I came across a SKS that some one butchered to meet the Brady Bill/Assault Weapons Ban... they sawed off the barrel just before the bayonet lug.... the price is low but my question is when it is missing the last 4 inches and hasn't been crowned what sort of accuracy should i expect.... anyone know where i can find a cheap barrel....
If it wasn't recrowned after the sawing, you can't expect decent accuracy. SKS are brutally strong, and if left alone internally, it's apt to last a lifetime. If the insides have been messed with, run (don't walk) to the door. if you buy it, spend the money on a good gunsmith and get it crowned properly. Make sure the barrel is long enough to pass the BATFE measuring stick, I don't know what the original length was. Remember that crowning removes material. Barrels in all calibers that will work on the action are easy to find on line. Cheap, well, that's a different story. You might be able to call around and find a smith that has a take off from a conversion that doesn't need it cluttering his spares stash.
Barrel should be 18 1/2" to be legal. A gunsmith can crown the barrel but an expedient is to use a dremel tool and a round (fine) abrasive fitting that is just larger than the bore and carefully polish off any burrs. The trick is to be as concentric with the bore as possible. If the barrel was cut off at an angle that'll be tricky but shouldn't effect accuracy. My experience with a similarly butchered .303 SMLE showed me that the procedure works. Brownell's sells a lot of smithing tools & such, might be a good place to go. It doesn't hurt to have a few odds and ends around and the experience you gain tinkering could be a barter-able commodity some day. I've done light work for knives, ammo &c.
Thanks for the clarification! Also, I always add a half inch in case the measuring tape someone might use is 'short'. Can't be too careful. Remind me too, what is the lawful TOTAL length of a firearm such as a shotgun/rifle?
I also use the extra 1/2" for barrel and overall length so I don't have a discussion about being legal. Minimum overall length for rifles and shotguns is 26".
You can thread it and add a flash suppressor. Crowning needs to be done either way. Would not worry too much about decreased accuracy. If real bad then a new barrel might be in order. Keep us posted please. Have a bud with a few and he might want to shorten one or two.
16 inch barrel for a carbine 26 inches over all length if memory serves, How does the cut off barrel shoot. Crowning is to allow even release of barrel gases so the bullet is not throw off true as it leaves the barrel by uneven pressure. If it was cut off square it may shoot correctly, a long shot but possible.
An SKS is the perfect platform to try your hand at smithing. Especially one that should be dirt cheap based upon the condition you describe. Let's see some before pics though. Byte
By all means play and learn. You may end up with a very pleasant surprise I love my Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova (SKS)! Why? It’s a tough little sob but it’s simple mechanism is a thing of beauty and easy to maintain. It’s cheap to feed and a good one is plenty accurate. The power of the round is on par with a 30.30 Winchester so with the right bullet it can take anything a 30.30 can. It can’t be made into a select fire like an AK but semi-auto is fine for me. Mine has a nice milled receiver and a minimum of stamped parts. It was made in 1956 in the USSR. Bought it for $80.00 and change, about 15 years ago, or more.
I always have to add my 2-cents concerning the SKS :^) A few years back you could buy the Yugo SKS for ~$100, and I only wish I'd purchased several instead of one :^( They're going for over $300 now - probably because they're rock-solid, accurate, and dependable. Another unexpected feature is the lack of recoil - my wife might not be able to haul it around very far, but she could shoot it all day w/o any shoulder problems. Finally, I always have to mention the incredible Kivaari trigger work done at SKS triggers, improve the safety of the SKS carbines (no relation, no kickback, he doesn't even know me). This is the probably the improvement that makes me appreciate the SKS the most - highly recommended!
[quote="Finally, I always have to mention the incredible Kivaari trigger work done at SKS triggers, improve the safety of the SKS carbines (no relation, no kickback, he doesn't even know me). This is the probably the improvement that makes me appreciate the SKS the most - highly recommended![/quote] Ditto on Kivaari for trigger work on the SKS. Also a good idea to install the spring return firing pin. On the barrel, just file the end plumb/square with a good file and then get a 1/4 inch round head brass screw. Chuck the screw into a drill, add some valve lapping compound. Gently counter sink the bore with the head of the screw and the drill and you will have a well proteted rifling and a good shooter.
As mentioned the crown is important and for a few reasons. One is to protect the rifling. The crown lets the powder gases to exit the muzzle evenly. If the gas on one side exits sooner than the other side, the bullet will be "pushed" and directed very slightly off course. Any affect at the muzzle grows as distance increases.
