Help! Field stripping problem with trigger group

Cyrano · 12-28-2007, 01:06 PM

The good news is that I picked up my Yugo SKS yesterday. Got it back to my friends' home and with the manual in front of me and remembering the Youtube videos showing how to disassemle and reassemble an SKS, disassembled it so I could remove all the cosmoline from it. To my great surprise and delight (being, as I have said elsewhere, Mister Fumble-Fingers), disassembly was almost as easy as the videos promised it would be, though complicated by the presence of the cosmoline.

Four hours, half a gallon of mineral spirits and one expended brass wire brush later the cosmoline was gone, my hands were raw, and I discovered I had a spotless bore and barrel. I also discovered the stock was straight-grained and should oil-polish up nicely.

The fun started this morning when I tried to reassemble it. The barrel and receiver seated nicely back into the stock. The magazine went back as it should. Then I got to the trigger group.

It fits where it should, but even when pressed all the way into the stock against the resistance of the spring mounted in the inlet meant to recieve it, the retaining pin will not snap into place and lock the trigger group back into the stock. I note that getting the retaining pin to release when disassembling the piece for cleaning was a cast-iron bitch of a job that unltimately required a pin punch and serious hand pressure.

As you all know, until the trigger group is locked back into place reassembly cannot continue. This is more than a little frustrating as I had hoped to test-fire my new rifle this weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions (short of taking it to a gunsmith) as to how I can get that damned retaining pin to lock the trigger group back where it should be?

toolman · 12-28-2007, 01:10 PM

It's because the safety is in the wrong position. I can't remember if it has to be on or off, but try it in the other pos. from where it is and everything will snap right in.

res45 · 12-28-2007, 02:42 PM

your suppose to cock the rifle and put the safety on before you remove the trigger group,if you did this make sure the trigger group lock is clean also,lay the rifle bolt side down on the floor,place trigger group back in correct position and using a rag to protect you hand press down on the trigger guard near the release pin as hard as possible till it snaps into place,you can also use a rubber mallet.

GlockMeister · 12-28-2007, 05:21 PM

If I remember correctly, it ( the safety) has to be in the Off position and the trigger has to be in the fired position. If it is cocked it sticks up and prevents the bolt from going into position. Don't take my word for it. Go to www. surplus rifle .com.. Only separated it so it would post quickly. It is a very informative and resourceful website for many C&Rs.

My trigger group was tight coming out and going back in. You may have to do as I did and fix the barrel up against something firm, but yet something that won't damage it, and use the palm,base of your hand and give it a good whack.

Also, if you, like I, used mineral spirits on everything, even the wood, make sure after the mineral spirits dry on the wood you treat the wood. If not it will dry it out and possibly crack the wood. I used boiled Linseed oil on mine and it turned out great.

Lastly, don't be surprised to find yet more cosmo on a few parts and pieces after it has set at room temp. for a month or so. That stuff bleeds out from places you thought you cleaned and didn't think it could get into or the mineral spirits could get into..

Good Luck and welcome to the wonderful world of cosmoline and C&Rs.

GlockMeister

billy · 12-28-2007, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by res45

your suppose to cock the rifle and put the safety on before you remove the trigger group,if you did this make sure the trigger group lock is clean also,lay the rifle bolt side down on the floor,place trigger group back in correct position and using a rag to protect you hand press down on the trigger guard near the release pin as hard as possible till it snaps into place,you can also use a rubber mallet.

to get mine to snap together i have to lay it on the floor and with a heavy wooden dowel laying across the trigger guard i have to put all of my weight on it and it pops into place.

jmp8927 · 12-29-2007, 12:40 PM

Safety has to be in the safe position. That's the only requirement for the trigger group to snap back in. Nothing else will affect it.

Granted your rifle is working correctly of course.

res45 · 12-29-2007, 01:17 PM

Collecting and Shooting the SKS Carbine - Disassembly and Reassembly
You can cock the rifle before or after you put the safety on which in most cases it already is from the last time it was fired,either way if the rifle isn't cocked the hammer will be in the up and fired position if it has been DRY FIRED which some people tend to do sometimes. When you go to reinstall the bolt the hammer will be in the way of placing the bolt back into the receiver. With the trigger group cocked and locked the hammer is down out of the way when you go to slip the bolt back in. Also close the bolt back before removing the rear cover and let the tension off the recoil spring so when you remove the dust cover pin it want fly in your face or across the room.

SwedeSteve · 12-29-2007, 04:06 PM

Senor Billy is correct!

Cyrano · 12-30-2007, 06:11 PM

The advice is very much appreciated. Here's the rest of my SKS Saga.

I heard from a friend of my friends that there was a gunsmith in the next town that knew the SKS and probably could fix it, so we took it over to his pawnshop. Trouble was, he was out of town at a gun show. His partner who was tending the store talked guns with us for awhile and agreed with my observation that perhaps there was still cosmoline stuck behind the retaining pin and that was why it was so stiff when I went to remove the trigger group, and why I couldn't get it back into place.

So we went back to the house and I put the barrelled receiver into a can of mineral spirits so the retaining pin could soak. Every hour or so I'd take a break from rubbing Formby's Tung Oil Varnish into the stock and forearm cover to lift the receiver out of the mineral spirits and flex the pin, using a convenient metal rain to press against. After about 8 hours of soaking and flexing, I wiped off the barreled reciever and oiled it up again. I put it back into the stock and tentatively began to reassemble the rifle. There was a problem at first getting the magazine to stay where it's supposed to. My friend Leigh, who is a mechanical guru, very adept with things like car engines, lawn mowers, sewing machines and other dangerous implements, pointed out that when I was struggling to disassemble the SKS and had had to use a punch to press the retaining pin forward, I had pulled the trigger group forward and up. Therefore, to snap it back into place, I needed to insert it with an up-angle and then press down. I had been trying to insert it by pushing straight down. So I tried it as she suggested and the trigger group snapped right into place.

Completing the reassembly took about three minutes after that. If the weather clears tomorrow I'll take it to a local range and test it out.

A couple of notes that may help someone else with a similar degunking and reassembly project.

Unlike the Soviet or Chinese SKS rifles I saw in the Youtube videos dealing with disassembly and reassembly of the SKS, and unlike the manual that came with my scoped receiver cover kit, the Yugo SKS M59/66A1 has two features I didn't see in the videos.

First, the receiver cover retaining lever is made so it can't be removed from the receiver. I consider this a subtle but good design change, because it's impossible to lose the pin. One less thing to worry about.

Second, there is a spring mounted in the stock behind the inlet for the retaining pin. It provides positive resistance to help keep the trigger group locked into the receiver. It's a pain in the neck when you are trying to lock the trigger group into place, but it does insure that once you get it locked in, it won't pop out on you at an inopportune moment.

Contrary to what the Soviet/Chinese manuals say, when you want to remove or install the trigger group in the Yugo SKS the safety must be in the OFF position. If it is in the ON position, the pin does not have enough space to snap into place or be pushed clear so the trigger group can be removed.

The butt cap of the Yugo SKS is made out of some sort of hard rubber, and the 'trap door' that covers the hole where the cleaning kit is supposed to live (mine came without the kit) is made so it only fits in one way. However, be sure to remove the butt cap before you attempt to refinish the wood, although that may be stating the obvious.

Again, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed advice. It helped get me through this project.

Next, I think, will be an M44 Moisin Nagant... And I have no doubt I'll be asking for advice again!

12-28-2007, 01:06 PM	#1
Cyrano Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,363	Help! Field stripping problem with trigger group The good news is that I picked up my Yugo SKS yesterday. Got it back to my friends' home and with the manual in front of me and remembering the Youtube videos showing how to disassemle and reassemble an SKS, disassembled it so I could remove all the cosmoline from it. To my great surprise and delight (being, as I have said elsewhere, Mister Fumble-Fingers), disassembly was almost as easy as the videos promised it would be, though complicated by the presence of the cosmoline. Four hours, half a gallon of mineral spirits and one expended brass wire brush later the cosmoline was gone, my hands were raw, and I discovered I had a spotless bore and barrel. I also discovered the stock was straight-grained and should oil-polish up nicely. The fun started this morning when I tried to reassemble it. The barrel and receiver seated nicely back into the stock. The magazine went back as it should. Then I got to the trigger group. It fits where it should, but even when pressed all the way into the stock against the resistance of the spring mounted in the inlet meant to recieve it, the retaining pin will not snap into place and lock the trigger group back into the stock. I note that getting the retaining pin to release when disassembling the piece for cleaning was a cast-iron bitch of a job that unltimately required a pin punch and serious hand pressure. As you all know, until the trigger group is locked back into place reassembly cannot continue. This is more than a little frustrating as I had hoped to test-fire my new rifle this weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions (short of taking it to a gunsmith) as to how I can get that damned retaining pin to lock the trigger group back where it should be?

12-28-2007, 01:10 PM	#2
toolman Mr. Fixit Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: abilene,tx Posts: 5,582 Blog Entries: 22	It's because the safety is in the wrong position. I can't remember if it has to be on or off, but try it in the other pos. from where it is and everything will snap right in. __________________ Don't be messin' with my gun!

12-29-2007, 12:40 PM	#6
jmp8927 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Walterboro, SC Posts: 1,146 Images: 17	Safety has to be in the safe position. That's the only requirement for the trigger group to snap back in. Nothing else will affect it. Granted your rifle is working correctly of course. __________________ Doing the unexpected makes the unexpected the expected and thus the expected becomes the unexpected. Last edited by jmp8927; 12-29-2007 at 12:41 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

12-29-2007, 01:17 PM	#7
res45 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 322	Collecting and Shooting the SKS Carbine - Disassembly and Reassembly You can cock the rifle before or after you put the safety on which in most cases it already is from the last time it was fired,either way if the rifle isn't cocked the hammer will be in the up and fired position if it has been DRY FIRED which some people tend to do sometimes. When you go to reinstall the bolt the hammer will be in the way of placing the bolt back into the receiver. With the trigger group cocked and locked the hammer is down out of the way when you go to slip the bolt back in. Also close the bolt back before removing the rear cover and let the tension off the recoil spring so when you remove the dust cover pin it want fly in your face or across the room. Last edited by res45; 12-29-2007 at 01:27 PM.

12-29-2007, 04:06 PM	#8
SwedeSteve Thor's Hammer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alaska Posts: 10,400 Images: 1	Senor Billy is correct! __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers

12-28-2007, 02:42 PM	#3
res45 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 322	your suppose to cock the rifle and put the safety on before you remove the trigger group,if you did this make sure the trigger group lock is clean also,lay the rifle bolt side down on the floor,place trigger group back in correct position and using a rag to protect you hand press down on the trigger guard near the release pin as hard as possible till it snaps into place,you can also use a rubber mallet.

12-28-2007, 05:21 PM	#4
GlockMeister Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 5,513	If I remember correctly, it ( the safety) has to be in the Off position and the trigger has to be in the fired position. If it is cocked it sticks up and prevents the bolt from going into position. Don't take my word for it. Go to www. surplus rifle .com.. Only separated it so it would post quickly. It is a very informative and resourceful website for many C&Rs. My trigger group was tight coming out and going back in. You may have to do as I did and fix the barrel up against something firm, but yet something that won't damage it, and use the palm,base of your hand and give it a good whack. Also, if you, like I, used mineral spirits on everything, even the wood, make sure after the mineral spirits dry on the wood you treat the wood. If not it will dry it out and possibly crack the wood. I used boiled Linseed oil on mine and it turned out great. Lastly, don't be surprised to find yet more cosmo on a few parts and pieces after it has set at room temp. for a month or so. That stuff bleeds out from places you thought you cleaned and didn't think it could get into or the mineral spirits could get into.. Good Luck and welcome to the wonderful world of cosmoline and C&Rs. GlockMeister

12-30-2007, 06:11 PM	#9
Cyrano Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,363	Thanks for all the good advice, folks! The advice is very much appreciated. Here's the rest of my SKS Saga. I heard from a friend of my friends that there was a gunsmith in the next town that knew the SKS and probably could fix it, so we took it over to his pawnshop. Trouble was, he was out of town at a gun show. His partner who was tending the store talked guns with us for awhile and agreed with my observation that perhaps there was still cosmoline stuck behind the retaining pin and that was why it was so stiff when I went to remove the trigger group, and why I couldn't get it back into place. So we went back to the house and I put the barrelled receiver into a can of mineral spirits so the retaining pin could soak. Every hour or so I'd take a break from rubbing Formby's Tung Oil Varnish into the stock and forearm cover to lift the receiver out of the mineral spirits and flex the pin, using a convenient metal rain to press against. After about 8 hours of soaking and flexing, I wiped off the barreled reciever and oiled it up again. I put it back into the stock and tentatively began to reassemble the rifle. There was a problem at first getting the magazine to stay where it's supposed to. My friend Leigh, who is a mechanical guru, very adept with things like car engines, lawn mowers, sewing machines and other dangerous implements, pointed out that when I was struggling to disassemble the SKS and had had to use a punch to press the retaining pin forward, I had pulled the trigger group forward and up. Therefore, to snap it back into place, I needed to insert it with an up-angle and then press down. I had been trying to insert it by pushing straight down. So I tried it as she suggested and the trigger group snapped right into place. Completing the reassembly took about three minutes after that. If the weather clears tomorrow I'll take it to a local range and test it out. A couple of notes that may help someone else with a similar degunking and reassembly project. Unlike the Soviet or Chinese SKS rifles I saw in the Youtube videos dealing with disassembly and reassembly of the SKS, and unlike the manual that came with my scoped receiver cover kit, the Yugo SKS M59/66A1 has two features I didn't see in the videos. First, the receiver cover retaining lever is made so it can't be removed from the receiver. I consider this a subtle but good design change, because it's impossible to lose the pin. One less thing to worry about. Second, there is a spring mounted in the stock behind the inlet for the retaining pin. It provides positive resistance to help keep the trigger group locked into the receiver. It's a pain in the neck when you are trying to lock the trigger group into place, but it does insure that once you get it locked in, it won't pop out on you at an inopportune moment. Contrary to what the Soviet/Chinese manuals say, when you want to remove or install the trigger group in the Yugo SKS the safety must be in the OFF position. If it is in the ON position, the pin does not have enough space to snap into place or be pushed clear so the trigger group can be removed. The butt cap of the Yugo SKS is made out of some sort of hard rubber, and the 'trap door' that covers the hole where the cleaning kit is supposed to live (mine came without the kit) is made so it only fits in one way. However, be sure to remove the butt cap before you attempt to refinish the wood, although that may be stating the obvious. Again, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed advice. It helped get me through this project. Next, I think, will be an M44 Moisin Nagant... And I have no doubt I'll be asking for advice again!