The SKS Is the Cockroach of Weapons
- Thread starter Big Uke
- Start date
Makes me appreciateThank God for that.
grelmar, the AK47 is a TRUE ASSAULT RIFLE intended for aggressive use. The SKS is from a different school of thought where a rifle is intended to perform several different duties.
I'm not saying an AK can't be used effectively in other modes than attack but that is its main intended purpose. As such the 30-40 round mags enable it to be extremely effective in well trained hands.
The SKS is a General Purpose weapon that is easily utilized by untrained troops and is a heck of a lot easier to carry slung than an AK. Personally, I don't like the fit of a firearm with a pistol grip. It just doesn't naturally come to my shoulder and I have trouble acquiring a battle picture over the sights.
The AK is a fine weapon even if it is crude. It's a work of genius created by a layman for laymen. Even the most uneducated rabble can be taught to maintain and shoot it reasonably well. I don't have any issues with anyone appreciating its capabilities or learning how to utilize them in an effective manner. I have seen some very young people, to battle wise to be called children that were masters of the Kalashnikov system. That says a lot about its capabilities.
Nations all over the world have copied it directly or utilized its design and enhanced upon it to make it better. The Galil comes to mind right away. The Koreans utilized the gas system in their Daewoo and the list goes on.
I'm not saying an AK can't be used effectively in other modes than attack but that is its main intended purpose. As such the 30-40 round mags enable it to be extremely effective in well trained hands.
The SKS is a General Purpose weapon that is easily utilized by untrained troops and is a heck of a lot easier to carry slung than an AK. Personally, I don't like the fit of a firearm with a pistol grip. It just doesn't naturally come to my shoulder and I have trouble acquiring a battle picture over the sights.
The AK is a fine weapon even if it is crude. It's a work of genius created by a layman for laymen. Even the most uneducated rabble can be taught to maintain and shoot it reasonably well. I don't have any issues with anyone appreciating its capabilities or learning how to utilize them in an effective manner. I have seen some very young people, to battle wise to be called children that were masters of the Kalashnikov system. That says a lot about its capabilities.
Nations all over the world have copied it directly or utilized its design and enhanced upon it to make it better. The Galil comes to mind right away. The Koreans utilized the gas system in their Daewoo and the list goes on.
Thankyou for the Information Bear Hunter . I have buddys from the Mainland and Azores. If I go anywhere first it would be the Azores first. they taught me alot about concrete first. and made me Malooko. LOL . anyways I agree with you on the pistol grip thing . it's not as natural and gets in the way at times.
I'd say the AK is a very easy platform to clean and it's reliable to boot from what I know. but as for accuracy the sks beats it. no?? the only two AK varients I have ever shot over the years was a Chinese one and a a Galil hope I spelled that right and it was in 223. back when I was growning up you could hunt with an AR15 and own all kinds of the juicy stuff .
and back then we the shooters of this Great country of ours were free to have fun . now we have commie Liberals in charge to opress us. people who have never walked in the woods with a firearm and gone hunting with friends. sorry getting off topic. as for the sks it is a reliable well built firearm and it is more than accurate enough to go hunting with .
lets hope we can keep shooting them till the end of time .
I'd say the AK is a very easy platform to clean and it's reliable to boot from what I know. but as for accuracy the sks beats it. no?? the only two AK varients I have ever shot over the years was a Chinese one and a a Galil hope I spelled that right and it was in 223. back when I was growning up you could hunt with an AR15 and own all kinds of the juicy stuff .
and back then we the shooters of this Great country of ours were free to have fun . now we have commie Liberals in charge to opress us. people who have never walked in the woods with a firearm and gone hunting with friends. sorry getting off topic. as for the sks it is a reliable well built firearm and it is more than accurate enough to go hunting with .
lets hope we can keep shooting them till the end of time .
gewehr76
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
1950's soviet doctrine was to standardize on m43 cartridge. They wanted just as the US to get away from variety of different weapons platforms used in WW2 that needed different ammo. Unlike Americans, Russians did succeed in that endeavor. By adopting AK47, RPD and SKS for general use by all branches of armed forces. AK47 was intended for front line assault troops use. RPD was for support of those troops. SKS was intended for second line troops and forces that did not fall in to category of front line assault units or whose job was not directly related to actual combat. So guards, railroad troops, rocket troops, navy units were intended to be armed with SKS.
It was never intended to be front line weapon. That's what you need to understand.
Later on as time would show, SKS would prove itself as the best of the three. While ak47 and RPD would be replaced by better and improved versions, SKS would continue in its role to this day in all ex USSR countries. There is just none better for that role. And it will continue to be used in that role for some time to come.
It was never intended to be front line weapon. That's what you need to understand.
Later on as time would show, SKS would prove itself as the best of the three. While ak47 and RPD would be replaced by better and improved versions, SKS would continue in its role to this day in all ex USSR countries. There is just none better for that role. And it will continue to be used in that role for some time to come.
The Palace guards have the chromed and dolled up VZ 52/57's. As an aside, the uniforms of the Palace Guard were designed by the costume designer from the movie "Amadeus" (which was filmed partially in Prague). The whole schtick with the Palace Guard was created specifically as a tourist attraction. Couldn't grab any good pictures when we saw it, the crowds were thick. The Palace Guard itself is neither a military nor a police unit, but a weird combination of the two. I tried to get a clear answer on how they fit in from an organizational/legal point of view, but to sum up a couple of conversations I had with different locals who should know, the answer was "It's complicated" (like a lot of things to do with the Czech government).
A couple days later they had a ceremony outside the Old City Hall, and a number of different infantry units were on hand to commemorate the anniversary of the Prague Uprising at the end of WWII (a moment in history that both the Germans and the Soviets/Russians would just as soon everyone forget about). These fellows also had VZ 52/57's for ceremonial purposes, but they were standard (if extremely well maintained) versions of the rifle. I got the impression that they still have a fairly substantial store of these rifles available should the need ever arise. If you've been invaded/occupied as frequently as Bohemia/Czech Republic has been over the centuries, the desire to stockpile arms is strong.
Not seeing anything to disagree with here.
You guys are not correct in you assumption that AK and SKS were developed for different purposes. In fact SKS was intended to become primary issued firearm for Soviet army and that's why it was manufactured in such quantities. At the time SKS was accepted into service it was not clear if and how long it will take to adopt assault rifle type of firearm. Thankfully to captured Hugo Schmeisser and several other German firearm designers working under Kalashnikov supervision AK-47 arrived very soon after and was so promising that it was accepted as main issued firearm. However acceptance does not mean immediate availability. We are talking about arming biggest army in the world and creating firearm reserves for 180-million nation. So it all took time. SKS as choice of second echelon troops was not because of SKS was designed that way, but because it was available and good enough for the task. Basically as soon as AK-47 was available to arm first echelon troops SKS became previous generation firearm. Also fixed magazine purpose above is purely speculation. Has nothing to do with maneuverability. WW2 statistics with SVT-40 shows that magazines loss was a major issue, so it was addressed with fixed magazine. Bayonets loss was drastic too (for another reason though - SVT bayonets were practical as all-purpose knifes and everyone wanted to keep one for himself, let me remind you that all nations under USSR were poor buggers and good knife was very valuable asset), so it was addressed with fixed bayonet. With AK-47 adoption USSR was confident it would be able to manufacture as many magazines as required taking into account possible future battle losses.
USSR acceptance of AK-47 soon after SKS-45 shows that they were able to make progressive decisions, other world had been struggling with adaptation of intermediate cartridge assault rifle for many years after USSR was confidently armed with AK-47.
USSR acceptance of AK-47 soon after SKS-45 shows that they were able to make progressive decisions, other world had been struggling with adaptation of intermediate cartridge assault rifle for many years after USSR was confidently armed with AK-47.
I would think that if Russia,, or any country, developed a new weapons system like the sks, that they would want to test that firearm aggressively in actual Battle conditions! I can see Russia giving a few thousand sks to one of their comrade countries who need a bit of assistance, just to see it in theatre and find out its strong/weak points if any!
Good point ^^! Once they had a stockpile of 1949-'50 examples, I would have expected they would want to test them under severe and real conditions.
Of course, the SKS was (according to the experts) thoroughly tested in 1945 during the battle of Berlin, so that there was no need for further testing?
I imagine that money was quite tight after "The Great Patriotic War" and was spent on making things liveable first, before manufacturing started in 1949.
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/PLAN_sailors-640x424.jpg
Chinese honour guard!
Chinese honour guard!
