Why is it that I hear that an SKS is a good gun but they are so cheap and unmentioned

[MyRoad]

One thing to look out for is the condition -- there is a HUGE range. I have two; one is really clean and tight and shoots nice consistent 2" groups @50 yards from a bench with standard russian ammo. The other sprays 6" groups @50 yards, just plain worn out I'd say. It does still cycle flawlessly though, so that says something for them, but a gun with that kind of pattern is useless in my book.

As far as scope mounts go, I had a Choate mount put on one, it was awesome. Needs to be drilled and tapped, and its a little high for some folks, but it worked for me. Its a nice set up that allows use of either the scope or the irons. I had a simple 4x on there, made for a great handy rifle.

 

[Rshooter]

I have mostly target grade weapons. A year ago I bought my first SKS. It is not a tack driver and not for suppression fire. It is a fun weapon to shoot and easy to maintain. The price is an upside. It was not long before I owned two.

 

[RP88]

maybe it's just me, but I find SKS's to be pretty guns. Very sleek, and if you get a Russian one with nice wood...:

 

[Golden_006]

My guess is they're in the AK 47s shadow. The consensus being . . . If you're going the commie gun route you might as well go with one of those (AK). Otherwise best get something from the war that was American and on the winning side or what not (exaggerating but only partly). Plus that they're ugly as sin and cheap as dirt. It's like getting exceited over an old Honda Civic. Sure they get you where you want to go but . . .

I have a Romainian one . . . the thing feels like it's built like a brick ****house. For only $200 I can't imagine being disappointed by one.

 

[WaMason]

Rangerruck you dont need to carry around the boomerangs, just use the stripper clips

Dad has one, in addition to a hundred other rifles, I never had any issues with an sks, In fact I dont know of anything else that fills that same price niche, $200 for a solid mid caliber rifle...

The next jump up and you are looking at around 400-600 for a used ranch rifle, or 600 for a cetme.

For my personal collection, I am looking for something to fit the profile of a semi-auto rifle with a caliber greater then .22 rimfire, for under a thousand bucks. At the moment Im liking the CETME, and the SU 16.

 

[greenlion]

The SKS is a great little rifle, if you look at it in the context for which it was made. It is rugged, reliable, simple to operate, simple to maintain and work on / repair. It loads easily via stripper clip, hold ten rounds, and fires an effective cartridge.

I believe it is best left in its original configuration with the original stock. It does not balance well otherwise, and I've seen too many working rifles become unreliable junk with the addition of removable magazines, synthetic stocks, etc. It is NOT the ideal rifle to add a scope to, or more advanced electronic optics.

It will never be as fast to reload as an AR15. It will not be as accurate as a good AR15, although most SKS's will outshoot an AK-47 any day.

The Yugo versions are heavier, the grenade launcher version being the worst, as it is VERY nose heavy, and they lack chrome bores. I like the M59 Yugo fairly well, although it is generally a little heavier than the Chinese and Russian, and they are harder to find. The Russian is excellent, but I hesitate to beat around on those since they are more valuable. I like the balance, weight, and newer manufacture date of the Chinese best. Yes some were better than others, but as a general rule, I'd take the Chinese if I were going to actually pack it and use it.

Back when they were going for as low as $70-80 dollars for Russian and Chinese, they were a fantastic value for the money. You couldn't get a 22 for that amount of cash. At the $400.00 they have been showing up for lately, there are some other contenders. I still hear about people lucking into good ones for around 200-250, and at that price, they are unmatched in the semi auto world.

 

[nathan]

Yugo SKS are great range guns. HEavy stock makes for a stable platform.

 

[jdh]

SKS was a great gun when it cost $69.95.
At $250 (the current going price in these parts) it is a giant POS.

 

[rust collector]

I put a red dot on my Norinco, (<$30)and the thing is a ton of fun. It's solidly made. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Works every time, strippers make for quick loading without the bulk or expense of a bunch of mags. Butt extender and jungle stock are the only other mods.

From the deep boom and lack of recoil to the simple safety and small person-friendly ergos, my SKS is just a hoot. Doesn't matter to me if there are a few tooling marks. Just like the other milsurps in the closet, this was the real deal. It was made for shooting. The proof is in the smiles on my friends who don't shoot very often.

I missed out on the $25 through the mail M-1 carbines, so this is the next best thing. No folded sheet metal in my early model. Now if I could just find a use for the blade.

 

[Ignition Override]

jdh:
How long ago were SKS prices about $70?

Being a very late-bloomer with guns, just trying to figure out inflation and supply/demand.
The ergonomics of my rifle seems a good bit better than those of an "AK clone", and less net recoil.

To paraphrase "rust collector", they were born to shoot.

 

[nathan]

2004 the Yugos were selling like hotcakes at $100 a pop. I got two of those new in the box . SOld the other one. I wish I kept it .

 

[jdh]

My son's first deer hunt was in 92 or 93. At the October gun show I bought him an Norinco SKS, Scope and mount, and 100 rounds of mixed ball and soft point ammo and it was about $100 OTD for all of it.

BTW, He did harvest a small 10 point with the combo.

 

[greenlion]

"SKS was a great gun when it cost $69.95.
At $250 (the current going price in these parts) it is a giant POS."

A giant POS compared to what exactly jdh? What other weapon in the 200-250 dollar price range is more reliable/accurate/serviceable? Have you ever actually owned a good copy of one? There may be a few beaters out there that are crap by now, but an SKS in good condition is still by far the best deal you can hope for in that price range. You can pay three times as much for a used mini-30, and what do you get? Same accuracy, same cartridge, same reliablility. The only difference being removable mags. If you are expecting the SKS to be a modern, modular, target grade AR, then you may be disappointed. If you live in the real world, its a great gun at a price that still beats any competition.

 

[Bentonville]

How could a true gun afficianado call the SKS bad? True, the trigger in it's original condition is gritty but I had Kivaari, from the SKS Survival Forum, work on mine for a small price and the trigger is now amazing. Mine is a Yugoslavian Model 56, no grenade launcher.
I will suggest that the firing pin channel should be cleaned in order to prevent the fp from sticking out and causing a slam fire. No different than with a European-made AK, I blieve. Most don't have a spring loaded fp. On the SKS forum, a fellow named Murray can be found to supply a fp with spring to fit the sks bolt. I haven't needed it because I enjoy cleaning. This gun combined with Barnaul ammuniton is just fine for whatever tasks required of it. I found Wolf to be much dirtier and also has brittle casings with crack from the shoulder to the middle of the shell. YMMV.

 

[jdh]

When I was buying them for the lower prices they were in overall better condition. The bluing was there, the stocks were not beat to crap, carved on, or oil soaked and the barrels were bright with good rifleing. The ones coming lately are bare metal with pits under the wood, the stocks are mismatched wood, have repaired cracks, dents, gouges, or carvings, and the barrels look like they have never seen a brush or oiled patch. The one I got earlier this year would not shoot to the paper at 25 yards. Come to find out the barrel was bent. It got disassembled and sold for parts at a loss.

The first couple Yugos I got were beautiful examples. As were the earlier Norincos with the screwed in barrels.

I can pick up used a Marlin at a pawn shop for $250 that is reliable, accurate, serviceable, shoots a cartridge that is similar in power and performance (perhaps even a bit better) and far easier to scope if desired.

No, I won't be disposing of any more SKSs but I won't be buying any more of the current imports unless they find some good ones to import.

 

[greenlion]

Oh. I agree with you there. Most of the final runs of imports have been pretty poor. Corroded gas valves, poor overall condition, corroded bores. I still see an excellent condition Norinco for sale by a private owner at about every other gun show for between 250 and 300. I still think that price is fair for what you are getting. Of course, I also think a Mosin Nagant rifle for 80 dollars is still a pretty good deal as well, so I might be impartial. I really like older military rifles in general. I've never been convinced that the average joe like myself needs the newest socom/sniper/special forces/mega/modular/electronic/bionic/future-weapon to deal with a coyote that might tree his cat, which in all honesty is much more realistic than some of the scenarios that some of us dream up after watching "Shooter" or "Zombieland" on Netflix.

 

[inherentical]

SKS was a great gun when it cost $69.95.
At $250 (the current going price in these parts) it is a giant POS.

Absolute agreement here.

 

[dispatch55126]

I had a yugo but I sold it. It was too long to be a carbine and was heavy. That, and I didn't like the safety. Either the safety position or trigger slap but literally become a pain after awhile.

However, I'd jump on any other SKS in a heartbeat. It doesn't have a removable magazine but that also means there is one less part to deal with.

 

[[Pb]]

I think that if the SKS used readily available, detachable, 30-round magazines it would be a lot more popular.

It's too heavy and unwieldy for hunting, too inaccurate for target shooting, and doesn't hold enough rounds to appeal to the tacticool crowd.

I'm not trying to detract from this rifle, they seem pretty well made and solid and are fun to shoot. Just not my cup o tea.