Yugo SKS ?s

[Langenator]

Snooping around, Yugo SKS's seem to be about the cheapest evil rifles on the market. (I know, they don't use detachable magazines, but they've got the bayonet and the grenade launcher, and they're semi-auto. Close enough).

Are they any good-mechanically reliable, accurate, etc?

What's the usual price range?

Thanks

 

[Bill Hook]

AIM Surplus and the d-ckheads at InterOrdnance both sell "like new" for $109. AIM's are supposed to be $159, but if you ask them to match, they will. AIM's are "real" Yugos, while I/O's were parts guns, recently assembled.

Both should shoot fine and be reliable. Neither will be real accurate, but good ammo and a trigger job could bring you to 2 MOA groups.

Don't pay more than $200 from a local dealer.

 

[albanian]

Aim has nice ones with tons of acessories for $89.95 shipped if you have a C&R FFL. That is about the cheapest I have seen and they are not in bad shape either.

Retail prices seem to be between $130-$250 depending on condition. They are fine guns that will never make you regret paying a little bit more for them. $200 is high considering the market for a used one but they are certainly worth $200 when you consider the quality. They are some of the nicest SKSs made. Better than any Chinese, Romanian or Albanian I have seen. I have seen some nice Russian SKSs that I might consider a better gun only because they have the crome lined bbl whereas the Yugo only has the chrome chamber.

Here is my take on the quality of SKSs, first consider that many will vary depending on when they were made or other factors. In as broad a stroke as possible:
1. Russian
2. Yugo
3. Albanian (if you get an early one, I have heard horror stories about some).
4. Romanian
5. Chinese

Some people will argue and they may be right but I am only juding from what I have seen. I have heard of really nice Chinese SKSs but all the ones I have seen were pretty cheap looking. I am not judging based on reliabilty or accuracy because I have not shot all of them, I am judging based on what I could tell from holding and inspecting. I do have 3 Yugos and 2 Albanians.

The Yugos are not inaccurate, I would not underestimate them. They can be good prefromers if you are talking about plinking and hunting at no longer than 100m. Past that and the sights and trigger make it hard to hit with. They are not bench rest guns but 95% of shooters would not know where the extra 1-2 MOA went if they were shooting offhand anyway. Very few riflemen can get MOA groups from the standing position. VERY, VERY few would be able to tell the difference between a 1 MOA rifle and a 2 MOA rifle from a standing position.

Given a solid scope mount and nice scope, most people would shoot a Yugo SKS better than sub MOA Rem 700 with Yugo sights.

 

[mylesd]

I got an sks recently from AIM I think ( its either AIM or I/O). I paid something like 169 for it. Im really happy. Its been pretty accurate for me and I use the crappy wolf ammo. It wasnt the cleanest rifle I have ever seen, I sanded down the stock and refinished it myself. The bolt and such were ok, they had some rust on them but I cleaned it off with some WD-40. The bore was in great condition for an old rifle. There was a ton of cosmoline on it and in it, I completely stripped it and got it all off (BTW, Zippo/Ronsonal lighter fluid worked really well for me to get it off). Another tip is to take apart the firing pin block cause there WILL be cosmoline in there too which for me was causing light-strikes. Once I spent a few hours cleaning it up and whatnot it looked like a different rifle. I then took it to the range and was nailing a metal target at 100 yards with no problems. You might need to adjust the sights on it but thats easy.

Overall, it's a little bit of work but well worth it I think. Cheap, reliable, ammo is cheap, and parts are quite abundant. I was so happy with it that I bought another one from I/O, one of the assembled new ones. I'd recommend one to you.

 

[roscoe]

Have had good luck with a Norinco. Was pretty good looking, but mainly it was more accurate than I had reason to expect.

 

[Tropical Z]

Id like to know more about these supposed "parts" guns Interordnance is selling.Cant imagine why they'd need to do that when Yugos are everywhere.

 

[mylesd]

Scratch that, I got mine from Centerfire Systems Inc.... my mistake... all those companies sound the same to me.

 

[Bill Hook]

Tropical Z,

Check around at survivor's, gunsnet, parallax. You'll see that the parts aren't serial numbered (should be seven stamps) and those parts that do are mismatched. I/O guns only have a receiver number and a stock number. The guns sometimes have metal shavings and sawdust in them, leading one to believe they were never issued, as these would've been cleaned out for those destined to be used. They probably did it b/c it was cheaper and/or they missed out on buying all the arsenal made guns and found guys who'd assemble from spare parts cheaply.

 

[railroader]

I have 2 of the I/O ones coming to the house on thursday so I will post on the quality. I also have a century arms yugo with a muzzle break on it and a 16" barrel chinese paratrooper model. These are fun guns, reliable and inexpensive to shoot. Mark

 

[foghornl]

I'm not famillair with the various SKS rifles, so would someone enlighten me a bit?

My local Dunhams Sporting Goods has the Yugo Model 59/66 for $139. Is this the Yugo variant of the SKS? are those [generally] decent shooters?

TIA

 

[No4Mk1]

foghornl,

That is the Yugo SKS variant. They are solid, well built, and great shooters. That is a very reasonable price (retail) and I would say go for it! The only complaint some have on the Yugo's is that they don't have chrome lined bores, but as long as you shoot non-corrosive ammo this should never be an issue for you. Otherwise the quality of the Yugos is outstanding. They are cheap to buy, cheap to shoot, and lots of fun.

Get one!

No4

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

I/O parts guns???? HUH???? WHAT????


My 2 unissued I/O Yugo's are absolutely perfect---all matching numbers---original----NOT laser engraved.

 

[MicroBalrog]

Look up Withergyld on THR, he's the expert on Yugos. He has more of 'em than Tamara has 1911 (if you can imagine that.... )

 

[Langenator]

Now I'm really torn...should I buy a His and Hers set of Yugo SKSs for myself and the missus...or should I save the dough for a CMP M1...evil weapons vs classics...how will I ever decide?

 

[jame]

I just recieved my I/O yougos. I bought 5 of 'em for $99/each, and they're damned near perfect. There are a few re-arsenaled parts built onto a new barrelled reciever and stock, or at least that's how mine look. No cosmoline, but all oiled up, like a new gun would be. My numbers are matching, and these things are PRISTINE. I may even order more!

 

[DMK]

Now I'm really torn...should I buy a His and Hers set of Yugo SKSs for myself and the missus...or should I save the dough for a CMP M1...evil weapons vs classics...how will I ever decide?

That is a tough choice. I've have both. The Service Grade M1 I got was only slightly more accurate than the two pristine Yugos I have but the Yugos are much prettier and you'll have two good rifles instead of one. OTOH, the Garand is just oozing with proud U.S. service history. 7.62x39 is much cheaper than 30.06 though so you can afford to shot the SKS a lot. 30.06 is a lot more powerfull and has better range. Reliability is a wash, they are both built like tanks. I don't think you can go wrong either way, it's all about what you want from your rifle. You'll probably end up with both eventually anyway. You may want to get the SKS for the missus now and then she'll be more forgiving when that CMP Garand arrives at the doorstep.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Does anyone have pics or experience taking the gernade launcher and/or bayonet off their Yugo? It seems like a lot of extra metal to lug around, and I think it would look better, but I haven't seen one without both.