Is it irresponsible to fire a cherry SKS?

If all you do is shoot it without carrying it through the bush or anything like that, you aren't going to hurt it cosmetically anyway.

It's an SKS, after all. There's lots of therm out there. It's not like a Gewehr 41 or anything like that.
 
kwhunter said:
Mine is definitely unfired and still has touchup paint on the buttplate.
So, how can one tell? Unissued I think is not the right word.
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maybe so but the word usissued has been used by dealers since the first russian came up for sale early this year .

to me unissued means, never handled by the troops , went straight from the arsenal to storage.

i cant speak for your rifle but i would describe mine as non-refurb in excellent conditions cos its slightly used, i couldnt tell from looking at the carrier and bolt cos they look new but when i looked at the rails the carriers traveled, i can see some wear , next i can see the scratched marks on the barrel made by extending the bayo and the most confusing part are the dimples on the edge of the bayo screw on the left side of the bayo lug , all three rifles had more than two dimples on them , more than two are usually found on refurbs.

like i said in my sticky that there is no hard rule here when it comes to determining whether your rifle was fired or unfired , if you are happy with your evaluation then thats fine . its is possible mine are unfired but slightly used by the troops for drill or parade , in that case i would describe them as unfired in excellent condition.
 
You were prepared to pay $280 (which BTW doesn't even buy a decent scope for most guns) for a shooter, and like you mentioned, that is what you got, albeit some nice ones. Go have fun with them.
 
curtton said:
maybe so but the word usissued has been used by dealers since the first russian came up for sale early this year .

to me unissued means, never handled by the troops , went straight from the arsenal to storage.

i cant speak for your rifle but i would describe mine as non-refurb in excellent conditions cos its slightly used, i couldnt tell from looking at the carrier and bolt cos they look new but when i looked at the rails the carriers traveled, i can see some wear , next i can see the scratched marks on the barrel made by extending the bayo and the most confusing part are the dimples on the edge of the bayo screw on the left side of the bayo lug , all three rifles had more than two dimples on them , more than two are usually found on refurbs.

like i said in my sticky that there is no hard rule here when it comes to determining whether your rifle was fired or unfired , if you are happy with your evaluation then thats fine . its is possible mine are unfired but slightly used by the troops for drill or parade , in that case i would describe them as unfired in excellent condition.
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This is my opinion, and considering the fact that I worked with steel and iron most of the last 20+ years I would say that I am about right.
The gun was handled that's for sure, it was in military depots for the last 50+ years and didn't just sit in a crate; like I said in a previous post the guns were inspected periodically, cocked and dry fired, moved around, maybe even taken apart. After arriving in Canada they probably saw more handling and dry firing than over the half century spent in storage. And they were fired at least once at the factory.
Therefore, my opinion is this: there is no pristine, as off the assembly line guns ending up here. They all have been handled, played with, dry fired, etc.
You may think that what I say is BS, but unlike most of you I have spent time in the combloc military and I have I good idea how things are done there.
 
smartbomb said:
Pics.
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Here's your pics if you were asking me; taken at the first cleaning after I received the gun.
Not sure the photos will show the real condition of the parts but you can see the bolt head looks like it was machined yesterday.

IMG_0746.jpg

IMG_0747.jpg

IMG_0749.jpg

IMG_0750.jpg

IMG_0751.jpg
 
kwhunter said:
This is my opinion, and considering the fact that I worked with steel and iron most of the last 20+ years I would say that I am about right.
The gun was handled that's for sure, it was in military depots for the last 50+ years and didn't just sit in a crate; like I said in a previous post the guns were inspected periodically, cocked and dry fired, moved around, maybe even taken apart. After arriving in Canada they probably saw more handling and dry firing than over the half century spent in storage. And they were fired at least once at the factory.
Therefore, my opinion is this: there is no pristine, as off the assembly line guns ending up here. They all have been handled, played with, dry fired, etc.
You may think that what I say is BS, but unlike most of you I have spent time in the combloc military and I have I good idea how things are done there.
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True,but the best of the best that are arriving here will in the future be worth more than the really nice refurbs. Just look at the other Mil-Surps and what the cream of crop brings these days. Like you say KW there is no such thing as an unfired Military Arm.
 
I had the same dilemma. After all, there can only be so many ~60 year old guns that have never been used. However, it sounds like they aren't going to be rarities anytime soon. Now I can shoot in peace.

By the way, did the unissued SKS you get from Ed have a chrome barrel?
 
The term "unissued" is sort of like the term "mint" used to describe books or magazines.
Collectors of old magazines go to extremes like insisting that the little cardboard inserts for subscriptions must be included in the magazine. If you take a mag straight from the publisher, carefully lift it up while wearing latex gloves, and the insert card falls out and dents the corner, the magazine is no longer "mint".

Very Fine condition is a better term.
 
i just purchased a no4 enfield in very good condition and i plan to use the gun deer hunting. these guns are made to wartime use and a little bit of carrying in the woods will not hurt them. happy hunting
 
i was at the range the other day and heres a fellow shooting his russian SKS . he stopped and laid it down and said i just got this "unissued" russian and she shoots beautifully for the first time out, i saw he had a 4 rd group of 3 " at 100 and then a damn flyer.

anyhow , i was standing 5' from the rifle and i could see his trigger group was early russian and the gas block was type 3 , i had to tell him his was a refurb and not a "unissued" . he said he knows nothing about the russian SKS.

i wonder how many people thinks they have an unissued but chances are they are not and that they should be enjoying them.
 
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curtton said:
i was at the range the other day and heres a fellow shooting his russian SKS . he stopped and laid it down and said i just got this "unissued" russian and she shoots beautifully for the first time out, i saw he had a 4 rd group of 3 " at 100 and then a damn flyer.
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I don't care when it was from if mine would shoot a mostly 3" group at 100! With mine I can barely manage 10" groups at 100.:redface:
 
forbes/hutton said:
An unfired SKS is kind of like having a Yugo or Lada as a trailer queen...
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Yeah... No offense towards those who have a fetish for the SKS, but they aren't exactly works of art or precise pieces of machinery.

If I owned a boat I'd buy three SKS's, weld 'em together and use 'em as an anchor.
 
667 said:
Yeah... No offense towards those who have a fetish for the SKS, but they aren't exactly works of art or precise pieces of machinery.

If I owned a boat I'd buy three SKS's, weld 'em together and use 'em as an anchor.
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no trolling , move on .
 
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curtton said:
i was at the range the other day and heres a fellow shooting his russian SKS . he stopped and laid it down and said i just got this "unissued" russian and she shoots beautifully for the first time out, i saw he had a 4 rd group of 3 " at 100 and then a damn flyer.

anyhow , i was standing 5' from the rifle and i could see his trigger group was early russian and the gas block was type 3 , i had to tell him his was a refurb and not a "unissued" . he said he knows nothing about the russian SKS.

i wonder how many people thinks they have an unissued but chances are they are not and that they should be enjoying them.
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What's even worse than that are the Gun Stores who know even less. Since there are no Norincos and so many Russians,many places that would not normally have carried them are now doing so. I lost count how many places told me Simonov made them,and that they don't come in laminate stocks. A few even told me that the black bolts mean they are unissued and never been refurbed.
 
proonur said:
I don't care when it was from if mine would shoot a mostly 3" group at 100! With mine I can barely manage 10" groups at 100.:redface:
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i would say 6-7" for me .

i saw what i saw , he may not know beans about russian SKS but he sure can shoot (bear in mind it was a 4rds) . i was impressed.
 
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