First SKS. Chinese or Russian

Bushbum40 said:
A lot of guys are recommending the chinese sks. I had one once, bought it used. It had the unnerving tendency of going full auto. Yes i cleaned the firing pin. Yes i cleaned the bolt. Another thing, i was out shooting it once, reloaded, went to chamber a round, and cut myself on the charging handle. Turns out It had fragmented, spat off a chunk of steel, and was sharp as sh1t!

Now it wasn't brand new, and i dont know what type of chinese it was, but personally, ill never go with anythong but russians. I've had a few, and if you look em over at the shop real good, they run flawlessly.
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I wonder if you put the firing pin in upside down?
 
The whole "don't buy chinese its crap" is kinda old, and not factual in this case. Commercial chinese sks, ya pretty much crap. Military grade though is pretty good and is inline with the Russian stuff as that is where they got the machines and training to build the chinese rifles in the first place.

Don't buy east communist, buy west communist. Good arguement.

Either "milspec" version will treat you well. Its personal preference which version you go with really.
 
I think it depends on weather you plan to keep it looking original or want to put an aftermarket stock on the SKS. If you're going to put a polymer stock on (like the one below) I would buy a Chinese. My first SKS was Chinese and I loved it. I did sell it years later. If you're going to keep it original for looks, I'd get the Russian with all matching serial numbers. I am planning on buying another SKS. I think I will try one of the Russain ones just because I like the star and serial numbers all over the riffle.


(pic borrowed from hical)
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The general "Canadian" consensus is that Russian SKS are more collectable than the Chinese. Look at the US and they drool over our "cheap" Chinese sks and pay well over 400 and sometime way more over 400 for their Chinese SKS.

Most run of the mill Chinese rifles are good for customizing as we are lucky to have access to lots of them. But we also have access to plenty of forced matched Russians good for the same thing.

There are collectable Chinese and Russian versions if you are into them in that way though. Don't be so quick to butcher a chinese version until you look into what you might have.
 
Can you actually point out what, if anything makes a russian sks better? Other than wood preference? Seeing as the Russian tools from Tula are what the Chinese began making their version with before expanding to multiple factories?

The ones made for commercial sale weren't as good. The milspec stuff is made to a much higher standard.
 
fenceline said:
Can you actually point out what, if anything makes a russian sks better? Other than wood preference? Seeing as the Russian tools from Tula are what the Chinese began making their version with before expanding to multiple factories?

The ones made for commercial sale weren't as good. The milspec stuff is made to a much higher standard.
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The Chinese bolt carriers are stamped the Russian are milled from solid piece of steel(stronger). Chinese have a tendancy to slam fire. Again the wood is nicer and the bayonet is nicer on the Russian. The quality is just not there on the Chinese. That is why you can buy a Chinese one for $75.
 
Nelson84 said:
The Chinese bolt carriers are stamped the Russian are milled from solid piece of steel(stronger). Chinese have a tendancy to slam fire. Again the wood is nicer and the bayonet is nicer on the Russian. The quality is just not there on the Chinese. That is why you can buy a Chinese one for $75.
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The bolt carriers are stamped??? Do you mean the receiver maybe? Only very few Chinese SKS have a stamped receiver and they are hard to come by, some would say collector pieces if one was into collecting SKS carbines.

Any SKS will slam fire if not cleaned properly. Some Russians have a spring loaded firing pin, but not all. If the cosmo isn't cleaned out it won't matter where it was made from, you run the risk of a slam fire if you don't clean it out right.

The bayonet is nicer on the Russian and the Chinese decided to stop using the blade during Vietnam as it was cheaper to produce, and extended the reach with the longer spike. Not that civilian shooters would use it on the range much anyways. Unless of course one gets a 49 Tula with a spike, or a pre-67 Chinese with a blade. Then it is all backwards.

The price of the Chinese has nothing to do with quality, it has to do with mass purchase power and availability and is conditional on the purchase of ammo. Without the ammo there is a $40 difference on average.

I would recommend reading the respective stickies on both types. The information on production is all there.
 
I would recommend getting one of each. Get a nice looking russian with a nice stock, all matching and keep it bone stock, then get a chinese and put a new stock on, side mount scope moount, detachable mag, front vertical grip, green laser, whatever you want. You can mod the chineese guilt free because your pretty russian still looks the way it did the day it left the factory
 
Nelson84 said:
The Chinese bolt carriers are stamped the Russian are milled from solid piece of steel(stronger). Chinese have a tendancy to slam fire. Again the wood is nicer and the bayonet is nicer on the Russian. The quality is just not there on the Chinese. That is why you can buy a Chinese one for $75.
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I'm pretty convinced you have no idea what you are talking about at this point.

I would put my chicom SKS up against any Russian one as far as functionality and accuracy is concerned.

I have directly compared both a Tula and a Chicom sks. It was about a wash as far as machining was concerned. Some areas the Tula were better, and some areas the CSKS were better. The wood is nicer on on the Tula, but if you are looking for a good shooter at an affordable price, that is not going to be a consideration. Same with the Bayo...at the end of the day, it is a cosmetic feature and does not affect the function of the rifle.

If you are concerned with cosmetics, get a Tula. If you want a good shooter that's cheap as dirt, get a chicom. They both get the job done at the end of the day.
 
FastFord58 said:
I'm pretty convinced you have no idea what you are talking about at this point.

I would put my chicom SKS up against any Russian one as far as functionality and accuracy is concerned.

I have directly compared both a Tula and a Chicom sks. It was about a wash as far as machining was concerned. Some areas the Tula were better, and some areas the CSKS were better. The wood is nicer on on the Tula, but if you are looking for a good shooter at an affordable price, that is not going to be a consideration. Same with the Bayo...at the end of the day, it is a cosmetic feature and does not affect the function of the rifle.

If you are concerned with cosmetics, get a Tula. If you want a good shooter that's cheap as dirt, get a chicom. They both get the job done at the end of the day.
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You must have gotten a good one if it functions perfectly. But for appearance and resale big thumbs down for the Chinese copy. If a Chinese SKS works better with an after market stock like a tapco or a new archangel then I would put a paper bag on my head and buy the Chinese rifle but that would be it. I do not want to support a country that went to war with Canada. Russians were allies the Chinese killed Canadians in Korea. Not cool.
 
Nelson84 said:
You must have gotten a good one if it functions perfectly. But for appearance and resale big thumbs down for the Chinese copy. If a Chinese SKS works better with an after market stock like a tapco or a new archangel then I would put a paper bag on my head and buy the Chinese rifle but that would be it. I do not want to support a country that went to war with Canada. Russians were allies the Chinese killed Canadians in Korea. Not cool.
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The Russians were allies? Are you for real? We were allies with the USA and part of NORAD. You know, that system of air defence against the Soviets nuking us and the USA.

You aren't helping yourself in the credibility factor behind your knowledge base.
 
Nelson84 said:
You must have gotten a good one if it functions perfectly. But for appearance and resale big thumbs down for the Chinese copy. If a Chinese SKS works better with an after market stock like a tapco or a new archangel then I would put a paper bag on my head and buy the Chinese rifle but that would be it. I do not want to support a country that went to war with Canada. Russians were allies the Chinese killed Canadians in Korea. Not cool.
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I guess all the Soviet pilots flying MIGs for North Korea was OK because they weren't using SKSes?
Do you ever buy any German, Italian or Japanese made products?

As far as the SKS goes, I've never noticed a difference in function between Russian and Chinese models. I've also never seen a Chinese SKS with a stamped bolt carrier.
 
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