So i took my sks apart to install a factory 10rd fixed magazine.

get everything back in, go to function check and....mushy trigger.

Trigger wont release the hammer at all unless i take off the dust cover, remove the recoil spring and pull the bolt back about 3/4 of an inch.

If the bolt is closed, the trigger doesnt do a damn thing.

Any suggestions?


late 70s model norinco if it makes a difference.

Take the stock off and then snap the mag and trigger group onto the receiver with no stock. There is a whiteness hole in the trigger group just behind the mag catch on the left were you can see the interaction of the trigger bar, sear, hammer, and disconnecter. You should be able to see what is going on as you pull the trigger.

The disconnecter or safety sear on the SKS is an upward angled piece in front of the trigger group that has to be pushed down by the in-battery bolt so that the trigger bar can line up with the sear as the trigger is pulled. Sounds like with you're setup that the disconnecter is not being pushed down for some reason. Maybe something as simple as the front trigger group pin is not in its slot in the receiver.

tried pulling the trigger with it just attached to the reciever, still no luck.

It feels like the disconnector isnt going into the right place, feels like it needs to come back an 1/8 inch or so for it to drop the hammer. It doesnt appear to be bent. Maybe the receiver isnt catching it properly?

If it was working before you took it apart, you have assembled something incorrectly.

Agreed.

I've done the witness hole viewing on one of my SKSs, (stock off and trigger assembly installed); you can tell if everything is working right by looking through the hole. I had an SKS with a really grainy trigger, with a slight catch just before the hammer would drop. Turned out to be the disconnector lever that is pushed down by the bolt when in battery was a hair too short. I ordered another disconnector, but in the meantime got a welder friend to put a spot of tig on the top tip of the disconnector; filed it down a bit, and now the trigger is as smooth as silk. I still have the new disconnector, which I haven't installed yet. The trigger is just too smooth for now to go through the trouble...