What is up w/ the SKS??? Are you kidding me??

I bought an SKS for $69 a few years ago. Shot like crap, so I sold it for twice what I paid. Had I known, I would have bought 10 of them!

mbogo

That's just a silly amount of money for an sks...

Here's my SKS story. I bought one for 79 bucks in 91?92?90? somewhere along there.....It shot great but I had zero use for it so I sold it about a year later. Last spring during the heat of the gun run, my BIL gave me one.

Ha Ha....my last SKS was FREE....and I still haven't shot it.

Prices with Mil Surplus rifles are like the tides.

When they come in, the prices are great.

When they go out, the prices rise.

The State Department is in control of the import and export of military surplus rifles under ITAR. It takes almost an astrological confluence of celestial bodies in politics to get orders issued to the State Department to allow the importation of military surplus rifles.

Well times have changed and you have to wait, maybe a decade or two, for the tide to come in.

The State Department manages the ITAR and the US Munitions List.
http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/regulati..._official.html

Section 121 is the US Munitions list.

121.1 General, The United States Munitions List

The following articles, services, and related technical data are designated as defense articles and defense services….

Category I – Firearms, Close Assault weapons and combat shotguns

(a) Non automatic and semiautomatic firearms to caliber 0.50 inclusive (12.7mm)

page 469

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The ATF is involved and who does what is confusing:

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/guides/i...dure-aeca.html

With respect to Section 38 of the AECA, only the permanent importation provisions are administered by ATF. Permanent and temporary export, as well as the temporary import provisions are administered by the Department of State. Importation regulations issued under this law are in 27 CFR Part 447 and are included in ATF P 5300.4 — Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide. See Part 447 of that publication.

The USMIL is compiled in conjunction with Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and enumerates defense articles and defines defense services that may be imported into the United States under the provisions the AECA administered by ATF.

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That's just a silly amount of money for an sks...

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it sucks that we cant buy them for 100 bucks any more and i wish i bought a case of them when i could have but i think the sks's are a better than a hundred dollar gun anyways. Also 100 bucks now isnt worth as much as a 100 bucks in the early 90's.

$300 or $400 isn't a crazy price when you compare it to a Ruger Mini Thirty or a Saiga, which it resembles.

The only reason SKS's were sold so cheaply years ago is that the available supply (warehouses full of them in Europe and China being unloaded to importers) exceeded the demand. Now that the supply has dried up, prices have risen commensurately; if you want one now, you have to pay more.

And I'm in the same boat as you; my wife picked up a beautiful 1952 Tula SKS in the mid to late '90s for $99. She suggested that I get one for myself also, and I didn't...have kicked myself ever since. Russian SKS prices have at least quadrupled since then.

Got my 1st SKS around 1985 for $69. Tons of them were coming ashore from China. Also got a case (1K) of ammo for $59. Sold that gun 2 years later and bought a NIB Carbine Model for $129. Still have it.




Bought my 1st 1911 in Feb. of 1973. A new Colt Series '70. It cost me $135. In 1975 I added some ivory stocks that set me back $32.50. A smith added adjustable sights and charged me $60.




In 1973 I was buying 45 ACP ammo at Woolworths. They kept loose rounds in a glass fish bowl on the sales counter and it was 5 cents a round. I burned about 5,000 of them through the S70.

In 1973 gas was 40 cents a gallon (for 96 octane premium, mind you). A hamburger, fries and a Coke at McD's set me back 80 cents. But I was only making $1.65 per hour working as a store clerk while going to college.

Prices go up. That's the way it works. I don't shotgun much, and I still have a couple boxes of shells on the shelf from a case I bought a long time ago. Maybe 35 years or so. They are Remington #6s (25 count boxes) and are tagged 79 cents. I have an unopened case (1K) of surplus 7.62x51 that I bought for $89 only 4 or 5 years ago. Just used up a can of Unique powder marked $3.95. God only knows how long that's been around.

Yea I've wanted a SKS but I have other rifles or handguns that are in that price range that I want more. If they were cheaper and of good quality, Id buy one in a heart beat.

Yea my frst SKS was purchased for $99 back in the early 90's ammo was cheap too. I could see paying $200 today but no where close to $300-$400 ea.

I was at a gun show yesterday and didn't see a single SKS for under $425.

I wouldn't mind having one, but not at that price.

SKS were cool when they were 89 bucks. Now I would much rather by a Saiga for $310 than an SKS for $359. I like the Saiga much better, lighter, more accurate, detachable mags, etc, and you can always built it into an AK if you want. SKS just seems to big and clunky to me for the round it fires.

I did have a Norinco Cowboy Companion once though and that was a great SKS.

I think we were just spoiled by the ridiculously low prices a few years back.

You sure can't get any other semi-auto rifle with a milled steel receiver for $400 or less.

No offense meant, but has the OP been living in a cave for 5 years...?

Yes, these have soared in price due to supply and demand and the Obama election when people started hoarding. All those $150-$250 SKS's were bought up!

Well damn, Now I'm pissed that I didn't get the IO INC crate deal last year (20 MN's for 1K the ship to you the crate that they got from europe or where ever, NEVER Opened and not picked over)

actually thinking back, one of my LGS's had a similar deal on yugo SKS, crate of ten?? for 1K in 2005