SKS Rifles? Thoughts?

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

So, who ****ed in your corn flakes today?

Grizz

Noboby...he specifically asked "what do you think" and I took it exactly for it means and replied exactly what I thaught. What's so complicated about that? Besides, I wanted to use the new modicons...

[madatter]

For a $200 gun its pretty darn good!!
Most people don't buy an SKS to make it into a sniper rifle.
They buy one cause its cheap,the ammo is the cheapest,and it will shoot forever with a little care.....decent cleanings when firing the already mentioned cheap corrosive ammo.
Throw it in the truck and bang it around,grab it blow thru a couple hundred rounds and it does'nt cost anything.Not too many guns out there have this much bang for the buck!
Even if it does wear out or break consider it a disposable guin cause at $200 it don't get any better!
I might buy another but the CZ858 is calling me....just wish it was'nt 3X the price!

[Okotokian]

At the Red Deer gun show last weekend someone was selling a whole bunch of them new (and way oil-soaked) for $175 if I recall correctly. Definitely under $200 anyway. I was sorta tempted. I wouldn't pay a lot for one, but heck, that's cheaper than any .22 around. Cheap ammo. Could be fun. Never gonna be my "go to" hunting rifle, or even my back-up, but....

[Sir Rollo]

Here is an average 100 yard group from my SKS. They were 2405 f/s, extreme spread of 27 f/s. It was pretty windy toosks group001.jpg

[gunner72]

That looks like some nice shootin. The little bit that I have done with mine makes me think I should giver another chance.

[madatter]

Added a few things to the SKS,feels nice to me now!

[Gonehuntin']

Originally Posted by timsesink

They're fun for just plinking around, however they feel cheap, are cheap and aren't super reliable. I'd save up a bit and go for a M14 Norinco. However for pure shooting fun and price you can't beat them.

I agree on the price bit, but insofar as feeling cheap, being cheap, I'd have to say they were about on par with those ChiCom M305's. But cheaper to feed. The only problem I've seen was when I tried a buddy's Norinco (read crap) SKS, it would not fire Czech surplus ammo on the first go. You literally had to run it through twice, on the second strike of the firing pin it would set the primer off. Not occasionally, but every round. Worked OK with Norinco ammo. Possibly just a manufacturing defect. The pin looked fine, maybe a weak mainspring. Imagine that though, a Norinco with issues.

I'd rather have a Russian built SKS than a Chinese built M305. Just personal preference. Or a CZ 858 more than either.

On a side note, I read somewhere on Gunnutz that Marstar had found a very large shipment of SKS's from Africa, varying in condition from battlefield pick to still in the cosmoline, and were expected to be in sometime soon, if not already. Should drive the price down and improve selection.

[TheClash]

Originally Posted by madatter

Added a few things to the SKS,feels nice to me now!

that almost looks respectable haha

[Grizzly Adams]

Was picking up a load of hay, at the auction mart, when I spotted one of the local vets headed out back, packing an SKS.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Was picking up a load of hay, at the auction mart, when I spotted one of the local vets headed out back, packing an SKS.

Damn post got away from me. After I got over the surprise, I had to ask why? It was his tool of preference for killing downer livestock.
Grizz

[Pioneer2]

Here's a 4 shot group in the same hole pretty much at 50 yards.Open sights .Range too busy to allow diddling around at 100 yards.Rest of the holes from two subsequent shooters.Don't ever let anyone talk you into a slide mount for the SKS they are crap from the get go.The best one is a weaver side plate and a weaver Rem 870 mount drilled and tapped to the reciever and high enough to allow disassembley for cleaning when using corrosive ammo.A shell deflector isn't a bad idea either or use a short scope/red dot to avoid empties hitting your scope.The .311/150 gr is the same bullet for the .303 British...............I'll try and find the link for the 870 setup..............Harold..............a good load for the 123gr is 24gr Win 748
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=42204.0

[CR5]

I have one that is about 10 years old and probably has around 5000 rounds down the pipe. Best bang for the buck in a centerfire imho.

First thing to do with a new one is get rid of the wood and go with any of the synthetic stocks available. I didn't even shoot mine before changing to a synthetic folding stock.

Only thing to watch is the gas tube. The gas tube on mine corrodes and prevents the gas piston from travelling full stroke which reduces reliability. A good cleaning and lube is needed when you put it away for a while.

Don't bother putting a scope on it, I had a dust cover mounted red dot and it was no more accurate than the open sights and I had an empty case smash the front lens out of my scope. I also have friends that have put regular scopes on them and they don't shoot any better. This is a 100 meter gun that is fun to shoot and is best at making lots of noise rapid firing it and tearing up thin steel plate and other fun stuff, don't buy one if you have dreams of fixing it up and turning it into something else. There is nothing precision about it. Spend your money on ammo instead of mods.

Cheap+reliable+fun=buy one.

[switchsl]

Nobody mentioned "lead hose". I find they are like spray painting with a rifle. Hell of alot of fun. Remember your rake to clean up the casings when youre done.

[Matt L.]

Originally Posted by switchsl

Nobody mentioned "lead hose". I find they are like spray painting with a rifle. Hell of alot of fun. Remember your rake to clean up the casings when youre done.

Perhaps the best reason for owning one yet.

[Dakota369]

Which of the many SKS's avail is the best really? Is it the Chinese, Russian, chrome bolt black bolt etc?

Thanks

[madatter]

Originally Posted by Dakota369

Which of the many SKS's avail is the best really? Is it the Chinese, Russian, chrome bolt black bolt etc?

Thanks

Chrome bolts,Russian early models seem to be the #1 choice from what I've read.
sksboards.com
canadiangunnutz.com

These sites have more info than you will ever need......
My Chinese cheapy shoots fine

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Dakota369

Which of the many SKS's avail is the best really? Is it the Chinese, Russian, chrome bolt black bolt etc?

Thanks

The early ones, at least, had chrome plated bores. My rebuilt Russian has a new barrel, so I was told, by a distinctive mark,on the receiver, but it doesn't appear to be chrome plated. Some of the better ones are supposed to be the East German or Yugoslavian, but I don't think they are being imported.
Grizz

[honda450]

I bought one of those Chinese made SKS's in the early 90's. Think Milarm had them on for $125, it has the chrome lined barrel. Yup crude finish to the wood and the hand guard is a different wood than the stock. I refinished the wood.

Has worked flawless for me so far. No target rifle though. Just use it for fooling around anyhow.

[marlin1]

good gun for the enemy to have

[mtylerb]

I finally received the parts for my gun. I turned my innocent Tula SKS ...



... into a frighteningly evil weapon of mass destruction:

Originally Posted by Gonehuntin'

I agree on the price bit, but insofar as feeling cheap, being cheap, I'd have to say they were about on par with those ChiCom M305's. But cheaper to feed. The only problem I've seen was when I tried a buddy's Norinco (read crap) SKS, it would not fire Czech surplus ammo on the first go. You literally had to run it through twice, on the second strike of the firing pin it would set the primer off. Not occasionally, but every round. Worked OK with Norinco ammo. Possibly just a manufacturing defect. The pin looked fine, maybe a weak mainspring. Imagine that though, a Norinco with issues.

I'd rather have a Russian built SKS than a Chinese built M305. Just personal preference. Or a CZ 858 more than either.

On a side note, I read somewhere on Gunnutz that Marstar had found a very large shipment of SKS's from Africa, varying in condition from battlefield pick to still in the cosmoline, and were expected to be in sometime soon, if not already. Should drive the price down and improve selection.

From what I understand, it has something to do with the primers on the surplus ammo. Yours is designed to shoot the factory ammo, whereas mine is designed to shoot the surplus ammo. I don't really understand it, maybe the primers are tougher on the surplus ammo? I'm sure somebody here can explain, better.

[LIR]

[QUOTE=mtylerb;585865]I finally received the parts for my gun. I turned my innocent Tula SKS ...



... into a frighteningly evil weapon of mass destruction:





=======


How much did it cost you to mod the SKS? Can you show us where you got the replacement stock?

Looks great BTW!

[madatter]

http://www.fabsports.ca/sks-c-6_47.h...e=URL_LANGUAGE

Prices and different stock options here.

[mtylerb]

Originally Posted by madatter

http://www.fabsports.ca/sks-c-6_47.h...e=URL_LANGUAGE

Prices and different stock options here.

I actually went with Frontier to get the colour (Flat Dark Earth) that I wanted. That specific stock is the Tapco T6 or Intrafuse stock. It was pretty easy to install. I've got a couple more parts coming for it to add rails to the front-left and right sides, as well as to add a longer magazine release. Just add a removable duckbill 30/5 magazine (ordering next week) and we'll be good to go!

The gun itself was $250 and the replacement stock was $150.

[Homesteader]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

The early ones, at least, had chrome plated bores. My rebuilt Russian has a new barrel, so I was told, by a distinctive mark,on the receiver, but it doesn't appear to be chrome plated. Some of the better ones are supposed to be the East German or Yugoslavian, but I don't think they are being imported.
Grizz

The earliest ones did not have a chrome barrels, or chambers. The Russians started chroming bores around 52. I think all the Chinese ones are chromed, and I don't think any of the Yugos are chromed.
I like the idea of chrome, as most of the ammo is corrosive. The downside to chrome is you supposedly loose some accuracy vs. non chromed pipes.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Homesteader

The earliest ones did not have a chrome barrels, or chambers. The Russians started chroming bores around 52. I think all the Chinese ones are chromed, and I don't think any of the Yugos are chromed.
I like the idea of chrome, as most of the ammo is corrosive. The downside to chrome is you supposedly loose some accuracy vs. non chromed pipes.

I've always wondered , why they bother chroming the bayonets ? Only gun I know of, that has that feature and if you do the logical thing, which is to sharpen them, the chrome will be gone. The Russian bayonet, at least, would be a tough job, to stick in somebody, the way it is.

Grizz

[Grizzly Adams]

This is one I think I'd avoid, if I was looking for a shooter. The one, on the right is a Viet Nam era, Chinese edition. The receiver is a stamping with the structural part being an insert and the barrel , pinned to it.




Grizz

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by mtylerb

I finally received the parts for my gun. I turned my innocent Tula SKS ...



... into a frighteningly evil weapon of mass destruction:







From what I understand, it has something to do with the primers on the surplus ammo. Yours is designed to shoot the factory ammo, whereas mine is designed to shoot the surplus ammo. I don't really understand it, maybe the primers are tougher on the surplus ammo? I'm sure somebody here can explain, better.

Hmmm... I might have to eat crow and say that I probably wouldn't mind having the bottom version.....for a while anyhow

[Trakker262]

Originally Posted by madatter

Added a few things to the SKS,feels nice to me now!

I like that stock, all it needs is a scope. I bought a Chineses SKS not long ago but after about thirty round it stopped cocking the pin. Seems the cheap ammo you can buy blows powder back through the hole for the pin. Took an extreme cleaning.

[madatter]

One of the bad things about using the SKS is that the surplus ammo has corrossive primers that require you to clean the gun alot more.
Some people do a complete tear down and clean but I don't get that carried away.
The ammo is dirt cheap and if it means a little more cleaning then so be it!!

On another note I was in Calgary all week and happened to stop into Shooters Edge.
They have a pretty good selection of Norinco SKS's,which from the marking look like re-furbished Chinese models.
They also had some Russian Simonov's which look to be excellent for $259.

They also had a few CZ858's which I had never seen before and had to take one home....too bad the weather sucks and I can't get out to shoot it!!
The SKS might not get used much now!!

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=h...26tbs%3Disch:1

[westwest]

The Chinese military Sks's shoot just as good as the Russian Sks's, maybe even better. Never had a problem with Chinese Sks's shooting surplus EVER, but have seen guys take there sks's "Russian and Chinese "without cleaning the bolt properly thus making the firing pin stick and then blame the ammo. Most of the time its operator error.