I dont remember how many SKS's I've owned. Maybe 4 or 5. I sold the first one, a real nice Polytech when Turners Outdoors had them cheap, asking myself; "Why do I need this rifle?"
The Poly was 129 or so. Later, pinned barrel SKS's appeared from China at 79 dollars. The single most accurate SKS I ever owned was this cheap pinned barrel. No one wanted pinned barrels. The 'threaded' barrels were seen as stiffer and more accurate. The pinned barrel SKS was also considerably lighter. I wish I still had it. You could walk a ways in the Mojave carrying one and not be fatigued.
The Poly went to a janitor at San Bernardino County hospital. Hey- Janitors need arms in San Berdoo. After that, I got another Poly, sold it, got a Norinco, sold it. Then I got one from Coburns Discount guns in Fontana. Lot's of ex steel mill heavily armed people in Fontana... I was so green I peered down the barrel and saw a pit. What the hell is that?
I'd cleaned all the cosmoline off. The carbine looked good. When I brought the rifle back to the shop the head clerk also did not know what that 'pit' was.... it was the gas port! God, dumb things I had to take the long way around.
The clerk said it was the cleanest looking SKS he'd ever seen; how did I get that cosmoline off? I worked at it. It was a real labor of love and the windex knowledge not yet prevalent. I miss those cosmoline days.
Each SKS I sold, and each I regretted selling. I even had the original type 56 from China- the AK mag version.
After all, where else could you find a semi auto carbine, bullet proof, field accurate, suitable for civil unrest and deer hunting? It was too cheap not to own. But those days passed. SKS's climbed upwards in price, and I lost affection for a hundred dollar carbine going for over 2oo.
Then one day a friend of mine had a Russian SKS to sell. Cheap. The Russian's were supposed to be the cat's pajamas, but to me, an SKS, like its cousin the AK, should be down dirty and cheap. "Collector" SKS's were a contradiction in terms. But the world didnt' think so. They were hot on the market.
So now, after several years absence, an SKS will return to my home. I must admit I'll be glad to see my old friend. And it's a Russian. Why, pure aristocracy.
I've not yet reloaded for the Soviet Short. I'm kinda hoping I never have to, but ammo just keeps getting more expensive, so even that fond belief may not stand. I'll sure miss those wooden cases...
What's the world coming to when you can't own a military carbine for under a hundred bucks with all the ammo you can put through it, a case for a hundred as well? Modern life, I'm told...
I'll get some picts posted when the carbine gets here.
munk
The Poly was 129 or so. Later, pinned barrel SKS's appeared from China at 79 dollars. The single most accurate SKS I ever owned was this cheap pinned barrel. No one wanted pinned barrels. The 'threaded' barrels were seen as stiffer and more accurate. The pinned barrel SKS was also considerably lighter. I wish I still had it. You could walk a ways in the Mojave carrying one and not be fatigued.
The Poly went to a janitor at San Bernardino County hospital. Hey- Janitors need arms in San Berdoo. After that, I got another Poly, sold it, got a Norinco, sold it. Then I got one from Coburns Discount guns in Fontana. Lot's of ex steel mill heavily armed people in Fontana... I was so green I peered down the barrel and saw a pit. What the hell is that?
I'd cleaned all the cosmoline off. The carbine looked good. When I brought the rifle back to the shop the head clerk also did not know what that 'pit' was.... it was the gas port! God, dumb things I had to take the long way around.
The clerk said it was the cleanest looking SKS he'd ever seen; how did I get that cosmoline off? I worked at it. It was a real labor of love and the windex knowledge not yet prevalent. I miss those cosmoline days.
Each SKS I sold, and each I regretted selling. I even had the original type 56 from China- the AK mag version.
After all, where else could you find a semi auto carbine, bullet proof, field accurate, suitable for civil unrest and deer hunting? It was too cheap not to own. But those days passed. SKS's climbed upwards in price, and I lost affection for a hundred dollar carbine going for over 2oo.
Then one day a friend of mine had a Russian SKS to sell. Cheap. The Russian's were supposed to be the cat's pajamas, but to me, an SKS, like its cousin the AK, should be down dirty and cheap. "Collector" SKS's were a contradiction in terms. But the world didnt' think so. They were hot on the market.
So now, after several years absence, an SKS will return to my home. I must admit I'll be glad to see my old friend. And it's a Russian. Why, pure aristocracy.
I've not yet reloaded for the Soviet Short. I'm kinda hoping I never have to, but ammo just keeps getting more expensive, so even that fond belief may not stand. I'll sure miss those wooden cases...
What's the world coming to when you can't own a military carbine for under a hundred bucks with all the ammo you can put through it, a case for a hundred as well? Modern life, I'm told...
I'll get some picts posted when the carbine gets here.
munk
