.30/06 FTW
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Thunder Bay, Ontario
Looking for advice on SKS's
- Thread starter jca21
- Start date
- Location
- Tucson, Arizona
jc21,a bipod on an SKS is as useful as lipstick on a pig.
jc21
If you haven't guessed yet my expensive love affair with the SKS has died a lingering death. It is a "fun gun" but loading it up with after market stocks and worthless sighting aids and other gizmos and gadgets is a waste of time and money.
If you do some searching you will find out that the best accuracy is achieved with the original wooden cross bolt stock and improving the bedding. You will also find that some people are modifying the front barrel band to a similar setup as the accurized M14 rifle.
The first mod to any SKS is to improve the trigger pull and I would simply send it to the best person around and that is Kavaari.
The second mod would be to replace the inertia firing pin with the spring loaded firing pin.
The third mod would be to install a rear mounted peep sight like the TechSight or Lyman. If you have chronologically gifted eyesight then a solid scope mount that attaches to the receiver is the best choice.
I like my 59-66 the best "BUT" its only failing is it does "NOT" have a chrome bore, so cleaning is always a top priority after shooting.
I modified my Norinco SKS because it was the "Cowboy Companion" model and was technically no longer a stock milsurp as it was imported this way into the U.S. The Cowboy Companion SKS came with a side mounted receiver base and scope but the Chinese scope had long fallen apart before I bought this SKS.
Below my two biggest bottomless money pits, my "unmodified" Norinco SKS and my unmodified single stack WASR 10 AK that I converted to a double stack magazine and added a standard rear wooden stocks to. In the end I got more enjoyment by accurizing a Ruger 10-22 and far better accuracy.
If you haven't guessed yet my expensive love affair with the SKS has died a lingering death. It is a "fun gun" but loading it up with after market stocks and worthless sighting aids and other gizmos and gadgets is a waste of time and money.
If you do some searching you will find out that the best accuracy is achieved with the original wooden cross bolt stock and improving the bedding. You will also find that some people are modifying the front barrel band to a similar setup as the accurized M14 rifle.
The first mod to any SKS is to improve the trigger pull and I would simply send it to the best person around and that is Kavaari.
The second mod would be to replace the inertia firing pin with the spring loaded firing pin.
The third mod would be to install a rear mounted peep sight like the TechSight or Lyman. If you have chronologically gifted eyesight then a solid scope mount that attaches to the receiver is the best choice.
I like my 59-66 the best "BUT" its only failing is it does "NOT" have a chrome bore, so cleaning is always a top priority after shooting.
I modified my Norinco SKS because it was the "Cowboy Companion" model and was technically no longer a stock milsurp as it was imported this way into the U.S. The Cowboy Companion SKS came with a side mounted receiver base and scope but the Chinese scope had long fallen apart before I bought this SKS.
Below my two biggest bottomless money pits, my "unmodified" Norinco SKS and my unmodified single stack WASR 10 AK that I converted to a double stack magazine and added a standard rear wooden stocks to. In the end I got more enjoyment by accurizing a Ruger 10-22 and far better accuracy.
Um, Vietnam?
umm, major conflict?? ha. Shoot and run guerilla war for the most part, but not much in the way of extended battles. Not to mention that a lot of NVA regulars were using AK47 by the end of the conflict, which should tell us something about what the North Vietnamese thought of the SKS...
Last edited:
Since about 1950. It's a fairly well known fact that the SKS needs a lot of maintenance and cleaning or they will fail miserably, which is not exactly desireable traits in a battle rifle or a survival rifle.
The SKS did what it was made to do. Obviously no great deal of time or money was spent on development and it would be easy to tool up for and build. It allowed the Soviets to field a definite upgrade from the M91 variants, got them closer to a level playing field with the various NATO weapons in use at that time, and gave them breathing space while they developed something better. Stop-gap in design and use.
They are fun to shoot but would be awful low on the list of rifles I'd choose if my life depended on it. They are like the Cooey model 64 - people bought them because they were cheap, not because they were good. Like the Cooey, you can make an SKS shoot if you keep it very very clean and use decent quality ammo, but they wear out quickly.
They're good for the money, period.
Guys,
i appreciate all the info thats been given so far. i've alot to think about regarding a good bug out rifle and what the SKS means to me with this new info.
I'll still plan to buy one in the future just for ####s and giggles but for now it seems it'd be best to look else where for a long-term survival gun.
thanks a bunch for the info guys
i appreciate all the info thats been given so far. i've alot to think about regarding a good bug out rifle and what the SKS means to me with this new info.
I'll still plan to buy one in the future just for ####s and giggles but for now it seems it'd be best to look else where for a long-term survival gun.
thanks a bunch for the info guys
.30/06 FTW
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Thunder Bay, Ontario
I'd hardly call a war with 15 countries and 4 million + dead a hit and run guerrilla war. The reason why the NVA was using the AK by the end of the conflict was because they were winning and could finally get all of their troops very well supplied (ie no more American bombing campaigns). Not much in the way of extended battles? Google Tet Offensive, Easter Offensive, etc. You obviously have watched way too much Platoon for you to get such warped views. And BTW, Vietnam produced its own SKSs as well as using Russian and Chinese ones, so that should tell YOU what the North Vietnamese thought about it.
.30/06 FTW
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Thunder Bay, Ontario
What, cleaning them thoroughly after shooting corrosive is a lot of maintenance? It'll take 20min out of your day. Boo-hoo. And it's not like they are going to "fail miserably". It might get a bit rusty, but it's not just going to stop working. SKSs are built as tough as AKs.
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
The SKS had a production run about as long as the M14, in fact longer: 1949-1956 (SKS) vs 1959-1964 (M14). Hardly a "stop gap measure"! Breathing room? The Soviets didn't need 6-8 years of breathing space to develop and distribute the AK47. The SKS was purpose designed for the battlefield and was very effective in many smaller conflicts around the world, including bigger theatres like Vietnam.
They are about as reliable as a stone axe. There isn't a battle weapon on planet earth that doesnt require regular care and cleaning after use! My two most trusty SKS's have been through over 2 crates of Czech ammo without a single issue or failure. I would bank on my SKS to be ready for action if called upon.
Last edited:
)
.30/06 FTW
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Thunder Bay, Ontario
I think he was referring to S&B Surplus.
Sure. But if the NVA thought the SKS was sufficient why did they bother to resupply with AK47 at all?
Regarding the M14 - it wasn't exactly a great success story either at the time of it's introduction. If it makes you feel any better I wouldn't choose an M14 as my bug out rifle either.
Not that it really matters, but the Tet Offensive took place in the latter stages of the war when the main NVA rifle would have been the AK47. I don't need to "google" or watch "Platoon" to know that. I was old enough to follow that war in real time, and I had family members involved in the conflict so I was very interested.
The North Vietnamese produced their own SKS rifles because the NVA did not have lots of money or technical capability, especially in the beginning of the conflict, and the SKS was simple and cheap to build. Even then they still switched to the AK47 as fast as they could. No doubt that the NVA used SKS rifles effectively, because the simple design suited their tactics early in the game, which would have been to arm and field combatants as quickly and cheaply as possible. It was well suited to that.
I have put somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 rounds through 2 SKS rifles. I know what they are good at and I know what they aren't good at. I'm not making this stuff up.
.30/06 FTW
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Thunder Bay, Ontario
Sure. But if the NVA thought the SKS was sufficient why did they bother to resupply with AK47 at all?
Regarding the M14 - it wasn't exactly a great success story either at the time of it's introduction. If it makes you feel any better I wouldn't choose an M14 as my bug out rifle either.
Not that it really matters, but the Tet Offensive took place in the latter stages of the war when the main NVA rifle would have been the AK47. I don't need to "google" or watch "Platoon" to know that. I was old enough to follow that war in real time, and I had family members involved in the conflict so I was very interested.
The North Vietnamese produced their own SKS rifles because the NVA did not have lots of money or technical capability, especially in the beginning of the conflict, and the SKS was simple and cheap to build. Even then they still switched to the AK47 as fast as they could. No doubt that the NVA used SKS rifles effectively, because the simple design suited their tactics early in the game, which would have been to arm and field combatants as quickly and cheaply as possible. It was well suited to that.
I have put somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 rounds through 2 SKS rifles. I know what they are good at and I know what they aren't good at. I'm not making this stuff up.
Quite simply because the AK 47 is fully automatic and the SKS is semi-automatic. Just because a rifle isn't a main service rifle doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with it, which is the fact that you seem to play up. If the SKS is as bad as you say it is its production would have ended as soon as the first AK was made.
Deltasilver
Regular
- Location
- Right behind you...
The entire WORLD was following the same pattern - It's called evolution. Bolt action rifle to Semi-auto Battle Rifle to Carbine to Assault Rifle. Mosin Nagant to SVT38/40 to SKS to AK-47. Springfield 1903 to Garand to M1 to M16. The tactics changed so the equipment changed. Shorter ranges, Automatic fire - Volley fire to VOLUME fire.
I dunno the sales figures on the SKS in Canada but I know that most of us who own one own two...Or three.
There are no "SKS gremlin" threads on this forum. The odd stuck firing pin or inexperienced owner who had visions of MOA accuracy out of a rifle he didn't bother to tear down and clean before taking it out for the first time. Most of the failures I've come across on CGN could safely be attributed to the refurb process and were easily corrected with a good cleaning or removing a build up of paint.
Deltasilver
Regular
- Location
- Right behind you...
boy did i open up a can of worms or what...
LOL nah. It's all in good spirits. Different people, different outlooks, different opinions.
If you lived closer I would let you bang out a couple hundred rounds through one of mine. They're a great conversation piece @ the range and with ammo being so cheap I'm always happy to let someone who's never had any trigger time on one take a turn.
Buy one, you won't regret it. If it's not your thing they're real easy to offload.
Make sure you throw a magnet on a string into your rifle case -much easier to clean up the empties.
