Had sold one.... and bought one back

[alvin]

It's the best built SKS variation, IMO. Not only the receiver was milled, the stock was teak. Reasonably accurate for a military gun. Sold one because I screwed it up (refinished the stock for fun... fun?) but I still love this one, so I bought one back NIB. I spent 5 hours to remove cosmoline.

[rolandtg]

Nothing cuts cosmoline like carb cleaner.

With the price of ammo these days 7.62x39 is the only thing anyone can afford to shoot!

[alvin]

One reason to buy it back.... I found 500 rounds of 7,62x39 in the basement and would like to consume them. Both the gun and ammo are more expansive now. This is equivalent of penny stock in the gun world, which has more potential to raise in value. Some people bought a few hundred of them in the past. I have only one.

=====

Very nice semi-auto rifle! Yugoslavian SKS performs way better than their Mauser-like M1948, which I phased out in great disappointment.

[jamese]

To remove cosmoline, get a metal trash can (or metal container that fits the gun). Place the gun in the trash can and place the can in the sun.

About 90% of the cosmoline will melt off depending on how hot the outside temp is. It works great here in Florida and it save a lot of $ on cleaners and rags, not to mention time and effort.

You can also use a heat gun to draw the stuff from the wooden stock.

Jim

[alvin]

I should have started this topic before I removed the cosmoline.... in hard/messy way. Now, spouse and kids are complaining the smell in basement although I did not smell anything special.

The only part that still has cosmoline inside and could cause trouble is the bolt. I tried to disassemble it but the pin is so tight and I gave up. The firing pin does not move back and forth freely. That's dangerous for SKS and could cause firing outside of the chamber or slam firing, etc. I tried heat gun, and the pin moves free when temperature is high, but it returns to "sticky" mode after the bolt cools down.

This problem must be resolved before I can carry it to the range.

[rolandtg]

Seriously, try spray carburetor cleaner on the metal parts.
I too struggled with removing cosmoline until a local gunsmith gave me the tip.

I've used it on many of my old surplus weapons to remove cosmoline. It works like magic!
The carb cleaner will dissolve the cosmoline instantly and I've never had it damage the finish on any metal.
I just used some this weekend to clean a Finnish-capture Mosin-Nagant I just picked up.

As far as I can tell the spray carb cleaner solution is mostly toluene.

For the stock I've done what was suggested above, hot Texas sun and lots of rags.

[davjed]

years ago I bought a Remington made 1917 Enfield that was stored in cosmoline. I separated the wood and metal parts, put all the metal parts in a long shallow pan (half an old gas tank), added water and a cup of Tide detergent to it and put it on a fire. After a rolling boil of about 15 minutes the cosmoline melted and floated to the top. The metal parts came out ready to be wiped dry and oiled. The stock was another matter.......

[azlaw]

Tell ya what really works on old military gunstocks, if you dare that is. The dishwasher. One or two cycles, cleans everything off, steams out the dents, and doesn't hurt the wood. Doesn't stink the dishwasher up as much as you'd think. My wife's rage was significant, but ultimately manageable.

Dry for a long time, then finish to taste. Will raise the grain a little, but just a little, so slight sanding is needed.

H

[alvin]

thank for advices. I will try carb cleaner on the bolt.

[alvin]

Just remembered a story regarding cosmoline (I don't know when it's invented,
I assume it's cosmoline).

August 28 of 1928, Shanghai communist special operation group planned to
rescue their captured leader Peng Pai (nick name "King of Cantonese Peasant
Movement") by ambushing at a bridge when he would be moved from one jail
to another. Unexpectedly, the newly bought Mauser Broomhandles from a French
dealer were cosmoline covered and they had to spent more than an hour to
clean up. When they finally arrived at the bridge, the police truck had
passed. On August 30th, Peng was executed by police. Another version of
the story says the rescue team indeed arrived the bridge on time but found
the weapons were unusable because of the "thickly covered gun grease".

[trigger643]

Though a Yugo is on my list, I must provoke... I believe the original Russian, then the Romian and then the Chinese are superior to the the Yugo in fit and finish... I'm looking for a Yugo without the '66 granade launcher modification.

and +1 for break cleaner and +1 for sun. I leave my Cosmo guns against the fence and let them drip for a hot day in the sun, the wash off the rest with break cleaner...

[alvin]

I have seen all of them. Russian, Chinese, and Romanian are slimmer and lighter, but talking about quality.... Russian holds a special position in SKS, they were the 'original' ones, let's skip that. Chinese SKS (so called 'Type 56 Semi") span various levels of qualities, some were well made, some were not -- especially those commercial ones targeted specificly for the U.S. civilian gun market. Romanian SKS? my opinion has NEVER been high.

I have not seen Albanian and North Korean SKS yet.... an industrial environemnt is not supposed to be able to make good guns without also making some other high quality products..... was Yugoslavian industry an exception? Probably they also make some other good stuffs but I don't know.

[rolandtg]

I had a Norinco SKS I bought new in ~1992 for something like $79!
It was a POS that I could never get to work right.
No matter what I tried I couldn't get it to feed that cheap Chinese copper-washed steel cased/jacketed ammo reliably.
I sold it six months later for ~$65.
I laugh when I see these "pre-ban" Chinese SKS's are going for as much as $300 now.
Go figure.

[Rod WMG]

There are Norinco's and there are Norinco's. As I've been told, they were not all made in one factory. Mine looks as though the thumbhole stock were made from the leg off a 1950's desk, but it is very accurate and feeds everything I've put through it. It's actually one of my favorite long guns and has an AK style mag system.

[alvin]

Norinco is a "shell" company, exporter. They order guns from many factories and export them. Some factories are big and some are small. In the past, serving in a big factory making military items was a good job (relatively), and things gradually changed, the pay is probably below average these days. It's not easy to keep skillful workers and hiring new capable youngs. You know, they need to pay mortgage, child's tuition, big screen TV etc as well, so .... normal. This world is same across the board.

I went to the range and shot 80 rounds from it. It worked great. I also tried carb cleaner, and found it worked just like GUN SCRAPPER, but carb cleaner is cheaper, $1.99 a bottle, and worked great as well.

[rolandtg]

Originally posted by alvin
I went to the range and shot 80 rounds from it. It worked great. I also tried carb cleaner, and found it worked just like GUN SCRAPPER, but carb cleaner is cheaper, $1.99 a bottle, and worked great as well.

I'm glad the carb cleaner appears to have worked for you.

As far as the Norinco SKS, yeah I got a lemon.
They were selling like hotcakes back then so I know they can't all have been bad.

[CROLUGER]

Yugoslavian SKS - original name is PAP M59/66. It's one of the best SKS.
(Croatian, Serbian) - PAP M59/66 = Poluautomatska pu�¡ka model 59/66
(UK, USA) PAP M59/66 = semi automatic rifle model 59/66.
The rifle is made in Crvena Zastava factory (now Zastava Arms - Serbia).
I have had one.

[alvin]

CROLUGER -- I noticed your location being 'Croatia' . Any data on how many M59/66 were made by Zastava Arms? When did the production of this rifle stop?