SKS arrives. First impressions

Spearhunter

Spearhunter

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I have been home for several hours when I noticed a rectangular box on the dark corner in the hallway. I knew right away it must be the SKS I ordered. I gave my wife the evil eye as she smirked knowing she managed to delay my hands from getting to it. :eek:

After a hasty dinner I finally opened the box and held the rifle. This is my first foray into milsurp and had only researched a bit before taking the plunge. Most of the info I gathered in my readings are only beginning to make sense as I handled my SKS.

Some questions...please bear with me if they are pretty noob sounding or belong in the DOH! category.

1. The length of pull is too short it almost feels like the stock was meant for youths. Is this usual? I had earlier thought of getting a Tapco stock but having read comments both for and against it, I figured I'll decide when I get to shoulder it. I guess I'm getting a new stock.

2. It is front heavy. Maybe because of the bayonet? I am almost sure I will be taking it off and hope the screw won't be a pain. Will a new stock make it more balanced? I hope so.

3. The metal parts appear to be painted. Am I correct? As I worked the action, I noticed some of the paint coming off. How do most people refinish theirs?

4. Short of using a snap cap and firing it, is there a way to decock the action?

Thank you.

SH
 
1. LOP is meant for a once size fits all as it is an issue rifle. Its great for shooting from the hips. CZ 858 is even shorter.

2.Never had a balance problem with an SKS. hrmmm

3.Black painted bolts are refurbs. You can use some paint remover and scrub it off if you don't like it. I polished mine up nice and shiney. Its a refurb, do whatever looks best to you.

4. Hold the trigger down as you release the action, that way it will not #### at all. Don't recommend doing this unless it is empty, or at the very least practice safe muzzle control.

Congrats on your first milsurp. Go blow up a case of ammo now.
 
Spearhunter said:
Some questions...please bear with me if they are pretty noob sounding or belong in the DOH! category.

1. The length of pull is too short it almost feels like the stock was meant for youths. Is this usual?
Click to expand...

I picked up 2 and they were also quite short. Replaced them with Tapcos which have a very quick adjustable LOP.

Spearhunter said:
2. It is front heavy. Maybe because of the bayonet? I am almost sure I will be taking it off and hope the screw won't be a pain. Will a new stock make it more balanced? I hope so.
Click to expand...

I installed Tapcos and removed the bayonet and liked the result. Much more balanced feel for me.

Spearhunter said:
3. The metal parts appear to be painted. Am I correct? As I worked the action, I noticed some of the paint coming off. How do most people refinish theirs?
Click to expand...

If you're referring to the bolt carrier, some are painted black, some are not. I didn't get painted bolts because I thought something like this would happen. Other CGNers have posted ways of polishing them and it seems pretty straightforward.
 
If you shoot them properly with a squared stance rather than the old school bladed/weaver stance you'll see that the stock length is a non issue.

Most rifles are front heavy to some degree.

Painted finishes are common, you get what you pay for.

Dry firing the rifle is a non issue.

TDC
 
Thanks all!

GPS, I did see the posting on cleaning the bolt carrier. I assume there's no need to strip paint off the other parts?

TDC, that explains why I saw a video of a shooter practically hugging the gun in cross legged position. So dry firing won't damage the pin? I know some guns don't have this problem and I just want to make sure.

Cheers.

SH
 
Yeah have to get my ammo yet. Darn I just saw the posting about Lever arms selling a crate of it with the gun for $150 more. I got this from them last week. Is there anyone here who sells ammo and Tapco stocks?

SH

MagnumPeanut said:
1. LOP is meant for a once size fits all as it is an issue rifle. Its great for shooting from the hips. CZ 858 is even shorter.

2.Never had a balance problem with an SKS. hrmmm

3.Black painted bolts are refurbs. You can use some paint remover and scrub it off if you don't like it. I polished mine up nice and shiney. Its a refurb, do whatever looks best to you.

4. Hold the trigger down as you release the action, that way it will not #### at all. Don't recommend doing this unless it is empty, or at the very least practice safe muzzle control.

Congrats on your first milsurp. Go blow up a case of ammo now.
Click to expand...
 
I bought a thick rubber recoail pad made especially for the SKS. It lenghts the stock at least an inch. maybe more. The $10 solution.

I have one with the blade on and one with it off. off feels better but on makes it less wiggly when aiming. more inertia.

Dry fire won't hurt.
 
Hi guys,

when you ordered your recoil pad from SkSman, how long did it take to arrive? did you have to check with canada customs? thats what I was told when sksman replied to my email inquiring about delivery.

Any experiences?


Thanks,

F.
 
Felonius said:
Hi guys,

when you ordered your recoil pad from SkSman, how long did it take to arrive? did you have to check with canada customs? thats what I was told when sksman replied to my email inquiring about delivery.

Any experiences?


Thanks,

F.
Click to expand...
Hi, I received the ventilated hand guard and recoil pad from SKS Man on Tuesday, so it took a bit over a week to get here. No problems with customs at all.
 
received my 1950 SKS russian refurb from SIR,Looks good and has the refurb stamp on receiver and stock..Can t wait to light it up!!
 
Spearhunter said:
2. It is front heavy. Maybe because of the bayonet? I am almost sure I will be taking it off and hope the screw won't be a pain. Will a new stock make it more balanced? I hope so.
Click to expand...


First: If your fingers of the supporting hand is not lined up with the finger groves then you are going to have the fulcrum (balance point) too far back...making it front heavy. Also the arm that your trigger hand is attached to needs to be level...ie elbow should not be down, or your balance will be off again.

Second: The iron sights are set to Zero with the bayonet extended. Removal of the bayonet may likely change the point of impact of the rifle, so you may have to adjust the front sight slightly up or down in height...use a sight tool.

PS don't throw any parts out.
 
Calum said:
First: If your fingers of the supporting hand is not lined up with the finger groves then you are going to have the fulcrum (balance point) too far back...making it front heavy. Also the arm that your trigger hand is attached to needs to be level...ie elbow should not be down, or your balance will be off again.

Second: The iron sights are set to Zero with the bayonet extended. Removal of the bayonet may likely change the point of impact of the rifle, so you may have to adjust the front sight slightly up or down in height...use a sight tool.

PS don't throw any parts out.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I will look into that. I managed to take the bayonet off, albeit carefully as I didn't want to mar the finish of the screw. Sighting too? Uh oh I didn't know about that issue. I'll have to scrounge for one. Hopefully they are not too hard to find?
 
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