Trigger question

[Maxwray111]

I have seen a lot on the web saying the trigger pull tended to be rough and on the heavy side. Mine however, seems comparable to my sporterized Mauser K98k and my Taurus G2C, roughly 4-6 pounds and very smooth. From looking at pictures and videos, I think it might have had the Wolff spring kit installed. My question is there any way to know for sure, or did I just get lucky?

By the way, I am truly enjoying the forum. TIA

[Greatguns]

I'm thinking 4-6 lbs is about normal. Most of any dislike of the SKS trigger pull is from a gritty feel and the length of pull in the trigger.

[running-man]

I think the only way to really know for sure is to tear into it and see what might have been done.  Are surfaces polished?  Have the peens on some of pins been removed?  Are there new parts in there? etc.

I think straight from the factory, the SKS generally has a pretty cruddy trigger.  Some are certainly better than others though.  Some are downright dangerous. 

If one was to pull the trigger group apart, change out the springs, polish contact surfaces, ensure positive to neutral sear engagement, etc. I would suspect that you could clean quite a bit of it up to be comparable to a Mauser trigger (maybe?  Now that I think about it I don't think I have a single SKS that compares to a Mauser trigger ).

[Greatguns]

The main thing is the neutral to positive sear engagement. The hammer should either move slightly rearward or stay in place as the trigger is pulled until the sear releases the hammer. If the hammer moves forward (negative engagement) upon initial trigger pull, that is a no-no and can be dangerous. You can test that, with the bolt/carrier in battery, by removing the receiver cover and recoil spring assembly then pulling the trigger to check hammer movement. Make sure you either have the firing pin removed, a dummy round in place, or something else to prevent dry firing against the firing pin.

[Maxwray111]

I pulled the trigger group last night and didn't see any obvious signs of polishing, but I didn't look at the metal that close. It does have a slightly positive sear engagement. I did notice the sear spring and trigger spring both appear to be made of smaller gauge wire than the originals. Granted I am using pictures for reference, but comparing them to the other parts, I think it's a reasonable guess. I will pull the group again in the next day or so and see if there are any signs of polishing. I'm just new to these weapons, and I was always told the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

[Greatguns]

Realistically, 4-6lbs smooth pull on an SKS trigger with positive engagement is pretty decent. It is a military made weapon after all, not a precision target rifle. Personally, if it were mine, I'd be tickled pink at that setup.

[Maxwray111]

I am happy with it. I was just more curious than anything. I have spent most of my life studying history and politics, so I tend to get really deep into anything that interests me along those lines. And I find the story of this weapon fascinating and so my natural tendency is to try to find out all I can about it.
It's kind of like the firing pin issue. The first thing I heard after getting mine was I had to change to a spring-loaded firing pin to prevent slam firing. Further research however convinced me this was unnecessary, as long as I kept it clean and free-floating, just like any of the many other weapons which use the same setup.

[IceCat1]

I am happy with it. I was just more curious than anything. I have spent most of my life studying history and politics, so I tend to get really deep into anything that interests me along those lines. And I find the story of this weapon fascinating and so my natural tendency is to try to find out all I can about it.
It's kind of like the firing pin issue. The first thing I heard after getting mine was I had to change to a spring-loaded firing pin to prevent slam firing. Further research however convinced me this was unnecessary, as long as I kept it clean and free-floating, just like any of the many other weapons which use the same setup.

While you don’t have to “have” a spring loaded firing pin it’s a good idea to install one for insurance purposes. Would it stop slam fires 100%? No but it greatly reduces the chance. I’ve not heard of a slam fire with the spring loaded fp. Although I have experienced a slam fire without one. Just food for thought.

[Boris Badinov]

^^^no

Firing pin related slam fires are caused by compromised pins-- it doesn't matter if its free floating or spring loaded. Spring loaded firing pins are just as susceptible to slam fire as free floating pins.

Keep the bolt clean and the fp channel free of buildup
And check your spent casings regularly for ruptured
Primers. The corrosive debris from a ruptured primer is possibly the greatest risk for future fp related slam fires.

If the slam fire is related instead to a trigger issue, a  spring loaded pin will do nothing to stop it.

Keep the bolt and fp channel clean and inspect your spent casings for irregular primer strikes and you'll be just fine.

[running-man]

While you don’t have to “have” a spring loaded firing pin it’s a good idea to install one for insurance purposes. Would it stop slam fires 100%? No but it greatly reduces the chance. I’ve not heard of a slam fire with the spring loaded fp. Although I have experienced a slam fire without one. Just food for thought.

(Ha while I was typing this Boris replied, I agree with most everything he says, wasn't even thinking of sear/trigger group issues, but that is always a possibility too)

I would say you have to pick your poison based on your situation.  Slamfires with free floating firing pins are most certainly common enough to warrant paying particular care to ensuring that the FP channel is clean, the FP is straight, the FP tip is in good shape, and the tapered fit between the FP and bolt doesn't induce the FP to stick forward.  While keeping a clean firearm in good operating condition is not a 100% solution either, it does go a long way to keeping slamfire chances down pretty low.

Free floating FPs can impart a pretty healthy dent in the next round's primer upon chambering and spring loaded FPs definitely help to prevent this.  Russian and combloc ammo with their typically hard Berdan primers is not nearly as susceptible to unintentional discharge under these conditions as domestic brass with boxer primers. 

The downside is that Russian and combloc ammo sometimes has a pierced/blown primer issue where the pressure profile of a fired round rises above some threshold that causes the primer to fail and allows hot gasses to flow into the FP channel of the bolt.  I've seen instances where when that occurs with a FP spring installed, the FP spring melts and causes the FP to stick forward...causing a slamfire that will not resolve itself until the magazine is empty, the bolt can be pulled & the bolt torn down, and the damaged hardware replaced.  Always a good idea to regularly check for pierced/blown out primers when firing Russian & combloc ammo.

I would say that the most important thing is to simply become comfortable your SKS: understand how it operates, learn how it shoots in different conditions with different ammunition.  Observe how it runs and make note of things that just don't seem right.  Keep it well maintained and clean.  Think about what you would do *if* the next round you fire is followed by a slamfire of N rounds, as that is *always* a possibility irregardless of how many precautions you take with your SKS (or FN49, or M1 Garand, or ...)  Become comfortable with using it and the slamfire issue isn't something you should have to worry about any more than you would any other thing related to general firearm safety. 

[Maxwray111]

Thank you gentlemen. I especially appreciate the tips on what to look for as indications of something wrong, hopefully before anything happens I don't want to.

[Maxwray111]

Finally looked at the trigger again and someone definitely polished on it sometime. Watching the hammer with the dust cover removed, I discovered that not only is it a negative engagement, but it acts like a single set trigger, with a pull about half of what I thought I had. I wasn't able to slam the butt down and make it fire(no live round), but I will definitely be keeping an eye on it. Any indication of a problem, and it goes to a gunsmith, or I will just get a new trigger group and start over. Safety first.

[Greatguns]

You can send it to Kivaari for service for less than it would cost to buy another group. There are other guys who service SKS trigger groups, but he has been doing it for a few decades now and he is who I send all of mine to when I have one that needs repair.

https://kivaari.com/index.html

[Matchka]

RM, GG & BB, Excellent SKS-101 tips on slam fire 'prevention' and the point to Kivaari.

[echo1]

You can send it to Kivaari for service for less than it would cost to buy another group. There are other guys who service SKS trigger groups, but he has been doing it for a few decades now and he is who I send all of mine to when I have one that needs repair.

https://kivaari.com/index.html

I've had Ben (Murray) do 3 and Kivaari done 1 of my suspect triggers. PAX