Whats the point of owning an SKS?

[trickyasafox]

i kinda think the history of the rifle is neat.

and they shoulder better for me than an AK though both are pretty short.

not saying i don't want an ak as well, just in my mind they serve different purposes.

 

[aguyindallas]

I am not sure there is a "point" to most of the guns we own, but we do for one simple fact:

BECAUSE WE CAN

 

[another person]

I would be much happier with my sks if it was a paratrooper model. I o kinda like the fact that they are so cheap you dont have to worry about dinging them. When I got it I was trying to disassemble it and i didnt know that I had to pull the takedown lever to the right, I thought you just had to move the lever up. I ended up scratching the blue with a screwdriver and I was all pissed off. then I realized it was an SKS. Oh well!

 

[Borachon]

An SKS is made by tiny magical elves.

An AK is made by drunken fat Russian women.

 

[Jackal]

One word sums it up. Fun

 

[carterbeauford]

Exposure, beautiful Simonov, a 20 round fixed mag would really finish it off.

I say that because mine is almost identical, if tastefully modified SKS pics are what you guys seek, then it's time for a photoshoot.

 

[CornCod]

The government is always threatening to take away our AK's. Buy both an SKS and an AK, but shoot the SKS more often to save wear and tear on the more expensive rifle.

At least that was my rationalization..... A burglar got my AK two weeks ago, so I am looking for a new one.

 

[another person]

Damn that sucks. Did he take any other guns?

 

[Green Lantern]

I've never owned or even shot an AR for comparison, but I have no regrets on buying my unissued-grade Yugo SKS, for reasons others have doubtless mentioned as well as maybe some others:

-Learning experience. It was my first "real" rifle, and since it was cosmo'd-up...there's no choice but to break it down totally and clean it before you can fire it the first time...and with that comes another lesson:

-You get what you pay for, except when you get more. I was reminded of a fellow member's quote about wikipedia. Well, when I got the rifle I also bought a translation of an early Russian manual. Good read, very interesting...

But for what I really bought it for (breakdown/reasssembly instructuons) - surplusrifle.com was FAR more helpful!

-History. I've never been one for "antique-ing." But just holding the stuff that came with my old Commie battle rifle sent a bit of a chill down my spine. I don't think I've ever held "history" in my hands before. Even though MY SKS had not seen any battle action, I thought about the others like it that had. The pouches, how a soldier's life would depend on the sixty rounds of ammo in the stripper clips. The oiler (it actually had oil IN it), cleaning kit, and what I guess was an early version of the "bore-snake" - I held them and thought of soldiers out in the field, probably in ungodly conditions, using them to keep the weapon in the best shape possible...or at least to where it would go "boom" when they needed it to!

-Price. Low cost + High quality = VALUE!

I've kept mine totally stock, even use the original sling. Apparently from what I know about "assault" weapons laws (funny they apply to a gun that was NEVER designed to be full-auto OR hold more than 10 rounds!) this is the safest thing to do anyway?

I'm happy enough with the stripper clip setup, which is good since I hear more bad things than good about removable/high-cap mags for the SKS...

Again I don't know how it stacks up to the AR, but the SKS is pretty simple if even I could strip one without any help (well, short of an excellent internet tutorial)....

 

[Arcticfox]

If you're sitting in someone else's tree stand with an SKS, people won't ask you to leave.

Ohhhh, that's AWEFUL!!!!!!!!!

 

[Arcticfox]

GrimJaw

What a great pic!!! What an Arsenal! Which one is your fav?

 

[byf43]

Bought an SKS and a MAK 90. $159 each. The SKS was Russian mfg.

A friend caught the 'bug' bad after I bought these. He HAD to have the MAK 90.
He kept going up on his offers. . . . $200. . . $300. . . $350. . .$400. . .$450. Heck, I HAD to sell it to him for the $450!!!

I don't regret it for one minute.

Some buddies bought the Chinese SKS with screw-in barrels for $76 right after they hit the country. One guy bought 5 of 'em.

 

[dm1333]

Armed Bear, tell us how you really feel!

we buy whatever "evil" rifles that are still legal and that we can afford, just to thumb our noses at Bill Lockyer, one of the worst human beings ever to walk the earth, as well as our Attorney General. I've bought a few things for that reason alone.

I owned an SKS that was cheap and a pretty nice shooter and have shot several pimped out guns that were really nice. I'd rather own an SKS than an AK because I think AKs are ugly.

 

[DF357]

My 1967 paratrooper

It has no import marks and a spike bayonet.

I like to shoot it much more than my Romanian SAR-1.

 

[BGlaze250]

What's the point? You can use the bayonet as a letter opener. Sure, it's hard, and the SKS makes for an unwieldly letter opener, but it can be done. Try to do that with an AK-47.

 

[mrmeval]

It is gun. It go bang. It better than stick.

My first SKS, the new made chinese one from the 90s was far superior to my MAC90 and most AKs at the time in accuracy. It also had zero muzzle blast which was nice. Both the AK and SKS are very reliable though I suspect the trigger group on the AK will outlast an SKS.

I like both guns but I also like the AR-15, Mausers, Enfields etc each has a purpose it is made for and all of them have the primary purpose of pissing off gun banners.

Oh, I do have my klinton arsenal, do you?

 

[tubeshooter]

Well, I don't have a "point" for you, I'm just glad I have my all-matching Romanian. I'm also glad I kept it stock, I was going to get an aftermarket stock for it but I'm glad I preserved the original configuration now.

It seems like a really good value, and like somebody said the history behind it makes it a bit more interesting. You can easily get higher capacity guns, but 10 reliable rounds is fine for me in a defensive or truck/ranch-type role. I doubt I could do much better if I tried for the $140 I paid. Besides plinking, that's about all I would need it to do and it seems well-suited for that. It's just a modest, inexpensive platform for 7.62 x 39, and some people prefer it over an AK believe it or not (either is fine with me, I'm not here to convince anybody).


Like somebody else said, get that AK if you want and help drive prices down; I'd gladly get another SKS or 2 if I ran into them and they weren't overpriced. I kinda need a "beater" to shoot, because my Romy is actually a pretty nice specimen that I'm not afraid to shoot but kinda hate to abuse.