Is the SKS still worth collecting?

I guess I'm considered an early millennial, but I have an old soul. I have two SKSs and love them brother for different reasons. One was a gift from my dad and is a nearly perfect Norinco. The other my wife got from a pain shop while I was over seas several years ago. It has the barrel chopped to 16" and the front sight reattached very well. It's a fun gun that I'm not afraid to drag through the woods or go for a rough ride in the back of the Jeep or on tractor. It's one of the first semi autos I'll hand to a new shooter after they get past the 10/22. Its pretty confidence inspiring because its reasonably accurate around 100 yards with irons.

I dont know if I would collect them, but I dont think more than one is an issue. To me they are a great work rifle that will do double duty as a fun plinker at the range, a very versatile package.

Got three of 'em over the years, never planned on having that many.... It just happened. They just seem to keep on working. Don't do much except play at the range with them. I can reload 7.62x39 and toyed with the idea of deer hunting with one. Put a 5 round magazine on my "beater" Chinese SKS for hunting but haven't got around to it yet. Probably just keep them as range toys. Got a Russian SKS in an original laminated stock that's unfired.... Came out of the crate circa 1995 and straight into the safe. That one's probably gonna be up for sale as I'm thinning out the collection in my retirement. So that means I'm probably gonna find out what kind of collector market ( if any?) there is for a mint, unfired Russian SKS. I'm hoping there's some sort of demand for something like that.

I say an SKS is worth Having.
And like a Sniper, if you use more than 1 shot your location may be comprised. 10 shots arent bad in combat. You shoot, move, reload, shoot, repeat. If you need more than 10 rounds at one time, your in the Toilet, like a Zombie apocalypse and i pull out the 40 round mag i have. Hunting rifles have a 5 round mag. I recommend if you find one and get a deal, take it. And there are lots of aftermarket parts

I guess it depends on what you mean by “worth collecting.” If you’re collecting as a financial investments, the days of appreciating in value 10x inflation are gone. However, I doubt that they will ever be worth less in the future than they are today relative to inflation. From a capabilty standpoint they still do today what they did when they were built. They’re one of the most highly reliable and durable semi-automatic carbines ever built. They’ll eat trash ammo, run without maintenance, iron sight accuracy and leathality to 175 yards. I still love mine, but due to a preference for more customization and a better optics platform I’ve moved on to more modern firearms for practical purposes and only shoot my SKS for the occasional session of old-school fun. I’ve retained a handful of them as heirlooms for the kids since my father gave me mine as my first semi-automatic firearm and I’ve done the same for my daughters.

Not collecting- but accumulating? Yes!

Yeah I agree I would say something more like; is the sks worth piling up like cordwood? The answer is heck yeah. I’m a commie fan when it comes to designs. I have a norc. Which was a replacement for the Yugoslav I had to sell. I want a few more. I like things that are simple and work.

I wish I would have bought one when they were 100 or even 200, but there is no way I would pay the current 400-500 for one. I’m a fan of the cartridge but not the rifle.

someguy2800 said:

I wish I would have bought one when they were 100 or even 200, but there is no way I would pay the current 400-500 for one. I’m a fan of the cartridge but not the rifle.

Click to expand...

It’s not hard to find them in the $300 range if you’re persistent.

There is one on my local Armslist for $700 dollars. I would say that one is not worth it.

earlthegoat2 said:

There is one on my local Armslist for $700 dollars. I would say that one is not worth it.

Click to expand...

Not unless it is an Albanian or East German, then that's a good price.

An North Korean can fetch several G's!

someguy2800 said:

I wish I would have bought one when they were 100 or even 200, but there is no way I would pay the current 400-500 for one. I’m a fan of the cartridge but not the rifle.

Click to expand...

I got my Yugo model 59 for almost $250, with a Dugonov spare stock,

Mid 1990's Shotgun news advertisement.... Those are FFL dealer prices shown... IIRC I paid $200. for my laminated version because I knew the guy selling them and he was buying them by the crate. Not sure what I could get for an untouched, unfired one these days but if I knew perhaps I could decide if it was worth buying and storing all those years. Still unsure as to how much, ( if any) of a collector market there is for them.

If you like the SKS, collect it. If not, don't. The fact that they are no longer $79, and are instead about $300-350 is what it is.

Hell yes the SKS is worth collecting. I'm a milsurp kind of a guy with a preference for com-bloc weapons, in today's market anytime you can scoop up an SKS or a Mosin for that matter for less than $320 jump on it before it's gone. Unless of course it's a 70's or 8)'s norinco , then offer less or walk away asas their less desirable ...

EMT40SW said:

Is the SKS still worth collecting?

Click to expand...

IMO, yes.

While some folks obviously reeeeeeally like them, SKSs have never much appealed to me.

In the first decade, while they were still somewhat inexpensive, I accumulated a few, mostly Yugos. The Albanian is my favorite, though.

gsbuickman said:

Hekk yes the SKS is worth collecting. I'm a milsurp kind of a guy with a preference for com-bloc weapons, in today's market anytime you can scoop up an SKS or a Mosin for that matter for less than $320 jump on it before it's gone. Unless of course it's a 70's or 8)'s norinco , then offer less or walk away asas their less desirable ...

Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with the Norincos, my friend. Even the pinned barrel, brushed-on varnish models made for the export market will go bang every time.

In fact, I would take any Norinco any day over a Yugo with its problematic gas valve. Yes, there are aftermarket valves which can fix the problem, but it is still a design weakness- though a nice Yugo is certainly on of the best looking of the breed-

ColoradoMinuteMan said:

It’s not hard to find them in the $300 range if you’re persistent.

Click to expand...

I’m a regular used rack and armslist checker, In the past couple years I haven’t seen a single one for that cheap unless it was in a hideous plastic stock and spray painted. Lately the spray painted ones are 400 and originals are 500+

someguy2800 said:

I’m a regular used rack and armslist checker, In the past couple years I haven’t seen a single one for that cheap unless it was in a hideous plastic stock and spray painted. Lately the spray painted ones are 400 and originals are 500+

Click to expand...

Well, that's what they are asking, anyway. Folks advertising on Armslist are often in need of quick cash and will take much more reasonable offers.

There is a minty D-type (the one that takes AK mags) which has been sitting at my LGS for months with no takers at $450, and my buddy can't get rid of that Yugo I posted above for $350 (I just cleaned, polished, reblued and lubed it for him- it was in the white with a bit of surface rust when he got it. Turned out pretty nice, IMO.)

I became and adult during the 1994-04 “assault weapons” ban. As such the SKS was really the only military type semiautomatic rifle I could afford at that time. I still have a soft spot for them and pick them up pretty frequently if they are cheap and in good condition. I search for them pretty religiously and I could buy 2 a month in good condition under $300 and I could buy one a week under $350 if I wanted to. Of the ones I find locally if the ad has been up or repeated for over a month I’ll make lowball offers. For every 5 that reply back in utter offense you offered a low price 1 will come back and settle at a price I’ll pay. A lot of armslist guns are way over-priced and many of them never sell. Eventually those who want actual money will sell at a price that they are actually worth. They really aren’t worth more than about $350 for an average Yugo or Chinese.

Less than a year ago I picked up an original condition SKS Sporter for $360 locally which is a great price for the AK magazine capable SKS.

Persistence is the key and if you are persistent you will find plenty of deals on SKSs, because despite what people want for them, there isn’t a strong market for them beyond $350 when you can get AR15s in the $400-$500 range.

someguy2800 said:

I’m a regular used rack and armslist checker, In the past couple years I haven’t seen a single one for that cheap unless it was in a hideous plastic stock and spray painted. Lately the spray painted ones are 400 and originals are 500+

Click to expand...

$350 or even $300 is still quite a bit more than they are worth to me, so I'm not going to squabble and dicker with people to try to get them to align with me on value. I'm sure someday they will be worth $1000 and I'll still be scratching my head, but its a free country and they wouldn't be worth so much if people didn't like them.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Not collecting- but accumulating? Yes!

Click to expand...

Yep, what he said.
I bought ours back in the 90's along with a case of chicom ammo that has been a reliable foot rest at the reloading bench.

I would say if you like them and are willing to pay what they cost go ahead. They will probably never get any cheaper.

In my view, the SKS was never worth collecting. But then I'm not a fan of ComBloc guns.

Something like three million Norinco SKS's were sold, right? I'd think you could pry one loose from somebody for a reasonable price.

But I haven't looked into that market in a long time.