Jeez! SKS trigger job

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  • lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    I am pretty confident in my skills, but messing with a FCG other than replacing parts is something that has made me nervous and never done. Well, the Norinco SKS I just picked up has great metal, beat up “red” wood and a really nasty trigger.

    So I watched a bunch of YouTube videos (the IV8888 and Tactical Canadian one’s are must see for doing it) and then had at it.

    I only shortened the sear a few tenths of a mm as I didn’t have the stones to mess with that much at all. I’ll likely go back at some point and shorten it further to reduce trigger pull distance.

    There was also still a lot of cosmoline packed in the FCG (nylon brush and soaking in mineral oil got it more or less cleaned out).

    I then reshaped the sear engagement surface as it had very slightly negative engagement. Drop testing and banging on it with a rubber mallet couldn’t get the hammer to drop before working on it. I used a 600 grit stone and took about 20 minutes slowly changing the shape. It is now neutral or maybe just the tinniest but negative.

    I then polished with a 2000 grit stone on the sear face and hammer engagement surface. Polished the receiver and sear rails with some 1000 grit and then hit everything with some bluing paste.

    The initial take-up was yucky before (probably the cosmoline) and it is now clean and smooth until you hit that initial resistance. There is maybe 4mm or creep, but it is a lot smoother (not perfect as the sear face might still have some imperfections from reshaping). Not anything I’d really call gritty. Then it has a clean break once you finally hit that final wall before the hammer drops.

    Before it was yucky on take up (best way I can describe it), gritty and halting pulling through the roughly 5mm of creep and then a numb hammer drop where it was very hard to tell when it would drop.

    So way better.

    I also smacked it around with a rubber hammer and dropped it a few times on a rug over concrete a few times and the hammer wouldn’t drop, even when I’d pulled it right up to the edge of releasing, let go and then dropped it.

    So yay! I didn’t F it up.

    Eventually I’ll probably take it apart again and spend some more time shortening the sear so the take up is less once I hit resistance as well as very, very slightly extra reshaping of the sear face and a ton more polishing.

    Definitely the sort of thing where I want a little creep still (just smooth) before it releases the hammer. I’d just of course prefer less. Also if I can get a decent positive sear engagement angle I’d feel comfortable dropping in a Wolf or McCarbo reduces power spring to lighten the trigger pull. I’d probably shoot for about 1mm instead of the 4mm or so there is now.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    I highly recommend that you have at least some positive sear engagement for safety. My SKS has a very smooth 6.0 lb. trigger pull, almost no creep, and a clean break with positive sear engagement.

    I could reduce the trigger pull simply by changing the engagement angle but I prefer to know that I can drop the weapon and not fear an accidental discharge. It holds very nice groups, too. It is better than my eyes will allow me to shoot, for sure! Since I know that I will not be the last owner of my firearms(they will surely outlast me) it is my duty to insure they will be safe for any future owner.

    I have done several trigger jobs on SKSs and have gotten good feedback from the owners. All are positive and around 6.0 lbs. The most important thing is for it to be smooth IMO. Get the stones or use some 2000 grit Emory paper on a solid backing to polish the mating surfaces. A little oil will help. Remember that most military weapons have a high trigger pull for a reason. It gives the shooter a chance to back off if circumstances dictate.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    Yeah, that’s part of the reason I need to hit it again. It is just very slightly negative and only at the very end of the creep. Watching the hammer there is no movement until immediately before it breaks and then the hammer moves forward tiny fractions of an inch and then snap. I’ve done pretty much everything I can think of hammering on the trigger group and drop testing the gun short of cracking the stock and I can’t get an accidental hammer fall.

    But I do want to reshape the angle just a little more and work longer to smooth it out. But most importantly shorten the sear to reduce that creep. I am highly confident in the safety of it, but it wouldn’t hurt to add just a fraction more.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    I have found that it takes very little to reduce the travel. Removing only a little material makes a big difference. I suggest you go slowly and check it often until you get it the way you want. Make sure that you slightly round off any sharp edges on the mating surfaces after shaping. This will eliminate any drag right before the break and make it very smooth and clean. Again, it does not take much. The beauty of the SKS sear is that replacements are available if you make a mistake.
    Good luck and have fun!
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    I have found that it takes very little to reduce the travel. Removing only a little material makes a big difference. I suggest you go slowly and check it often until you get it the way you want. Make sure that you slightly round off any sharp edges on the mating surfaces after shaping. This will eliminate any drag right before the break and make it very smooth and clean. Again, it does not take much. The beauty of the SKS sear is that replacements are available if you make a mistake.
    Good luck and have fun!

    Thanks! Yeah, much testing is my plan. Take off a tenth or two of a milimeter, reassemble, test it out. Rinse and repeat. I’d don’t want zero creep like a few of my best triggers give me. Enough that I can load the trigger up and feel it just give and then it breaks is my goal.
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    At least you didn't do a trigger job like what a guy did to a Mosin M44. He honed down the internals to give ti a smooth pull, my there was no stop before the break. It was just a clean pull and the gun would go off at random pull lengths. I fired 5 rounds out of it, just to make sure that I knew what I was feeling. At that point I told him to stop firing it, due to how dangerous it was.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    At least you didn't do a trigger job like what a guy did to a Mosin M44. He honed down the internals to give ti a smooth pull, my there was no stop before the break. It was just a clean pull and the gun would go off at random pull lengths. I fired 5 rounds out of it, just to make sure that I knew what I was feeling. At that point I told him to stop firing it, due to how dangerous it was.

    Oi! Yeah, this one has some nice positivness to it and you can feel the break coming even if you’ve never shotnit before. It is predictable from shot to shot and smooth. It still wish the pull was a little shorter and a little less effort, but I don’t want to take it any further and either make it unsafe or unpredictable. I might try a lighter sear/mag catch spring at some point to see what it would do, but I am worried it might have safety implications.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    I would caution against changing the springs if you plan on shooting commie ammo. The primers tend to be tough and require a strong hammer spring.

    If you want to remove the creep a little, you need to remove material from the end of the sear. I have seen it done by filing a small wedge off on the top or by sanding entire end of the sear. You must not get it too hot or the tempering could be weakened. I have used the wedge method on several with good results. Go slowly! You want to have some trigger movement before it breaks and keep the positive engagement with the hammer!
     

    IronEye

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 10, 2018
    790
    Howard County
    I would caution against changing the springs if you plan on shooting commie ammo. The primers tend to be tough and require a strong hammer spring.

    If you want to remove the creep a little, you need to remove material from the end of the sear. I have seen it done by filing a small wedge off on the top or by sanding entire end of the sear. You must not get it too hot or the tempering could be weakened. I have used the wedge method on several with good results. Go slowly! You want to have some trigger movement before it breaks and keep the positive engagement with the hammer!

    Keep positive engagement? On my 1960's Chinese SKS the sole reason I touched the sear was to correct the negative engagement. I saw no evidence that it didn't leave the factory like that.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    Generally on an SKS, removing the creep is the last part of the trigger job when I do them so the engagement has been dealt with in my comment above. I focus on the angle of engagement, polish the mating surfaces, polish all areas in the trigger group where friction may be present, then deal with the creep.

    You are correct about the way they were originally built. Usually neutral or a little negative engagement.
     

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