I've been thinking about buying an SKS, and have been looking at a Norinco and a Yugo. I've never fired an SKS so don't know much about them except for what I've read. What I'd like to know is whether one make is better than the other--are there any reasons why I SHOULDN'T buy one or the other? Also, what is the difference in performance between a Yugo M59 & Yugo M-59/66AB1? Thanks!
SKS - Yugo or Chinese?
- Thread starter Millar
- Start date
I am impressed by the worksmanship on the yugo. But really, its like porche building a lada, it might say porche, but in the end its still a lada. The yugo will do nothing the chinese rifle wont. Except maybe launch grenades. Also you want to think, almost the only ammo we get in X39 is corrosive now... do you really want an unchromed barrel like the yugo has that is more likely to rust? Also chrome helps prevent wearing out the barrel.
The chinese SKS is a gun you can drop, throw, kick, and not give a crap since its so cheap. Meanwhile the Yugo is a piece of cold war history. They might have seen some action in bosnia.
The chinese SKS is a gun you can drop, throw, kick, and not give a crap since its so cheap. Meanwhile the Yugo is a piece of cold war history. They might have seen some action in bosnia.
- Location
- Ontario, Kanada
My vote is for the Chicom SKS, the finish and the stock are better on the Yugos but the Chicom will shoot the same and it also has a chromed line bore, which, as stated above, is better to have when shooting corrosive ammo.
I bought the Norinco sks from lever at 135.00 for the difference in price you can buy a case of ammunition. For the price I am pretty happy with the rifle everytime I pull the trigger it goes bang. Mine groups at around 4 inches at 100 yards.
I do not know what the Yugo is capable of.
I do not know what the Yugo is capable of.
You can dress up a turd........
An SKS is an SKS......reliable but certainly no tack driver. Cromed bore on the Chinese is more important to me then the fit/finish of the Yugo. The military surplused Chinese SKS are pretty decent rifles, the norinco ones....not so much.
An SKS is an SKS......reliable but certainly no tack driver. Cromed bore on the Chinese is more important to me then the fit/finish of the Yugo. The military surplused Chinese SKS are pretty decent rifles, the norinco ones....not so much.
Depends what you want in an SKS. For 250$ you can get a yugo SKS from marstar. The yugo bore is not chromed which 'can' be a disadvantage when shooting corosive ammo. Since the bore is not chromed it is more important that you clean it quickly after shooting corrosive ammo, and I've heard that it takes more effort to clean a non-chromed bore. If you don't mind cleaning it well then this is not a big deal. The fit and finish is reportedly better in the yugo, more well-made I guess you could say. They also have a blade bayonet.
Norinco SKS's can be found at lever arms for 135$ and these have chromed bores. They do, however, have a shorter barrel then a regular sks and appear to be 'parts bin' sks's in that they they're smacked together out of left-over parts. Milarm carries(d?) norinco SKS's for 165$ that were more of a military style of sks in that they are full-length and have the triangle-spike type of bayonet. The wood on these is light and, for lack of a better word, sucks. The finish is likewise sucky. They work quite well, however, and if you're looking for a cheap gun to plink with or modify with an aftermarket stock then norinco option if more than fine. P&S also carries a similar SKS for 185$.
Norinco SKS's can be found at lever arms for 135$ and these have chromed bores. They do, however, have a shorter barrel then a regular sks and appear to be 'parts bin' sks's in that they they're smacked together out of left-over parts. Milarm carries(d?) norinco SKS's for 165$ that were more of a military style of sks in that they are full-length and have the triangle-spike type of bayonet. The wood on these is light and, for lack of a better word, sucks. The finish is likewise sucky. They work quite well, however, and if you're looking for a cheap gun to plink with or modify with an aftermarket stock then norinco option if more than fine. P&S also carries a similar SKS for 185$.
- Location
- Hudson Quebec Canada
You guys got me so confused. I do not even know if I like my own Yugo now.
Are you saying
Yugo is good eventhough they are not chromed?
Norinco is slapped together and is not quality yet they have all the features of a quality rifle like a chromed barrel?
Chinese military SKS's are good but no one has them in the country?
I have a question Who still manufactures a good quality SKS? and is it available in Canada? and where?
Besides I thought Marstar was out of YUgo SKS's except for the Yugo M-59 1st Model which they have classified as used in very good condition for $250. In my mind, the question here is: Do you want to purchase a used Yugo SKS or a brand new Norinco @ $135-$185 @ almost 1/2-3/4 the price? Which one of those rifles is worth the price tag and which one is going to give you hassel free operation and for how long?
I would vote for Norinco simply because they are still in production and you can still get parts and waranty for any that are defective. If you do not buy from Leverarms that is which does not offer any warranty on Norinco products. http://www.leverarms.com/Ordering.html.
However, if you are looking for a part of history like my brother and I wanted then by all means buy the Yugo M59 whichever model who cares.
Are you saying
Yugo is good eventhough they are not chromed?
Norinco is slapped together and is not quality yet they have all the features of a quality rifle like a chromed barrel?
Chinese military SKS's are good but no one has them in the country?
I have a question Who still manufactures a good quality SKS? and is it available in Canada? and where?
Besides I thought Marstar was out of YUgo SKS's except for the Yugo M-59 1st Model which they have classified as used in very good condition for $250. In my mind, the question here is: Do you want to purchase a used Yugo SKS or a brand new Norinco @ $135-$185 @ almost 1/2-3/4 the price? Which one of those rifles is worth the price tag and which one is going to give you hassel free operation and for how long?
I would vote for Norinco simply because they are still in production and you can still get parts and waranty for any that are defective. If you do not buy from Leverarms that is which does not offer any warranty on Norinco products. http://www.leverarms.com/Ordering.html.
However, if you are looking for a part of history like my brother and I wanted then by all means buy the Yugo M59 whichever model who cares.
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Yes, the Yugo SKS is considered to be good, despite the lack of a chrome bore. Having a chrome barrel really only helps in cleaning and allows you to wait a bit before cleaning after shooting corrosive ammo. ( I clean ASAP anyway so it makes no difference to me). Service from Marstar is generally good.
Lever's, and SIR's SKS's are norinco and yes, they are slapped together from parts bins. They have shorter barrels and the stock has a rubber 'recoil' pad on it. (IIRC) They do shoot just fine and work quite well and also have a chrome bore.
The SKS's from Milarm and P&S are of the 'military' type in that they were produced for the chinese military (correct me if I'm wrong). They have bayonets and chrome bores. I have one from Milarm and I love it. I was pleased with their service but others have had poor service from them.
Lever's, and SIR's SKS's are norinco and yes, they are slapped together from parts bins. They have shorter barrels and the stock has a rubber 'recoil' pad on it. (IIRC) They do shoot just fine and work quite well and also have a chrome bore.
The SKS's from Milarm and P&S are of the 'military' type in that they were produced for the chinese military (correct me if I'm wrong). They have bayonets and chrome bores. I have one from Milarm and I love it. I was pleased with their service but others have had poor service from them.
- Location
- Hudson Quebec Canada
happydude said:
What is the finish on those Military rifles like? I know they work great but is the finsh good or a slap job? compared to the Yugo of course
skeetgunner
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Burlington
Yugo's also tend to have stocks with a greater lenght of pull, which tends to make for more comfortable shooting for larger shooters.
It should be noted that while the M59 & 59/66 do not employ chrome bores, no SKS variant has a chromed chamber. Chamber pitting is a potential problem with all of them. Futhermore, only the gas piston head is chromed. All other parts of the SKS gas system are subject to the effects of corrosion.
jwillmoore said:
I would call it a slap job. It's an orangey/red/brown ?shellac? type finish. They look something like this:
http://psmilitaria.50megs.com/images/1260.jpg
Mine was a little less orange than this one though. The finish works well enough, but I found that mine blistered after a little around the tope handguard after a lot of heavy firing so I stripped the finish off and then put on a nice cheap stain followed by some polyurethane finish.
- Location
- Hudson Quebec Canada
That looks ugly. a waxy orange yellow or am I mistaken
I did not think you could strip an oil finish like that, or was that paint?
I did not think you could strip an oil finish like that, or was that paint?
I think it's some sort of shellac. IIRC it's similar to what the russians put on their mosin nagants, and if that's true then it can be stripped with oven cleaner or regular paint stripper. Some seem to be close to orange, some seem more brown, others inbetween.
It's not that bad, it's not exactly pretty but it works well enough. If you don't like it then you can sand it off (that's what I did), though others may have used a chemical stripper.
It's not that bad, it's not exactly pretty but it works well enough. If you don't like it then you can sand it off (that's what I did), though others may have used a chemical stripper.
- Location
- Hudson Quebec Canada
I think if I ever buy one I would like to refinish it. That is sure no questions about that.
Did you find it easy sanding it down. Besides sand paper did you need any tools. I think I may need a cheap short time project to undertake.
Which do you recomend for a project the Military Mil arms or the Norinco Leverarms.??
Did you find it easy sanding it down. Besides sand paper did you need any tools. I think I may need a cheap short time project to undertake.
Which do you recomend for a project the Military Mil arms or the Norinco Leverarms.??
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I used an electric random orbit sander for mine but I'm sure that if you used Easy Off overn cleaning or some sort of furniture paint stipper that would work and wouldn't require power sanding. Without using a paint stripper it took me a few hours to sand it. When I was staining it I took a pointer from surplusrifle.com and used a bent coat hanger to hang the rifle to dry.
If it were me, I'd go with an SKS from Milarm or P&S simply because they have the bayonet and are of the correct length. But if you could care less about the shorter barrel and lack of a bayonet then the Lever arms SKS would do just fine.
Edited to add:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44487
So the lever arms option may indeed not be an option after all.
If it were me, I'd go with an SKS from Milarm or P&S simply because they have the bayonet and are of the correct length. But if you could care less about the shorter barrel and lack of a bayonet then the Lever arms SKS would do just fine.
Edited to add:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44487
So the lever arms option may indeed not be an option after all.
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