Safety Concern W/Yugo SKS

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  • arbud

    Active Member
    Jan 27, 2008
    809
    Towson
    Have an opportunity to buy a real nice Yugo sks at a good price. All the numbers match except the I guess you call it the trigger group. The part with the trigger, all the springs, sear, etc that slides into the bottom of rifle.
    As long as the sear has not been fooled with should there be any concerns with this situation. Thanks guys, Bud
     

    gmharle

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 29, 2015
    824
    Millers, MD
    Have an opportunity to buy a real nice Yugo sks at a good price. All the numbers match except the I guess you call it the trigger group. The part with the trigger, all the springs, sear, etc that slides into the bottom of rifle.
    As long as the sear has not been fooled with should there be any concerns with this situation. Thanks guys, Bud

    If you do get it, I would recommend putting in one of the Murrays firing pin kits to greatly reduce if not eliminate the chance of slam firing. Here is a good video on how to test the sear. If the hammer moves up slightly before breaking then it likely not been messed with. If it goes down then you should more closely examine the sear for modification. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-d5-WAgSno
     

    bbrown

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 10, 2009
    3,032
    MD
    Be sure to thoroughly clean all the cosmoline out of the firing pin channel/hole. IIRC, SKSs have a free-floating FP. If it's gunked up with sticky or dried cosmolene you can get a slam fire.
     

    cdub702

    Member
    May 13, 2017
    60
    Mr Rodgers Neighborhood
    Any SKS Yugo , Russian Chinese or whatever that you intend to carry "cocked and locked" should be checked for hammer sear engagement. Take off the top cover, remove the bolt and carrier, then cock the hammer and slowly pull back on the trigger. The first thing you will notice is the sear being moved by the trigger bar. There should also be a slight backward movement of the hammer. If so, evertything is OK.

    If the hammer does not move at all, or worse yet, begins to move forward immediately, you do not have positve engagement of the sear. In the latter case, the rifle could fire if dropped with a round in the chamber.

    If you don't have positive sear engagement, you can go over to sksboards.com and youtube; there is a wealth of knowledge over there on trigger rework, as well as a few individuals that offer trigger work services. It might be a good time to eliminate a hard trigger pull, creep, roughness, etc.

    Hope this helps.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,680
    Also SKS sears are easy to replace and cost about $15.

    As what others have said on checking it, but even if it has issues I would let that stop you from buying one. Their sears are easy to reshape with plenty of how toos and a new/used one is also cheap.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    Most likely you will find a neutral sear engagement but it is easy enough to fix and there are some good instructions available. Make sure to take the gas valve apart and clean it thoroughly.

    I am not a gunsmith, but I have had a few SKSs on my bench for cleaning and function checks. One had a stuck firing pin! That said, I have formed some opinions on the free floating firing pin.

    It is the same design used on the AR15 and if you clean the bolt when required, no spring should ever be needed on the firing pin provided you have slightly positive engagement between the hammer and sear mating surfaces. If you do a crappy trigger job or leave it neutral, a Murray's firing pin kit may help but IMO it is a bandaid fix that could cause problems. I saw one that had a broken spring which also sent it into full auto until the mag was empty. This bolt was particularly hard to disassemble and repair because of the broken Murray's spring jamming the firing pin forward. Millions have been used quite safely without Murray's modifications.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    That's a shame. My SKS is my favorite rifle! After working the sear and hammer a little on the stones, it has positive engagement, and a very smooth 5.5 # trigger pull with a clean break. It can be safely carried with a round chambered if necessary.

    Ammunition is inexpensive and readily available. Parts are available so they can be maintained without taking out a mortgage, too. Lots of pros to owning an SKS. Most of all, they are a blast to shoot!
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,680
    That's a shame. My SKS is my favorite rifle! After working the sear and hammer a little on the stones, it has positive engagement, and a very smooth 5.5 # trigger pull with a clean break. It can be safely carried with a round chambered if necessary.

    Ammunition is inexpensive and readily available. Parts are available so they can be maintained without taking out a mortgage, too. Lots of pros to owning an SKS. Most of all, they are a blast to shoot!

    I sneered at SKS when I didn’t know anything about guns ages ago. I wasn’t interested in them even once I knew better. I finally decided I wanted something in 7.62x39. For a Norinco, refinished it and LOVE it. I can’t say it is my favorite rifle, but it might make the list if I could only keep 4 long guns. An AR, my M1 carbine and my Sako .308 would probably win out. I might keep the SKS before I kept my Garand. It is more practical, even if I have more attachment to the Garand and think is is wonderful. The SKS is a quarter or less per shot and I’ve got it shooting 2.5” groups at 100yds, is very light and handy. My Garand actually isn’t quiet as accurate (close), weighs a boat and costs closer to 3 quarters a shot.

    Nothing else would even be close. I’d rather my SKS than an AK.
     

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