Chinese SKS Review

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35 Whelen

35 Whelen

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I posted a review on another forum, but thought it might be of interest here.

I recently sold off quite a few rifles in which I had lost interest, including an AK-47. I really like the idea of a 7.62x39 for a utility rifle around the place. I also prefer rifles, or actually carbines, that are trim and don't use detachable magazines. So, I figured I'd try a Chinese SKS.

I found them on sale at Atlantic Firearms and shot an order to them. They were advertised as NRA Fair to Good and "...will be coated in Cosmoline for protection." Well it arrived in no time, but it wasn't coated in Cosmoline, it was coated in GREASE! And not just coated, the stuff was everywhere including the bore.

vBES3TSl.jpg Sr4nZrLl.jpg TvzTEy4l.jpg

Out of curiosity I weighed it before I cleaned it-

vBES3TSl.jpg

I took a lot of elbow grease, Purple Power degreaser a trip to the carwash and time to clean it, like 4 hours. It was unreal how much grease there was.

7JKEszMl.jpg

When I finally finished I weighed it again. I had removed 3 oz. of grease-

YndAsJ9l.jpg

I removed the bayonet and cleaning rod and dropped the unloaded weight to just over 7 1/2 lbs.-

cmGZhlll.jpg

The stock was a mess after the cleaning, so I stripped it...

PhuTiFOl.jpg uXanZhnl.jpg

Then re-repaired the cracks and gave it a couple of coats of Tru-Oil.

FfiyW9Kl.jpg 4oaNPUVl.jpg

I then set about regulating the sights with some of the Golden Tiger ammo I have on hand-

First 100 yds.

uqXwH0yl.jpg

Then 200 yds.

QFBBg2tl.jpg

It shot pretty well, but the coarse front sight is too thick for my almost 60 year old eyes. So, I ordered a couple of KNS replacements; a .052" and a .072".
Compared to the original front sight, they're much better-

gC6ND5kl.jpg

I installed the .072" and re-regulated the sights. The rifle was much, much easier to shoot with the smaller front sight. It took me but four rounds to get the sights tweaked and the rifle grouped quite well, putting the last six shots into almost exactly 4" @ 200 yds.-

y6wDzhtl.jpg

POI could probably come up an inch or so, but I'm not going to mess with it.

I have to mention too that the trigger, while having the typical SKS creep, was surprisingly light at 4 lbs.

I may trim the barrel back to 16 1/2" later, to make it a bit lighter and handier, but until then she'll be doing what I bought her to do!

sDefndIl.jpg

35W
 
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I wish I wouldn't have sold the Norinco I had, but there isn't any way I'm paying the money they are bringing these days. I paid $295 for the one I had and that really hurt at the time. Yours looks like a great shooter.
 
“…6 shots into almost exactly 4” @ 200 yards”, darned good!

Nice patina on the stock, mine was brand new when I bought, almost looks too clean.

Good luck with your new rifle!
 
I didn’t like mine. Long, clunky, god awful trigger, poor sights. I bought it for about $200 over 10 years ago and recently sold it for $900. Not a bad little profit. My AK Is more compact and has a modern excellent trigger and groups very well, and is a far better defensive rifle that is also way easier to customize.
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
I didn’t like mine. Long, clunky, god awful trigger, poor sights. I bought it for about $200 over 10 years ago and recently sold it for $900. Not a bad little profit. My AK Is more compact and has a modern excellent trigger and groups very well, and is a far better defensive rifle that is also way easier to customize.
Click to expand...

LOL...interesting. My AK had a trigger on par with the AK, AFTER I worked it over and replaced the hammer. with an aftermarket example. MY AK was fairly accurate, but wouldn't shoot a 4" group at 200 yds. if you clamped it in a vice! The SKS is for sure longer than an AK, but an AK with a 30 round magazine to me is sort of like carrying a T-square or a crucifix around. As far as the AK being a better defensive rifle, that's a matter of opinion. But next time you're out shooting your AK, try a little shooting from a prone position with a 30 round mag inserted and get back with us. ;)

35W
 
35 Whelen said:
LOL...interesting. My AK had a trigger on par with the AK, AFTER I worked it over and replaced the hammer. with an aftermarket example. MY AK was fairly accurate, but wouldn't shoot a 4" group at 200 yds. if you clamped it in a vice! The SKS is for sure longer than an AK, but an AK with a 30 round magazine to me is sort of like carrying a T-square or a crucifix around. As far as the AK being a better defensive rifle, that's a matter of opinion. But next time you're out shooting your AK, try a little shooting from a prone position with a 30 round mag inserted and get back with us. ;)

35W
Click to expand...

They make 20 rounders that work well.

As for defensive shooting, no modern army on earth fields an SKS anymore. Countless issue AKs.

Wonder why?
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
They make 20 rounders that work well.

As for defensive shooting, no modern army on earth fields an SKS anymore. Countless issue AKs.

Wonder why?
Click to expand...
Milled receivers cost more to manufacture, not select fire, not originally manufactured for detachable magazines, hard to adapt to optics...the list goes on.

That being said, for most purposes the SKS is a superior rifle if you're not fighting with it. Safety is more accessible, box magazines don't hang up in brush, longer sight radius and seemingly more accurate. More reliable with crap ammo then most modern AKs. Short stroke system reduces felt recoil over the long stroke in the AK. Top opening bolt clears malfunctions easier than side opening on AK, AK can drop misfired rounds back in to action effectively making you SOL.
 
35 Whelen said:
I posted a review on another forum, but thought it might be of interest here.

I recently sold off quite a few rifles in which I had lost interest, including an AK-47. I really like the idea of a 7.62x39 for a utility rifle around the place. I also prefer rifles, or actually carbines, that are trim and don't use detachable magazines. So, I figured I'd try a Chinese SKS.

I found them on sale at Atlantic Firearms and shot an order to them. They were advertised as NRA Fair to Good and "...will be coated in Cosmoline for protection." Well it arrived in no time, but it wasn't coated in Cosmoline, it was coated in GREASE! And not just coated, the stuff was everywhere including the bore.

View attachment 1027621 View attachment 1027622 View attachment 1027623

Out of curiosity I weighed it before I cleaned it-

View attachment 1027624

I took a lot of elbow grease, Purple Power degreaser a trip to the carwash and time to clean it, like 4 hours. It was unreal how much grease there was.

View attachment 1027625

When I finally finished I weighed it again. I had removed 3 oz. of grease-

View attachment 1027626

I removed the bayonet and cleaning rod and dropped the unloaded weight to just over 7 1/2 lbs.-

View attachment 1027627

The stock was a mess after the cleaning, so I stripped it...

View attachment 1027628 View attachment 1027629

Then re-repaired the cracks and gave it a couple of coats of Tru-Oil.

View attachment 1027630 View attachment 1027631

I then set about regulating the sights with some of the Golden Tiger ammo I have on hand-

First 100 yds.

View attachment 1027632

Then 200 yds.

View attachment 1027633

It shot pretty well, but the coarse front sight is too thick for my almost 60 year old eyes. So, I ordered a couple of KNS replacements; a .052" and a .072".
Compared to the original front sight, they're much better-

View attachment 1027636

I installed the .072" and re-regulated the sights. The rifle was much, much easier to shoot with the smaller front sight. It took me but four rounds to get the sights tweaked and the rifle grouped quite well, putting the last six shots into almost exactly 4" @ 200 yds.-

View attachment 1027634

POI could probably come up an inch or so, but I'm not going to mess with it.

I have to mention too that the trigger, while having the typical SKS creep, was surprisingly light at 4 lbs.

I may trim the barrel back to 16 1/2" later, to make it a bit lighter and handier, but until then she'll be doing what I bought her to do!

View attachment 1027635

35W
Click to expand...
If you disassemble everything, wipe the excess off you can reach, wrap it all in old towels and leave it in a car with tinted windows in the summer it's pretty easy to clean up.
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
They make 20 rounders that work well.

As for defensive shooting, no modern army on earth fields an SKS anymore. Countless issue AKs.

Wonder why?
Click to expand...

I had more 20 round mags than 30 when I sold it, still too long. Glad you like your AK, but I personally prefer something with more accuracy potential and less awkward, and don't base my choice of defensive weapons on what other countries use. But, to each his own!

35W
 
chicharrones said:
Looks like you found a shooter, 35W. :thumbup:

My Norinco has never given me groups like that, and I've owned it since I was 28 with good eyes. Now I'm 56 and my eyes are . . . well . . . old-er. :oops:
Click to expand...

Yeah I just turned 58 and tangent sights can be.... difficult! But as I said, the smaller front sight made a huge difference. Also, at some point I'll install a Tech Sight which will help.

35W
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
They make 20 rounders that work well.

As for defensive shooting, no modern army on earth fields an SKS anymore. Countless issue AKs.

Wonder why?
Click to expand...

The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army still issues many SKS for reserve units and ceremonial duties.

thewillweeks said:
Milled receivers cost more to manufacture, not select fire, not originally manufactured for detachable magazines, hard to adapt to optics...the list goes on.......
Click to expand...


The SKS Type M was newly-manufactured to accept AK mags, though of course they were intended for commercial sales, not military issue.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
The SKS Type M was newly-manufactured to accept AK mags, though of course they were intended for commercial sales, not military issue.
Click to expand...

It's seems very probable that the M's weren't :"new" manufacture, but were instead assembled after minor modifications to pre-existing, leftover parts-- i.e. shortened gas tubes, non-machined carrier blanks, and AK mag Monte Carlo stocks.

There were over 100 Chinese Type56 Arsenals over 4 decades. When milspec production ended in 1984 they had a large cache of OEM parts.
 
Derek Wildstar said:
It's seems very probable that the M's weren't :"new" manufacture, but were instead assembled after minor modifications to pre-existing, leftover parts-- i.e. shortened gas tubes, non-machined carrier blanks, and AK mag Monte Carlo stocks.

There were over 100 Chinese Type56 Arsenals over 4 decades. When milspec production ended in 1984 they had a large cache of OEM parts.
Click to expand...
Factory "assembled" then, sure.

Ya know, kinda like the space battleship "assembled" beneath a certain Imperial Japanese Navy wreck. ;)
 
35 Wheelen:

The different colors in the wooden furniture is Really Attractive.

JCooperfan1911:
Merely a coincidence, but a photo a few years ago depicted some ‘regular’ Ukrainian prisoners, looking exhausted,

escorted by a …mean-looking lady… and her fellow pro-Russian Ukr. soldiers, all carrying an SKS with extended Bayonets.
 
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Great review. Sitting in a warehouse somewhere for the last 50 some odd years and eventually pulled from a greasy crate, thrown in a box and shipped to some guys farm so he can whack steel at 200+yards and gopher patrol.....

I always preferred the AK because it looked meaner. Was more prominent in action movies. Kind of like the difference between a pit bull and German Shephard. I've grown out of that since and if I could take my pick I'd probably take an SKS now. I wish they were still $99 or I'd have one. I love the hollow thump sound and feel, easy on the shoulder, reliable, reasonably accurate. What's not to like....
 
Check insaneaccuracy , instructions on a red dot sight mount that fits on the barrel directly behind the front sight made from a light mount with extra screws added.
 
I have two Norinco SKS rifles. One with a 20" barrel and the other is the Paratrooper version with a 16" barrel. In all honesty I like the longer barreled gun better. Less blast out the front and longer sight radius. I have fired both of them exactly 80 rounds each. The Paratrooper came from my dad and had never been shot and the rifle version was NIB from GB several years ago for $286. Both are in as new shape. Plus I added those rubber butt pads to increase the short length of pull.

I did for a short time own a Mac 90 AK with thumbhole stock. I hated the stock. I paid $250 for it and about two weeks later sold it for $750. I don't miss it. But I will say I understand why people rave about the strength of an AK. That milled reciever and simple lockwork looked like you could run over it with a tank and then pick it up and it would still fire. The SKS rifles seem to be ever bit as sturdy and just feel better in my hands. Now if I could just find one of the Ruger bolt action rifles in 7.62x39 for a normal price and not $700 i would get one of those too.

You did a good job of cleaning that mess up on the gun. Good shooting with it too. You may want to check out Tech-Sights for your gun.

https://www.tech-sights.com/sks-products/
 
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