How to pick a good SKS out of many ?
- Thread starter AManWithAGun
- Start date
midnightpossum
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- East Kootneys
I was going to buy one online from there... I had asked the guy to pick a nice one out for me,but he told me they where all the same..... I am not that stupid...No sks is the same.... I guess it was too much work for him to look or even lie to me and say "Sure I will find the nicest one and ship it out right away"....so I didnt buy there... Funny how that works....I didnt have the luxury of going and looking for myself.10hrs away. With a referb... whatever catches your eye.Black bolt,Silver bolt,stock...etc.... some look better then others,they are all the same except how they look.
The least amount of dings and scratches wins
The least amount of dings and scratches wins
I'm afraid I can't offer much advice since I bought all my sks's online while two being unissued.
If you read the sticky here:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=298930
You should be able to tell what good and what's not and have a clearer mind what do you really want.
Good luck.
If you read the sticky here:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=298930
You should be able to tell what good and what's not and have a clearer mind what do you really want.
Good luck.
Most, if not all of those rifles have been arsenal reconditioned. All parts showing to much wear have been replaced. I have only heard of one with a bore problem and it was a worn muzzle on one of the earlier rifles with a non chromed bore. The fellow that owns it, counter bored the muzzle 1/2cm and all was well.
I haven't seen any others with counter bored muzzles, maybe others have. It may be something to look for.
They all seem to be functional, reliable and have similar accuracy. Look at as many as you can and pick the one that appeals to you the most. If you like the looks of one better than another, buy it. It will be a lot of years before these rifles appreciate in value to any great extent. Buy at least one or two crates of ammunition with it and learn how to clean out corrosive salts from the primers.
The SKS is a very decent little rifle. You will either like it or hate it. It's heavier than it looks but balances well and comes up to the shoulder like a dream.
It was designed for rugged use and the European models were machined rather than stamped.
If you are looking for a collector piece, Look for as many original parts as possible, such as non ###X stock numbers, chrome/non chrome bores, black/gold/bright bayonets, painted or blued receivers. Also look for the refurb square that is stamped on the cover.
I've seen several that are claimed to be unissued but I don't believe it. There may be the odd one out there but that would be like finding an unissued Garand or Lee Enfield. They are definitely not easy to find. Many dealers, not Lever, advertised them as unissued. They didn't bother to mention that they were unissued after refurbishment.
I haven't seen any others with counter bored muzzles, maybe others have. It may be something to look for.
They all seem to be functional, reliable and have similar accuracy. Look at as many as you can and pick the one that appeals to you the most. If you like the looks of one better than another, buy it. It will be a lot of years before these rifles appreciate in value to any great extent. Buy at least one or two crates of ammunition with it and learn how to clean out corrosive salts from the primers.
The SKS is a very decent little rifle. You will either like it or hate it. It's heavier than it looks but balances well and comes up to the shoulder like a dream.
It was designed for rugged use and the European models were machined rather than stamped.
If you are looking for a collector piece, Look for as many original parts as possible, such as non ###X stock numbers, chrome/non chrome bores, black/gold/bright bayonets, painted or blued receivers. Also look for the refurb square that is stamped on the cover.
I've seen several that are claimed to be unissued but I don't believe it. There may be the odd one out there but that would be like finding an unissued Garand or Lee Enfield. They are definitely not easy to find. Many dealers, not Lever, advertised them as unissued. They didn't bother to mention that they were unissued after refurbishment.
This sks is 1 exemple of the one sold as "unissued". This is a Tula 1953, no refurb symbols, alls matching numbers and no touch up paint anywhere,no sign of wear. Maybe is not truly unissued but look damn clean(except for the cosmo that i didn't remove, its a safe queen) and you can see that dirt stick well to cosmo
Thankyou,yes the serial number is on the bottom of the mag. The mag was pinned on the follower.
I have a late production Tula with the star stamped in the side of the reciever and not the top cover. It has a laminated stock, silver bolt and all the numbers match - mag, bolt, stock, top cover, trigger guard etc. Nothing X'ed, stamped or EP'ed except for the buttplate which is electro-penciled. The rifle appears to have had very little, if any use but shows the usual amount of handling marks. So my question is, is it possible that this SKS was "unissued" or at least saw such light use that when it went for an arsenal refurb that all they did was clean it and EP the butt plate?
Since the buttplate is ep, that mean that the rifle could be used just a little and that the buttplate was replace during a refurb if dammage was present but usually the buttplate are not numbered. does the receiver cover have refurb stamp like a small box with diagonal line in it or a stamped diamond on the cover?
Now that you mention it, mine has some paint on the butt plate too, but nowhere else. No refurb stamps that I can think of, maybe I'll have to pull it out of the safe tonight and take a better look at it. However AFAIK there are no refurb stamps and it is definitely only EP'ed on the butt plate. I wouldn't say mine is unfired, but it certainly appears to be unused. I suppose should pick up a crate of surplus at some point and do something about that!
My best advice, is look at it closely, make sure it has the original blueing and not painted black anywhere along the barrel or receiver. Get a non painted bolt, check for rust. Take a flashlight with you and shine it up the bore and see if it has any pitting. Look at the Bolt and see if there is a ring around where the headstamp of a cartridge has worn into the bolt. Mine had a brand new bolt and what appears to be a new barrel in it. Shoots great. They are all decent down at Lever Arms, for $200 you can't go wrong.
