What is the best SKS?

MkivSupra said:
Yugos are very cool but the russian Tula rifles just feel iconic to me
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Same. Its like prime SKS haha.

The Yugos solid wood construction and a bit nicer metal work than the Russian is nice but IMO, brutal triggers and the 59/66 weighs as much as a Garand and distributes it terribly, very muzzle heavy balance.

Nor were they any more accurate than any of the Chinese rifles that passed through here. Solid 5" guns. When trying commercial ammo and handloads didn't do much better, down the road they went.
 
these days with the prices SKS rifles have risen to at retail , it's a total gamble
I say that because back when SKS rifles were under 200 bucks a guy could buy several and keep the best ..... not so anymore.
 
I'm not really an SKS fanboy, but I've had a number over the years: a Yugo, a couple Russians and a couple Cbinese. The Yugo was the nicest-looking...and the worst shooter. The Russians were middle of the pack in terms of fit'n'finish and also accuracy. The Chinese were the best shooters by far, but the ugliest as well. It's tough to compare because I rarely had more than one SKS at any given time.

If you want to wring out the accuracy of an SKS...or anything else...you need to use targets that are well-suited to the front sight on the gun. Target dots need to be big enough to be visible at the ranges being shot, and to easily discern sitting on top of or behind the front sight. Shooting crude iron sights at 1-inch dots is a waste of time and won't tell you much...just like using a high-power scope on a 15-inch featureless blob where you have to guess where the actual aiming point is. Match the target to the gun for best results.
 
jjohnwm said:
I'm not really an SKS fanboy, but I've had a number over the years: a Yugo, a couple Russians and a couple Cbinese. The Yugo was the nicest-looking...and the worst shooter. The Russians were middle of the pack in terms of fit'n'finish and also accuracy. The Chinese were the best shooters by far, but the ugliest as well. It's tough to compare because I rarely had more than one SKS at any given time.

If you want to wring out the accuracy of an SKS...or anything else...you need to use targets that are well-suited to the front sight on the gun. Target dots need to be big enough to be visible at the ranges being shot, and to easily discern sitting on top of or behind the front sight. Shooting crude iron sights at 1-inch dots is a waste of time and won't tell you much...just like using a high-power scope on a 15-inch featureless blob where you have to guess where the actual aiming point is. Match the target to the gun for best results.
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Well said.

I like a 3x5 card or similar. Using the 6-oclock hold you described there. Basically just try not to have any gap between the bottom of a target that size and your post.
 
MiG25 said:
The Yugos are vastly overrated.

For my money an excellent condition Russian is the best.
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An 'excellent' Russian is a rarity, since they are 50 years old and 'most' have been fired alot. Some have been kept 'in a box' but 'collectors' aren't selling for the most part. I've had a couple 'excellent' looking Tulas but both had bores that 'looked like the surface of the moon'. And shot 5-6 MOA on 'good days' 😉
I now have an FT and get 4-5 MOA with Barnaul and the irons. I filed the front pin and painted the inside of the hood white and the back sight brite yellow to help a bit.
 
Buck1950 said:
An 'excellent' Russian is a rarity, since they are 50 years old and 'most' have been fired alot. Some have been kept 'in a box' but 'collectors' aren't selling for the most part. I've had a couple 'excellent' looking Tulas but both had bores that 'looked like the surface of the moon'. And shot 5-6 MOA on 'good days' 😉
I now have an FT and get 4-5 MOA with Barnaul and the irons. I filed the front pin and painted the inside of the hood white and the back sight brite yellow to help a bit.
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Condition matters. I'm sure a NOS FT SKS is better than a ratty Russian.
 
Buck1950 said:
An 'excellent' Russian is a rarity, since they are 50 years old and 'most' have been fired alot. Some have been kept 'in a box' but 'collectors' aren't selling for the most part. I've had a couple 'excellent' looking Tulas but both had bores that 'looked like the surface of the moon'. And shot 5-6 MOA on 'good days' 😉
I now have an FT and get 4-5 MOA with Barnaul and the irons. I filed the front pin and painted the inside of the hood white and the back sight brite yellow to help a bit.
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Keepin an eye on the used market, those "excellent" Russians are still out there for like $800 or more, if anyone really wanted. Have to admit, I wish I kept one. Including a laminate.

But as you say, the "new" (condition anyway) Chinese shoot just the same and have a better trigger anyway.
 
scianna54 said:
I just swap the stock on my Chinese to a Russian stock. The Chinese are better shooters, the Russian look better. Best of both worlds.
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Would like to do the same, if the Russian stocks not a worse fit. Or practice some stock bedding/shimming. Be fun.
 
Just a tip for anyone watching - amazon has 'wire-bristle' pipe-cleaners pretty cheap. They re great for cleaning cra* out of the gas port (lots of build-up there) and the firing pin channel. And any other tiny places. . . 😄
 
And CT has Permatex Silicone Grease (PTFE) that's great on the Sear channels and the bolt & carrier and the recoil spring.
 
johnny the boy said:
Just got a French tickler from Bullseye these are like new all matching.A very nice rifle.Gotta give it a good cleaning tho.
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Are the French Ticklers covered in cosmoline? Deciding on a Russian or Chinese as my first SKS. A nice clean looking rifle with all matching numbers is tempting.
 
The FT I got from Tenda last Summer was, even some on the stock. I cleaned it all, inside and out, with Varsol -outdoors. Then washed again, outdoors, with methyl alcohol to remove the varsol. And the bore was like a mirror- much better than getting a Russian with years of use, even if it had a better looking stock. I checked a couple days ago and the prices have gone up again, at Tenda at least.
PS - The Non- FTs may have been issued and fired, but the FTs are NON Issued. So far . . .
 
I sold an all matching, non refurb, non issued, hardwood stock full cartouches, blade bayonet, non chromed barrel 1950 tula for $1500 last week. Did I do good? I feel like I slightly undervalued it.

I recently acquired and opened an old crate from back in the day when lever arms still sold crates:497AC85B-9530-44A5-AEF1-9225C3386CA2.jpeg. It was filled with all matching tulas, some refurbs, but most were all matching originals.

E9BF34D2-6592-47A6-9C54-B2C65879FBA4.jpeg
pics of the 1950 attached.
 

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For the Un-issued Tula that was a good deal for both of you. They are very rare in that condition, IMO. Gotta be someone who wants a "Clean, classic Tula" -
I've had a couple '51s but both were good cond but the barrels were "well-used" and I still sold them for $500+ a year ago.
 
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