SKS - Should have gotten one ages ago. EVERYONE MUST BUY!!

Just to be sure, the extractor retainer on the opposite side of the pin wasn't clamped as well was it? Sometimes silly mistakes like that do happen and sometimes the pins really are that tight. The true Russian way was to use two blocks of wood to set the bolt on with the retaining pin between them then use the pick in the cleaning kit to drift it out. As for the bayonet, the bolt is staked, if you look where the end of the bolt sits flush with the bayonet lug you will notice 2 or 3 punch marks that hold it firmly in place. The best way to remove it is with an impact driver and proper fitting driver bit.

I might do that, but my SKS isn't friendly to modification at all. I can't get the bayonet off and I can't get the firing pin out to clean it, the screw for the bayonet won't budge even to the point of stripping and the retaining pin won't move a mm, even when I clamped it in my vice and hit the pin with an 8lb hammer and punch it refused to move, I actually scratched the bolt on the sides where I had clamped it in so tight that the pad I had to prevent such wear and tear tore.

I've since given up on trying to make her change.
 
Got myself a Ruskie SKS had it fitted to a new ATI strikeforce stock as I'm another 6'2" guy,it is way more comfy for me now.
The SVT-40 will remain in original condition.
Got to get myself at least another 1 of each though.
 
Never been a fan of red rifles of any sort so far, more of an AR guy (got my first AR clone (DPMS) just recently, still collecting optic components now). However, for the price I may just take a shot at a SKS. I think there was a thread on the Russian vs the Chinese version, but I'll ask here which one is the better one?
 
6'2" here and yeah we're not the size of the average Russian or Chinese conscript. When I shoot a stock SKS I have a tendancy to whack myself in the nose with the back of my thumb. They make a plastic recoil pad that replaces the steel buttplate and adds an inch. Way better and no permanent modification to the gun.

lop is fine for me - not a midget either. :p

If you want another stock just get a PRC jungle stock, anything more is a waste of $ and inferior ymmv.

PRC stock:

1. cantilevers on nice and tight after you fit it.

2. heavy duty phenolic

3. has a crossbolt

4. not a whiff of tacticool or airsoft to be found! :p

5. made for actual rough field use
 
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Never been a fan of red rifles of any sort so far, more of an AR guy (got my first AR clone (DPMS) just recently, still collecting optic components now). However, for the price I may just take a shot at a SKS. I think there was a thread on the Russian vs the Chinese version, but I'll ask here which one is the better one?

Many people will tell you that the Russian SKS's are better but honestly I have both Chinese and Russian and I really find they feel ,operate equally. Actually my two Chinese have pristine barrels.
 
Brutus evaluation of the M1 is excellent, but of course this goes without saying.

I am going to try my SKS out at 200 and then maybe 300 yards with the phenolic stock.

I think of my SKS as a ruggedized more modern equivalent to the Remington model 8 rifle.

(down east woods rifle)

PS ask Brutus about the outing we had with an M305 and M1 :p
 
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Brutus evaluation of the M1 is indeed correct, but of course this goes without saying.

I am going to try my SKS out at 200 and then maybe 300 yards with the phenolic stock.

I think of my SKS as a ruggedized more modern equivalent to the Remington model 8 rifle.

(down east woods rifle)

PS ask Brutus about the outing we had with an M305 and M1 :p

You know brother, I have no bad things really to say about the SKS that is defensible in any way.
It is a sturdy package that delivers the goods within it's design perimeters.
It is unfair for myself or others to demand it deliver sniper-like performance at ridiculous distances, which it is clearly not designed for and I apologize if I offended anyone here.
Plus it's an affordable package that can easily fit into many a good citizens budget and the ammunition is inexpensive and readily available in bulk.
(already a long gone trait with other surplus rifles and carbines)

Thirty years ago, we could have said the very same thing about the .303 British #5 Jungle Carbine or the 6.5mm Swedish M94 Carbine.
 
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some people miss the friggin point!
sks is awsome at what it was intended for! (price of gun and surplus ammo makes it fun/affordable)
...you'd be a fool to argue that the winchester 94 30-30 (or 44mag?) was/is a fine short/medium range (open sighted) woods deer rifle...don't recall people goin on & on (& on, & on) about how it wasn't a good 1000 meter sniper rifle!!
(probally the same guy who totes a new magnum w/16x50 through the woods for under 100 yrd shot?)
...compare m1 to lunjamen or svt (one more accurate?, & one cheaper to shoot?)
 
Just to be sure, the extractor retainer on the opposite side of the pin wasn't clamped as well was it? Sometimes silly mistakes like that do happen and sometimes the pins really are that tight. The true Russian way was to use two blocks of wood to set the bolt on with the retaining pin between them then use the pick in the cleaning kit to drift it out. As for the bayonet, the bolt is staked, if you look where the end of the bolt sits flush with the bayonet lug you will notice 2 or 3 punch marks that hold it firmly in place. The best way to remove it is with an impact driver and proper fitting driver bit.

Naw it wasn't clamped, it really is just that tight. I actually tried something like that Russian method off the get go, but I ended up slightly bending the pick from the cleaning kit.

I'll try getting that bayonet off though, thanks for the info.
 
Never been a fan of red rifles of any sort so far, more of an AR guy (got my first AR clone (DPMS) just recently, still collecting optic components now). However, for the price I may just take a shot at a SKS. I think there was a thread on the Russian vs the Chinese version, but I'll ask here which one is the better one?

You may find you get less jams ;)
Russian and Chinese shoot about the same, but I find the Russians look better, and the triggers seem a bit better.
 
Agreed.....the SKS in any variant is a ton of fun for mostly non-accurate range time! I have now started to store them together in my safe along with a box of condoms in hopes that they will quit multiplying!!!!!!!!!
 
SKS is the most sh*ts n giggles for the money. Its not a long range gun for accuracy but it really teaches people how to shoot by chasing a pop can around in a gravel pit.
 
The Russians have more character and the triggers "ARE" better, not to mention that stuff made in China
hasn't gained a lot of respect by many people. My Chinese SKS is a great gun but my Russian is superior.

Apart from the trigger what makes your Chinese inferior to your Russian ?
 
I love my 2 sks'. However cleaning corrosive can be a pain in the butt. Seems that the bore is always dirty no matter how many patches I run through it. By the way rust shows up fast. I could see it starting within an hr from getting home from the range. So clean it quick
 
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