All American SKS. Would it sell?

An American made SKS would have a limited market at best. It would cost MUCH more than a Norinco,Yugo or even a Russian. I really don't see it working at all. I've been wrong before though.

<sarc>Don't they call that the M1 Garand?<,/sarc>

I don't think it could be done for a price point under $400, maybe not under $500 ... and where would you get enough Cosmoline?

I don't think it would sell. First, the cost would be quite a bit more than the surplus rifles I am guessing and therefore the rifle would price itself out of the market. Second it would not have the nostalgia of a foreign weapon, sometimes folks buy these because they are foreign. Lastly the rifle has no advantage or quality that other rifles don't already match. I think it would take a stroke of creative genius to start with the SKS design and come up with a cheap useful domestically produced rifle that Americans would want to buy. I think Tapco has done well to sort of add life to the platform with some American made products. Make me a sidefolding black (real) SVD for $600 in 7.62X54 and NOW we are talkin!!!

Put a longer stock on it, make it friendlier to mount a scope, detachable mag and address the issue of price point and I might go for it. It would have to have the perceived quality of the Russians, meet the pricing of the Chek and Chinese, and be a solid piece of weaponry.

I wonder what the relationship is to new Mini 30 sales vs surplus SKS? With the Mini 30 being quite a bit more expensive than the SKS that might say if there would be a market for it. Good quality, less expensive than the Ruger, mayby a bit more than a Yugo.


I don't know if a US company could do that but mayby Armscor?

Put a longer stock on it, make it friendlier to mount a scope, detachable mag and address the issue of price point and I might go for it.

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Except for the price part you just described a Mini-30.

Except for the price part you just described a Mini-30.

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And that is the situation: An SKS built from scratch in the United States would likely cost as much as a Ruger Mini, and would be inferior, feature-wise. So it makes no sense to make them new. The only reason SKSs are as cheap as they are, is because they're military surplus from many decades ago.

It would have to be under $400 retail. Good condition SKS's sell for $400 all the time (Russians, Alby's, Romanians, etc). But those have *usually* have collector value. For a NIB SKS, made in the USA, it could be competitive in some markets (California for example).

But finding a way to produce it for under $400, were in the realm of engineering and economics. Unless someone here majored in one and minored in another, I don't think anyone here could say if it'd be possible to make an SKS for a competitive price in the states.

They will probably be in the price range par with RUger Minis. I ll take a Norc or Russian SKSs anyday.

In my limited but real experience the nice chinese SKS shoot better groups than the Russian.

How about just making dummy grenades and grenade blanks for my Yugo model?

The only reason I bought an SKS long ago is the same reason people are buying Mosin Nagants now. They were dirt cheap and ammo was dirt cheap, too.

If an American made SKS were to come about, regardless of reality, is it would need a better sighting system and a solid way to mount a scope. Without resorting to aftermarket add-ons like we have now.

Even though a Mini-30 is much more money, three advantages it has over the SKS are sights, scope mounting, and detachable mags.

is it would need a better sighting system and a solid way to mount a scope.

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Tech Sights ... and ... not really, maybe a scout-mount on the gas tube?

Detachable mags AND the ability to load from strippers would be nice, but honestly I like the indestructible fixed magazine on mine, are others not as sturdy? I'm pretty sure I could use my Yugo's magazine to hammer in a nail (or skull) and not have any damage beyond cosmetics.

Some people look for SKSs with "trench art" carved in the stock by bored soldiers on the battlefields of the former Yugoslavia.

bigfatdave said:

Tech Sights

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Like I wrote, without resorting to aftermarket add-ons.

To me, that would mean that any manufacturer would have to devise an aperture sight system like the Tech Sight, BUT not require the removal of the sight for cleaning.

Doesn't Century already sell a US-made AK with a machined receiver? That's basically what you are describing, plus it takes AK mags (of course) and all the other AK accessories (which there are more of than SKS accessories)

As much as I love my SKS (nice looking Rommy) I have to say for my money I would go with a US made AK or Mini-30 if I were buying a premium 7.62x39 autoloader.

The SKS design uses far too many machined parts due to its complex trigger system, driving the price up. The action is longer than an AK action, adding about an inch to the rifle. Add in that the SKS uses a tilting block instead of a rotating bolt and it is just not something that I see being made at a competitive price.

I may be wrong. Perhaps if someone made an SKS pistol, it would sell.

See a few pics down in this post.

http://www.m4carbine.net/showpost.php?p=426033&postcount=418

chicharrones, I was suggesting putting something like Tech Sights on at the factory, or just getting them right from TS and bolting them on, perhaps modifying the receiver cover to allow stripping without removing the TS unit somehow.

I don't see it finding a market niche if it has to compete against imported SKS's, AK's and Mini-30s/ARs in 7.62x39/etc.

bigfatdave said:

chicharrones, I was suggesting putting something like Tech Sights on at the factory, or just getting them right from TS and bolting them on, perhaps modifying the receiver cover to allow stripping without removing the TS unit somehow.

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We're meaning the same result, then.

I think that their would be a fairly large market for this due to the fact many people buy SKSs every day. I think that if this rifle were to have some advantages over say the mini 30 such as more stock options and better iron sights then you'd have more buyers.
epijunkie67 if your seriously thinking into designing something like this PM me I'm not an engineer but I have built several "old" military rifles before.

What would kill it would be the price differential for American labor and materials compared to surplus stuff from the former communist bloc. Lots of people like the SKS, but no one likes a $700 SKS when you can buy a couple surplus ones for the same money with cash left over.

As others have said, it would make no sense and it would be overpriced compared to SKS's that are out there already.

Just love the SKS for what it is...

I think that their would be a fairly large market for this due to the fact many people buy SKSs every day

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Yes, they do....but would they at the $500+ an "american" SKS would likely run? When I bought my Norinco in 1993, I had no problem parting with $110 for my SKS as a 16 yr old. However, theres no way at 33 I'd buy one at 5x the price, when the ammo cost to feed them has also risen dramatically from the days of .10/round ammo. At 16, a cheap gun shooting cheap ammo that was "almost good enough" for most things I wanted to do(plink, shoot the occasional deer or coyote, etc) with it sounded awesome for 100 bucks. At 33 I'd buy another one....if it were still $100 bucks. WHen you approach the $500 mark, which many estimate a US SKS would run, there are FAR MORE firearms I'd rather have at that price point, and an SKS wouldn't even bein the running. At thier former price points of under $200, the SKS was a steal.....however, they are NOT $400 guns, at least to me.

For all our "buy American" and "pay more to support local businesses" bravado, we are, at heart, cheap bastards. At least we can safely admit it here.