I made the mistake today of not taking my SKS to the range. Within the first 10 minutes, my 44 Magnum jammed and my rifle shooting was over for the day. Check out my 2010 Range Report and Henry 44 Magnum pages for more on that.
THAT IS ONE NICE SKS!
I discovered at the range last weekend that one thing you will absolutely need when you install your TechSIGHTS are a couple of very simple and inexpensive adjustment tools. Without them it's very difficult to adjust the sights without marring the finish, though I was able to after some effort with the TechSIGHTS on my 10/22. The tool shown above will adjust rear windage and front sight elevation. The tool goes for $7.95 from TechSIGHTS and makes front sight removal, installation and adjustment a cinch.
To install or adjust the front sight, simply drop the sight adjustment tool through the hole in the sight hood. Two sides are flat, so once the tool fits over the sight, it easily rotates the sight in or out (up or down). I was actually amazed how easily the old sight rotated out of the threads. I'm notorious for snapping off screws, but I'm happy to say that tonight I wasn't up to my usual form. The sight came out in tact thanks to this simple tool.
This little gadget goes for a whopping $5 and made an almost impossible task easy. I tried to rotate the rear sight at the range but couldn't do it without making a mess of the finish. The wrench has a tiny hook that slips over the adjuster and the thing just spins. It should now be a breeze to adjust the elevation. This gadget is a must. It's also capable of adjusting the rear windage in a pinch.
The front sight adjusting tool is similar to an M16 sight adjuster, but slightly smaller. I tried a M16 tool at the range and the pins were slightly too big. This one fits. I highly recommend ordering these tools when you order your sight, and they will only add $12.95 to the bill. Here's the link where they can be ordered. http://www.tech-sights.com/, then click 'Accessories' in the left column.
My daughter bought me an SKS bipod for Christmas, and this was my first opportunity to try it out. Usually when I'm shooting my SKS from the bench, the bayonet always seems to be in the way. It's like trying to stand up straight on the blade of an ice skate. The bipod gave me much more stability and it's also nice that the rifle remains upright when loading in the stripper clip or when I want to walk away from the table. For an inexpensive bipod, I was very happy with it. This was also my first opportunity to test out the TechSIGHTS.
I'm nearsighted and have been needing an eye exam for some time now, so it was immediately obvious that it was much easier to quickly acquire my target with this sight system. With a peep sight, you basically forget there's a rear sight and simply deal with the from sight post. That part of the system worked great. If you read my SKS page, you'll see that I bore-sighted this rifle in with my LaserLyte green bore sighter. That's why I was amazed at how far off I was shooting. My groups were similar to those using iron sights, but I was hitting about a foot above my target. I found that without sight adjustment tools, this sight is very difficult to adjust, so I recommend ordering the inexpensive adjustment tools when you order your sights. This will be an easy fix once I get the tools. The sights remained good and solid, which is an important issue with the SKS configuration since most SKS sight systems I've tried tend to 'walk'. My next test will be removing the rear sight to clean the rifle, and reassemble it to see if it stays on target. I'll need to sight it in before I can conduct the test. I expect to have that report up in a few weeks. I always have to laugh when it's time to pick up cases after the shoot, which are usually 3 tables away...
"Bob here is a pic of the Techsight replacement front compared to the standard SKS front sight post. As you can see it's about half the diameter of the original post and gives you a finer aiming point and also a bit taller which give you a little mores range of adjustment,for $7 shipped it's a good cheap accuracy improvement."
Yugo SKS
ChineseHi Bob,
My Unissued Yugo ran me about $149 and my NIB Chinese factory /26\ hit me up for $200 didn't mind paying that for it though being it was still in the box and never fired. There still importing the Russians up in Canada for about the price of a nice Chinese here along with some of the Chinese M14 knockoffs. The Russians is the grandfather of the SKS but I like both of mine just as good, they shoot just as well,which is all that matters to me. Would still be nice to own one though.
When I arrived home from work today I was psyched to see that my SKS TechSIGHTS had arrived. This sighting system (Model TS2000) is an M1-type peep-sight setup that attaches to the receiver cover via the takedown latch. That's the pin that you rotate and withdraw to remove the receiver cover.
A reader named Ronnie has been leaving some excellent comments here and on the reloading page. Take the time to read them. Here's a few links he's sent me today, along with photos of cartridges for 7.62 x 39 and 7.62 x 54 he's reloaded:
CNC Warrior's new gas valve
Removing the existing gas valve
Installing the new gas valve
Tapping in the new gas valve
As some of you may know, I was a Navy Seabee and after we fired our M-16's, the battalion always scrubbed their weapons thoroughly in a trough of solvent, then hosed them down with cans of WD-40. I still sometimes follow that routine to some extent, but it's not the best idea, especially when shooting military surplus ammo. WD-40 is an very good solvent, and I've always liked the idea that I could spray a hi-pressure stream into hard to reach places. The problem is that it's a penetrating oil and I've heard it contains of a high percentage of kerosene (though I can't find that info anywhere, including the 'Material Safety Data Sheet')."....the last thing I need when lives are on the line is dead ammo..."
My daughter bought me this bipod for Christmas for my SKS. It's perfect and sells for only $22 including shipping! Picked it up on Amazon.com. Here's the link. The store's name is 'The Global Sportsman'. After installing the bipod, I noticed that there's a bit of forward and backward play due to the fact that there's a 1/32" or so gap between the top of the biopod lug and the inside top of the bayonet clamp. I went through my bins of junk and found an aluminum picture hanger; the kind with a jagged side that you nail into the back of a frame to hang it from a nail. I snapped off and filed down a tiny piece less than 1/4" square and slid it into the gap with a bit of LockTite. Now it's as solid as a rock. This isn't the kind of bipod you would want in combat if you plan to hit the dirt bipod first while firing your weapon. But if you shoot your rifle from a bench, I think this will do the trick. Now the question is how long it will last. I'll let you know if and when it fails.
Here's a report on my first range shoot with this Yugo SKS in two years. I installed a spring-loaded firing pin kit and everything went well. CLICK HERE to read the story.
I discovered a broken spring in one of my bolts and asked Ben why this occurred. Here's some interesting info he just sent me:
Removing the firing pin retainer
The bolt with new spring-loaded kit installedHere's the original letter I received from Ben:...I’d like to send you a Firing Pin Kit and a Gas Valve. We've heard reports that when (one of our competitor's) valves are installed, the gas hole in the valve does not correctly line up with the hole in the gas block/barrel. Maybe there are only a few that are mis-aligned but that is the type of quality control that makes us feel like ours are slightly better. But it’s not just that. Ours are also different in the fact that ours are machined slightly oversize, especially to help get the older, more used 59/66’s running again. Plus, customers have their choice of an “original” style Valve, that uses the original spring loaded button/selector, or our “New Style” that has a socket head cap screw , that’s used in place of the spring loaded button. And we even include an Allen wrench. Allows semi-permanent positioning of the valve so it can’t be accidentally knocked out of position. One customer in particular uses this version to “lock” it into single-shot mode while his 17 yr old son is deer hunting in a deer stand nearby, but not directly chaperoned. Ours are made from SS as this seems to make the inevitable cleaning of the carbon build-up on the valve much easier. While you may not have an “older, more used” Yugo to test it on, you could install it in the gas block, note the tighter fit you will feel, and at least start to install the gas tube on it, and again feel the tightness difference. Ours are advertised on our site for $21.00. But this includes CC fee and shipping. (First Class) So I believe they will only be slightly higher than theirs once shipping and/or CC fee are added...
Hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas.
Thanks ~Ben Murray, ben@murraysguns.com
http://www.murraysguns.com/sksown.htm
READ: Popped Primer(s) www.murraysguns.com/poppedprimers.htmSeems like a great reason to start reloading my own 7.62x39 ammo.
This is one of the attributes of our firing pin kit. When a hole gets blown through a primer, hot gas blows back through the firing pin hole with significant force. Enough in some cases to blow an “original free-floating” FP out the back of the bolt. The bump on the FP that is supposed to stop rearward movement against Retaining Pin becomes sheared off at worst and often times bent, and begins sticking both rearward and forward. But, with our FP Kit the spring is usually all that is damaged. The “Murrays” FP, even without a spring, will still function safely. But we supply replacement springs, no charge. This only happens with the imported (mostly Russian) “Berdan” primed ammo. With American, or any “Boxer” primed ammo, this will never occur. It only takes one “popped primer” incident to fry our spring.
It's been about 2 years since I sold off my SKSs to buy rifles I needed for hunting. Well as of today, this blog is up and running again! I repurchased my original SKS this morning, and it doesn't look like it's even been shot. Check back after Christmas as I begin posting again. Until then, have a Very Merry Christmas!!
(My high-capacity magazine)
In the top photo, my dog Sandy is standing in for Vanna White as she shows you today's targets. Today everything was covered with 3 solid inches of rock hard, smooth icy snow. I went to the range late afternoon yesterday, but it was so cold that no one was shooting (that's very rare). 14F is too cold. Today it was in the upper 20's so it felt like a heat wave to all but my finger tips. The target frames at the range are so shot up that it's almost impossible to stick a target to the cardboard. If you look at the photo of Sandy again, you'll notice that my targets are on white backers. What I now do is bring my own cardboard covered with a 4 ft sheet of paper. I then sick a single target to that. It makes it MUCH easier to set up my targets and to see the bullet holes when I'm sighting in a new scope or gun. Forget the range's backers. It's absolutely impossible to locate a shot if you miss the target. This makes it simple at 100 yards.
