SKS: Yugo vs Norinco ?

[NT117]

I'm in the market for an SKS. Just don't know which way to go Yugoslavian or Chinese. I've heard the Chinese AK rifles and SKS are of better quality in some cases, even though it seems Yugo's are geting more money?

So, whats some differences and things to look for when hunting for one of these rifles?

Thanks!

 

[76Too]

My vote would be both

It really depends on what you want to shoot out of it...surplus ammo (corrosive): go Norinco because they have chrome lined barrels. People like the Yugo's because they can still be had in 'as new' condition from the right sources but they also have some parts that are useless to us. Take the grenade launcher sight, for instance...cool, i guess, but just one more thing to have to disassemble to get the damn cosmoline out of so you don't end up with sticky jiz all over you on a hot day (no more than usual, anyway).

I'm in the market for a Norinco at some point as well, so let me know if you find any surplus for a good price. I had a good lead on one at Kittery a few weeks ago and inquired about it, but I guess they won't ship it to MA?

Anyway, WELCOME to HELL!

 

[NHCraigT]

Second vote for both.

 

[92G]

i voted yugo but i also agree both are solid. my M59/66 has been rock solid. the norinco SKS is also great. i sort of prefer the bubba fett appearance of the yugo with the crazy bayonet and muzzle. although I'm a sucker for any SKS. such great guns.

 

[Hetzer]

Both

 

[daekken]

I have a Yugo, made in 1975. Dakar pretty much summed it up. Norinco will have the chrome-lined bore, Yugo will not. This is preferable if shooting corrosive ammo, but generally viewed as a detractor in the accuracy department. The Yugo has the flip up grenade sights and the launcher at the muzzle, which in my opinion is kind of cool but some people report theirs getting stuck sometimes; if you get it flipped/stuck in "on" position, the rifle becomes bolt action basically, where you need to cycle the action with the charging handle manually (the launcher, when enabled, disables the gas system so it can't move the piston). You'll have to get it flipped back off to resume semi-auto operation. This has never happened to me personally, and seems quite rare, but I have heard of it before.

The Yugo, if the M59/66A1 like mine, will have flip-up night sights. I use the rear sight always because it has a dot on either side of the notch sort of like a pistol sight and I find it quicker to get a sight picture.

One other difference: as far as I know all Yugos have the blade bayonet; I believe Norincos only have the spike (and many have had it removed), so depending on your preference, this may affect your decision.

All in all, SKS is a ton of fun, I love using the stripper clips. Mine's suitably accurate at 100yds and has virtually no recoil. It's a commonly requested item by guests when I bring them to the range.

I would love a Soviet one at some point. Some folks on here have posted some truly beautiful Soviet-made SKS carbines.

 

[SKumar]

Is the SKS
-a more accurate target gun than the AK?
-generally more fun to shoot than the AK?

 

[radioman]

I picked up my Norinco in 1992? for $69.00! Those were the days.

 

[Dradian]

Is the SKS
-a more accurate target gun than the AK?
-generally more fun to shoot than the AK?

-not really

-both are fun

 

[NT117]

Sounds like I am leaning towards a Norinco, essentially I was trying to find reasons to go opposite haha. Or at least consider going a different route. I just have this thing in my head that a Chinese firearms shouldn't be better built then eastern bloc original.... From your points Dakar, I should go Norinco. I dont need my hands any stickier than usual nor a grenade launcher scope haha. Yugo all around seems more collectable if anything..

I was thinking about trying to get one shipped in but it sounds like a head ache, this state is a joke. I'm doing more research if I find anything Ill be sure to post it. I'm positive Healey is make laws just to annoy gun owner they're written so painfully annoying. Gonna not go into that subject haha.

Classic firearms I believe had some good looking SKS rifles also...

 

[NT117]

I picked up my Norinco in 1992? for $69.00! Those were the days.

And to think I may shell out $500 for one
Holy inflation!

 

[Ski]

Yugo all the way...
...if you can find one caked in cozmo all the better.
An extremely accurate rifle.
I'm amazed at what an un-scoped sks can accomplish with iron sights.

 

[mikelawtown]

Chinese
The YUGO will look pretty but the Chinese is the way to go.
But if you can def buy both

 

[whacko]

My vote would be both

It really depends on what you want to shoot out of it...surplus ammo (corrosive): go Norinco because they have chrome lined barrels. People like the Yugo's because they can still be had in 'as new' condition from the right sources but they also have some parts that are useless to us. Take the grenade launcher sight, for instance...cool, i guess, but just one more thing to have to disassemble to get the damn cosmoline out of so you don't end up with sticky jiz all over you on a hot day (no more than usual, anyway).

I'm in the market for a Norinco at some point as well, so let me know if you find any surplus for a good price. I had a good lead on one at Kittery a few weeks ago and inquired about it, but I guess they won't ship it to MA?

Anyway, WELCOME to HELL!

That's off about kittery. I'm from mass and cash and carried one out the door....that was after herr healys bullshit.

 

[mac1911]

My vote would be both

It really depends on what you want to shoot out of it...surplus ammo (corrosive): go Norinco because they have chrome lined barrels. People like the Yugo's because they can still be had in 'as new' condition from the right sources but they also have some parts that are useless to us. Take the grenade launcher sight, for instance...cool, i guess, but just one more thing to have to disassemble to get the damn cosmoline out of so you don't end up with sticky jiz all over you on a hot day (no more than usual, anyway).

I'm in the market for a Norinco at some point as well, so let me know if you find any surplus for a good price. I had a good lead on one at Kittery a few weeks ago and inquired about it, but I guess they won't ship it to MA?

Anyway, WELCOME to HELL!

get cosmo out...... Whats the matter don't want to get your hands dirty. Clean chamber barrel and bolt then go shoot. Where a pair of jeans and T shirt ready for the rag pile...shoot and wipe. If its not clean of cosmo by the end of the range session you did not bring enough ammo

 

[mac1911]

Is the SKS
-a more accurate target gun than the AK?
-generally more fun to shoot than the AK?

my SKS's are more accurate than my polytech AK... "target gun" not so much. Minute of 9 ring tight 8 ring, yup.
I will shoot my SKS over my AK unless I can do a drum dump into a Volvo or saab!

I have not shot my SKS's on paper in a long time only blasting jugs and stuff.
I have a Romanian I really like. Its beat up has some arsenal repairs and shoots well enough
Romanian SKS and a quick range trip
Some day I will get them all out for a side by side test on paper.

 

[mac1911]

I picked up my Norinco in 1992? for $69.00! Those were the days.

a year or so prior you could get a Russian and a case of corrosive ammo for $89

 

[whacko]

get cosmo out...... Whats the matter don't want to get your hands dirty. Clean chamber barrel and bolt then go shoot. Where a pair of jeans and T shirt ready for the rag pile...shoot and wipe. If its not clean of cosmo by the end of the range session you did not bring enough ammo

I've used boiling water in a rubber made container on 3 cosmolined rifles. Strip it down and drop all the metal parts in.....Cosmo floats to the top......clean well and oil it up. Wood gets a hairdryer and rags. Easy peasy.

 

[slap shot]

C&R. Why leave the house to get your SKS?

 

[rep308]

I do not like the grenade launcher on the Yugo's. The triggers on the Yugo's are much better than the Norinco's. I had my Chinese SKS ($99 at the Marlboro gun show, 1989) trigger group sent out to a guy on line, Kivaari, and for $60 it is a much cleaner trigger.

SKS triggers, improve the safety of the SKS carbines

Remember the safety has to be on or off to get the trigger group out/in, I always have to check that

 

[Al-Jim19]

I had a Norinco a while back. I liked it a lot. Accurate enough to be fun and ate everything I put in it. I could never get the stripper clips to work and it was a little heavy/clumsy for me so I sold it.

I confess I have no experience with yugos.

 

[enbloc]

I have both Yugos and Norincos. Like them both for different reasons. I shoot the Chinese SKS's the most though...

 

[whacko]

I have both Yugos and Norincos. Like them both for different reasons. I shoot the Chinese SKS's the most though...

I take my Norinco to the range once about every other month. Last weekend a buddy brought an 8 inch gong to place on the 100 yard berm and I could slam it every shot. Rifle functioned flawlessly with steel case Tula. Not gonna win any cmp semi auto or bullseye matches with it.......but It'll get the job done......and for what I paid for it it's a bargain.

 

[greencobra]

i'm just high on norinco. I can only base opinion on a 1911 I own, bought used in '95. had lou at bec do a bit of work on it and have shot the snot out of it since. this, and any other norinco I've handled, rifles or pistols, and shot, are freakin' solid tanks. holy smokes, those child slave laborers built a quality product. haven't handled a newer production norinco anything since the embargo.

 

[greencobra]

sorry, don't mean to hi jack, but i luuuv sharing photos. here's my norinco 1911 after the smoke cleared. lou installed the sights, rear is a u notch, repaired the thumb safety, tweaked the trigger and cerekoted.

wish i bought both a norinco sks and ak when i had the chance. both were ~ $299 back in the day. man, if i only knew then, right.

eta: jeeze, i'm diggin' that photo, looks like it came out of a catalog. i assure you, that's my 1911 taken with a cell phone.

 

[22lr]

I am a big fan of the Norinco AK’s but have not tried the SKS yet. One is definitely on my short list though.

Don’t get hung up on what they cost ‘back in the day’. Those prices are gone and you will never see them again. They are worth now what people are paying for them now. If it helps you sleep at night, know that the value will only continue to go up from here.

 

[Matt-CZ]

I have a Yugo m59/66.

It depends on if you can see it in person before you buy it or are buying sight unseen through C&R/FFL transfer.

The big difference is that the Yugo's are still commonly available as "new" milsurp. Ordered mine this year and it came coated in cosmo and had some slavic language paperwork with a 2008 date stamp on it. It was pretty obvious I was the first non-military owner. Based on the reviews and reputation of the importer, you can have a pretty decent idea of what you are going to get. My C&R Yugo from a common C&R dealer was exactly as I expected based on the grading they assigned and the reviews by other customers. I like my Yugo a lot, but it is a bit front heavy compared to other SKS without the grenade launchers. C&R Yugo prices are about as low as you can expect for a rifle in good condition.

When it comes to a Norinco, odds are good that it has had multiple owners after being imported a few decades ago. Who knows how well these owners have treated these rifles. If you are buying through the mail, you are rolling the dice unless you have lots of good pics, inside and out, of the rifle. Maybe they bubba'd it up, shot corrosive ammo and didn't clean, or otherwise abused it. You won't be the first non-military owner like with a Yugo. I would be much more reluctant to buy a Norinco through the mail unless it came from a dealer you really trust and is willing to answer questions about its condition. Finding a good condition Norinco may take more time and cost more than just ordering a new import Yugo from one of the big brands.

 

[Rockrivr1]

I went with a Yugo as well when I bought and SKS. It was in as close to unissued as you can get, in the original wrapper and completely encased in cosmo. WD40 on the metal parts worked really well to get most of the cosmo off, paying close attention to the bolt and firing pin. The stock took longer to work out and on a very hot day at the range it will still seep some cosmo from time to time. Accuracy is very good and overall I'm very happy with it. The trigger, while ok, could use some work but I haven't messed with it yet. Key word being "yet".

 

[NavelOfficer]

I've only owned Yugo's but any SKS is worthy of owning, I suppose.
Who would reload for an SKS? I did.
Having the gas cut-off was handy with reduced loads or when you didn't want to chase your brass.
Who wouldn't want to convert an auto-loader into a bolt gun?

Frangibles and plastic riot bullets are great in the 39mm, too.

 

[btnh6668]

Ive owned both and kept my norinco. My honest take is the norinco is a solid rifle that will last a very long time. I did find past 50 yards the yugo was more accurate.