Skip to main content

Tag: milsurp

Modified M38 bolt.

Mauser bolt modification

Geoff 4 Comments

Spend any time exploring gun forums and corners of the internet dedicated to military surplus firearms, and you’ll quickly encounter the opinion that Mauser’s bolt design is the standard by which all other bolt actions should be judged, and that most subsequent “improvements” were purely cost-saving modifications.

As a big fan of the small-ring Mauser variants, especially in the super-accurate Swede, it was only a matter of time before I started pulling apart my Husqvarna M38 to see what I could improve. Most Mauser bolt mods are bent handles to allow for scope clearance – something which has been covered ad nauseam all over the place.

So, instead of going over the same ground about oxy-acetylene torches, vices and hammers to get your military Mauser into sporting condition, I’m instead going to look how to reduce lock time by shaving some material off the cocking piece and firing pin. As always, remember that modifying your firearm is dangerous/irreversible/stupid, etc.

What is lock time?

Lock time is the minuscule period of time between when you pull the trigger and when the firing pin crushes the primer to set off the powder inside the cartridge. In other words, how long it takes the firing pin to travel to the primer from the time it is released by the pull of the trigger and the disengagement of the sear. The term lock time comes from the age of muskets – flint locks and wheel locks – the time it it took for the lock to work.

Essentially, the longer the lock time, the more likely it is that the shooter’s natural movements will move the rifle off target. The other period of time that is quite significant is how long it takes the bullet to leave the barrel, as again, the shooter can move slightly during this time.

So, naturally, it’s in a shooter’s best interests to have as short a lock time as possible. Modern bolt actions are incredibly quick compared to old military surplus rifles, and the chief ways in which lock time can be decreased are through eliminating excess material which causes resistance, friction or drag, and making modifications to the main spring, or replacing it and/or the firing pin. There are a few “speed lock” products out there, which are kits aimed to help you reduce the length of travel of the striker, and usually the trigger pull as well. Often, they will also convert your cock-on-closing Mauser to a cock-on-opening action.

Personally, I quite like the cock-on-closing action on older rifles, as it allows you to “feel” more of the chambering and extraction process – a real plus for reloaders.

Removing material

This is something you can’t afford to do wrong, especially if you’re working on a rifle with hard-to-replace parts. Fortunately for me, I had recently bought a replacement bolt due to a different issue and had some good parts on the old bolt to work with.

If you’ve spent any time on Mauser-related forums, you’ll have come across Dutchman, or Dutch. A very knowledgeable gentleman with his own website dedicated to everything Mauser. I came across one of his posts, in which he showed the modifications that were made to cocking pieces and firing pins in order to produce the bolts for the super-accurate CG63s and CG80s. With this as inspiration, I set off on my own bolt-modification adventure.

I removed the thumb piece on the back of the cocking piece to reduce weight and drag, and made the firing pin short enough to match. As you can see in the picture below, the previous owner of this rifle cut down the main spring to decrease cocking effort on the rifle, but this can lead to unreliable firing and pierced primers, so I’ll be swapping that spring for the one on the blued bolt I recently bought.

Modified Mauser firing pin.
Modified Mauser firing pin.

As you can see in Dutchman’s post, there is more material that can be removed in order to reduce friction, as he shows some rifles with scalloped bolt sleeves. Whether I attempt this or not is still yet to be seen, I’d like to see the difference this makes first before going any further. The sear engagement on the cocking piece can also be altered according to his pics, but it looks like a welder would be needed to reinforce the sear engagement section. There’s also the fact that you’ll need to case harden this section again, as a cut-up sear piece will quickly wear away, creating a dangerous firearm.

I’ve opted to leave this bit for now, as I’m planning on replacing the factory trigger with a Timney trigger in the near future. I want to see what it’s like with the new bang button, before I go and make any permanent changes.

It’s all about the looks

The flush fit of the cut firing pin is much more attractive than the thumb piece.
The flush fit of the cut firing pin is much more attractive than the thumb piece.

Well, not all about the looks, but it does play some part. I’ve got to admit, the cut down cocking piece looks a lot more modern and svelte than its military-style counterpart. I’ll take this opportunity to remind you that this rifle was not in collectors condition when I got it from the previous owner, so it is purely a project – no one is cutting up a pristine M38 here!

Another thing I wanted to do was break up the solid black of my rifle. The “new” bolt I bought had been blued and combined with the matte black paint job I did on the action and barrel, it was starting to look pretty boring. For a bit of contrast I took the un-blued extractor and extractor collar from the original bolt and added it to my new hybrid monster. The end result is a little bit of flair, with no real practical relevance. Be warned though, that while the extractor is easy enough to remove, the collar does not spring back into shape nicely for you to put teh extractor back on. You’ll need to hold it shut while sliding the extractor over – which isn’t easy without the armourer’s tools. I used a pair of circlip pliers, which while tricky to do, managed the job in the end.

The blued bolt body creates a contrast for the polished extractor and extractor collar.
The blued bolt body creates a contrast for the polished extractor and extractor collar.
Brand new 7.62x39 PPU ammunition

Reloading for SKS or AK – is it worth it?

Geoff Leave a comment

The SKS is one of very few semi-automatic centrefire rifles that allow for cheap and cheerful shooting in New Zealand. The rifles themselves are amongst the cheapest autoloaders around and the steel-cased ammo is a bargain compared to other centrefire rounds, as detailed in a previous post on the venerable 7.62×39.

However, what about reloading for the SKS or an AK? is it worth it? Every armchair shooter in the world will want to quickly chime in on why it’s simply not worthwhile reloading ammo for these rugged rifles. Here’s my take on it.

You will lose some brass

There is no question about it. With almost any semi-auto rifle, you should be prepared to lose a few casings. Even bolt action rifles in military service rifle matches will sacrifice some brass here or there for the sake of speed. But the SKS really loves throwing brass away. The video below perfectly illustrates what I mean.

However, even with the brass being flung in every possible direction known to man, you will still get a healthy return if you have patience (and the grass isn’t too long). The majority of your shells will land between 1 and 3 O’Clock, within a few metres of your shooting position – but not all of them. On my last trip to the range I shot some brass-cased PPU with some friends, and we recovered 55 out of 60 ejected cases. That’s over 90 per cent of your brass coming back to you – not bad.

The other option is to have a brass deflector or catcher attached, but these render your rear sights useless. Therefore, this only really becomes possible with a scoped SKS, which, as we all know, is not the most worthwhile pursuit in the world.

You will damage some brass

Again, this is a given. Autoloaders are hard on brass and the SKS is no exception. There are extractor marks from rough ejection, and if you’re shooting over a concrete floor, under a roof or near any kind of structure, chances are your brass will hit it and could possibly get dented.

At the end of the day, a small level of attrition is to be expected – it’s the cost of doing business with the SKS or an AK.

It is not a super-accurate rifle

Look, handloading is not going to turn your 1 – 3 MOA SKS into a 1/2 MOA super rifle. It just won’t. Usually handloads can be made to be incredibly accurate, and this works because you develop ammunition that is suited to your rifle’s chamber. The SKS is an intermediate-cartridge fed battle-rifle with very loose tolerances, which aid its reliability. Remember, cheap, reliable, accurate – you only get to choose two.

If you’re reloading the 7.62×39 for a CZ bolt action or a  modern semi-auto, then you’re talking about a whole different ball game.

The economy isn’t quite there

The price of 7.62×39 ammo means it’s not really worthwhile buying brass-cased stuff, plus your other components and dies. It will end up costing about the same in the long run, and your accuracy won’t be much better.

Generally speaking you can pick up steel-cased ammo at one of the major gun stores for around $16 or $17 per 20 rounds. If you buy in bulk, you can save a lot more too. Realistically, if you’re cost conscious and like doing a lot of shooting, buying in bulk would be a better solution than reloading. Plus, who doesn’t like opening the safe and seeing a wall of ammunition?

M43 ammo on stripper clips
What to feed a hungry SKS?

But I’d still do it

However, I’d still do it. And the reason is, because I enjoy shooting and I enjoy reloading. Brass cased ammo costs $8 more per packet (if you know where to shop – $15 if you don’t). When thinking about the cost of the brass, I account for the fact that I get the value of one factory pack of ammunition regardless. In other words, the brass is costing me $8 per 20, even though the pack of ammo costs $25, because I shot $17 worth of factory stuff. I say $17 worth of shooting, because that’s what a box of Tula SPs would set you back.

So, I can expect to retain about 18 cases, and I might get 5 or so reloads out of them. Throw in the cost of primers and powder (which I use for other loads anyway), and projectiles. Now, this lot I’m going to reload with Hornady’s Z-Max. In 7.62×39 the Z-Max is a SST projectile, with a different coloured tip according to Nathan Foster – whose research I would definitely rely on.

Why the Z-Max? Firstly, let’s be honest, a green-tipped bullet kind of looks cool. But also, as Nathan’s research suggests, the SST or Z-Max round is probably one of the better choices of bullet for what the SKS is designed to do – wound effectively within a limited range. I could save a few cents per round by going for a soft point projectile from another manufacturer, but I’m keen to give the Hornady bullets a whirl.

As for the cost of the dies – well, hopefully that gets absorbed over time. If not – I’ll just have to shoot some more until they’ve paid for themselves.

SKS on bipod at the range.

SKS front sight tool

Geoff 1 Comment

The SKS is an immensely popular rifle in New Zealand. Whether it’s for budget-conscious hunting or recoil-reduced plinking, there are plenty of reasons to have one or two of these fun-makers in your gun safe. However, if you’ve picked up your favourite communist rifle and found that the grouping is out, you’re going to need to invest in a front sight tool – something I’ve recently done. Here are my do’s and don’t of this process.

This is what you should do when buying a front sight tool

SKS front sight tool
As you can see I have filed down the inside edge of the tool to fit around the hooded front sight.

You should definitely shop around. How much are they at the gun store – 50 bucks? Forget that. Go to Quartermaster Supplies and pick one up for $20. Most tack-on accessories for milsurp rifles can be found there for cheap. I paid $28, including all tax and couriered to my work. Sure beats paying almost twice as much at some of the big-name stores, and wasting time and petrol too.

You will probably need to file down one edge of the tool. I think these would fit an AK-style rifle without it (don’t have one on hand to check), but you’ll definitely need to shave off one of the inside edges of the U-shaped device, so that it can accommodate the round post-protector ring. This took me all of 5 minutes with a file, and a quick sand to debur. Just one edge is fine – you can flip it around to adjust the other way.

Sighting in should be done with the FORS principle in mind. That is Front Opposite, Rear Same. If you move the front sight to the left, the point of impact shifts to the right. If you raise the post, the POI will move down. If that just doesn’t make sense, check out the video below. This guy explains it fairly well – and it’ll save me repeating myself.

This is what you should not do when buying a front sight tool for the SKS

Do not try and drift the sight across with a hammer and punch. I have – naively – tried this, and not only is it frustrating, but you’ll soon end up with scuffs all over your bluing and you probably won’t move it much in the end. Spend the $28 – it’s worth it.

Don’t adjust your front sight while the gun is loaded. Seriously. Load one round at a time when sighting in if you have to, but don’t put your hand near the dangerous end of the rifle, and your body or face over the action when it’s loaded. Doesn’t that just sound like a recipe for disaster? The best safety is an empty chamber.

Don’t try and sight it in alone, unless you want a long and frustrating day at the range. Get someone on a spotting scope telling you where you’re impacting – it’s easier, and it’s always nice to have company.

You shouldn’t assume one shot is enough to determine where the rifle is shooting. I prefer to shoot a group of two or three before adjusting iron sights on a rifle like this at 100 or 200 yards. If it was a scoped target rifle on a bipod, with a more accurate round, then yes, one shot would be enough to figure out where to move your POA.

And lastly, don’t sight in with your plinking ammo and expect it to be spot-on with your good stuff. Sight in with the ammo you need to be most accurate with. The difference isn’t much, but the SKS can sometimes need all the help it can get when it comes to extracting every last bit of accuracy out of it. At least most bullets are of a similar weight and diameter when it comes to the SKS, so there won’t be a great deal of difference.

No.1 Mk iii extracting Mk 7 round.

303 SMLE bolt stiff on extraction

Geoff 7 Comments

Getting my own .303 was a dream come true. It’s a cartridge and rifle with a storied history and a pretty good performance, even by modern standards. What I was particularly looking forward to was the “buttery smooth” action I’ve heard so much about. But mine wasn’t. After removing a good deal of rust and gunk from this historic weapon, I headed down to the local service rifle club to have a shoot. The results were less than spectacular.

I didn’t have much ammo on me at the time, and was primarily going to shoot my SKS and M38, but I did want to put at least half a mag through my brand new (to me) No. 1 Mk iii SMLE. The rifle printed high and to the right, but still in a very tight group with the surplus CAC Mk 7 ammo I had on hand. The elevation was due to shooting at 100 yards with the 200 yard (minimum) setting, so I was fine with that, and it appeared the front sights were off a bit to the right. Not a major.

.303 bolt face, extractor claw and screw.
.303 bolt face, extractor claw and screw.

But getting those empty rounds out was difficult. I couldn’t stay in a shooting position and had to use two hands. My thoughts were it needed some cleaning after a long period of disuse. When I got home some quick research on the internet turned up a few that thought it could be due to fouling, so off I went to the garage to get some cleaning done.

One month later with a box of brand new Prvi Partizan .303 I went down to Taupo NZDA range to get the long guns out. After enjoying drilling tight groups with my Husky, it was a bit of a let down to pick up the Enfield and experience the same issues as before. I hadn’t changed the sights, but compensating worked fine. But still, every round was a real hard task to extract. My wife had a few shots and enjoyed the rifle, but didn’t enjoy the experience because of the tough-to-open bolt. I was crestfallen all the way back to Auckland, thinking I had managed to buy a dud surplus rifle.

What the issue actually was

So this time I took to cleaning with fervour. I disassembled the extractor and bolt face, gave everything a thorough degreasing and a light coat of Ballistol. Determined to not have the same issue again, I gave all of the bearing surfaces a generous application of oil and attempted to chamber a round. No problem. Extraction? Problem.

What?

Bolt face with extraction claw slightly pulled out.
Bolt face with extraction claw slightly pulled out.

This was beyond frustrating. I then took a closer look at the extractor claw and saw that it had become quite sharp after (many) years of use. So I undid the extractor screw, pulled the extractor claw out a bit (not all the way – that V-spring is a pain), and gave it a very light rounding off with a fine file. Extraction seemed to improve.

After three more delicate treatments like this, the bolt is now working like a charm. Now I’m actually looking forward to having a shoot with it again!

P.S. If you’ve got the same problem and want to try this fix, remember that you could damage your rifle – which as we all know can have serious consequences. Take it to a professional gunsmith if necessary.

Also, do not try chambering and extracting live rounds unless you are at a range, pointed in a safe direction. At all other times use a dummy round that you have made yourself, or buy a cheap practice round – they’re about $20 for two.

 

Corrosive ammo in SKS/AK47

Geoff 2 Comments

The SKS will outlive us all. There’s no question about it, Simonov created a carbine that will stand the test of time. Unfortunately – it just didn’t stand the test of the Soviet military. Well, not for long anyway, as its Kalashnikov cousin – the AK47 – soon took over. While its history is long and interesting, this post is concerned with the modern day application of the SKS with military surplus ammunition.

As much as the Soviets may have swiftly moved on to bigger and better (and more automatic) things, there are military forces all over the world that have made good use of the robust and reliable SKS. It’s been produced by Eastern Bloc countries and a host of Asian nations to the tune of around 15 million rifles, and has featured in many major armed conflicts. The rugged and forgiving construction of the rifle, ease of maintenance and affordability and abundance of ammunition means it will be around for a while longer with insurgent, rebel and militia factions all over the world. It’s also these three factors that keep it popular among sporting users such as hunters, plinkers and those prepping for the zombie apocalypse.

Benefits of milsurp ammo for the modern shooter

$$$ Military surplus ammunition is cheap and plentiful. If you live in the USA where importers bring in entire containers of disused Soviet arms to sell on to a willing public. Otherwise, it’s about as cheap as the cheapest commercial stuff.

Hungarian 7.62x39 from 1961 (copper wash) and 1971 (lacquer)
Hungarian 7.62×39 from 1961 (copper wash) and 1971 (lacquer)

Long shelf life If you’re storing ammo for “one day” the long shelf life of milsurp ammo probably gets you all excited. I’ve put some Hungarian ammo through my SKS that was head-stamped with 1961 and 1971 dates of manufacture. It went bang.

Steel casings This is a plus or minus, depending on how you look at it. If you’re after some cheap and cheerful time at the range, steel casings keep the cost of your ammo down (whether commercial or milsurp ammo) and also mean you don’t have to scour the range looking for your brass (which the SKS happily ejects in every direction known to man). Of course you’re a good range user who cleans up after themselves anyway, right?

Drawbacks of milsurp ammo for the modern shooter

It’s dirty But then again, if you’re looking at surplus ammunition, chances are the only other stuff you feed your SKS or AK is the cheapest factory fare, which is not much better.

It’s corrosive Well, no need to freak out about that one – we all know that military ammo in 7.62×39 is corrosive. So is 7.62x54R and a lot of 303 British too. Anything that’s been around as long as your father is probably corrosive.

However, all is not lost for the milsurp shooter on a budget. The chrome-lined bore of your rifle protects your barrel from nasty corrosive primer detritus. But the action, gas tube and magazine should still receive a thorough birthday after shooting corrosive ammo.

It’s FMJ Full metal jacket ammo is fine on the range, but it’s no good for hunting. It won’t create enough of a wound channel to quickly and humanely dispatch your game. Species commonly hunted with this round include small deer, goats, wild sheep and pigs. You don’t want an angry boar charging you down because you’ve put a pin hole through its lung. For those that keep spam cans of milsurp ammo next to their crate of SKS rifles ready to arm the family when the rebellion starts, FMJ isn’t your go-to either for the same reasons.

It’s tracer or steel core Tracer is sure fun to shoot, but the novelty wears off after you’ve emptied one or two mags. It’s also very hard to shoot because most ranges (quite reasonably) don’t want you to set their butts on fire. Same goes for forests or other hunting areas – not a good idea. Steel core again, is shunned by many ranges and also causes over-penetration on game and targets. If you’re buying milsurp ammo, try and avoid these two types of ammunition.

Conclusion

For hunting, plinking or “target shooting” with an SKS or AK-style rifle, milsurp ammo doesn’t offer many benefits that make the extra hassle worthwhile. I still have some lying around and will definitely let rip on a range trip if it’s just taking up room in my safe, but I wouldn’t go out to buy milsurp ammo specifically. If you look around and do some digging on the interwebs, chances are you can pick up some cheap commercially produced ammo for the same price as ex-military stuff. While it won’t be any more accurate or clean, it won’t get you in trouble at the range or rust out the gas tube on your rifle.

7.62x39 on stripper clips, ready for use in an AK47, NHM90 or SK
7.62×39 on stripper clips, ready for use in an AK47, NHM90 or SKS.