Chinese SKS quality hit or miss!?

I bought a $200 one from CT. Numbers don’t match, gas piston shows some pitting, and the stock is damn ugly. The bore looked brand new. I would trust my life to it, like every sks I’ve ever owned but it is no show pony.
 
jstin said:
I bought one of the B grade Chinese SKS advertised on line and it was garbage. Then a few months ago went into Cabelas Calgary. Found 3 all matching Chinese SKSs in perfect shape. One was at regular price and a month or so later when they had a sale($199.99) picked up the other 2. Plus did customer survey and received $20.00 off. Sales personal were great and understanding. I would not buy sight unseen again and when I go to store I ask if I can take apart to see if matching serial numbers and general condition.

Example of one of the SKS purchased at Cabelas

https://ibb.co/album/k1zNrF
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I just picked one up from Cabelas today.... all matching numbers and a very well made, clean looking rifle. 9C1B9E3B-42E7-4DC3-BE47-920ADE024447.jpg
 

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Yea, did they let you choose between a few or they strictly made you take the one they showed you? Which Branch of Cabela's did you go to?
 
delavan said:
Yea, did they let you choose between a few or they strictly made you take the one they showed you? Which Branch of Cabela's did you go to?
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Got it in Kanata. This was the one they had on display... when I gave it a once over it was obviously in great condition so I said “give me this SPECIFIC rifle” and took it home.

On an off topic but somewhat related point - I really hate how Cabelas won’t remove a the trigger guard from a gun when a customer is considering a purchase. Firstly, that makes buying a high-end rifle or pistol a big gamble (cuz trigger quality is so critical). Secondly, they’re treating licenced gun owners like a potential threat.

Both points are total B.S.
 
vpsalin said:
That SKS is clean as hell.
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Sure is, matching serial numbers too. Been hitting the google-fu since I bought it, seems like this is an unissued 1969 rifle made at Factory 946.

Gotta say - the quality of the machining is WAY beyond what should be expected for a $230 rifle... it honestly puts the work of some modern manufacturers to shame.
 
Rosco7002 said:
Sure is, matching serial numbers too. Been hitting the google-fu since I bought it, seems like this is an unissued 1969 rifle made at Factory 946.

Gotta say - the quality of the machining is WAY beyond what should be expected for a $230 rifle... it honestly puts the work of some modern manufacturers to shame.
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Doesn't matter that some people have so-so respect for the SKS, it is milled steel, looks cool, get you in the milsurp business on the cheap. I have a 1952 Tula and I still look around for SKSs. Next time I go to Calgary, I will go to Cabela's or Bass pro (or both) and ask to see a few. I want an Izzy (good luck to myself, they are getting rare) or a chinese. Then, even if the wife says "you already have one of these", well...oups, sorry.
 
Rosco7002 said:
Sure is, matching serial numbers too. Been hitting the google-fu since I bought it, seems like this is an unissued 1969 rifle made at Factory 946.

Gotta say - the quality of the machining is WAY beyond what should be expected for a $230 rifle... it honestly puts the work of some modern manufacturers to shame.
Click to expand...

The last of the great bargains. 10 years (or less) from now we'll be kicking ourselves for not buying a few.
 
The Kurgan said:
The last of the great bargains. 10 years (or less) from now we'll be kicking ourselves for not buying a few.
Click to expand...

After getting this gun home I started thinking about grabbing a couple more. It was supposed to be a fun, low cost project build but it’s in such great condition... might wait to do that with a more dinged up specimen.
 
Can't wait to get this SKS and see what condition it's in. I'm planning on modding this one slightly, keeping my russian stock. I'm going for a Madator Razor red dot mount, seems like a really solid design when compared to what's out there.
sksrazor.jpg
 
The Chinese ones are fine shooters in my experience. If you want a collectors piece then maybe go russian/Slavic but if a good deal can be found on a Chinese in good shape I wouldn't hesitate
 
So I received the chinese sks finally today. It had 5% of the cosmo that russian had so so far cleaning is a breeze. Some comrade somewhere did all the dirty work in my place Thk, go figure. It also came with what appears to be a fiberglass 'jungle' stock. I never even knew that these things existed before researching it today. That was a VERY cool surprise.

The receiver and barrel have great 90% blueing. I can't complain there at all. The bore looks very clean. The downside is some parts are very varied from pristine (trigger group) to pitted (main piston). I can't really complain at the price that I paid. Should a rifle still be serviceable with pitted piston?

It also has the needle bayonet, not the screw-driver spike I'm used to seeing. I'm not sure what to make out of that.
 
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