r/canadaguns • u/Bobba_cs • Jul 21 '26
Fix my gun SKS barrel pitting question
Is this safe to shoot long term? I dont want the pitting to lead to a larger failure down the line. I’d like to use this rifle long term as it is my go to semi right now.
Also, would normal cleaning and oiling prevent it from worsening?
Thanks!
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u/Icy6521 Jul 21 '26
I wouldn’t shoot it, but if you are dead set on shooting it then definitely have a gunsmith look it over
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u/Nice-Background890 Jul 21 '26
That is some bad pitting, wth happened to it? Normal cleaning and oiling will prevent rust. But you're past that point.
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u/Bobba_cs Jul 21 '26
Honestly I got it from the dealer like this. It was my first surplus so I didn’t really look it over before purchasing :/
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u/sl33plessnites Jul 22 '26
Damn they sold it like that ?! Hopefully it was cheap as hell. That's kind of shameful to sell it like that IMO.
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u/AppearanceAfraid Jul 22 '26
Honestly that's in such terrible condition id contact whoever you bought it from to get an exchange. This isn't shooter quality condition
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u/Brandon_awarea Jul 21 '26
That’s the worst pitting I’ve seen on a Russian SKS.
Would I shoot that? Maybe, depending on how deep I measure those pits and how many there are.
Would I recommend anyone else shoot that? No absolutely not, lots a camera can hide in a picture.
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u/NIBLZ_HAMSTR Jul 21 '26
The chamber pressure in an sks is between 40,000 and 60,000 psi..... those are deep pits, man... I dont know if I'd bother with that one.. might just be hung as a decoration or used for spare parts. Maybe a gunsmith might be able to work some magic, but itll cost you... might as well just search for a new sks.
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u/thehuntinggearguy 3gun, Mapleseed, YouTuber, SlamFire Radio, Revolver-hater Jul 21 '26
Where on the barrel is that pitting? Is that over the chamber?
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u/Bobba_cs Jul 22 '26
No it’s under the gas block
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u/Bowmann-94 Jul 22 '26
That’s better than the chamber a lot of the pressure is dissipated by that point.
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u/Dickastigmatism Jul 21 '26
Take it to a gunsmith, you'd be surprised how deep pitting can be and still be safe. That dark spot kinda in the middle is giving me the heebiejeebies though.
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u/Wilsonjet2017 Jul 22 '26
Only way it can get like that is if it was actually used in the field, that's cool! It's authentic! Ask yourself this - would Ivan have continued shooting this in the field with this oxidation hiding under the mud, certainly. Would he continue putting thousands of rounds of practice through it, absolutely. It looks like it's been re-blued so that must have been done arsenally before being sold as surplus, and they have minimum standards to protect themselves so it doesn't come back to them. And who knows it may have been refurbished when the iron curtain was still up, so a rifle unfit for duty may mean serious consequences. Do rifles have pitting? Many do. Do they still shoot? Of course. Is the pitting less than 10% of the total wall thickness? Looks about that in the photo. Honestly if you're worried, put some rounds through it on a sled with a string. I bet it'll be absolutely fine. Many surplus rifles have worse and are fine. It comes with the territory.
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u/Serious-Awareness885 Jul 23 '26
It is absolutely safe to shoot still. The amount of pitting is quite substantial but it will in no way make the firearm unsafe to shoot.
I understand the concern, but you can drill a hole right through the barrel (like a gas port) and it will not cause a safety concern.
The barrels on sks’s are so overbuilt and that just scratches the surface.
Corrosion that bad happened over decades, and it appears to have been factory refurbished, passing all their checks.
I wouldn’t be the least bit concerned about it.
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u/Bobba_cs Jul 23 '26
I appreciate the response. Yea I don’t think it’s as big of a concern as others say. It seems okay to shoot currently so long as eventually I change the barrel, we are good. I’ve already ran a few hundred through it. Just wanted to see for long term how it would hold up.
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u/Blackwalls69 Jul 21 '26
Jeepers creepers batman, that's not pitting, that was dipped in aqua regia.
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u/Nautaloid Black Powder Enjoyer Jul 21 '26
Is your gun safe full of acid or something? That is an impressive amount of pitting, I would not risk shooting that thing.
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u/Murray3-Dvideos Jul 22 '26
TNA sells barrels. Guns not a write off unless u want it to be.
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u/Bobba_cs Jul 22 '26
Oh damn just looked it up. $200 is not bad to save the rest of the rifle
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u/AssignmentPutrid3197 Jul 22 '26
Honestly I've never shot a rifle with pitting this deep. $200 is absolutely worth the potential safety concern.
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u/UncleDaddyVince Jul 23 '26
Looks good enough, decrease it, float it in flux, and get some brass brazing rods, fill it in then sand it, 80gr 150gr 500gr then birchwood Casey blue the steel, polish the brass, it'll look sexy and restore rigidity, (fluting is deeper than that)
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u/Bobba_cs Jul 23 '26
thanks for the tip! would make for a neat little restoration project to try to fix it!
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u/Zap-Zone Jul 24 '26
Just make sure you're doing a safety squint and have a buddy with you with a good thumb in case she blows.
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u/anti_worker Jul 22 '26
Someone could tell you how much meat is left on that barrel with a UT set. Check with a local NDT company. Guaranteed one of the technicians will do it for free.
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u/OhNoACanadian Jul 22 '26
Non destructive diy testing and if it passes, yeet the surplus through it. Use your DIY test everytime you get back to make sure it’s still okay.
You can also get a replacement barreled action for cheap and swap the parts over
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u/Bowmann-94 Jul 22 '26
Those look bad/scary but ultimately superficial. I’ve got a few guns mostly antiques that have worse pits than that that I shoot regularly. I’d shoot it but I’m just some guy on the internet to you 😂 get yourself a cheap caliper measure the od of the barrel then measure the deepest pit subtract the pit from the od and check it against light weight pencil barrels in heavy 30 cal cartridges and I bet you have more metal than you think. A good smith can fix this but it’d be a lot of time with a welder going slow so as not to warp it and a reblue when it’s all filled in. Cost more than the gun probably so just rock it the way it is.
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u/immortalreddotmemeog Jul 22 '26
Its just like cheese, cut off the bad parts and hope you got it all
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u/SuchPlay Jul 22 '26
I've seen guys fill in the deep pits with weld and then clean it up so its all smooth again. Might be something to consider.
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u/EngineeringRuinedMe Jul 22 '26
Engineer here. There is no way to repair this. Even thought putting has appeared in certain areas, the entire surface is finished. Gonna have to replace this barrel unfortunately. Do not shoot this…
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u/EngineeringRuinedMe Jul 22 '26
I should add that what this pitting does is create stress riser within the steel itself. When stress is put on the barrel (when it’s shot) this can lead to crack propagation. You CAN care for it in its current state, however, grind the pits out to reveal fresh steel underneath, than coat with a similar steel (needs to be similar grain and steel)
Best advice is take it to a gun smith or someone who specialized in working on gun barrels
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u/Bowmann-94 Jul 22 '26
You wanna try that again? We in the metal working field (you know the guys that actually build the stuff you designed on paper but couldn’t build yourself as in welders and machinists) call the process of “coating in new steel” welding and is in no way a coating as welding actually bonds with the base metal. As far as stress risers and “crack propagation” if there’s enough metal in the barrel wall regardless of the pits it’s not going to crack particularly way out by the gas block as the pressure is less there. Having worked on and rebarreled a few skses now the wall thickness at the gas port is still thick compared to lightweight pencil barrels.
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u/Mysterious_Sleep7443 Jul 21 '26
Just F ing send it
Don't ever clean it again
See if it rust/pits right thru
These are throw away guns anyways, buy another one !
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u/Rickles84 Jul 21 '26
Looks like your pitting has an sks problem.