SKS tips

kamagong

kamagong

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Jan 13, 2001
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I'm going to buy a Yugoslavian SKS this summer. Any tips for a first time mil-surp buyer? What should I look for? Where should I look? And how much should I expect to pay for a Yugo SKS? Also, how do you guys talk down dealers on price?
 
#1) Dont expect it to be clean. even if the dealer cleaned it, crap will continue to seep out of it for a year.

#2) SKS can be found at almost any gun shop ,pawn store, or gun show and a dozen internet retailers.

#3) for a Yugo, i wouldnt pay more than $175.

#4) you wont be able to talke them down in price.
 
SKS rifles are made to be loaded using 10 round stripper clips. They are a cheap, compact, and reliable alternative to detachable magazines, and they work very well. Buy yourself whatever you can afford, a dozen or two at least, and it won't hurt to get them before you get the rifle. Buy a copy of Shotgun News and read the ads to find them. An SKS stripper clip is a neat, no rattle way to carry 10 .38 Special or .357 Magnum rounds with you, too. You'll love your SKS. They're great little rifles.:thumbup:
 
Get as much cosmoline out of the gas system and off of any moving parts. If you dont that first shot and will cover you with grease.
 
It uses a floating firing pin. Don't assume somebody else did it, make sure you check/clean out any cosmoline and that the pin floats free. Otherwise you risk a slam fire. I use brake cleaner to dissolve cosmo, but there's other ways.

J&G has them in today's flyer (good) for $169, VG $199, exc-like new $229.


Mike
 
Yeah, I bought two nice Russians with the blade bayonet for $135.00 each. I think that was in '93 or '94.

--Mike L.
 
From what l've heard, stay away from Yugo SKS's with grenade launcher attachments. They have a gas switch on them meant to be used for using a blank charge to fire the grenade and they can be touchy.

Also l don't think the Yugo models have a chrome lined barrel.
 
The Yugos do not have chrome lined bores; why is a story in itself. There's no reason any more to shoot corrosive 7.62mm so it's not much of an issue.

I've seen everything from freshly rearsenalled to nonfunctional junkers with carved up stocks. Look beyond the exterior. Mine was actually the roughest-looking one on the rack but the bore was packed full of grease and the barrel looked...new? I suspected that it had received a new barrel before going into storage and I seem to have been correct. It shoots rather well not surprisingly.

I don't remember the URL but there is a pamphlet from the sixties floating around on the interweb somewhere that was aimed at selling Yugo SKS's to NATO military forces; some of the weapon's idiosyncracies (like the NATO-compatible grenade launcher, for example) make sense when this is considered. This intent to export may explain their uniformly high build quality. They are probably the best of the breed IMO.

Keep looking. There are still good ones out there.
 
I have been thinking long and hard about my next gun purchase. The initial excitement of possibly getting an AR has rubbed off now that I've done some more research on the subject. I really want an AR, but living here in CA my choices are limited. I can either get an AR with detachable magazines and a weird grip or a glorified breechloader with a non-detachable mag and pistol grip.

As much as I want to get an AR though, I do not know if it would be a very prudent decision. My preliminary research indicates that I need to spend at least $700 for a quality AR. For that sort of money I can get a Yugo SKS, Mossberg 590, and a Ruger 10/22 to practice my marksmanship. Why should I get a weapon that is limited when I can get three weapons--a home defense piece, a SHTF rifle, and a trainer? What do you guys think?
 
Rusty always liked multiples...backups for backups for backups.

The 10/22 is not just a trainer...great for supplying pot meat and in a pinch, a nice short range defensive rifle that it's easy to carry loads of ammo for.

No one wants to get shot at...even with a .22
 
Senor Kamagong, l believe l may have a good all-around compromise for you.

Remington makes a pump-action .223 rifle which uses standard M16/AR15 magazines.

The Remington Model 7615:

m7615d.jpg


http://www.remingtonle.com/rifles/7615.htm

No, it doesnt have quite the firepower as a semiautomatic, but it should be adequate enough.
 
Nothing beats hedging your bets- go with your initial impulse: everybody should have an SKS. The 10/22 and shotgun help you fill 3 needs.

I'd much rather the 3 than an AR. :p


Mike
 
kamagong said:
I have been thinking long and hard about my next gun purchase. The initial excitement of possibly getting an AR has rubbed off now that I've done some more research on the subject. I really want an AR, but living here in CA my choices are limited. I can either get an AR with detachable magazines and a weird grip or a glorified breechloader with a non-detachable mag and pistol grip.

As much as I want to get an AR though, I do not know if it would be a very prudent decision. My preliminary research indicates that I need to spend at least $700 for a quality AR.
Click to expand...

Kam I was reading somewhere else either here or on another forum where you can own a legal AR in Kalifornia. What you have to do is buy the upper and lower sections in two pieces either assembled or unassembled I understand and then put them together yourself.
You do have to get the lower section through a FFL holder though.
If I run across the post again I'll email you with the addy if it isn't here on BFC. In the meantime if you're really wanting an AR you might check the Kalifornia laws on ownership.

I don't know that I wouldn't opt for the three though. I've never fired a SKS so I can't speak about them but everyone here holds them in pretty high regard.
 
Yvsa,

A person can own an AR derived firearm in CA, but in order to do so he has to pick and choose the features he wants. Basically in order for me to have an AR, I have to choose between a weird grip and detachable mags or a pistol grip and non-detachable magazines. I can't have both a pistol grip and detachable mags on an AR here in CA.
 
SKS was the predecessor to the AK47. They use the same cartridge; the russian 7.62x39mm, which has ballistic similarities to 30-30.

The difference in performance between SKS and AK is the SKS is built more for accuracy and the AK is built more for brute force firepower.
 
Wolf_1989 said:
SKS was the predecessor to the AK47. They use the same cartridge; the russian 7.62x39mm, which has ballistic similarities to 30-30.

The difference in performance between SKS and AK is the SKS is built more for accuracy and the AK is built more for brute force firepower.
Click to expand...
I have a few AK's that will outshoot my SKS's not to mention look at the Draganov it was developed from the AK.
 
I have a saiga ($185 new) that will shoot 1 Moa when topped with a scope. I havent shot it past 200 yds though.
 
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