The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Picked up my first SKS the other day. A pretty '51 Tula refurb. Was looking for a Russian and once came along in a private sell and feel I got it for a good price.
Took it home, cleaned the dust and accumulated grime off it, scrubbed the bore and found a mirror underneath so all looked good.
Finally got to take it out yesterday and give it a test run. Had no issues early on but near the end of the 100 or so rounds I ran through it I started getting slam fires--double taps, and occasional failure to fires.
Once I got back I tore it down again and found the firing pin stuck in the forward position, the obvious cause of my malfunctions. It took quite a bit of work to get the firing pin out of the bolt, eventually getting it out by way of hammer and punch. A small piece of metal came out, what looked like a piece of primer. I ran brake cleaner and then hoppes through the channel and on all bolt parts then swabbed away and blew out with compressed air. I was then unable to reinsert the firing pin to reassemble the bolt. It was catching on a burr that I must've caused when I tried to use pliers to pull the firing pin out of the bolt. I filed and sanded down this area and a few spots on the firing pin until it would fit back into the firing pin channel. The bolt is now reassembled but the pin doesnt move totally free. I can push the pin back into the bolt face or push it back out from the opposite end but it doesnt move when bolt is shaken.

Now my questions. What could it be that is still causing the firing pin to resist a little bit. The pin and channel appear to be clean now, and the obvious piece of debris is out. 2nd, I ordered an Albanian firing pin from AIM. Will this fit into the bolt with no problem, assuming its the original firing pin that has been damaged?

Not sure what is wrong but i had a murrys guns firing pin put in, has a spring on it. The original pins have to free float to work right. Might be worn out. You are not supposed to oil the bolt cause of it attracting dirt and jamming the firing pin.

It's possible the pin slightly bent from the blown primer or during the removal process.

As for the Albanian pin, provided the original firing pin was not an early(used between '49 to '51) Russian spring loaded pin, the Albanian pin should fit. If it happens to be an early spring loaded firing pin, go for a Murray's Firing pin.

As greasemonkey has alluded, the pin may be damaged. Could be bent or galled around the retainer stop.

Blown primers getting caught in the pin channel are not an everyday occurrence, but are common enough to have a track record of remedies. Try a new pin, and make sure the pin channel has no burrs. Best answer for now.

Had same problem after 2 pierced primers: Bent pin would not work right all the time after straightening and inside bolt cleaning. It moves forward and backward, but sometimes sticks when out.
The Murray solution seems to best the best choice and I am going for it. Plus buying an extra pin and spring!
As Murray says, nobody really knows why the bolt design was changed to free float pin. That certainly did not make the gun cheaper in production......

Just be darned sure if that 51 pin had a spring originally. Blown primers, even according to Murray can melt from the super heated gasses from some blown primers! Poor ammo that pops primers will fry his springs also. Murray is the one that told me this, and yes, until I got rid of that brand of ammo I fried two of his springs also.

I don't know what ammo you have been using, but I betcha I can guess.

Edit: If it is a 51 Russian that had a spring loaded pin, Murray needs to know that. Besides, it may have a melted or partial melted spring inside the bolt as it is.