For price, ammo/price, parts/acc. an SKS falls into my "need to have" gun list, and times aren't looking to bright in the near future IMO.

So Ill pose a series of questions for those who have an opinion and or experience with these weapons: **(note: Must be CA legal for now!)**

Best country of origin? (ie Russian, Yugo, Chinese, Romanian, etc...)

What to look for in a surplus rifle? (ie. problems, wear points, bore wear etc..)

Stripper clip vs mag conversion? (10 rnd max, removable mag will void ability to go with pistol grip ie Tapco)

Best bulk and long term storage ammo (7.62x39) ? (ie 70's Russian and Yugo surplus, new Wolf, American etc????

What to watch for break down?


Any advice, opinion is help I am grateful for I thank all of you in advance.

 

Go with the Yugo or Russian. I have a Russian model and it's very well made. Other than that I can't tell much more on that rifle. I believe the Russian models have a chrome lined bore.

Now if you want to talk about FN-FAL's I gotcha covered!

MikeyB

 

Thats the best military gun you can buy for the money in my opinion. I love mine! I would trust my life with it any day! Fun and some what cheap to shoot as well.

I would suggest a Yugo version. It doesnt have stamped steel components like most. It will cost you a little more but worth it.

I have the composite folding stock on mine with the pistol grip and a 60 rnd detachable mag. Can never have too many bullets and once you get out and start firing from the hip you will go throygh all 60 like you wouldnt believe!

If its 7.62X39 it dont matter how old it is, it will most likely fire. I have well over 15,000 rounds of the cheapest oldest russian ammo I could buy through mine and never one miss fire or failure to feed.

If you do some searching you can find plenty of good deals on unissued Yugos still in factory packing. I did and paid $150 for it. That was at a local gun shop as well!

 

I wish! a FAL would be awesome, or even an AK my personal favorite would be the Century Arms Golani a .223 AK much more accruate in the barrel and Israeli in origin but alass, I live in the peoples republic of Kalifornia, comrade! So, none of my ideal choices is street legal right now. SKS falls into the best I can get for the price.


Any body else??

 

Anybody do better than 1 moa at 100 yds.with one of these.I know that they are not a tack driver,but what can you expect real world?

 

Your gonna pay big $$ for anything but a Yugo. Russian is the best, Chinese (contrary to what you might think) is 2nd, then Yugo. There are a couple others like Albanians that are not so good.

As far as ammo, you dont see much genuine "military surplus" anymore. Its mostly Wolf. The sks isnt a picky eater and it was designed for the steel cased stuff. Get it while you can. With the way things are and the people who look like they are gonna be running things, your gonna see a major run on ammo..and guns. Stay away from American ammo. Not only is it alot more $$, the primers are too soft and can cause dangerous malfunctions. The best ammo is lots of it, and the best way to store it is cool & dry. I keep mine loaded on stripper clips in ammo cans.

Dont waste your time on detachable mags. Not only is it illegal unless you win the "10 or less" game (cali it outright illegal) its not reasonable. Aftermarket mags save for the Tapco 20rd'ers are pretty much crap. Trying to get one loaded "quickly" is out of the question. If you want fast loading put it all on stripper clips, thats what the SKS was designed to use.

There isnt a whole lot to "look for" in an SKS versus any other used gun. Check the bore, try to get one with a good metal and wood finish. Yugo's are NOT chrome lined FYI. Clean the entire rifle very well, even if they present it in "cleaned" condition. One problem that can happen if cosmo is left in the bolt pack is called "sticky bolt" where the firing pin can temporarily lodge in the protruded position causing the rifle to go Full Auto. Not only is this dangerous, our illustrious BATF have thrown people in prison because their rifle malfunctioned. The one in particular was an AR that cooked off 3 rounds with 1 trigger pull.

As far as things breaking, ive never even heard of anyone breaking anything on an sks. They just dont break. These arent finicky AR's. You can dump them full of sand, give it a shake, and the gun will still function reliably. All the parts are of heavy build and its very simple in construction and operation.

 

I have 3 Yugo's one has the Tapco adjusted butt with pistol grip. Works fine with the 20 round removabe clips. Check out Guns4us he has some nice Russian SKS's, I get my ammo from Cheaperthendirt.com. I was just out in Ridgecrest on Saturday to pickup a handgun, man I love it out there.

 

I'd look to www.calguns.net. They have the up to date laws in PRK. They might even have some for sale on the boards.

 

Take a look at surplusrifle.com. They have a pretty good write up about the SKS rifle. The only draw back about the Yugo is the barrel is not chrome lined. All of the recievers I have ever seen were milled, not stamped. Russian, Chinese, Yugoslavian, all good. I have never tried a magazine in any of my rifles. Once you get the hang of the stripper clip they work real good. Just be sure to buy some extras when you get the gun. As far as ammo goes, in the late nineties you could buy 1000 rounds for $75. Afgahistan and Iraq changed that! You can still buy ammo in spam cans which is great for long term storage. Good Luck, Ed B