SKS as an inexpensive apocalypse weapon?

[paul73]

How long after soaking it in gasoline should I wait to shoot it?

Gasoline evaporates almost immediately from metal.

 

[Admin]

If someone hands me an SKS during the apocalypse I'm using it as a club to fight my way to a real weapon.

 

[DW357]

If someone hands me an SKS during the apocalypse I'm using it as a club to fight my way to a real weapon.

 

[whacko]

Throw it in kerosene was the usual way.
5 minutes.
Regular gasoline should be same. Much easier than bath of boiling water.

I have an aversion to filling large open tub of kerosene or gasoline in my garage lol

Even doing that outside what do I do with the contaminated fuel after?

Wartime thing....yeah I'll use gas and dump it.....

I'll stick with boiling water for my next commie block weapon during peace time lol

 

[mac1911]

Looking for an inexpensive rifle so I can buy three or four and sock away for the apocalypse, to arm my minions with. I guess I can buy cosmoline coated SKS's for about $400. Want a common caliber. Was thinking either this or a short barrelled modern bolt-action (ideally in .223), but they seem hardish to find. M-1 carbines too expensive, as are AR's in the People's Republic. Also not sure I want my minions too well-armed. Thoughts?

P.S. I'm sort of kidding about the apocalypse. Sort of.

How about a hi point carbine?
Do you really need a rifle cal?
For what you would spend on sks and x39
You could probably double your intentions with hi point.

 

[SgtHal75]

And .22lr

Suppressed 22lr for the zombies

 

[paul73]

what do I do with the contaminated fuel after?

Those 1st world questions are incompatible with sks and cosmoline.

 

[El_Guapo77]

Damn. I paid $120 retail back in 99. Yikes!

i paid about 400 for mines back in 2014

 

[El_Guapo77]

If someone hands me an SKS during the apocalypse I'm using it as a club to fight my way to a real weapon.

not going to use the bayonet first?

 

[slap shot]

i paid about 400 for mines back in 2014

I just found my thread on buying a $219 sks back in 2014. Deals were still available back then. I remember my mailman or ups guy walking up my driveway with the cosmoline soaked box. And this was in mass lol. C&R buys were fun then.

 

[bigben111435]

Palmettostatearmory has type 56 sks for 429$

 

[bigben111435]

actually, I meant functionality. If S&W dimples, I've never heard of a successful mod and you may just ruin some good functioning magazines, albeit low-cap.

I can think of one...
Canik dimples. No problems there when drilled out..

 

[Boghog1]

Palmettostatearmory has type 56 sks for 429

you can get a freedom rifle kit for $350, another $50 for a stripped lower and $20 in transfer fee and a 10 round mag should be able to be sourced cheap

 

[Miguelito]

Yep. Stopped by Cabasspro in Hudson today. Zero x39, beaucoup .223- tons of it in fact. No 22LR but they did have 9mm which is pretty close to 22LR.

Good point! That (the Russian ammo import ban) is prolly why sellers are discounting SKS's.

 

[DW357]

Good point! That (the Russian ammo import ban) is prolly why sellers are discounting SKS's.

I dunno. X39 ammo is plentiful online at 35 cpr…
Cheapest 5.56/.223 I’ve seen online is 46 cpr shipped.

 

[DW357]

Palmettostatearmory has type 56 sks for 429$

Good if you’re not in MA. PSA does not ship anything to MA. I don’t care that they have this policy. So no need to turn this into “move out of MA” thread

 

[Mountain]

I dunno. X39 ammo is plentiful online at 35 cpr…
Cheapest 5.56/.223 I’ve seen online is 46 cpr shipped.

Maybe it will show up at local outlets sometime soon. All I know is that I grabbed a ton of the Macedonian brass cased when I saw it at Bass Pro in Missouri. Me 3 years ago would be making fun of me today over reloading X39.

 

[Miguelito]

For an apocalypse you would be way better with a good quality crossbow.

As of rifles- for shtf you need a caliber that your local military uses and stockpiles - means 5.56 and .308, but, in a real shtf scenario all ammo will be out rather quick.

Good points, but I don't think ammo will get scarce real quick. It will be a prized commodity no doubt, but once people stop wasting it at ranges I think it will last longer than some might think. I mean, I have a few thousand rounds and I'm not even a prepper. It would take me a long time to shoot a few thousand rounds with purpose behind each shot.
Down the road when ammo gets more scarce I think it would be beneficial to have weapons in multiple calibers, to take advantage of whatever ammo you can get.

 

[OnTheRoad]

Just make sure you got one with the scope.

 

[NHCraigT]

I remember around 2006, when Jim M. had crates of Yugo SKS's for sale at his original Manchester Firing Line and the individual Yugo SKS's were $139.00.

He also had crates of WASR AK47's with laminated stocks that were $275.00, AK Underfolders were $349.00, and Mosin Nagants M91/30 were $79.00 with cleaning kit & sling.

 

[headednorth]

Heard this comment a million times. I've de cosmolined many Russian long guns. Fill a Rubbermaid container with boiling water......strip the rifle down and toss all the parts (except wood) in the boiling water. Cosmoline melts and floats to the surface. Use an oven glove to hold the barrel muzzle down and a ladle to pour hot water down the bore. Remove all the parts.....lightly oil everything and re assemble. Use a hair dryer and a rag on the wood. Total time for an sks is about 45 minutes start to finish.

I cut the side off the box it shipped in, laid a trash bag inside and filled it with boiling water on the tailgate of my truck. Parts are warm enough when they come out that they pretty much dry in a few seconds.

 

[whacko]

I remember around 2006, when Jim M. had crates of Yugo SKS's for sale at his original Manchester Firing Line and the individual Yugo SKS's were $139.00.

He also had crates of WASR AK47's with laminated stocks were $275.00, AK Underfolders were $349.00, and Mosin Nagants M91/30 were $79.00 with cleaning kits & slings.

Those were the days. Mosins for $79 up to $150 are worth the money just in dollar to fun ratio. I saw them on gunbriker for $500 or more last spring lol. No way I'd spend that on a run of the mill ww2 made Mosin. I still have 1 91_30, a m38 carbine and an m44 carbine that I bought cheap. Still take em put to play every now and then.

 

[Dennis in MA]

Been to the grocery store lately?
I inherited a 100 foot roll of NMS cable from my late father. It was from Grossman's and said $19.99. probably from the '80s. When last I bought NMS cable 6 or 8 years ago it was already $100.
Unless I suspect prices for a hard good I am interested in are very temporarily artificially inflated (perhaps used cars? not sure) I do not hesitate to buy at the moment as prices are going nowhere but up in the near and mid-term.

Yes. Yes I have. I think eggs were probably 79c in 99. What are they now? $1.29? It's not more than 3x the cost. If things were 3x teh cost they were in 99, I'd be spending about $500-600 a week on groceries alone.

 

[Miguelito]

How about a hi point carbine?
Do you really need a rifle cal?
For what you would spend on sks and x39
You could probably double your intentions with hi point.

Good point! I definitely have considered carbines (I mention the M-1 carbine in my original post). Frankly would probably have gone with the the m-1 even despite the price, if not for the ammo being harder to find in the apocalypse.
But there's a reason rifles (or their smoothbore forebears) have been the standard infantry weapon for 500 years or so; the ability to reach out and touch someone. If I'm outdoors I would take a bolt action rifle over a hipoint every time. And I like highpoints, and I'm a fan of carbines and what they can bring out of a pistol cartridge. Leaving aside improved ballistics, just being able to point a barrel at something makes it more accurate, the longer the more accurate. I bought a Keltec Sub 2000 over the hipoint solely because of the foldability (for a backpack, plus just the plain uniqueness).

 

[Miguelito]

Yes. Yes I have. I think eggs were probably 79c in 99. What are they now? $1.29? It's not more than 3x the cost. If things were 3x teh cost they were in 99, I'd be spending about $500-600 a week on groceries alone.

I buy groceries every week as I am a divorced dad. Your overall point is correct as food price increases have probably lagged inflation over the last thirty, thirty five years, but they have increased very noticeably over the last 18 months. Some things almost radically.

 

[drgrant]

SKSes aren’t “inexpensive” anymore.

It’d be much easier to just build a few cheap ARs.

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

actually, I meant functionality. If S&W dimples, I've never heard of a successful mod and you may just ruin some good functioning magazines, albeit low-cap.

Glock's 10rder's use two metal rails (bent pieces of the metal liner) that run vertically the length of the mag tube. It is feasible to grind those off, but potentially at the cost of cutting all the way through the liner. May result in loss of structural integrity and you end up with a U notch (3/4 lined) if grinding cuts all the way through the metal. So bulging might be a reality.

ETS would be an easy route. Two plastic rails, similar to Glock, but it's all unibody with the mag tube, not a separate piece. So grinding those off (for the zombie apocalypse, of course) wouldn't change the structural integrity. But ETS are just so-so mags to begin with. I think I'd just keep using 10rd mags for the factory reliability, as I wouldn't have the ability to test any of these theories. Again, for the zombie apocalypse.

 

[Miguelito]

SKSes aren’t “inexpensive” anymore.

It’d be much easier to just build a few cheap ARs.

Are you trying to introduce reality to my post-apocalyptic fantasy?
Now that I think more on it, aesthetics are part of the appeal. I like the look of old wooden rifles, and they have a proven track record. There aren't any hundred year old polymer framed rifles around. Even the only AR I have is a pre-ban Colt stock Colt Sporter, 20", you know old school.

 

[Miguelito]

Are you trying to introduce reality to my post-apocalyptic fantasy?
Now that I think more on it, aesthetics are part of the appeal. I like the look of old wooden rifles, and they have a proven track record. There aren't any hundred year old polymer framed rifles around. Even the only AR I have is a pre-ban Colt stock Colt Sporter, 20", you know old school.

Plus, as I said, I do not want the minions as well armed as El Jefe. I also don't want the minions wasting MY AMMO out of 20 or 30 round mags. 10 round stripper clips are fine for them. Frankly I originally wanted to go with bolt actions for the minions due to ease of use and ammo conservation. The Germans almost won WWII with a five round bolt action from the prior century, after all. There's a lot to be said for bolt action if re-supply and ammo are an issue.

 

[Picton]

Are you trying to introduce reality to my post-apocalyptic fantasy?
Now that I think more on it, aesthetics are part of the appeal. I like the look of old wooden rifles, and they have a proven track record. There aren't any hundred year old polymer framed rifles around. Even the only AR I have is a pre-ban Colt stock Colt Sporter, 20", you know old school.

This.

A lot of us just don't really like ARs all that much, even if they're cheap.