SKS tangent sight disassembly

[magneticanomaly]

Today the tangent sight suddenly appeared loose on my Romanian SKS. Inspection showed that the flat spring under it, the rear end of which is supposed to hook in a slot in the sight base, so that the front end can push the front end of the tangent up so the rear end stays down, was loose.

It looks like the spring is supposed to be kept from working out of the slot by a dimple which engages a hole in the base. Looks like it would be easy to reinstall it, IF I could take the tangent piece out. Looks like the tangent piece would slide out to the rear IF a tiny pin, that protrudes form the left trunnion but not the right, would come out...but it won't.

Probably I am completely on the wrong track.. I'd be grateful if someone would straighten me out.

Thanks!

[Justin Hell]

The tiny pin should come out...it essentially only is long enough to come out of one side, acting as a lock to keep it from being 'easily' removed...in the normal total pain in the tookus manner that the same sights without the pin are removed...why they added the pin is beyond me. The first time I encountered one, I didn't realize it had the added pin, and I thoroughly destroyed it. Perhaps some PB Blaster might loosen it....problem is finding a punch small enough to not flare out the ends in the sight leaf.

You might be able to coax the spring back into its niche at the rear of the sight block with a punch and hammer, tapping it back into it's slot, which is about the depth and thickness of a trimmed off thumbnail. I don't know if you can quite get the angle needed with the leaf still in place though.

What helps in reseating those is complete removal, and a good cleaning in the slot, which has the tendency to retain cosmoline and any crud that might stick to cosmoline...(everything).

I didn't know Romania did that too, I thought it was a Chinese 'innovation' only.  I have seen how Russian kids are trained to field strip AKs, and the removal of the rear sight is part of the process, in a crazy karate chop manner. I have no idea why they would remove them...but if they encountered the pinned ones, it sure would smart when the pin stopped their hand!

Don't fire it until you get this resolved, I had a loose one vanish once that way....I found it three years later in my folks yard.  Now I have a spare. 

[Greatguns]

Today the tangent sight suddenly appeared loose on my Romanian SKS. Inspection showed that the flat spring under it, the rear end of which is supposed to hook in a slot in the sight base, so that the front end can push the front end of the tangent up so the rear end stays down, was loose.

It looks like the spring is supposed to be kept from working out of the slot by a dimple which engages a hole in the base. Looks like it would be easy to reinstall it, IF I could take the tangent piece out. Looks like the tangent piece would slide out to the rear IF a tiny pin, that protrudes form the left trunnion but not the right, would come out...but it won't.

Probably I am completely on the wrong track.. I'd be grateful if someone would straighten me out.

Thanks!

Basically what Justin said,

Posting a pic would help. I've only seen actual pins on the Chinese rear sight leaf assemblies. The others are set in a detent area and held by the spring so it is a matter of pushing down and back at the same time. The detent posts on the sides of the leaf are around 3/32". if they are hollow and another smaller 1/16" pin is inside of it, that pin must be removed first before the leaf can be removed.

[Justin Hell]

It would be interesting to know what character is on the sight leaf, perhaps it was replaced at some point by a Chinese leaf?

The only retaining spring I have had issues with was on my first SKS, which didn't have one when I bought it.  I replaced it only for it to work out not very long after. I replaced it ultimately with a Russian AK spring, which is a bit more curved, putting more tension on it. It hasn't budged since.   Perhaps if this was replaced, it wasn't quite home before the leaf was reinstalled?

If it isn't as GG described with a clear and obvious pin going through the hinge nubs on the side of the leaf, then it is a solid piece, and essentially you need to find whichever YouTube video matches the tools onhand for extricating it....which is generally pretty easy if the spring tension is already gone.

[magneticanomaly]

Thanks for the clear analysis.  It sure does look like a pin, long enough to stick out only one side.   So I will find or make a tiny hard punch and hammer some more.  I may anneal the spring so I can make the retaining dimple bigger (looks like the dimple was not deep enough to keep spring back in the slot), and re-temper before I put it back together.  Indeed the leaf should not be able to come out without a hard push down, unless the spring fails, so I may consider not reinstalling the pin.

I will take pictures of the leaf and post for anyone who wants to figure out if it is original or not.  Hope to work on it tomorrow. 

Thanks again!

[Justin Hell]

Thanks for the clear analysis.  It sure does look like a pin, long enough to stick out only one side.   So I will find or make a tiny hard punch and hammer some more.  I may anneal the spring so I can make the retaining dimple bigger (looks like the dimple was not deep enough to keep spring back in the slot), and re-temper before I put it back together.  Indeed the leaf should not be able to come out without a hard push down, unless the spring fails, so I may consider not reinstalling the pin.

I will take pictures of the leaf and post for anyone who wants to figure out if it is original or not.  Hope to work on it tomorrow. 

Thanks again!

Yeah, if you could post pictures of it before any hammering/coaxing/cussing we might be able to be sure to give the right suggestions.
If you do tinker and try to nudge the spring back in via the dimple, perhaps trying to go at a 45 degree angle alternating between left and right, you might be able to tuck it back in without further leaf removal woe.  I would blast it with some solvent and compressed air to try ensure nothing is impeding your progress though.

[Greatguns]

Also, if you have a Harbor freight near you they have a pin punch set that is cheap, but the smallest one works with the pin. And after it breaks you can still clean up the end and use it to remove the rear ferrule pin from your gas tube, lol.

[Justin Hell]

Also, if you have a Harbor freight near you they have a pin punch set that is cheap, but the smallest one works with the pin. And after it breaks you can still clean up the end and use it to remove the rear ferrule pin from your gas tube, lol.

I too have a retooled punch for handguard ferrules. It is in fact a great starter punch for most SKS pins...less likely to skate. I replaced the punch that broke years ago...and still have that one as a result.

[magneticanomaly]

Pin would not move, so I had to break of the protruding end.  I will drill out the relics and replace the pin, because I like the idea of positive retention of the leaf even if the spring breaks.  Annealed, deepened the dimple, slightly tapered, re-hardened and re-tempered the spring.

Photo attached, in case someone wants to figure out what i have

[Justin Hell]

Huh,  It is a Romanian sight...didn't know they also did the pin thing...
Learn something new every day.  In my defense I have never even held a Romy. Yet.

Best of luck!

[Boris Badinov]

There is no moveable pin.

What looks like a removable cross pin is actually a fixed pivot trunion.

To remove the tangent sight, you have to apply enough downward pressure at the trunion to counter the leaf spring that holds it in place, and then pull it rearward to free it from guide channels in the sight block:


[photo credit: martin08]

[Greatguns]

There is no moveable pin.

What looks like a removable cross pin is actually a fixed pivot trunion.

To remove the tangent sight, you have to apply enough downward pressure at the trunion to counter the leaf spring that holds it in place, and then pull it rearward to free it from guide channels in the sight block:


[photo credit: martin08]

Hate to tell you this Boris, but some Chinese, and apparently some Romanian RSLs have a 1/16"(probably 1mm) pin inside the trunnions. I have removed plenty in my day and actually just removed one a few weeks ago from my project SKS. I can't find my pic of it, but I sent it to Justin in the PIF box. I'll see if he can post a pic of the leaf with the pin sticking out of it.

[Justin Hell]

I just did a cursory check over my SKSs These have this type of leaf...
/26\ Letter gun, 9m, 10m, 11m,12m, 23m.   Basically all of my /26\s
my 0026 (no square/triangle/oval)  HAD one until I treated it as if it didn't

I checked my three Yugos...which share the I leaf like Romania...they don't. weird. The Russian, of course doesn't. /906\, /606\, /206\, DB and my Sporter don't.

Now I never want to look at a sight leaf again....from that angle anyway.

[Justin Hell]

Just remembered, the /606\ was a barreled receiver that came sans sight...it might have originally come with the pin type. I put a Russian on it.

[Boris Badinov]

Hate to tell you this Boris, but some Chinese, and apparently some Romanian RSLs have a 1/16"(probably 1mm) pin inside the trunnions.
[/quote]

I was referring specifically to the Romanian sight leaf posted by the OP:

[Greatguns]

Hate to tell you this Boris, but some Chinese, and apparently some Romanian RSLs have a 1/16"(probably 1mm) pin inside the trunnions.

I was referring specifically to the Romanian sight leaf posted by the OP:

[/quote]

Okay, but the OP stated his did have the pin in it like what Justin posted a pic of. He also mentioned he broke the end off to get the leaf assembly out.

[magneticanomaly]

Sorry I did not think to take a pic of the assembled sight leaf with protruding pin.  It was definitely 1/16"  Drilled it out with .063" drill.  Replaced it with a standard split cotter-pin, for easy removal in future if necessary (such as if my modified spring fails)

While I am enjoying the honor of talking with Romanian SKS tangent sight gurus, may I ask, is it the top of the sliding stop that should be lined up with the yardage graduation, when setting the sight for a given range?

I said, "yardage", but I assume the grads are actually meters?

How close do you think these adjustments come to being correct for  Wolf 124 Gr HP ammo?

Thanks!

[Phosphorus32]

...is it the top of the sliding stop that should be lined up with the yardage graduation, when setting the sight for a given range?

I said, "yardage", but I assume the grads are actually meters?

Yes regarding the slider position, and yes to being in meters. 

How close do you think these adjustments come to being correct for  Wolf 124 Gr HP ammo?

Thanks!

I think the commerical 7.62x39 is fairly close to the original M43 ballistics, so they ought to be close enough for the "fineness" of the settings on the sight leaf.   

[Greatguns]

If you look at your pic and how the "stop" is all the way back. As with all SKS sights, that puts it on the rear step at the back of the sight base. That is called the Battle position which is equivalent to 300M. moving the front of the stop up to the 100M mark drops the sight down into the valley.

[Larry D.]

I would add that once you get the rear set, you can fine tune your POI with the front sight.