sks history

[hillbill]

can anyone tell me when the sks rifles began being produced and when they stopped? also, what major conflicts were they used in? thanks!

[Mikey]

I'm not sure if it was 1943 or 1946 that they began producing the SKS in ernest.  They were used throughout Vietnam and in other S.E. Asian countries during the 60s and 70s and in other USSR military efforts before that.  Once the AK47 became the issue rifle of the commbloc nations the SKS took a back seat and was issued to home guard types and other countries until the AK became so prevalent the SKS was relegated to export to US sportsmen.  Just my take on the subject.  Mikey.

[hillbill]

thanks mikey, thats the info i was lookin for. was haveing a argument with some buds. they didnt believe it had been around that long and i wasnt sure of the approx date it came into being either.do you know the approx time they started showing up in the usa?

[hillbill]

thanks for the info mikey. i was haveing a argument with some buds, they didnt believe it had been around that long and i wasnt sure either. do you knmow when they started showing up in the usa and if they saw any action in ww11?

[jgalar]

The Soviets were still using the SKS in Afganistan.

[DWTim]

OK, I had to go into the "archives" and dig out an issue of G&A from May of '85, but here's what I found:

* Production started in the Spring of 1945

* May have seen trial use at the end of the Second World War

* Action was a scaled down copy of a known-good anti-tank rifle

* The USSR had it built as an insurance policy in case the Kalashnikov design failed

* The AK-47 began to replace it in 1951

EDIT: I've never run across reliable production stats for the SKS or its copies. I doubt the USSR was producing it later than the 1960s; by then the AKM was supplanting the AK-47 and the AK-74 was in the works. The Chinese Type 56 never stopped production, because as far as I know, they still make them commercially.

[Oldtimer]

Some prototypes of the SKS were used in Ukraine as early as 1943, but were never issued for use by regular troops in time to use in WWII.  Issuing a new weapon and caliber during a conflict is a real nightmare.  The Japanese never were able to replace the 6.5 with the 7.7 during the war, nor were the Italians able to replace their 6.5 with the 7.35.  In doing some research on the Korean  War, I was unable to determine that the Russians ever sent SKS's for use in that conflict.

[Slamfire]

Simoninsky, or however it is spelled in Roman letters, worked on Semi Autos between the wars just like other nations. Like the others, except Garand, he discovered that full power rounds beat the actions to death. His first successful rifle used the 6.5x50 SR Japanese Military loading. The Russian authorities wanted a bigger bullet, hence the 7.62x39. The Germans picked up on that too, and developed the 7.92 Kurtz for thier true assault rifle, the GW 43, adopted in 43. If you say the SKS was used about the same time. I'll take your word for it.

[xhare]

I wonder if the armies that used it had the same problem with it that the guy two benches over from me had this weekend at the range.  He fired a couple of shots then it went full auto. 

Does this happen often to SKS's?  I have heard of it, but never witnessed it before this weekend.

[S.S.]

Interesting... Back many years ago there were some Type 56's that
were full auto and slipped in as suplus. Externally they looked
just about like an SKS. There was a gas adjustment piece on the gas tube above
the barrel though. Uncle Sam caught on real quick and very few
got out. Internally they were slightly different. An SKS is very easily converted
to full auto,(half hour work maybe) But I doubt that the jail time would be worth
any entertainment value you may get from it!
To answer your question, A couple of pretty badly worn parts
will cause an SKS to burst fire. Who knows how many rounds the burst may be though!
May be two, may fire till empty!

[TreyAzagthoth]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sks

[ThudThumper]

I wonder if the armies that used it had the same problem with it that the guy two benches over from me had this weekend at the range.  He fired a couple of shots then it went full auto. 

Does this happen often to SKS's?  I have heard of it, but never witnessed it before this weekend.

i know this is a bit late, being an old post and all, but some guys might find this useful.

what you're talking about is called a slam fire.  basically, he needs to disassemble the rifle and give it a good cleaning.  the sks has a free-floating firing pin, and if you let it get gummed up it'll eventually start sticking in the forward postition.  when the bolt slams forward to load the new cartridge, the firing pin (which is now stuck) strikes the primer with enough force to set it off.  the process continues until the firing pin becomes unstuck, or the gun runs out of ammo.  pretty scary, if you're not expecting it.