There is no feeling like being out of debt. My hero was always "The Village Blacksmith", as Longfellow described him:

"His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man."

[JMtoolman]

How about just necking the origional round up to .357. The magazine would work as designed without any modification. Just have Jess bore out and rifle the barrel, there would only be around .040 taken out of the barrel. I would think it should work without much modification. The toolman.