It is personal preference as well, if you dont mind the Chinese not having the same history as the Russian SKS then buy the Chinese. I personally wanted the history as well as I felt the Chinese SKS felt more like a toy while the Russian had more "girth" felt more like a real gun. I am not saying there is anything wrong with either one, both performed extremely well, it all depends on how much you want to spend, if you care about the feel of it, or if you care about the history. There are more factors but those where the main ones I took into consideration when I purchased mine.