Does anyone else like the SKS?

[jimlj]

I used to have a FFL and sold about 30 of these rifles over a few year period in the mid 80's. Several of them I'd shoot a case or two of ammo through before someone would come along and have to have it when I didn't have a new one in stock. Flash forward 40 years and I still think they are an awesome rifle. About 10 years ago while the whole country was rushing to the black rifle, I said I'd never own one because I couldn't see anything vastly improved over 60 year old technology. About 6 years ago when the black rifle hit the top of the guns to ban list, I decided to get one while I still could. I can't say I dislike the AR, but if the only thing left after a boating accident was an SKS, I wouldn't feel like I was under armed.

[dverna]

I liked them when they were $100 but not at current prices.

[hoodat]

I've still gots three of them -- two Rooskie Tulas, and a Norinco that I've Bubba'd into a tactical ninja type.

I still belong to the SKS Forum, but don't go there much anymore. Doesn't look like many others do either.

They are a lovable little milsurp that will certainly grow on ya. If I had to hit the road or the trenches with a battle rifle, it would be one of them. A friend who spent a lot of time in the poop in Viet Nam, told me that the NV with AK's sprayed a lot of bullets, but the guys with SKS's would shoot your ass.

I guess I love em. jd

[ShooterAZ]

I still like them quite a bit, more so than the AK's. They are accurate and go bang every time, and have chrome lined barrels for shooting the corrosive 7.62x39. I liked them better when J&G Sales had them for $59.95, yep way back in the good ol' days (think Ross Perot). Nope, you're not under-armed with an SKS...as long as you make sure you have plenty of ammo for it. Perhaps another reason to like the AR's in 300BLK though.

[cwtebay]

I have owned quite a few of them over the years, can't say that any of them were tack drivers - but they're sort of like owning a ball peen hammer with a steel handle - always there, never fails. In other words, they're the c-ration of my firearms.
I don't believe that I would pay asking price today for one as there are far better options now, but I believe that I have $90ish in my most expensive Russian one.

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[FLINTNFIRE]

Owned quite a few years ago , ex wife and her kids stole some , still have a Norinco rifle and a paratrooper and a Russian .

I used that Norinco hunting deer in the thick reprod , brought home plenty of deer with it using the Norinco soft point ammo , wished I had stocked up on it .

[Remiel]

I have a 52 tula that came the way of Albania, it's not perfect but shoots great. I still bring it out and shoot it from time to time.

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[Larry Gibson]

I also like the SKS. I've been on the wrong end of them, have shot hundreds of them and own a very nice Russian. I've also a lot of experience with AKs but never desired to won one if that says anything. My Russian is quite accurate with Quality bullets such as .310/.311 jacketed bullets 123/125 gr weight. I load them to 2350 fps over 4227. I've bedded the Russian, reworked the trigger to a nice clean 4 lb break and modified the gas tube so the ejection is about like an M1/M14/M1 Carbine. I've adjusted the sights so it is properly zeroed. When my eyes were good it would hold 10 shots in 2-3 moa. With ammo loaded in the 10 round stripper clips I never felt "under gunned" with the SKA.

[alfadan]

I have a yugo and a chinese. The yugo is my "come and take it" go-to.

[bimus]

I like the 10 round magazine it's hard to loose and hard to damage . So many other rifles if you loose the magazine or clip you have a single shot .

[M-Tecs]

I like the SKS way better than the AK47 but I have little use for either. I flat-out love the AR15 with match barrels and triggers. They can be made into 3/8 MOA guns that excel at a lot of applications. The SKS seems to me to be between a M1 30 Carbine and Winchester 94 in 30/30. Between the SKS and the 94 I prefer the 94. Two of my three 94's out shoot my single SKS. That being said I have only shot a couple of SKS.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I'm on board the SKS train! I've got several. A Russian, Chinese, and Yugos. They're all good. Much more of a rifleman's rifle than the AK series. I like them all, but favor the Yugo version. Ah...for the good old days of surplus.....

DG

[pietro]

.

The poor man's .30-30...…… I had one when they were $99, then spent a whole $10 for the 5-shot conversion to make it legal for hunting.

[Mohawk Daddy]

Bought a Norinco at $99. When that one got stolen, I got a Yugo at $160 which was still a bargain in my eyes. Wish I had bought a crate of the Yugos at 6 to the crate times 160. Would have been a good investment. Neither of them ever had a glitch of any sort.
IIRC the Norincos had a chrome lined bore but the Yugos didn't. If there were any other variations, I don't remember them.

[Bazoo]

I have owned 4. An early norinco was my favorite. It shot pretty well and I shot several thousand rounds out of it. It broke the extractor. And it doubled on me once so I replaced the seat/magazine latch spring. I don’t think it ever jammed except when it broke the extractor. I liked the feel and weight and overall size of it. Wish I had it back.

[imashooter2]

I bought my Norinco brand new in cosmoline with sling, oiler, chest bandolier, 10 stripper clips and 100 rounds of steel core ammo in the 80s for $89 as I recall it. I liked the idea of that cheap, cheap Chinese steel core ammo and cases I could sweep up and throw away instead of reload. Then someone chambered a pistol for it and POOF! Verboten armor piercing ammunition and unimportable. As rifles go it is pretty crude. Fit and finish shows the $89 price tag. The Chinese softwood stock is finished in some strange red orange varnish. The trigger is atrocious. Heavy with more creep and grit that anything I’ve ever pulled before.

Yeah, I like it. [smilie=l:

[hoodat]

The SKS Forum used to be a very active place. Many guys were collectors of the incredible number of variants of SKS's. These rifles were produced in Russia, China, Yugoslavia, Albania, --- and used extensively in many other countries.

I think the cheapest ones I've encountered were Chinese for $89.95 in the late seventies or early eighties. (don't remember for sure) A complete, un-modified, Russian, Non-refurb, will prolly go for a cool thousand these days. Most of us aren't inclined to cut loose of what we've got. We're approaching the times when a sack full of US dollars won't be worth squat, and something like an SKS will be worth a couple of hogs. jd

[Rcmaveric]

I have always wanted an Sks

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[cwtebay]

Who remembers seeing barrels of these on end caps in K Mart?

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[M-Tecs]

Who remembers seeing barrels of these on end caps in K Mart?

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and Woolworths

[cwtebay]

and WoolworthsYes!!!!!!

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[hoodat]

It's probably about time that someone puts a pic of one of these rifles up here. This one is a 1954 Tula. It is a refurb, which means that it has been reconditioned as needed by professional armorers, (slave labor??) in a Russian armory, and stored for future use or sale. I guess Canada is full of these rifles, and by all accounts Canadians may even use them for jack handles, door stops and post hole diggers.:p jd

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[charlie b]

Nope. Thought about getting one as a truck gun. Then I got to fire a couple and didn't care for it. Don't really like AR's or AK's either so I am probably biased against the 'assault' guns. My 'black' gun is a Garand :)

[GhostHawk]

I love mine! It is a Yugo with the rifle grenade muzzle device and the ladder sights.

[Bigslug]

A mostly milled steel autoloader for (at the time) about a hundred bucks? What's not to like?

Back before L.A. County kicked out the MASSIVE Pomona gun show, I walked past a table that had an absolutely HAMMERED Norinco prominently displayed on an elevated stand like a place of honor. I asked what the deal was, and was shown the Vietnam-era capture and bring-back paperwork.

Despite the external rust, water-damaged wood, and, as I recall, split stock repaired with wire, the inside of the chrome-lined bore gleamed like a new one. Gotta respect commie hardware for it's ability to keep running, if not its finesse.

[358429]

I have always wanted a couple each SKSs and 6920s, ammo in those big boxes you open with a crowbar, I am late to get the gettin' from the gettin place while the gettin' was good.

It ain't good no more.

I got to choose between guns and gasoline, and the truck needs to be filled up.

I'm going to keep driving, my guns ain't going to get rusty, that's for dang sure.

I got a helping hand at the end of my arm, and better days surely around the corner.

It's bad enough that hundreds of thousands of guns and accompanying ammo got left in Afghanistan, to arm taliban fatheads, we are still payin' the note on, instead of brought over here and sold on the free market for a direct profit, to the American people...

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[rbuck351]

I traded for a Norinco and when I took it out to shoot I couldn't keep all rounds on an 8x11 piece of paper. Some of the holes on target were sideways. After trying a few things and it still shot very poorly I checked the crown. It looked like it was cut with a hammer and chisel. I cut 1/4" from the barrel and recrowned it and now it shoots about 3" at 100yds. I now like it well enough for what it is and what it costs.

[Bloodman14]

With all due respect to the AR platforms, I will go toe to toe with any AR with my Yugo. I carried an A-2 in the service years ago, and was not impressed.

[Tripplebeards]

I picked up an all number matching Norinco two years ago. Traded 3, 150 round 5.56 boxes of ammo I bought at Walmart for $36ea and $174 for it. Shoots great and very accurate. I remember when they flooded my LGS around the late 80’s for around $89/99 along with the Mac 90’s for $299. I steered away from them. Figured I wanted my hard earned money at the time to go to a new gun. The Mac’s were more then what I made in week and needed gas and food more. I did buy a bubbad one back around 2000’ for $145. It had a folding stock and converted to AK mags. It would never feed and jam all the time. I sold it for $250 a year later. I saw the rifle the other day at my buddies house…I don’t miss it. Don’t care for bubbad firearms.

[jimlj]

3-4" groups at 100 yards are normal for a SKS and a reasonably good shooter. I've done that or better with 40 year younger eyes, but not any more. People have bad mouthed the accuracy of the SKS, and say the AR is so much more accurate. I think open sights on any gun you will be hare pressed to do better than 3" groups, especially if you have the same sights the SKS comes with.
Some have talked about the "good old days" when you could get a new SKS for $89. That's cheap in today's dollars, but you could also buy a Snickers bar for 35 cents, and a gallon of gas for less than a buck back then. I could drive my truck for a week on $20 worth of gas. Today it barely gets me home from the gas station. Today's price on the SKS is in line with inflation.
I bubbafied an SKS in the 80's. After shooting it a few times I couldn't wait to get it back to how it left the factory.

[TCLouis]

Bought one of the chinese imports back it the day.
Shot 4 rounds of handloads, stocked it in plastic stock and it has been in the safe ever since

[45workhorse]

A mostly milled steel autoloader for (at the time) about a hundred bucks? What's not to like?

Back before L.A. County kicked out the MASSIVE Pomona gun show, I walked past a table that had an absolutely HAMMERED Norinco prominently displayed on an elevated stand like a place of honor. I asked what the deal was, and was shown the Vietnam-era capture and bring-back paperwork.

Despite the external rust, water-damaged wood, and, as I recall, split stock repaired with wire, the inside of the chrome-lined bore gleamed like a new one. Gotta respect commie hardware for it's ability to keep running, if not its finesse.

I was given a Vietnam SKS with the bring back paper work. And to top it all off, I know the gentleman who brought it back, we shoot together at once a month! One of those things that will stay with me till I pass it on to my son. Who also shoots with him at least once a month.

[Adam Helmer]

In the early 1990s, I happened into my LGS with cases of NEW Chinese SKSs for $85 each with sling, chest pouch, cleaning kit, etc. I took a case. The SKS is the BEST farm gun ever made. One SKS replaced my $20 (circa 1965) DCM M1 Carbine for all time. My John Deere tractor will not start unless my SKS is on board. LOL.

Many chucks, coyotes and other vermin NEVER outran that SKS 10 round magazine! My go to gun is my SKS which likes my handloads. I did remove the bayonet to install a fluted muzzle brake.

Adam

[Jack Stanley]

Had a Russian and a chineese , and while they both work well the accuracy was not there . Sold them both and got rid of the ammo . Had one of them shot as good as a worn out Garand I would have kept it and the ammo ........... cases of it .

Jack

[Adam Helmer]

Jack,

The SKS is not for everyone. For me, it is the best farm gun here in PA I could wish for. No, it is not a match gun, but it never failed me. That is why I keep 4 in reserve. Were all your cases of ammo made by slave labor? Accuracy is dependent on the gun, the ammo or the shooter.

Be well.

Adam

[tdoor4570]

I had one several years ago think I paid $50.00 for it got rid of it after I shot it a little. I just don't like semi autos.

[Gtek]

They are what they are and they work, fun to shoot and play with. AK's are not allowed to live here but the thinking is I will grab the folded ready VZ.

[Larry Gibson]

I simply modified the gas tube to ease the ejection of the brass similar to the M1/M14/M1Carbine rifles. Still have to police up the brass but its a lot easier with this mod.

SKS GAS TUBE MODIFICATION


SKS rifles are notorious for their violent ejection of fired cases. This may be desirable on the Russian tundra at 20 below but for the reloader trying to find the brass it is intolerable. The following modification will allow the rifle to function reliably yet will deposit the brass into a small area to the right front of the shooter. It also will lessen the hazard to bystanders. Velocity of the ammunition used is not effected.

Use standard 7.62x39 ammunition or the equivalent hand load with 123-125 grain bullets when making this modification. The gas system of the SKS allows for more than enough gas port pressure to drive the piston back in the gas tube and cycle the action. This was designed this way to ensure absolute reliable functioning in extreme temperatures and conditions. What this modification does is simply to “vent” the gas after it has imparted enough motion to the piston to cycle the action with out driving it so violently back. As this modification vents the gas rather quickly the use of other than standard ammunition to regulate this cycling may cause malfunctions then when standard ammunition is used.

Attention cast bullet shooters: if you want to shoot really reduced loads with light bullets then regulate it with that. With Lee's 312-155 or heavier bullets I've found functioning to be fine with the conversion made for standard ammo. When medium burning powders (4895, etc.) are used and velocity is in the 1600 fps range I've not had any malfunctions.

To accomplish this modification it will require the following tools:

15 drill bits from #45 (smallest) to #31 (largest)
Center punch
Small round file
Electric drill, cordless or hand drill if power is available at range.

Before going to the range remove the gas tube from the SKS and take out the piston. On each side of the gas tube center punch .22” back from the face of the gas tube. Center punch .35” back from the face of the gas tube directly on top. Now drill each with the #45 drill. You will now have 3 holes, one on each side and one on top. The hole on top will be slightly further back from the ones on the sides. Debur the inside of the tube with the file lightly and reassemble the piston into the tube and assemble it back onto the rifle. Load up the tools, ammo and rifle and head to the range.

Fire 5 rounds and observe the ejection pattern and how violent the action cycles. Drill out the top hole only using one size drill larger at a time. Test firing with at least 3 rounds between each drilling. You must disassemble the gas tube each time to drill.
NOTE:
I have found on several Russian SKSs that with 2 side holes of #45 size and the top hole of #31 size they will lay the brass into and area of about 3 feet diameter about 6-8 feet to my right front when shooting from a sitting position. The recoil of the rifle is much easier to manage as the action is not functioning nearly so violently. A couple have required the 2 side holes to be enlarged to #40 drill bit size.

Several SKSs have required an additional hole .3” behind the top one to subdue the ejection of 150 gr bullet top end loads. With this tube factory 123 - 125 gr and equivalent loads ejects very softly right outside the SKS. Any reduction other than full loads (I use 22.5 gr H4227 behind the 123 - 125 gr J bullets) results in malfunctions. If the first three holes have not “vented” enough gas then drill this 4th hole. Again starting with the #45 drill bit and going one size larger with a test firing each time. If standard j bullet loads are going to be used with the same tube I suggest test both between each drill size.

CAUTION
It is easy to get impatient and drill to much too quick without adequate test firing, DON’T!! You can’t put the metal back. If you do mess it up new gas tubes are available at gun shows and out of Shotgun News for a reasonable price. If you’re not sure of your abilities get one first and try it before messing up the original. I have not messed any up using the above method. I have one tube (original Chinese tube that does fit the Russian with minimal fitting) that when used on my favorite Russian will lay the brass almost within arms reach.

The photo shows my current 2 tubes. I have done quite a few of these for others but don't have photos of them. The front tube is the Chinese tube and you can see the larger rear hole. It is the tube I use with my heavier 150 gr cast bullet loads. The rear tube is the original Russian tube and it is drilled for J bullet factory, milsurp and reloads. Switching out tubes is easy and it's nice to have both so you might want to consider getting a second tube also.

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[Brassmonkey]

Didn't like it enough to take one home for 150$ in 2014, got nothing against them and would probably have one if they were still 150$.

[Jack Stanley]

I'm not sure if Winchester was using slave labor at the time ... maybe ?

Jack

[JSnover]

For years I've thought the SK was underrated, the AK somewhat overrated, and I'm just plain tired of the AR-15. I don't own any of them right now but having fired all three, If I had to buy another rifle it would be an SKS.

[Adam Helmer]

JS,

The SKS is a fine farm gun and "bug out" arm. I handload for mine and they like cast and J boolits. Uncle Sam issued me a Matel-16 in July 1965. I did not like it then and even less now. The PR BS said the 5.56MM was a "wonder weapon." The direct gas impingement system was the first mistake. No forward assist, back then, was #2 and McNamara's order to use Ball WC846 instead of Stoners IMR4475 powder, as I recall, was mistake #3.

I preferred a real rifle, the M14, over a groundhog gun. lol.

Be well.

Adam

[35 Whelen]

Back when I first had my C&R, Century had "U-fix-em Yugo SKS's for $99 each, if you bought three, so I did. All that was wrong with them was they had cracked stocks which were easy to repair, so I did. I gave one to my Godson, sold one and kept one to which I attached one of the Tech Sight aperture sights. I never shot any cast, but it'd do 3" @ 100 yds. with Russian steel case ammo. I carried it around for a year or two and I'd hang it from the fender of the tractor when I was out in the pasture. The Yugo's are fairly large examples and one day it occurred to me that I was carrying a rifle that was as long as a Garand, almost as heavy as a Garand, yet was chambered in a cartridge with a fraction of the range. So, I sold it.

Now, I'm a little interested in them again. My question is, is there a version of this rifle that's smaller?

35W

[hoodat]

The chinese/norincos are a little slimmer and lighter than the Yugos. Ditch the bayonet, and you lose more weight. you can even cut the barrel to just legal and replace the front sight, giving yourself a new crown. Sight replacement is call the Price 50. I've got a pic here I think. jd

[hoodat]

Here's that replacement sight on a cut barrel Bubba Job that I've got. jd


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[Digger]

What would be a good mold/size for a SKS ?

[fivegunner]

Thank you Larry, now my brass is reusable. I like the SKS.

[fatelk]

I have a soft spot for the SKS. My dad bought a couple of them back in the late '80s. He was never a gun guy but got caught up in the big scare of the moment, and a smooth-talking salesman sold him several guns because, you know, "they're going to ban them all and you'll never be able to get any more."

I've had a bunch over the years, lots of Chinese, a couple Sino-Soviet, a couple Yugos, a Russian, and an NVA. They're all gone except my old Sino-Soviet and a Yugo. Back when I was young, I made my first SKS into a wannabe AK, and thought it was amazing. I was young and stupid, and paid $50 (in 1990 dollars, equivalent to about $100 now) at a gun show for a junky "duckbill" 30 round magazine. Can you say "ripped off"? I had several of those duckbill magazines. Some years ago I dug them out of storage and gave them away. The SKS is best as originally made, IMO.

They're often compared to the AK, but other than caliber they're very different rifles. In my opinion, at <$100 they were way undervalued, but the prices they sell for now are too much for me. Just my opinion. Back when they were cheap, it seems that everyone saw them as a "cheap commie gun". Based on that, a lot of people still see them as a $100 gun, at best. I wish I could still buy M1 Carbines for $100, or Mausers for $50, but those days are gone. I wouldn't turn up my nose at a gun just because they used to be cheaper. I made that mistake a few years back when the CMP had Italian return M1 Carbines for $475. I thought about buying one, but then remembered back when they were a hundred dollar gun. I'm still kicking myself for missing out on that one.

[Texas by God]

I seem to have read somewhere a long time ago that the Simonov SKS was a scale model of a larger weapon and was adopted just in case that the new design by Kalishnokov didn’t work out......
It’s my favorite Russian gun but I don’t own one any more. My AR15 .300 BO fills the gap just fine and shoots better.

[fatelk]

A friend of mine way back then really loved the SKS because of a very easy, uh, modification. When we found out just how much trouble a person could get in for that particular modification, he dropped it like a hot potato.

Another friend brought over a couple guns that someone had loaned him to take out shooting, since we were headed way out in the boonies to do a bunch of shooting. One of them was an SKS with a 75 round drum. I was looking it over as we were putting it in my car for the drive, and he said the guy told him it was "full auto". I held the trigger down and cycled the bolt a couple times (unloaded of course), then gave it right back to him. I told him he needed to take it right back to the guy he got it from, before we left to go shooting. I didn't want anything to do with it, didn't want it in my car. This was back in the early '90s and I think the guy was a Mormon prepper, at least that's what my buddy said. I can't imagine anyone being foolish enough to "loan" something like that to a young man to take out shooting.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I to gave away all those ak magazine wannabes , Got them in a package deal with the Russian one and gave them to a guy at work who wanted them for his SKS , I tried a 20 round fixed magazine once and went right back to the 10 round original .

Worked with a man had one with the bring back papers he picked off the person no longer needing it during the Tet offensive , and watched a neighbor who as we were both shooting at his gong his SKS failed to fire the 3 round , he said he was waiting to clear it and I laughed and said you do not have a gas tube , he had been shooting some E. German mildly corrosive and his piston locked up and departed along with the tube , mildly corrosive like being mildly pregnant . Poor cleaning habits that some people have .

[beemer]

I seem to have read somewhere a long time ago that the Simonov SKS was a scale model of a larger weapon and was adopted just in case that the new design by Kalishnokov didn’t work out......
It’s my favorite Russian gun but I don’t own one any more. My AR15 .300 BO fills the gap just fine and shoots better.

I read that also, the article had a very large heavy caliber rifle, maybe some kind of antitank rifle designed by Simonov. It had basically the same operating system.

[JSnover]

I read that also, the article had a very large heavy caliber rifle, maybe some kind of antitank rifle designed by Simonov. It had basically the same operating system.
I'd have to look it up but I always thought the SKS had been developed and accepted prior to WW2 and the AK wasn't conceived until Kalishnikov was recovering from injuries sustained during that war.

[jimlj]

Russia began exploring the concept of a medium capacity cartridge around 1943. The SKS 45 was developed in, you guessed it, 1945. It missed WW2 for the most part. The AK came along two years later mostly replacing the SKS as Russia's battle rifle. Other countries copied and produced it in mass.

[30calflash]

I've a Chinese commercial model, originals are robust and built to last. Have run milsurp, commercial, reloaded jac's and cast thru it. It's not overly finicky and goes bang when the trigger is pulled.

3-4 MOA in general, cast seems a little better in short range trials.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

That is one rifle I regret not buying. Really lousy about the ban on Russian ammo though.