What's wrong with the SKS?

1995 i bought my first centerfire rifle and it s a Russian SKS 1950 . Still have it today . Lots of memories. First kill was a 130 lb wild hog at 10 yds away.
I have acquired several thus far of diffeent countries of make. I like them all.

bushmaster1313 said:

Anything made by Chinese Communists, especially a firearm is a problem for me.

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Are non-Chinese communists ok then?

All this SKS-hate is giving me a headache... They are a great rifle for their time, and still a good rifle to have around. It is good enough for predator control to about 150 yards, easy to use a 30rd mag for higher capacity, 154gr SP will kill almost anything in NA including BG's, and it is easy to strip and clean without any special tool other than an extra bullet to press the trigger group release.

I think the market flooding got summed up in the first reply to the OP...
"Originally Posted by rcmodel
Literally millions of them have been imported over the years from various places.
And a lot of folks rushed right out and bought them all during the hysteria & gun buying frenzy after the last election.

Now, they are out of work and want their money back out of them to pay the rent.

rc"

a lot of folks rushed right out and bought them all during the hysteria & gun buying frenzy after the last election.

Now, they are out of work and want their money back out of them to pay the rent.

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Or they bought a lot of them when they were dirt cheap and now want to make a profit at the higher prices the SKS is bringing today?

I don't think the Romanian SKS look 10X better than the Yugo. The Yugo SKS is the best looking of the SKS rifles.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=537510

With Tapco 30rd mags and either tech sights or a red-dot, they are plenty capable of sustained fire within Minute of Vitals...

Nothing is wrong with the SKS.

Back in late 1980s I bought two SKS rifles for 90 bucks each, also got two 1200 round wooden crates of ammo for about the same price each.

With Williams aperture sights, they are quite capable for minute of perp out to 200 yards. So mine are home to stay, have other rifles etc, but one of the SKS is my always truck gun. I don't intentionally let it get beat up, but if it does, so what, it is a tool that can take it and still perform very well.

stchman said:

I don't think the Romanian SKS look 10X better than the Yugo. The Yugo SKS is the best looking of the SKS rifles.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=537510

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I'd have to say I disagree. Here's my Romanian. It's not unissued, the finish is all original, but it's in beautiful shape, and the picture doesn't do it justice:



It's got a chrome-lined bore, a smooth action, and is a real nice shooter. The guy I bought it from had it as a safe queen; he fired about 100 rounds through it, and put it back in the safe.

well i for one hope that the market continues to be flooded back with them. around here we are getting back into non insane-o prices for AR-15's and the like. AK's have gotten back down to around 250-300 bucks. im hoping that the SKS's will drop to 150-200 again and then i will add a couple as i see them.

It all comes down to gun snobs and a topping contest. If I come across another reasonaly priced SKS, I'll grab it in a heartbeat. The only thing I don't care for on the Yugo SKS, is grenade launcher, it makes the rifle look too long but that doesn't affect it's shooting. My preference would be a Norinco D, Paratrooper model with extended round mag capacity. Now if you can find some Grenades to launch of the end of the Yugo, I'd change my mind in a second!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll keep my Norinco SKS purchased NIB back in the 90's in it's original configuration. I would like another and throw a Tapco Tactical composite stock on it.
JT

AK's have gotten back down to around 250-300 bucks

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Where is this? $350 is about as low as I've seen in a couple of years for a WASR with ugly wood and welded muzzle nut.

I loved the SKS back in the 80's when you could buy Russian models for $75 at a gunshow. I miss those days

Glad I came across this thread, because I've been a-eyeballin' the SOG sks's at $320 unissued. I take it that most of feel this is overpriced?

SleazyRider said:

Glad I came across this thread, because I've been a-eyeballin' the SOG sks's at $320 unissued. I take it that most of feel this is overpriced?

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No. I just paid $300 for a Norinco SKS in VG condition.

Years ago I bought one for $90, I added a folding stock $41. I couldn't ask for a more accurate rifle and I've killed two deer with it. One at 65 yds and another one running at about 20 yds. Look at the Motorcycles for sale. People are hurting in this economy. I bought a real nice Motorcycle last Nov. The price was so good that I told them that they didn't even have to crank it.

We watched a show last night called "Hurricane Katrina: The First Five Days" and it made me want to go buy an SKS for each member of my family...

At the end of the day the SKS is an outmoded, limited fixed capacity, crudely sighted,poorly platformed for modern optics, albeit reliable, fighting carbine: with limited usefulness in the game fields. Unless one is a collector and wants a particular specimen for his collection, the demand for them is just not that great. Today people want tricked out ARs in the fighting rifle space, and I don't blame them. It is very hard to beat a sold M-4 platform with modern optics for an offensive/defensive weapon.

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Total crap.

The SKS won't cost you a grand or more to get working, it fires a real .30 caliber round, and it'll work when the M-4 is choked from dust and carbon fouling in the action.

The SKS won't cost you a grand or more to get working, it fires a real .30 caliber round, and it'll work when the M-4 is choked from dust and carbon fouling in the action.

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It's not too much more expensive than a 22 to plink with. My girlfriend thought it was a hideous beast. I agreed. She shot it this past weekend after buying some cheap ammo, now she loves it. In her own words "It's not much more expensive than your 22 and it makes a bigger bang. It's more fun than the 22's when shooting your plates."

It has a chrome-plated bore and beautiful wood. Romanian craftsmanship at its best. It looks 10 times better than any Norinco or Yugo I've seen.

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I own a romanian and two norincos. I see a little more craftsmanship in the romanian, but not much. They are all cheap, mass produced rifles with no features or particular attention to detail to write home about. But that's just my opinion. Ugly, sloppy and not known for outstanding accuracy (just accurate enough)...but fun as all get out to shoot!

The SKS is a good gun. One of the best for the money.

Nothing's wrong with the SKS.
In fact nothing's wrong with firearms in general. It's just that so many decided to fall for the hype about Obama taking away your guns. That is and was BS. Sure he may not be a pro gun president. But I seriously doubt that he or any other president for that matter can or will ever successfully take away our firearms. So here's how I see it. The industry as a whole saw an opportunity to make money using fear, the old scare them into it tactic. That's how the Patriot act was embrased by so many.
But under the umbrella of fear millions of Americans fell for the hype and ran out to buy guns and ammo. Now a couple of years later when we see that things are the same as they ever were, the dust settles and many are looking to sell off what they picked up in panic buying.
So it's a great time to get great deals on firearms and ammo for that matter.

By the way to help protect our right to have arms join the NRA.

Total crap.

The SKS won't cost you a grand or more to get working, it fires a real .30 caliber round, and it'll work when the M-4 is choked from dust and carbon fouling in the action.

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I've yet to see all of these AR15s that supposedly choke at the slightest hint of dust, and while the cost for an AR is much higher, you also get a plainly superior rifle. Also, your post would seem to imply that it costs $1000 above and beyond the purchase price of the rifle itself to get it running, a supposition that is clearly incorrect.

For an American shooter, the SKS makes for a decent trunk gun/beater rifle due to its low cost to purchase and modify with after market add-ons like Tech Sights.

Within the niche of a low-cost, field-accurate 200ish yard rifle, the SKS does fine. However, it's preposterous to claim that it is in any way superior to the AR platform. Reloads are slow and clumsy, ergonomically the gun is inferior, it is not as inherently mechanically accurate as an AR, especially if shooting from field positions, and the weapon lacks the modularity of the AR system.

Within the niche of a low-cost, field-accurate 200ish yard rifle, the SKS does fine. However, it's preposterous to claim that it is in any way superior to the AR platform. Reloads are slow and clumsy, ergonomically the gun is inferior, it is not as inherently mechanically accurate as an AR, especially if shooting from field positions, and the weapon lacks the modularity of the AR system.

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All of this is perfectly true, but ignores that many shooters will not take advantage of the AR's modularity. I, for example, have owned four AR's over the years and have never done so, unless you count putting a scope on one.
Further, many shooters are not at a skill level where the AR's greater accuracy is something of which they can take advantage. Ditto the quicker reloads. I personally know a fair few AR owners who have just the one or two magazines that came with the gun.
So, modularity etc. are really advantageous only if the shooter is willing and able to use them. If not, an SKS will serve just as well.

Nothing wrong with SKS's at all in my book. I've owned one or more for the past 20+ years. Got 3 right now:
Norinco SKS-NR

Norinco SKS - Original Matching #

Romanina SKS - Original Matching #


Lov'em........and I've hit everthing I've ever aimed at with them too.

If the SKS had been both an American design and used in combat by our troops, they would be much more popular and pricier. You can always add a 'Tech Sight' aperture.

augustino summed up the 'hype' after the presidential election.
Guess why Chicken Little said the sky is falling? It was mostly to create a scalpers' market.

A bill which tried to ban many types of rifles has sat in a Washington cabinet for many years, with no chance of passing, and astute people told me that Obama never had the "political capitol" to pass any type of ban or major gun/ammo tax etc.
But the politically astute sellers at gun shops and shows forgot to mention this.

General TSO: Not a bad price, as many Norincos at 'GB' were listed for $270 in March '08, many months before the election.