SKS Barrel Project

[Winter Borne]

I am thinking of shortening the barrel of one of my Chinese SKS's to 14", threaded with a soldered break to be legal.

Any thoughts, concerns, tips, or warnings?

Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom.

PS, feel free to tell me I'm nuts too if you think it a waste of time...

mk

 

[Mossberg88]

out of curiosity, why are you doing this? i have a Yugo and love the barrell length for two main reasons, the accuracy (obvi) and the noise suppresion..compared to my Wasr-10 that thing is like a mouse!

 

[chevyforlife21]

whats the point in that? why not just cut it down to 16 and dont weld a muzzle brake on

 

[Winter Borne]

Mossberg,

I have never liked how long the gun seemed to me. Again, this is just my opinion here, but I don't consider this a battle rifle like my Garand, or FAL as the round is too limiting, and more of a mid range fun shooter. The SKS I have was converted in China to accept standard AK mags, and I just thought it might be better suited to a shorter barrel.

Chevy,

The barrel has no muzzle device at all. My thoughts were to get it as short as legally possible without the ATF paperwork, threading the barrel, and using a standard AR flash hider. The solder / weld is to make it permanent ala the CAR.

mk

 

[chevyforlife21]

winter,

have you ever seen a sks paratrooper model with 16 inch barrel from the factory? they dont have any muzzle device on it. you also might consider buying one and selling your current sks

 

[D Boone]

Do you have the type with the folding spike or was it removed?

 

[Winter Borne]

D Boone, I have the original folding spike on mine, but I removed it last year. I have seen the Para SKS, and could go either way on the flash hider.

What really got me thinking about this is the Bull Pup stock kits they have for the gun, but how silly they looked with the long barrels. I have a few SBR's and could go that way with a Form 1 too.

Like I said, I rarely if ever shoot this gun as I have "funner" AR's, AK's and was just thinkin of ways to make it more interesting to me.

mk

 

[RIATAC45]

Winter, I have a Chinese sks with the barrel cut at ~16" from the bolt face, I would be happy to trade ya.

 

[Autopistola]

Sounds like a cool project to me. I say go for it...what kind of muzzle device do you intend to use?

 

[Shear_stress]

The SKS I have was converted in China to accept standard AK mags, and I just thought it might be better suited to a shorter barrel.

D Boone, I have the original folding spike on mine, but I removed it last year.

What you have is an SKS-D, a fairly rare and desirable SKS variation. Believe it or not, these have a strong collector following and go for considerably more than a run of the mill SKS or SKS-M. If I were you, I would reinstall the bayonet, abandon any plans of shortening the barrel, and sell it for a good chunk of change to someone on SKS Boards. You could then use the proceeds to buy a short barreled SKS and have plenty of dough left over. More information is available through the following link:

http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php

Edited to add: I know that it's bizarre for some folks that the words "rare" and "desirable" should inhabit the same sentance as "Chinese SKS", but welcome to the future.

 

[GrandmasterB]

What really got me thinking about this is the Bull Pup stock kits they have for the gun, but how silly they looked with the long barrels.

You and I think alike my friend! I have been contemplating these bullpup kits too. I mean, if you have an SKS that takes AK mags, and the barrel is 16", then where else in all creation are you going to find that short of a milled bullpup rifle in 7.62x39 caliber, short piston driven and that accepts 30 and 40rd mags for less than $600 total? (cost of SKS M approx $450 and bullpup kit $130).

The only thing even close is the MSAR STG E4 rifle in 7.62x39, but I haven't seen one yet and then you are locked in to using those Cproducts mags instead of a good 'ole AK mag, and at a price of approx $1400

So I recently picked up a 16" barrel SKS M paratrooper and will be doing the bullpup thing with it. I know the SKS purists will scream, but nothing in the process is permanent. The whole rifle can be returned to stock config, so what have I got to lose?

 

[X-Rap]

Who makes this bullpup stock?

 

[Winter Borne]

"What you have is an SKS-D, a fairly rare and desirable SKS variation" Shear Stress;

Thanks, I had no idea. I got this in NY in 1992 because it was all I coud afford at the time. This was my "go-to" gun for years as I finished school. I have long ago moved on to ARs, AKs, Thompsons, and such and the gun just sits there looking sad for lack of use. I will have to check into the different SKS types.

Thanks again for the info.

mk

 

[Autopistola]

Since you have the "D" model, don't sell it! 16" is a good size.

No word yet if SGworks is going to follow through on their bullpup design (the only one under $200 on the market).

 

[Harold Krisna]

X-RAP, here's a bullpup ,i just found out about them,seems some questions about delays of when they were to be available,mid Jan. i see the site says. i plan on getting one as soon as they are out and a few reveiws are out there on them. Why would anyone want a bullpup? I do,just to have something differnet. Made many a friend a the range when someone asked"what is that",lol!
http://sgworks.com/

 

[navyretired 1]

All the China SKS's are getting valuable they stopped importing them in the eighties. Since then they've come from every where else but china. The model you've got is the rarest as they didn't import many. I beleave that the SKS can be the new 94 winchester truck gun. the ballistics are nearly identical and it's cheap, ammo is cheap, and they are very dependable.

 

[Badlander]

It's gas operated. You cut it to short you will have A bolt action SKS. you may have to open the gass port even at 16". I know you have to on an FAL.

 

[danprkr]

I think I've got one of the SKS-D just without the AK mag capabilities. How can I tell?

 

[greenlion]

There are these things called pistols.......very short.....you might like them.

Seriously though, I've always wondered what people who chop 2-4 inches off a long gun hope to accomplish. What would it do then that it won't do now? If you are working in very tight quarters, you probably need something with a short barrel and a collapsable stock like an M4. I would bet that chopping an SKS would get you a rifle that was still too long and now unreliable becasue of the gas system. I would hesitate to do it to one of mine even if I wasn't thrilled with it.