Anyone have an opinion on classicarms sks?

[matchinson14]

Since I live in the evil state of New York and the saiga ban prevents me from getting a NY safe compliant AKM I am looking instead into purchasing a type 56 sks from classicarms. These have a lot of bluing wear and stock wear but from what I've read and heard mechanically they aren't that worn and should be quite reliable. I wanted to know if any you have any experience with classicarms sks's or know someone who has and what you think? I have fallen hard for the 7.62X39 cartridge (with my eye sight 350-400 yards would be my max with irons anyway). If you guys don't have any experience with classicarms' sks then what are your opinions on the sks in general, in particular the type 56? I've heard (since these are early all milled versions threaded in) that the quality is similar to that of Russian SKSs.

 

[JeeperCreeper]

No experience with ClassicArms SKSs. I had 3 chinese SKSs (until that tragic boating accident, where all my guns sank to the bottom to the ocean).

2 of the 3 run like a top. The other one can be picky because it is modified to take the pre-90's ban of 30 round "banana clips" and the magazines are terrible. I had better results with Tapco 20 rounders, but being in NY, it won't matter. The stock 10 rounder is most reliable and faster if you have stripper clips.

Parts are easy to find for cheap and you do not have to worry about beating it up. I think the SKS is a great bargain gun, as long as you do not pay too much. I see that Classic has them for $259.99. That is about as cheap as you will see any in today's market, so I think it is worth the gamble. If you are relatively handy, you can refurbish it with a new wood stock and fixing the metal, if it does have flaws.

So in summation, I love the SKS. It is fun, handy, accurate, cheap, and tough. Just don't mess with the magazine.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

I would have no qualms about buying an SKS sight unseen. They are about as tough as semi auto rifles come, and it would take a lot to make one quit running. I have a beater Chinese SKS I got through an auction, and it looks a lot like the rifles you are considering. The bluing is faded, and the stock is beat to hell, but it is 100% functional.

In my opinion, SKS's make for pretty much ideal plinkers. The rifles are cheap, and the ammo's even cheaper. I haven't shot mine off a bench, but I doubt they are any more accurate than the 2 or 3 MOA Wolf ammo anyway, so that's fine. Recoil is nonexistent. They are built like tanks, and you definitely don't have to baby them. Reliability is beyond doubt. They eat cheap steel ammo like candy. Cleaning is pretty much optional.

My only complaint is that they are too big and heavy for their caliber - you basically have 30-30 power in a rifle with 30-06 size and weight. But again, if you are just plinking, it's fine.

As you can tell, I'm a fan of mine. If you want one, I doubt you'd regret buying it.

 

[USAF_Vet]

Had an SKS, a Norinco, which I got rid of with no real regrets. It wasn't stock, and modded for the aftermarket mags. Never did get it running reliably.

However, my wife has a very nice condition Norinco, matching numbers, great bluing, nice wood, all original 1963 SKS, and it's a great, reliable rifle that will be in the family for generations more (she got it from her dad).

The SKS is a great rifle, but too many people feel they are limited by the magazine capacity. In NY, won't matter, but try not to trick it out with a bunch of useless doodads from Tapco. It's not an AK-lite, as all too many become. A good sling, a stack of stripper clips and a basic understanding of how to use the rifle is all you need to shoot circles around the tacticrap SKS crowd.

KISKSS, or keep it SKS simple.

 

[jhb]

Bought two from their current offerings a year or so ago....

First one had some missing parts like the Recoil spring retainer and the safety catch spring. The stock was beat up badly and had splits in various areas.. it appears it wasn't a Chinese stock either from the inscriptions....likely more an Albanian. Bluing is about all gone and rust under all the cosmoline. The bore was pristine though and after some money and time hunting down missing parts and repair work on the stock I got it in working order.

Expect much time and effort removing cosmoline and rust and such.

I bought a second one to see if my luck would be any better and it was better. Still cracks in the stock....but no missing parts this time. Same basic condition as the other. No blue and rust etc.

Good shooters and project rifles.

 

[dprice3844444]

trigger safety upgrades to sks
http://www.kivaari.com/SKS Target Match.htm

 

[jhb]

Yeah I actually sent the entire assembly to him for repair on that rifle.

 

[BluesDancer]

Classicarms SKS's are good to go. I ordered one about a year ago. Upon receipt I discovered it was missing the bolt and contacted their CS. Ben made it right and, with a little prodding, sent me a replacement bolt. It now works great.

These rifles are in beat up condition but are well made with good bores. Don't hesitate to buy from them, but on the other side of the coin don't hesitate to contact their CS if something is wrong. They will make it right. Sometimes you never know with these milsurps. It's the risk of playing the milsurp game.

Good luck!

 

[matchinson14]

by "beat up" I just want to clarify that this means largely cosmetically right? For example, I'm hoping I can get like another 10,000 rounds or so through an sks from classicarms if I order one. No real mechanical issues right? I know many say the bores are quite bright still but I just want to make sure that the other mechanical components aren't shot out is all.

 

[BluesDancer]

by "beat up" I just want to clarify that this means largely cosmetically right? For example, I'm hoping I can get like another 10,000 rounds or so through an sks from classicarms if I order one. No real mechanical issues right? I know many say the bores are quite bright still but I just want to make sure that the other mechanical components aren't shot out is all.

Yep, by "beat up" I mean largely cosmetic. Like I say, to a certain degree you never truly know 100% what you are going to get when you purchase a milsurp gun online; however, based on my experience with classicarms I would have no qualms about ordering a second SKS from them (or most of their other offerings) in the future if I had wanted one.

 

[RG7X]

You could always give AIM a look... Always been 100% with every purchase and the customer service.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?groupid=2195&name=Chinese SKS Surplus 7.62x39 Rifle

 

[Cee Zee]

I wanted to know if any you have any experience with classicarms sks's

I don't know which one of their SKS's you might be buying (they sell pretty much every available type from time to time) but I bought a Yugo from them a while back. It was exactly how they described it. It was part of a lot that had minor defects that caused them to be classified as seconds. So they were stored in crates and never issued or even fired by anyone pretty much. The one I got had a hairline crack in the stock about a quarter of an inch long that didn't amount to squat. I saved about $100 over buying one that wasn't a second and it was about as pristine as any SKS a person could ever find too. It was still soaked in cosmoline when I bought it.

I got the order quick and I had zero issues with Classic Arms. In fact they were very pleasant to deal with. I would definitely buy from them again. BTW I ended up trading that Yugo for a silver bracelet for my daughter as a graduation present. The guy I traded it to freaked that it was so clean. I probably didn't fire it over 50 times. I only bought it as a backup for my Norinco and I never much cared for the added weight in the front from the grenade launcher. It shot fine and looked very good. I fixed that hairline crack with some Elmer's and a clamp so that you would never find it if you didn't know where to look.

I would guess that what they say about one of the guns they're selling is the truth. It certainly was when I bought that Yugo.

 

[eastbank]

here 259.00 plus tax and transfer would come to a little over 300.00, i saw a next to new sks norinco sell for 350.00(non dealer,no tax or transfer to state resident) at the last show i went to in early oct., if he had laid it down it would be in my collection right now. i would shop around for a better deal,unless you just have to have one right now. eastbank.