Russia's SKS Rifle Should Have Been A Legend
- Thread starter Ganderite
- Start date
except for the extended magazine and non ergonomic pistol grip and it's significantly heavier than an sks.
Don't get me wrong, I greatly admire the AR system
Shooting with some buddies and a non-shooter was introduced to the 12 gauge and cried like a little girl .... I shot the 12 gauge for the first time when I was like 10. Anyways, an sks came out and the guy had a blast with it, but refused to shoot the shotgun again.
Or a 1 moa sks. As an adjective it is correct no?
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Truthful elected politician ?
Amen, brother....
Exactly, I’m referring to the “legends” of the sks will shoot 1 moa that some claim to have. “Like a Norse troll, or Greek titan.....or a 1 moa sks. See the pattern? Thanks for coming out!
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- Location
- Alberta, North America
Legend
Then the darn thing will put out an eye.
I've had the opportunity to use the SKS under stressful conditions. I never saw one go into slam fire mode. I never saw one jam either.
They are light, plenty powerful/accurate enough for their intended purpose and extremely easy to reload, even when you're distracted. Other than wiping down the bore/gas piston regularly with issued cleaning fluid, designed to dissolve the corrosive residues, maintenance was minimal until there was enough downtime for a thorough strip/clean.
The SKS will operate efficiently bone dry, for weeks, even after repeated use under horrible conditions.
I had my choice between several different, well proven designs, including the now coveted AK47/FN/FAL/CZ858 and later H&K G91s, even bolt actions etc.
All were proven and very effective rifles in the field and all, except for the AK, required a lot more attention to stay consistently reliable. I'm not saying the other platforms were problematic, they did the job at hand very well, as long as the operator was familiar with their function under varying conditions.
I don't find pistol grip rifles to be ergonomically correct. It's a personal preference only.
I also don't like a long magazine, that IMHO makes the rifle awkward/heavy and in some cases lead to jamming when being operated on their sides.
Also, a very big concern, weight of both ammunition and rifle. This is an extremely important consideration when resupply is a factor.
I could easily carry a full 100 round pouch vest of 7,62x39 and still be able to carry an extra canteen/food. Anyone that's operated under stressful circumstances knows full well how important and necessary ample water is, especially during the aftermath wind down.
Did I mention that I really like the SKS??
Maybe, but it will likely be a custom one off. That gas tube, tightly attached to the barrel creates some nasty/inconsistent harmonics that are close to impossible to bring into line.
The most consistently accurate SKS rifles manufactured, were IMHO the Yugo M59 type. With good ammunition, two moa is possible
The later 59/66 doesn't seem to be as accurate, again IMHO
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It would have been, if it had shown up 10 years earlier like the Garand, but could it have been designed in 1935 without the years of war experience?
Aside from the intermediate cartridge and massive production numbers, it otherwise falls into that belated middle ground between general issue bolt-actions and general issue automatic rifles like the vz. 52, MAS-49, FN-49, and Hakim/Rasheed.
If the SKS is legendary for anything, it should be for the fact that the Soviet Union, China, Yugoslavia, etc. kept making millions of them despite being obsolete, and then holding on to them long enough to flood the milsurp market for a good couple decades. ��.
I mean, if hundreds of thousands of stupidly cheap FN-49s or MAS-49s had shown up instead, complete with crates of cheap ammo, I suspect we'd all be equally fond of those instead of the SKS.
I guess it really depends on which region of the world you're referring to.
The SKS was the reason the US went to the M14 as a field countermeasure. There was a real hue and cry over the cartridge choice/power.
The rest of the Western nations NATO members all had designs of their own, which used smaller cartridges than the 7.62x51 and lighter rifles than the M14.
Seeing themselves as the leaders, they insisted that the 7.62x51 become the NATO standard.
As much as I extol the virtues of the cartridge, the rifles chambered for it are excessively heavy, as is the ammunition.
In the middle east, africa, all the way to the socialist orient, The SKS was fighting wars continuously as well as being mass produced in China for at least 50 years, That's one heck of a run.
There was a very good reason for this.
The SKS is simple to learn to use to good effect under all conditions, by people of small stature. It's weight isn't overwhelming and it's reliable/handy.
A lot of people were under the impression "because they're cheap, they're junk" I remember the days when the same was opined about Lee Enfields.
In this Forgotten Weapons video Ian had talked about designing a "modern frontier rifle". In my opinion, the SKS fits that roll quite nicely. It's cheap, ammo's cheap. Its sturdy, simple, easy to fire, easy to clean (once you get the cosmoline out of it). It uses an internal magazine with stripper clips, which I find superior to box mags for lower capacities.
I mean, it ticks all the boxes for an all-purpose, jack of all trades rifle.
I mean, it ticks all the boxes for an all-purpose, jack of all trades rifle.
