Sks mods?

[swampcrawler]

Iv tried both ARs and AK varriants and got bored with them for some reason (I'm more of a sporting rifle guy) so I'm thinking about trying to find a beat up SKS to piddle with. I don't want to get to crazy with it, I'm thinking maybe (if I can find a cheap base rifle) switch to a synthetic monte Carlo style stock or just keep the wood, no tacticool octo rail tri-folder kinda thing, have the trigger cleaned up, bed it, have crown cleaned up and put a low fixed power scope on a drill and tap side mount. Any thoughts on such a project?

Also I know there may be 922r fun to deal with so il have to look into that. No real specific goals in mind, just think a kind of different take on a "zombie" gun

 

[Shadow 7D]

Why?
a SKS is a very handy gun right as it it, buy some Tech or Mojo sights and be happy with what you have, if you want a magazine gun, buy a Norinco detachable magazine gun (C93, or D, or M) or get an AK.

you are dressing up a pig...
Triggers, look up gunboards or Surplus Rifle, one of their sponsors is a Gunsmith who specializes in SKS triggers, starts with a K(ivari??)

As for stock, well you do that, then you have to mod the rifle to the point where it's 922(r) compliant (less than 10 foreign parts)

 

[Edarnold]

Years back when the SKS was common and cheap, I wanted to fix up a very nice, all-milled Chinese gun. As is, it was light and well balanced, at least after the bayonet came off. I got the bug and put an ATI Monte Carlo stock on it. About a pound heavier, poor balance, and the stock fit so sloppy I had to shim it to keep the action from shifting. Maybe what they are making now is better, but it was a poor choice then. To compound the misery I tried a receiver cover scope mount, which also didn't fit. Gave up and sold the whole works, if I had kept the rifle stock and appreciated it for what it is I might still have it.

IMHO

 

[BBBBill]

...As for stock, well you do that, then you have to mod the rifle to the point where it's 922(r) compliant (less than 10 foreign parts) ...

You misunderstood what he was talking about. It's an SKS, not a thumbhole AK. A new stock will not make it noncompliant.

 

[DaveyMG]

I'm an SKS fan. I'm not one for all out bubbas, but I love a few tasteful mods. Cut the barrel down to 16.1", add a flash hider, a bigger bolt knob, and call 'er done.

This pic is my Norinco Paratrooper, and the bolt knob I added:



Not mine, but I absolutely LOVE the way his stock turned out!


That one got me looking for a new project SKS, but haven't found an affordable one yet.

 

[swampcrawler]

Thanks for the replies guys. shadow, as for why, the answer is simply because I want to see what happens.

DavyMG, I love that rifle! That's the feel I'm looking for. Just enough modification to be improvement rather than trying to turn it into an AR.

 

[DaveyMG]

I can make and install a bolt knob like that one for ya if you send me your bolt carrier. Requires machining the factory knob off, boring, and then silver soldering a stud in to accept the knob. If you send me your barrel I can also cut the length down. The details of that stock refinish is on sksboards.com, I think the guy started with a original laminated stock, sanded off the original finish and then used multiple different stains, wiping off at the right time. You could also get a cool look by sanding to bare wood/wood laminate and then lightly burning with a torch, and then clear sealing with polyurethane.

 

[DaveyMG]

Here's the thread on that cool multicolor stock.
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=112185.0

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Tapco Timbersmith SKS

I really like Tapco's Timbersmith wood laminate stock for the SKS.

 

[Clark]

15 years ago I did some SKS mods; trigger job, glass bed, longer butt, drill and tap receiver for scope mount, shoot single shot, remove grenade launcher, remove bayonet, handload small primer pocket brass with expensive bullets, etc.

But it is just like Garrands, FALs, and AKs.
I give up.
No dependable sub moa is going to come from those original military barrels.

Maybe someday I will put a premium bull barrel on an SKS in 6mmPPC, and it will shoot well, maybe, maybe not.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Um... you all need to read 922(r)
any mod to the SKS other than those considered to KEEP it within the import restriction OR C&R restrictions (why you can do sights) drops it SQUARELY in that morass of 10 or less parts...

 

[Riven_Cole]

Um... you all need to read 922(r)
any mod to the SKS other than those considered to KEEP it within the import restriction OR C&R restrictions (why you can do sights) drops it SQUARELY in that morass of 10 or less parts...

i think what bbbbill is saying (feel free to correct me bbbbill) is that only replacing the stock will not make it meet that required part limit

crap misread the posts in question. shadow 7d you are correct. bbbbill a stock is a 922r regulated part he will have to mod enough regulated parts to keep it under the legal max foreign parts allowed

 

[Riven_Cole]

info

here is a good way to see if an sks is legal:
http://gunwiki.net/Gunwiki/BuildSKSVerifyCompliance

uncheck parts that are being replaced to determine compliance

 

[Shadow 7D]

I think bbbbill has a 'passing knowledge'
what he may refer to is that many lots of SKS's are imported as C&R, which allows them past the 'sporting clause', and has the 'evil' feature intact...

BUT remove it from 'C&R' by modding it 'outside of traditional...'(actually it's such a morass that there is but one way, tell ATF Tech branch what you want to do...) except for certain things, and you now have a rifle that must comply with 922(r)

and changing a stock is definitely, for a SKS, a non C&R mod.
a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, don't believe that, go look up what 922(r) can cost you.

 

[Riven_Cole]

hey shadow, i agree with you which is why i corrected/edited my previous posts.
the link i included shows what parts are regulated and explains a few discrepancies (which of the sks disconnects count as a regulated part, and why both should be replaced if you go that route). generally you should be ok doing simple stock/magazine mods provided you have a compliant gun. i believe adding something like a tech sight or scope doesnt remove status unless it modifies a regulated part, though i may be wrong. like you said when in doubt ask

 

[Clark]

I am not aware of any individual that has been prosecuted for 922r.

There is a big difference between felony to manufacture and felony to possess.

Wander around in a gun show and see all the 922r violations.

But you never see any 1934 NFA violations, do you?