SKS question

[doublelung]

So to be honest I've never owned one, never been super interested in owning one as all my guns are basically used for taking life and putting food on the table. I've been thinking about going out of my comfort zone and buying a ska while they are cheap and still available everywhere as I'm sure the well will dry up or the price will drive up one day.

So If you were a guy looking to get one just to have one that wouldn't be fired to often other than once in a while for some fun would you be better off picking up a russian a new norinco or another flavour ??

Like I said i know nothing about them other than I should probably own one, Thanks

 

[trebor2880]

Look at TradeEx, under AAA Super Specials. Nice Russian SKS deals, with ammo, free shipping, cosmo free.

 

[Doug_M]

I've had both, eventually sold the Chinese. Generally the Russian will have a better trigger and nicer wood. There are exceptions of course.

 

[JimDO]

I like the look of the Russians more with the arctic birch and blade bayonet but I feel the Chinese shoot better.

 

[Magellann]

I definitely prefer the Russian guns more, if you want a nice one to put away, Corwin Arms or Westrifle seem to have some of the nicest ones available.

 

[Cb750k]

Where do you live? Lever Arms in Vancouver has some really nice examples of Russian sks in stock, 375$ plus tax gets you an sks and a crate of 1330 rounds of surplus Romanian ammo. $420 after tax if you can pick it up, alternatively CanAm had a Russian sks with 1200rds of new non corrosive Norinco for $399 shipping included.

 

[statixstorm]

Russian all the way, there is just something about having a rifle made by Russia during that period I found attractive.

If you don't plan on shooting it very often I would recommend you stay away from corrosive ammo and just shoot commercial non-corrosive x39, sure it will cost a little more per shot, but you're not shooting in volume and you don't need to worry as much about forgetting to clean it and it sitting in the safe for 6 months and getting wrecked.

If you decide you like it, you can still pick up a surplus crate for cheap and shoot to your hearts content.

Welcome to the club btw, next thing you know, you'll have a Mosin and SVT40, Russian war-rifles are addictive!

 

[welder01]

Don't be scared of corrosive. sks's are a breeze to clean. I almost enjoy it as much as shooting it

 

[midnightpossum]

I like Russian and Chinese.. If I had to choose one… I would pick my Chinese because It is slightly more accurate, and the sling mount is on the side of the butt stock! ..personally I prefer that over, it being on the bottom.

 

[JeffR]

Absolutely buy one. You won't regret it. I have have the Russian and used to own a Norico. The Norico wasn't accurate in the least, but the Russian can hit a sporting clay at 200 yards with open sights pretty consistently. If you buy one get one of those cheap steam cleaners, they make cleaning really easy.

 

[grelmar]

Don't discount the SKS for putting food on the table. I'm counting on one of mine for a white tail in a couple of weeks. Hornady SST will get the job done as a hunting round.

For a plinker, you can buy surplus ammo and shoot for not much more than .22 - except you can actually get the surplus ammo. Don't panic about corrosive ammo, it's an easy rifle to clean. CanAm has some outrageously cheap non-corrosive commercial ammo right now, and it shoots quite well, on par with the Hornady ammo so far from what I've seen with my rifle.

For the rifle itself, if you want a good clean one in good shape, Westrifle, Corwin-Arms, and Weimajack are the go-to choices at the moment. I prefer the Russian ones with the arctic birch stocks - makes for quite a looker, in my opinion.

 

[84wh1]

SKS is great! One of my most enjoyed rifles. Always shoot commie corrosive and no signs of it. Just clean it well after use and do it as soon as you get home.

 

[AlexPdHJ]

I got my Russian 1950 SKS at Reliable in Vancouver for $150 at their Christmas sale. I have to say that it is my favourite gun just for how it feels to shoot. When I compare it to rigs that I own that cost more than 10 times more, the SKS is still just special. I love taking it apart and putting it back together. I love the mechanical feel of firing it. It's a great plinker for while my 30-06 or 1911 are cooling down. You will not be disappointed with an SKS!

 

[David_M]

My brother and a friend both have norincos and have never had any problems, myself and another bud both have russians and never had any problems, I hear yugos are just as good, as for accuracy they are all about the same 2-3inch at 100yrds for a nice one. Whatever the flavour they are still really fun