project sks - rebuild

[nekshot]

I am out in a venture I know absolutely nothing about. After enjoying the 7.62x39 in my carcano for a couple years and really coming to respect its abilities I got bit with the bug of what and how good can I get a sks to shoot at 100 yards. All my instructers were old retired gunsmiths or the equivalent and ALL said stay away from that china junk (implying sks and ak) rifles and the cartridge I was told is worthless other than to shoot somebody. So I respectively stayed away and developed a attitude of prejudice towards these guns of which I now repent of and would like to work out a idea and a image that came to me of over the last few years, plus I am getting bored with my small stable of stuff. I ask this question, I want to go to a 5 shot magazine and if legal have a higher capacity available. What can I legally do in the realm of mags (and sources please if you know) and do you have any other wisdom for this gun to a shmuck like me? Thanks for putting up with my ideas and by the way my money is really limited on this venture!

[LIMPINGJ]

Search for post by Jr and Larry Gibson. I think they both had some success with their SKS.

[nekshot]

Thanks for bringing ole JR to mind because to be honest it was his first article on a sks that got me thinking and then his last venture was interesting also. Maybe I should call this project "in honor to JR", as I think he kinda might like it. Now lets see, where is that old screw driver I can make into a ???

[MOcaster]

Us here in MO can have as big of mags as we want. 10 round limit to deer hunt with, but that's it.

[GhostHawk]

Personally I think the cartridge rocks, ask anyone who has a CZ bolt rifle chambered in it.
Heck for that matter ask anyone who has a H&R Handi rifle with that barrel.

Yes it has some issues with hard primers in some guns, but reloading good brass cases will fix that in short order.

Personally I've been having an awesome time with my Yugo SKS with the grenade launcher and ladder sights.
And I apparently broke the rules by loading 185 gr cast boolits with Gas check into the 7.62x39! I dropped the charge about 15%, I'm guessing on the speed, but man that thing shoots those rounds exactly to point of impact at 50 yards and knocks the paint off the back of my AR500 target gong!
I am in the process of buying a Handi rifle so I can put a 7.62x39 barrel on it with a scope.

I can't wait to try it out to 100 or longer with a decent scope. I'm not sure why but for some reason that little cartridge with the bad rep just speaks to me. Call me mr 7.62 I guess as I also shoot a pair of Mosin's and and a Cz-52, all in, yep, you guessed it, 7.62.

[JeffinNZ]

Ghosthawk: I used to load a 180gr jacketed bullet in my SKS over 23gr 748 for 1600fps for target work. Cycled the action fine.

[nekshot]

my carcano will make a big dollar gun owner cry after he shoots it starting first with the superb trigger carcano,s yield with a little help, then after a check at the target and he tries to find all his holes! Gotta take a second look at the one biggish hole!!!

[Yodogsandman]

If you're careful with a dremel tool, you can cut the original magazine down to a 5 shot capacity, flush with the bottom of your stock. Be sure to leave a tab of metal on the end to bend for the magazine release to catch on. I also needed to add a 3/8" thick block inside, on the bottom of the pan after cutting.

Both high capacity and 5 round capacity removable magazines are also available. Avoid the steel 5 round capacity ones, they get poor reviews.

[nekshot]

no more than got home from the store with our china farm implement and as we were taking a picture old hound dog started a ruckus at the chicken house, so know time to clean the cosmolene just set the bayonet and charge in! Bet not many of these got used like this in the first hour of arrival home with the gun!

[Frank46]

Wasn't a build posted here just a little while back?. Seem to remember a carcano using the single stack Romanian mags as the basis for converting to carcano. Frank

[nekshot]

I have a question. As I said from beginning of this project I know nothing of these guns but as we cleaned the grease off and looked down the bore it looks brand new. The crown is unblemished and the chamber looks as if it was recently cut. I know what new barrels look like and this is as close to looking new as it can get and not be new. I guess it is the chrome lining that does that. Ok, the bolt face has no marks from anything it is pristine but the firing pin appears some chink shoved some metal chop sticks down the barrel and pulled the trigger for giggles and flattened the head a little so it doesn't go back in (easy fix). The lifter and other areas in the mag look brand new, no marks from shells sliding thru. I am not saying this is a gun that some idiot flattened the firing pin and the kicked it around waiting to get fixed but it makes you wander and it did get some water on it at times. I was expecting the absolute worst buying it sight unseen but I would take a hundred like this one if I could. I am learning as I go. The piston rod has no marks from hitting one another of any kind nor any other areas I would think should show something from use. I guess they really knew how to heat treat this metal to stay pristine during use. Wow. I am impressed for a wellll used looking gun.

[johnny_xring]

Bought my Chinese SKS back in early 90's when they were absolutely almost giving them away. This one had the regular blade bayonet (not spike), barrel threaded to receiver, and stock 10 round fixed magazine and milled trigger group. Mine is a "Frankenstein" as there are about five different serial numbers on various parts. This was back in the day when the SKS "paratrooper" shorties and ones that took AK detachable mags were the rage. I put a Williams "peep" aperture rear receiver sight in it and that really helped out. The fixed 10 rd models are still legal here in Kalifornia.

My favorite load: the LEE 155gr 2R, .312 sized & gas checked, and Reloader 7 worked perfectly. The WW cases were large primer rather than the usual small rifle primer size cases and got around 1950+ fps @15'. I never tried any other cast boolits (could and would try slightly heavier) but the 123 gr j-words have to be .311 so make sure cast ones come out that or larger diameter. Don't even try .308 j-words/cast or accuracy will be really poor. I tried H4895 (in j-word loads too) but it really liked the RL-7 and the LEE cast. There are other propellants out there now but I haven't tried them.

Make sure the firing pin is free and not hanging up from cosmoline. These things can have a "slam fire" if the fp is sticking. Never had one and don't want to witness one--not pretty. They are built tough and can be 2-3 moa capable when everything comes together. Have fun for little $$.

JX

[nekshot]

having fun we are! This one would definetly slam fire in its current state. Question, how can you tell it is chrome lined? I assumed it was and then this morning I looked under magnify glass and can find no seam or any thing to say it was lined.

[OuchHot!]

It is chrome plating and won't show a seam. The fact it doesn't rust readily given the com-block priming compounds is a giveaway. The gas mechanism is also chrome plated.

[nekshot]

Here it is and my son likes it as it is so I am finished. I want to get a rubber buffer for it and drill a couple hole in gas port to soften action but it really is nice with this load. I got the gun together and grabbed 5 shells for my bolt rifle and here is the results at 80 yards. The flyer I pulled kinda surprised how good the trigger was, I was expecting more travel. I am convinced this gun can easily cut this groub in half and he is happy and I know alot more now than I did on friday afternoon! I am done with this thread. Thanks for all input as what I expected to be a lengthy project came together fast....hmmm maybe another one?

[johnny_xring]

You can improve the group by taking the bayonet/attachment spring hardware off and leave the barrel naked with the bosses still on there--no weird harmonics from that stuff vibrating down below.

You can really download this SKS (talking about really cheap $) with some cast boolits (your choice as long as .312 or so) with small charges of Unique, 2400, or similar propellants and take out the front piston and turn it into a single shot manually operated repeater. There were two articles about reloading this caliber in the American Rifleman that mentioned that and other loading data. I have tried it and it works great--kind of like having a large caliber short range squirrel gun with .22LR recoil. Have fun and get rid of the vermin!

JX

[GhostHawk]

I have a Yugo SKS with the grenade launcher, ladder sights. Mine has a thing on the gas block that lets me turn the gas off for launching.

Works great when I am shooting real brass cases with boxer primers. Turn off the gas and it turns it into a 10 round straight pull bolt action!

Fire, pull the bolt, put brass in box, release, shoot.

My favorie load is 20 grains of IMR 4895 under a Lee .312 185 gr gas checked boolit, sized .312, lubed, and loaded.

For me shoots exactly to point of aim at 50 yards, very nice tight groups.
Tulammo shoots group big orange or grapefruit size, these are more like key lime size. Bigger than a quarter, but just barely.