new sks owner, concerna with broken operating rod...

[Justin Hell]

It might just be that the rod was faulty and just broke.....or the gas piston was stuck back after firing with a lack of cleaning a corroded tube....and the previous owner just took a hammer too it the wrong way....bent it, and just opted to try break it off....and succeeded.

I haven't heard of this ever, those things are so tough I would trust them as a trailer hitch pin.  Hope a good cleaning and  a new op rod and spring are all you need.

Best of luck and welcome to the board!

[Direct Connection]

I think i would replace the gas piston along with the operating rod and spring to be safe. Also id make sure there's no play inside the gastube after doing so. Inspect the bbl area where it feeds the gas for cloggage.

When you shot it did it cycle the empty ?

Man good luck with this. Pretty strange situation. And the next time you try shooting it maybe mount the gun and pull the trigger with a string from a ways away  . Maybe being a little over cautious but thats just what id do.

Oh, And Happy Thanksgiving everyone and remember to set your scales back 10 pounds this week