Firing pin bent on my Yugo SKS

[TheOtherOne]

The other day I took the rifle out with my brother and we shot about 100 rounds through it in total. It worked great for me every time I pulled the trigger but on a 10 round stripper clip when my brother was shooting it he kept asking me if the trigger was extra hard to pull and was hand cycling and ejecting every other round because he couldn't get it to go. I picked it up again right after him and put another 10 rounds through it without issue. I was kind of confused because I couldn't figure out what we were doing any different.

Well, when I finally got around to cleaning it last night I noticed the firing pin was barely moving in and out. It didn't seem like it was coming out far enough either. I took it apart and actually had to use a pair of pliers to pull the firing pin out. I couldn't get it by hand. I found a tiny metal shaving in it but other than that it was perfectly clean. No cosmoline or anything. I had soaked the bolt in mineral spirits when I first got the rifle and made sure the pin moved freely. I thought maybe that shaving was somehow keeping it from moving but after I tried reinserting the firing pin it was still just as hard to move so I looked closer and it was slightly bent!

I'm guessing it's not a good idea to go stick this thing in the vise to see if I can get it perfectly straight so does anyone know a good source for SKS firing pins? And do I have to replace the bolt too? I have no idea why it would of bent in the first place.

 

[R.H. Lee]

Get another one
http://www.e-gunparts.com/product.asp?chrProductSKU=490790

 

[Commissar Gribb]

just goes to show

yugo SKSs are so reliable that they'll even work with a bent firing pin! Holy crap!

 

[Smokey Joe]

Get another pin!!

TheOtherOne--RileyMc has the best source. Get a new straight firing pin.

One bad habit the SKS has is slam-fires, caused usually by caked dried lubricant not letting the firing pin move freely back & forth in the bolt. So the firing pin just sits there--it has no rebound spring to push it back--and when the bolt slams on the next round, BANG! The cure is to clean the bolt and firing pin, & lube it with light oil. A firing pin with a rebound spring is available as an after-market item; the spring backs up the firing pin after the hammer has sent it forward, so when the bolt shuts on the next round, the firing pin is definitely out of the way.

Anyhow, in the SKS, it is imperative that the firing pin be able to move freely back and forth inside the bolt. Anything (usually grease) that makes the pin move sluggishly is a big NO-NO.

The slam-fire is only a safety hazard when the shooter drops the rifle in surprise when it happens, and the SKS is still firing. So, when you shoot an SKS, you must be aware of the possiblity, and if it goes BLA-LA-LAM, hold onto the darn thing. Not being designed as a machine gun, it usually jams on the 3rd round, but you can't count on it. Just hold onto it, keep it pointed downrange until it shuts up, and you have just been notified that your SKS's bolt and firing pin want attention.

My point is that anything at all that interferes with the SKS firing pin's free movement--including a bent firing pin--is a problem waiting to happen, and a potential accident.

Get a new firing pin.

 

[TheOtherOne]

I found them at AIM for $4.95.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/SKS_Parts_Accessories.html

I just wish I could find some place that had one locally because it will feel so wrong paying all that shipping for one little thing. I probably won't be able to stop myself from ordering another gun from them to make it seem more worthwhile!

 

[Mike Hull]

Clicking on that attachment above opened a host of spyware containing sites.
I had to manually shut down the computer to stop the stuff, and I'm using mozilla firefox.
Bad ju ju!!

 

[TheOtherOne]

Clicking on that attachment above opened a host of spyware containing sites.
I had to manually shut down the computer to stop the stuff, and I'm using mozilla firefox.
Bad ju ju!!

The Imageshack link? I've never had any spyware issues with that site. There's little text ads they put around the enlargement but that's all I've ever seen. Then again, I am using the superior browser: Internet Explorer. Maybe the hackers wet dream known as Firefox extensions are the problem?

 

[VorpalSpork]

I'm using FireFox, and I don't have any problems. Guess again.

 

[g1726]

My friends Yugo had a bent firing pin as well, except it was also too long. It had about .070" protrusion, so it was piercing primers and the bit of primer was coming back into the firing pin hole as well. A new firing pin (checked for protrusion) and it's been fine for the 1500 rounds ever since.

I almost wonder if the firing pins were a little on the soft side.

 

[TheOtherOne]

My friends Yugo had a bent firing pin as well, except it was also too long. It had about .070" protrusion, so it was piercing primers and the bit of primer was coming back into the firing pin hole as well.

I wonder if that's what the little shaving of metal is that I found? You can barely see it to the left of the firing pin in the picture I posted.

I wonder if that somehow got jammed in there and caused it to bend.