sks or 858

Just got back from the range. Put a couple hundred rounds through the CZ-858.

One-word review: Wowzers.

Anybody want to buy an SKS? Norc commercial, PLA surplus fiberglass jungle stock (plus original stock complete with factory repair), PLA surplus sling and cleaning kit, Scoutscopes.com scout mount. I'll likely be putting it up on the EE in the next few days...
 
I'm really sitting on the fence with the 858 right now, I'm only worried that if I get one that I'll never shoot my SKS again.
 
SKS or CZ 858
I like my SKS more than my buddy's CZ. They're both as accurate as each other, and I'd even put my SKS as being more accurate, although it might just be my impression as he doesn't do much shooting past 50 yards, he uses his CZ as more of a defensive rifle and fires more offhand stuff while I do some bench shooting at 200-300 yards. My SKS is just as reliable, I might say even more as it's simpler with less moving parts, no gremlin in the SKS either and people that say the CZ 858 is simpler to clean or whatever have me perplexed. I've stripped both and they're different but one is not harder to take care of than the other. I put a stock shim to make the SKS fit me, and I find it more comfortable than the CZ. SKS is cheaper, all you're really getting with the CZ is detachable magazines.

This is all based on opinions and things I've seen, really. Try them both out and see which one you like best, but I think the SKS is a better choice.

SKS pros:
Same weight and overall size as the 858 within a few ounces/inches
MUCH cheaper
You can find a whole lot of em with chrome lined bores
Just as accurate
Just as reliable
... Better trigger. My buddy's 858 could be held by the trigger with the entire weight of the rifle not being enough to set it off. The rifle is like 8lbs and the trigger still wouldn't go off. Both my SKSs' triggers go off when about half the rifle's weight is on the trigger.

858 pros:
Detachable mags.
 
I went with CZ first - accessorized the hell out of it and have had a ton of fun with it. If you have the cash I recommend it. Just picked up a stock Norinco SKS for cheap and have had alot of fun with it also. Get both eventually but if initially short on cash start with SKS.
 
You are going to buy one then realize you want the other one also. I went with the 858 but kept strong and didnt buy a sks.
 
I have heard from someone who should know that all of the chinese military sks's are great shooters, so I bought one from weimajack. It is amazingly accurate: I it is shooting into about 1" at 50 yds with open sights. I removed the bayonet, added a bolt buffer, did a trigger tuneup, added wolff springs, and bolted on a long cheap muzzle brake.that's less than $50 invested. I was thinking about the 858, but that sks is so good I can't justify the extra pile of $.
 
For the price of a 858 you can get a SKS and about 2400 rounds of ammo.

That's a LOT of cheap centerfire practice.

There's a thread on here somewhere from a member named Drachenblut and he shows that a SKS is not as inaccurate as is generally believed.

Remember, the SKS and 858 are NOT, and never will be, sniper rifles. They are meant to be used in battle and are minute of capitalist pig accurate :D.

If your wallet can afford it, go with the 858. If you're on a budget, the SKS and 2400 rounds is the way to go.
 
They are both toys that are good for just about nothing but sh*ts n giggles. Its not a very useful cartridge for hunting or medium plus ranges, but it is lots of fun. One toy cost 200 bucks, the other costs 800. Your call.
 
They are both toys that are good for just about nothing but sh*ts n giggles. Its not a very useful cartridge for hunting or medium plus ranges, but it is lots of fun. One toy cost 200 bucks, the other costs 800. Your call.

7.62x39mm is ballistically comparable to .30-30, and retains more energy outside of 100 meters. And I don't think that anybody would say that a .30-30 isn't useful for hunting...
 
They are both toys that are good for just about nothing but sh*ts n giggles. Its not a very useful cartridge for hunting or medium plus ranges, but it is lots of fun. One toy cost 200 bucks, the other costs 800. Your call.

They are actually both great deer guns, since most deer is shot within 100yards anyway
 
CZ-858 vs SKS is not really a fair comparison, due to the $500 difference in price.
You can't really compare a $200 gun to a $700 gun.

A more realistic comparison would be a bare-bones CZ-858 vs an SKS with $500 worth of Tapco extras installed. So now we can compare them both at the $700 price point.
 
CZ-858 vs SKS is not really a fair comparison, due to the $500 difference in price.
You can't really compare a $200 gun to a $700 gun.

A more realistic comparison would be a bare-bones CZ-858 vs an SKS with $500 worth of Tapco extras installed. So now we can compare them both at the $700 price point.

I cant agree with that. we're talking military surplus rifles, not brand new purpose built rifles that were just designed for the sporting market. The Cz does things the SKS just cant. Its lighter, more compact, more accurate and the things people modify an SKS to do, it does out of the box better than the best aftermarket SKS parts (4 detachable mags with a far better system than duckbill mags) a tapcof**ked SKS would get left in the dust. To me, the SKS is a nice milsurp rifle for a sunday ride, and the Cz is for when I wanna go fast. The $500 is a performance tax. So get both and lots of ammo
 
Back
Top Bottom