Russian SKS available locally

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ThePenguinKnight

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A guy nearby has a Tula sks, didn't catch the exact year, matching numbers on everything.

He is asking $500.

After I left, I looked up some stuff to look for on SKS rifles, but clearly didn't know most of it before looking at the rifle.

Doesn't look like a force-match on anything but maybe the stock. Bayonet and bolt are both still matte silvery colored. I didn't know before I left to check whether it was blued or painted, but the finish was consistently black so I'm thinking it was either very good bluing or painted.

It is missing a sling and the cleaning kit, but it does have a cleaning rod.

I did not have a chance to get a bore light on it, but I did glance down the muzzle to see some very light rust within the first few inches.

I'm not a collector, but I do like rifles of Russian lineage. I'm curious if this is worth a second look. Any thoughts? What's a fair price for an SKS in this condition?

Thanks.
 
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That's a really average price for a numbers matching Russian. Not amazing but not terrible. If you just want a shooter, find a clean Chinese Triangle 26 or a Sino Soviet for $300.00. To me, the Russian SKS aren't any better or worse than a Chinese, Albanian or Yugo, but they are a lot more expensive. I own two Russians, three Chinese and shot my first Yugo on Sunday, they are all great little rifles. But I wouldn't spend the money for a Russian unless you want to collect.
 
As Capybara said, five bills is the going rate for a nice Russian. It is almost certainly a refurbished rifle, but the way to tell (usually) is to check for a square box with a diagonal line in it stamped on the bolt cover and/or the stock.

The barrels are chrome lined and I find it hard to believe that there is rust in it. Most likely it is remnants of the cosmoline the rifle was packed with. I would bet that if you start waving cash at the owner, he will take less for it. Still, even at the asking price, you will get a very nice little rifle.
 
If all matching numbers...will include, trigger guard/mag floor plate/stock/gas tube/bcg....and if it's beach wood(original) "not laminated" then I would say $4-500 is a fair price for a Russian. Ask if he could run a patch through it to make sure
 
highpower said:
As Capybara said, five bills is the going rate for a nice Russian. It is almost certainly a refurbished rifle, but the way to tell (usually) is to check for a square box with a diagonal line in it stamped on the bolt cover and/or the stock.

The barrels are chrome lined and I find it hard to believe that there is rust in it. Most likely it is remnants of the cosmoline the rifle was packed with. I would bet that if you start waving cash at the owner, he will take less for it. Still, even at the asking price, you will get a very nice little rifle.
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I don't believe the Russians put chrome lined barrels on their SKSs. If my memory serves me, only the Chinese had the (truly wonderful) inclination to do that.

I have had at various times, 5 Chinese and a Russian one. All the Chinese rifles had nice shiny bores, no matter how beat to heck the rest of the rifle was.
My Russian one had a frosty bore despite being a beautiful Tula refurb.

I traded the Russian one off for a K31. Didn't do anything better than the Chinese models did.
 
got a tula 1951 with laminate stock about 4 years ago. good shooter some small pits in chamber but not a problem. see if seller will let you check the bolt to make sure the firing pin is ok. i paid 385 for mine back then so if all is good a little less than 5 jump on it. none are blued they are all black.
 
From what I've been seeing on the state-wide used market here in Georgia, $500 may be a little high. As stated above, it ain't bad, especially if it's a nice one, but I've seen a couple Rusky SKS's priced down around $450 still sit around a good while, and I'm seeing clean,all-matching Chinese rifles lately down around $300, and also still sitting around.
Also, if the rifle is a "re-furb", it doesn't have the collector value a non-refurbished one has, and if the finish is the black "barbecue grill finish", rather than bluing, it's a refurb. Also,as mentioned above, a non-laminated stock is also a plus.
Though I kinda doubt it with a chromed bore, if there really is rust in the bore, I'd pass.
As capybara said, I'd try and find a clean,''triangle-26'' rifle for under $400. I saw one at a gunshow a few months ago that looked showroom new,asking $399, and my local classified sites have been crawling with them lately.
 
Good luck finding a decent Albanian SKS for $500. They are not common and are the most different of the variations. As far as I can tell only the Polish and E. German variants are harder to find -- the E German by at least an order of magnitude in the US.

Nothing wrong with a Yugo if you can live without the chromed barrel, they are usually the best bet for a shooter.
 
I don't believe the Russians put chrome lined barrels on their SKSs. If my memory serves me, only the Chinese had the (truly wonderful) inclination to do that.
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Dang you. You made me go and dig one out of the safe. 1951 Tula and for sure a chrome lined barrel. Just for giggles I checked my other ones ('54 Tula, 53 Ishvek, '53 Tula) and all have CL barrels.
 
All sks barrels, except those manufactured in Yugoslavia, have chrome-plated bores.
At OP more info regarding the stock...all Russian military butt stocks have the serial number stamped in a line, vertically centered on left side. If they match the receivers serial numbers, they are original to the carbine. Stocks cut from a single piece of beech, with a single stock bolt forward, were used on original production Soviet SKS carbines. Laminated stocks, with a second reinforcing bolt behind the trigger, were used on all SKS carbines requiring stock replacement or refurbishment. From the book "The SKS Carbine" by Steve kehaya and joe poyer.
i was fortunate to pick up a Russian Tula all original all matching, and to my surprise matching serial number on gas tube and piston. Curious anybody who own Russian SKS have this matching also?
image_zps8guv3ch2.jpg
 
I can't believe the prices for SKS"s today. Yugo's for $90.00 to $110.00. Those prices are history, never to return.
 
You are not seeing SKS's coming into the U.S. anymore, hence the rising prices. I have two Russian Tulas I bot in the early 90's for around $100 each. They are true military surplus rifles, and as others have said have chrome lined barrels. They are good shooters, and a nice, robust rifle.
 
I still have my first centerfire rifle bought 20 yrs ago from a Pawnshop in Abilene. A 1950 dated SKS with chrome bolt. So much memory going back to those days....
 
$500 is average for a Russian SKS. Many people feel they are one of the best SKS, but really, any SKS in good condition (matching numbers, good stock, chrome bore) is a good shooter.

I've owned multiple chinese SKS, and a couple of Yugo's. They all shot just fine. SKS rifles are very robust and well-made firearms. I suggest finding one in the $300-400 range instead.
 
nathan said:
I still have my first centerfire rifle bought 20 yrs ago from a Pawnshop in Abilene. A 1950 dated SKS with chrome bolt. So much memory going back to those days....
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If it is a Russian SKS, the bolt is not chrome, but steel in the white.
 
I pain $150 in 1/5/1997 for a Tula SKS
This is 19 years later
I expect Gold, guns, and guitars to appreciate at 3% compounded.
The 19th root or $500/$150 looks like 6.5%

I would have calculated $263 @3%.
There must be some scarcity - collectibility going on with Russian SKSs.

Are you willing to pay extra for collectability? or just after a shooter?
 
Was also thinking back to that Yugo SKS I shot last Sunday. Two things:

1. It was heavy. Like really heavy. Didn't have a scale but man, it weighed a lot more than my Russian and Chinese. It had the grenade launcher on the barrel, I know that adds at least probably an extra half a pound.

2. It had a weird shoulder pad. Like a rubber sporting shoulder pad but it had the cleaning kit cutout and looked like the metal one on my Russian but it added about an inch to the LOP and it was weird to see a military rifle of the era with a fairly substantial rubber butt pad.

Shot nice, almost no recoil.
 
Yeah I have a couple of those Yugo SKS's pretty much as described above. Paid about $85.00 each in around 2007. They function fine and the accuracy is what I would expect from a well used surplus rifle shooting 7.62X39. I like the blade bayonet rather than the spike but that's just my taste.:p
 
I don't know anything about the SKS, but would like to try one. Was reading this advertisement this am. Can I get some feedback as to whether this looks like a reasonable deal? They claim that these are top quality.....
https://www.classicfirearms.com/yugo...eid=34b642c658
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Honestly, that's not that great of a deal. It's not a ripoff, but you can probably find better.

At least where I'm at, the going rate for an SKS in like new condition is $400. After an FFL transfer fee and shipping, you're going to be paying probably $450 for that gun online. And I don't really like the Yugo rifles. The grenade launcher adds weight to an already heavy rifle, and puts it right at the end of the barrel where it's going to bother you the most. It's not worth paying a premium for that.

I'd check your local classifieds and gun shows and see what you could find there. If you just want a shooter, beater Norincos and Yugos can be found for $300 if you keep your eyes open.
 
Also, the Yugos seemed to have an adjustable gas block, precisely for launching grenades, that sometimes gives new owners FTF/FTE issues. Just something to be aware of, you may have to tweak and experiment with that. They are SOLID. I like all of the SKS variants, they all seem to have their own personalities. This is my Bubba'd '54 Tula, it was sanded down and varnished, which knocked $200.00 off of the collector value but it's a great shooter. It is a refurb because of the black BBQ paint finish on the receiver and bolt cover. Great shooter. They do not have very good triggers compared to my other milsurps IMHO but they are fun.

To me, by far the best lookers are the red finished Russians in mint condition, they are truly beautiful rifles. The Chinese ones, not so much but the Chinese are great shooters. The Albanians are an interesting variant as well.

IMG_4114_zpsetbpwgk7.jpg
 
The Russian SKS are simply incomparable to the others. The quality in fit and finish is far beyond any other countries, except maybe East Germany.

I say get it. They don't make these any more, and SKSs have soared in price over the last few years. They are quickly on their way to becoming collectors items.
 
Capybara:
The first Yugo SKS series, the M59 (not /66), is much more scarce in the US than the Russians.
But the Russians command a much higher price. This seems to defy supply vs. demand.

The only problem I've experienced with the pair of nice M59s resulted after using Tula ammo in both.
Do Russian SKS suffer bad "popped primers" fairly often when using Tula ammo?

At SKSboards, Mr. Murray (on his forum) also has found that too little "free space" in the chamber seems to be a factor.
 
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