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SKS which one to buy?
- Thread starter FLHTC
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2009
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If I were you I'd look for a Yugo 59/66.
I had and recently sold one which was a great gun, completely reliable and rugged as anything but I sold it to finance an AR purchase (and already kind of regret it).
I had and recently sold one which was a great gun, completely reliable and rugged as anything but I sold it to finance an AR purchase (and already kind of regret it).
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2005
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~10 years ago very many varieties were readily available. Nowadays not so much!
Thus, if you find one and the price is reasonable, buy it. Try to collect one of each variety/country if/when possible.
Thus, if you find one and the price is reasonable, buy it. Try to collect one of each variety/country if/when possible.
I don't know much about SKSes, but I've learned a couple general principles which probably apply:
Are you looking for a shooter or a collector?
If you're looking for a shooter, don't pay extra for matching numbers.
Are you planning on doing any work on it? (Mounting a scope, fitting different sights, replacing the stock with some plasticy crap)?
If you are, and you buy a nice clean example with matching numbers, good condition stock, etc... someday, somewhere, a collector may punch you in the face.
Are you looking for a shooter or a collector?
If you're looking for a shooter, don't pay extra for matching numbers.
Are you planning on doing any work on it? (Mounting a scope, fitting different sights, replacing the stock with some plasticy crap)?
If you are, and you buy a nice clean example with matching numbers, good condition stock, etc... someday, somewhere, a collector may punch you in the face.
Yugo with nade launcher attachment. Around $280-350 depends if you buy it clean or.covered in cosmoline.
The yugo ones are the best. They are better built than Chinese and Russian ones. Thy also look nicer, and most of them seem to have never been issued. I use mine for coyotes. It is accurate for a combat rifle that's over 40 years old.
If you get one covered in cosmoline, wd-40 is the answer,and make sure you clean your firing pin. It has to be free floating or it won't hit the primers hard enough. Wd-40 solves that issue in 5min.
Alternatively, depending on the amount of crud in the bolt, you could get slamfires as well.
Find a nice Chinese and expect to pay anywhere from $200 to $300 but no more unless there is something collectable about the rifle. A Chinese is the perfect starter for anyone wanting an SKS because they're built well and a lot of them are very accurate.
Then if you like it and after you get to know how the rifle works, get another variant like a Russian because they're going up in price every day. If you don't mid getting dirty and enjoy a complete breakdown and cleaning of a semi auto rifle, get Yugo 59/66.
Then if you like it and after you get to know how the rifle works, get another variant like a Russian because they're going up in price every day. If you don't mid getting dirty and enjoy a complete breakdown and cleaning of a semi auto rifle, get Yugo 59/66.
Boris
Son of Kalashnikov
my buddy had an issue with Yugo's grenade launcher switch, it gets fouled quicker and there is no f-ing reason to have it.
here in Mass, I saw a few Yugos and some Norinco's in shops closer to Boston. Norincos were never milsurp, I hate thin pointy bayo, unlike the Russki one.
Don't worry, there are 1.5 million SKSs sold in US, you'll get yours.
here in Mass, I saw a few Yugos and some Norinco's in shops closer to Boston. Norincos were never milsurp, I hate thin pointy bayo, unlike the Russki one.
Don't worry, there are 1.5 million SKSs sold in US, you'll get yours.
With the exception of some of the later Chinese models there are very few that are built poorly. Most Yugos have been there and done that and a good number of them suffer from cycling problems due to the soldiers that used them shooting corrosive ammo. Aside from the 1949 and very early 1950 Russian SKSs, the Yugo models are the only ones to not have a chrome lined barrel. This along with corrosive ammo being used resulted in a ton of sewer pipe bore rifles sent to the US for sale. Plus a good number of them had corroded gas blocks and tubes, resulting in a leak and poor cycling.
Don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of Yugos out there that are in great shape and the unissued ones are very nice rifles. But to a newbie its a poor choice for a first SKS until they know what to look for.
Speaking of newbies... the most important thing about buying any SKS is taking apart the bolt and cleaning out the firing pin channel. 5 mins and WD40 isn't enough to do it and its not just about having it free floating to hit primers.
Old cosmolene and fouling can cause the pin to get stuck and result in slam fires since the firing pin rides against the primer when a round is chambered. Commercial ammo such as Winchester, American Eagle, etc. should also be avoided because most of it has soft primers and no matter how clean a bolt is you could wind up with a slam fire.
Bolts should be taken apart, scrubbed clean and dried completely before reassembling and NO oil should be applied.
Tell that to the ones carried by the Viet Cong.
i have a 1952 Russian SKS and i paid 350 for it and love it
and the blade bayonet is the best they look awesome and are sturdy
and the blade bayonet is the best they look awesome and are sturdy
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They're all C&R except for the Chinese ones.
I thought Yugoslavians weren't C&R yet. That's what I was told when I got mine. So I just used my license. The gun store owner told me this after checking the batf book of approved guns.
This was last year, and the book was a new version.
Maybe he was wrong.
Boris
Son of Kalashnikov
the thread for the grenade launcher had to be disabled before it could be imported, so I wander if altered rifles would qualify, ever?
Are you talking about the bayo? I don't think that getting pocked by any bayonet is fun, any shape or configuration, I just like the shorter one.
Chinese SKS's are great shooters, and generally the least expensive. And don't worry about the pinned vs. threaded barrel argument. Two of my pinned barreled ones (out of 18 standard Chicoms) are my most accurate shooters.
Expect to pay anywhere from $225 for an average gun to $350 for a fine specimen.
Paratroopers are just as good for accuracy. Bubbas don't add much to ergonomics. Scoping one is pointless unless you drill and tap the receiver. 4-6 MOA is acceptable. Cheap Wolf ammo can sometimes pop primers.
Yugo M59 and m59/66's should be checked for bore condition, as they are not chrome lined. Many were shot with corrosive ammo in the Balkan wars - some were new, or near new when imported. Nice guns, you'll pay $25-35 more on average.
Romanians can be nice, or war beaten. Check them carefully. Pricing along the same as Yugos.
Albanians are rare in general, and also have some potential for police and military wear. Can be pricey.
Russians are generally accepted to be of the best build quality, and prices reflect their appeal. Anything under $400 for a matching Russian is within the ballpark for value.
RESIST THE URGE TO TRICK IT OUT. Most regret the move and forget where they put their nice wooden furniture and smooth feeding internal mag.
Golden Tiger is good, accurate and fairly clean ammo.
Ray has a whole pile of them!!!!
Expect to pay anywhere from $225 for an average gun to $350 for a fine specimen.
Paratroopers are just as good for accuracy. Bubbas don't add much to ergonomics. Scoping one is pointless unless you drill and tap the receiver. 4-6 MOA is acceptable. Cheap Wolf ammo can sometimes pop primers.
Yugo M59 and m59/66's should be checked for bore condition, as they are not chrome lined. Many were shot with corrosive ammo in the Balkan wars - some were new, or near new when imported. Nice guns, you'll pay $25-35 more on average.
Romanians can be nice, or war beaten. Check them carefully. Pricing along the same as Yugos.
Albanians are rare in general, and also have some potential for police and military wear. Can be pricey.
Russians are generally accepted to be of the best build quality, and prices reflect their appeal. Anything under $400 for a matching Russian is within the ballpark for value.
RESIST THE URGE TO TRICK IT OUT. Most regret the move and forget where they put their nice wooden furniture and smooth feeding internal mag.
Golden Tiger is good, accurate and fairly clean ammo.
Ray has a whole pile of them!!!!
Not the bayonets, the part about them being milsurp.
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
![[shocked]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/007.gif "Shocked [shocked]")
I have seen alot of SKSs for sale on websites outside of Mass and most of the Yugos ive seen say C&R approved
Please don't list distributers that ship to ma
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Boris
Son of Kalashnikov
I thought that Norinco's were specifically made and sent directly for US market and the co was established in 1980's so I don't see how they could send some of them back in time for VietCong use. The paratrooper model was not even a military model, just something they have concocted for US.
That's what I meant by saying that they (norincos) are not milsurp, but what do I know, I don't own a huge stash of SKSs ; )
turbo38gn
NES Member
Nice thread, it's getting me interested in my SK's. I have 2 of them, I inherited, one Russ. one I think Chinese. I was going to bring the Chinese one to the gun show today, see if I could sell it...... but after reading all this, maybe I should keep it... oh well, if SKS Ray is there, maybe we'll talk. I watched a few vids last nite on Youtube, really got me interested. The Chinese one is customized with a receiver mounted scope, no other front sights, looks like a brandy new barrel and Northfield Gun shop magazine. Kinda reminds me of a sporterized 1903.... the way it's been modded.
This is a good area to clear up. Norinco is not a manufacturer, they are an export company that was set up in the early 1980's. Red China was still building the guns. Norinco was selling them.
China also had huge stores of SKS's from every year of make. You can find the "Norinco" stamp on guns that are old or new. It just depended upon which cache the exporter got their hands on. The vast majority of the Norinco stamped guns were late production, though.
