SKS: What to look for?

plinker 777 said:
I wouldn't buy anything but crates of ammo to feed it, and I'm not kidding. Far too many (kids), try to make an M4 out of an SKS and wonder why nothing works and when it does, they can't hit the broad side...(The answer is to take that sh1t will never hold zero optic off, put the rifle back into it's wood stock from that plastic monstrosity you spent too much on, and shoot with the irons) These rifles are capable of consistent 200 meter center of mass hits and in my hands 7 out of 10 hits at 300 meters NP.
Leave it bone stock imo...it will serve you better.
Click to expand...
100% agree. My first rifle I bought I tacta "cooled" it out and I wish I never had (never shoot it). I only shoot my stock sks.
 
Not much of a revelation though ^^^^

Quite a typical viewpoint and common stance on forums for many years now.
 
My '54 has a spring-assisted safety, my '51 does not.
Same with chrome lined barrel...although the barrel is the easiest to clean anyway, and if you shoot surplus corrosive ammo you will be cleaning each time.

Also, from '49-54 they changed the shape of the gas block from square, to 45 degrees, to a parabola. Someone must have thought that an improvement...I don't notice it.

Another significant difference is that the bayonet on the '54 is easier to deploy than the '51. You can see how they slightly altered the angle of the cut in the mount.

All in all, I like my '54 more. I expect there was an engineering reason behind most of those design changes.

I have never had a slam fire with either rifle. As mentioned, give them a complete disassembly and cleaning right off the bat.

My '51 has a lovely reddish stock...so I put it away safely, and added an ATI. It's funny how folks heap scorn on the composite stock. But for me, the increase in LOP, and the rail to mount a bipod were worth the cost. Plus, my vintage stock is safely stored away, so I don't get the whole hooey about it.

It's our property, and we are free to do what we want with it, within the rules of course, lol!

Of course, even in stock condition, the bayo makes a nice mono-pod!

Good luck, and enjoy these wonderfully affordable rifles!
 
welder01 said:
Non chromed lined barrels, bbq paint, black bayonets, any rust at all anywhere, laminated stocks(yes I know they are stronger, but I personally like the hardwood stocks better. just my opinion though) Chinese of any kind. I hear they shoot well but the stocks are inferior and you might as well just buy an original Russian over a copy, bores that are dark, frosted, and have poor rifling, damage or missing components of any kind. My ideal sks would be a unissued late Russian model with hardwood stock.
Click to expand...

bingo. Only thing I would add is to make sure the mag follower pivots freely.
 
EL34/6L6 said:
Not much of a revelation though ^^^^

Quite a typical viewpoint and common stance on forums for many years now.
Click to expand...

Mmmm, I believe it may very well be a revelation to Shandley. He was asking/contemplating add ons, and I hope I saved him some money...I'd like to think the advise wasn't typical as I was genuinely trying to help. A typical view point would be "its your rifle, do with it as you please.", which I also agree with, but if you can help a guy, why not help!?

Why didn't you step up to help and offer your view point, rather than patronizing/ belittling mine?
 
Although I'm not an expert, I have several SKSs. I have a Chinese and a Russian. The Russian is far ahead of the Chinese in looks, although both shoot great. I also have an SKS-D which is more of a commercial version with no bayonet and it uses a detachable AK mag. I have read that the Yugo and East German versions are the best quality, but they are hard to find.
 
Shandley said:
Greetings,

I have my sights on an SKS in the future. I am wondering what it is I should be looking for. I have a few shops with milsurp SKS' and I want to know what I should be avoiding and what is preferred.

Any input would be great! Thanks!! :)
Click to expand...

I think I heard somewhere that all soviet SKS' pre 1952 have chrome lined barrels(resist corrosion better), and all norinco ones I have seen have chrome lined barrels. I have a russian sks and a norinco, both shoot about the same only real difference is the norinco has a screwdriver spike like bayonet and the russian has a blade bayonet. Make sure you get a nice crisp bore, and one that at least has the cosmoline cleaned out of the stock unless you like that look or you are refinishing it anyway, cosmoline may be a pain in the @zz but if they have lived in cosmoline all their life they are usually really nice, other than that, you can't really go wrong with any sks. The tula sks has a cool looking grenade launcher attachment on the end of the barrel. I have been told the really rare east german ones are the best, but unless you are planning on your sks being your best gun they are pretty over priced for what they are.
 
welder01 said:
The things I stay away from when buying an sks are : Non chromed lined barrels, bbq paint, black bayonets, any rust at all anywhere, laminated stocks(yes I know they are stronger, but I personally like the hardwood stocks better. just my opinion though) Chinese of any kind. I hear they shoot well but the stocks are inferior and you might as well just buy an original Russian over a copy, bores that are dark, frosted, and have poor rifling, damage or missing components of any kind. My ideal sks would be a unissued late Russian model with hardwood stock.
Click to expand...

I bought one from a forum sponsor (I won't say which one) and the hammer spring was COMPLETELY rusted - like fuzzy and orange. Unfortunatley I was an idiot and didn't check disassemble it right after it arrived by mail. I took delivery just a couple days before going on a long trip out of town. By the time I got back to it, I noticed how bad it was.

For the price of returning it, I just decided to buy a new trigger group. It fits in, but I don't know if having a mismatched trigger group is going to cause any problems down the line.

So... My advice regarding what you buy: Strip it. It might look great on the outside, but stuff on the inside can be JUNK.
 
Be careful when buying a Yugo 59 66 SKS and inspect them before buying.

1. The Yugoslavian/Bosnia civil wars had many civilian fighters who did not take care of and clean these rifles properly.

2. They have non chromed bores and pitted badly when not cleaned properly after shooting corrosive ammunition.

3. The gas block shutoff valve will leak gas and cause the rifle to not cycle. Again this was caused by improper cleaning which caused the mouth of the shutoff valve to erode and leak.
This is an easy fix for the gas valve, "BUT" the gas port in the barrel may have pitting and erosion that cause the gas port to become enlarged and over gassed.

This does not mean the Yugo SKS were not well made, but after owning three of them make sure you get one in like new condition with a good bore that is not frosted or pitted.
Also if you have chronologically gifted eyesight bring someone with good young eyes to look the rifle over and inspect the bore well. I would not buy one unless you are allowed to remove the cosmoline from the bore for inspection.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom