Looking to buy my first SKS

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604hunter

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So after having my PAL for about 2 months now I figure I'm way past time for owning a SKS. I plan on using this as a shooting rifle so don't need a collectors grade but also don't want a beat up one. I would like a light colour laminate stock with numbers match but I am pretty open on the manufactured year.

After looking around at a few local places(Reliable, Italian Sporting goods, CT and Lever Arms) I was surprised to find that to my untrained eye that Lever Arms had the best condition SKS's on hand, though all stocks were pretty dark in colour. Now I understand that Lever arms doesn't have the best reputation here, but I gather that's mostly due to poor customer service and an non-corrosive ammo being corrosive. Both of those two things do not sit well with me but they are selling an SKS and crate of 1320 rnds of Romanian ammo for $375.

At $375 for a crate of ammo and rifle that's about $50+ cheaper than anywhere else I saw and they had the best looking rifles. Any other places offering any deals?

Also what were some of the things you were looking for in your first SKS?

Cheers
 
Thats a good.deal at lever. I hate them but if you know what ur buying then it doesnt matter. I looked for a chrome bore, and a nice laminate stock. I have a 54'. I refinished my stock anyway. They are all fairly good, just handle a few and pick the one that looks best. Should come with a couple clips, oil bottle, cleaning kit and 2 ammo pouches. Enjoy!
 
Thanks for the feed back. I'm aiming for a 52' or newer but will let the shape of the rifle decide the year.

Yeah, the cheapest I saw ammo was $225 so figured getting a rifle for $150 is a pretty sweet deal.

Im guessing they don't but does anyone know if Lever Arms will look at any other crates or do you just have to keep going back till there is one in the show case?
 
It's a reasonable deal. Keep in mind that if you purchase ammo from say TradeEx there is no PST (out of province) and the shipping is free. The Bulgarian stuff TradeEx is selling right now is nicer than the Romanian stuff at Lever.

Make sure you inspect the bore and the action before you buy. I've had a few dealings with Lever and they aren't exactly friendly, and they give no warranty or service of any kind on any milsurps.

$375 * 1.12 = $420.

If you were to buy an SKS off of weimajack, who is a reputable smith and milsurp vendor (he usually has threads in the EE) and then some ammo from TradeEx you'll end up spending maybe $40 more but have more piece of mind.

I also recommend not getting too caught up in whether or not the parts are force matched. They were force matched by trained armorers and typically the replacement parts were brand new.

Cheers,
 
It's hit or miss at Lever (no pun intended). I phoned to ask a couple of questions about Mauser surplus ammo and the person who answered the phone was very rude. But last Christmas when they had the Russian SKS sale for $159, I phoned to get the one I wanted and the person was very helpful. I got exactly what I'd asked for ('55 laminated SKS) delivered to Ontario in less than two weeks.
 
Not sure if all Canadian Tire Stores have the same sales, but if one near you sells rifles, maybe check. The Canadian Tire in Leduc Alberta has them on sale for $189.00 and a great selection.
 
What are you waiting for? $150 for the SKS and $225 for a box of ammo, thats a decent price. You live in Vancouver so go pick one out. Summer is here on the west coast, get out and shoot.
 
On my last ever visit to Lever (there won't be another) I was not allowed to pop open the gas tubes and look at the gas pistons on the SKS's I wanted to buy. Was told they couldn't have me "dis-assemble it to little bits". A few weeks before I had been in and helped a new shooter pick out an SKS and we were able to examine the gas system, mind you we were served by a different person.

The best part was being told I didn't need to inspect the guns, they were all warrantied anyway. When I asked who warrantied them and the store signage saying otherwise (No refunds on Surplus Items) I got a blank look, a mumble about an "arsenal warranty" and told to speak to the manager. I have to agree with the others who are saying to look elsewhere.
 
If you do choose to buy the combo deal from Lever, look long and hard in their SKS showcase and pick out 3 rifles that you would want to see. That number seems to be the limit that they are willing to bring out for inspection. If you are able to, deal with Blair(dark pony tail), not the tall junior GI Joe guy(sandy army cut).... He seems to be the difficult one.

When I bought my SKS, it was from Lever, and the things I looked for was an early production example with all numbers matching...I was not going to accept a replacement laminate or force matched stock. Minimal wood repair and silver bolt and bayo. It only took one visit to find my rifle in the case and I am quite happy with it!
 
bp2626 said:
It's a reasonable deal. Keep in mind that if you purchase ammo from say TradeEx there is no PST (out of province) and the shipping is free. The Bulgarian stuff TradeEx is selling right now is nicer than the Romanian stuff at Lever.

Make sure you inspect the bore and the action before you buy. I've had a few dealings with Lever and they aren't exactly friendly, and they give no warranty or service of any kind on any milsurps.

$375 * 1.12 = $420.

If you were to buy an SKS off of weimajack, who is a reputable smith and milsurp vendor (he usually has threads in the EE) and then some ammo from TradeEx you'll end up spending maybe $40 more but have more piece of mind.

I also recommend not getting too caught up in whether or not the parts are force matched. They were force matched by trained armorers and typically the replacement parts were brand new.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions.

I did look through weimajack post on E.E. the other day and contact him but didn't see any sks that jumped out to me, all had pretty dark laminated stocks.
 
Finally Picked up a laminated Tula 55!

The weekend can't come soon enough so I can strip it down and start cleaning it up!

Thanks for all the advise
 
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