Will the SKS shoot?

[bilmac]

The Sheriff is auctioning a couple of SKS's Friday. What kind of accuracy can you get out of them with reloads. What should I bid? Is there anything else I should know about them? I think I squeezed a trigger on one of them once and it was atrocious.

[CannonKrazy]

These rifles weren't made to shoot tight groups. They were made for killing. With that said the SKS would be a good defense weapon and it would be a good deer rifle up to 100 yards. As for a price on one of them it would be up to you and your wants and needs. I have found them lately for 300 dollars up to 500 dollars. There is 2 of them at a pawn shop in town priced at 350$ each and both of them look rough.

[bilmac]

thanks Cannon. I know nothing about them.

[cjclemens]

I got my first SKS for 75 bucks, but that was quite a while ago.  As far as shooting goes, it will produce a 4" group at 100 yards with the cheapest ammo I can find.  I'd say that makes it a pretty good general purpose deer/coyote gun.  They're pretty reliable, too.  I'd say you cant go wrong with one as long as the price is right. 

[Lloyd Smale]

there not varmit guns but ive found most guys really give up on them to fast. Ive had a couple that would shoot near 2 inch with loads they liked but vary one component of that load and accuaracy went south and no two ever liked the same load. If i had to give someone some advice to start with though id tell them to buy a box of 140 grain speer and hornady soft point spitzers and a can of 1680

[bilmac]

Thanks guys, Its a moot point for me now, the auction was this morning. There were about 40 guys standing around to bid on 20 guns so I just left. Auctions are notoriously high for firearms prices in this part of the world. If you want a used gun you are better off going to the sporting goods store. Prices similar or maybe even lower, and there's somebody to complain to if the gun has a flaw.

[SHOOTALL]

but at the  auction you get to win that gun , even if it cost you twice as much as a new one !

[jlwilliams]

  I undestand it's no longer a pending issue, but I have some experience with the SKS I want to share in case you get one down the line. 

  The triggers are usually bad.  Typical East Block military triggers.  Like dragging it down five miles of dirt road.  That may seem like a harsh statement, but it's no all bad.  The design of the trigger mechanism is not inherently bad, but they were often poorly fit up at the factories.  There are a couple of smiths who specialize in SKS trigger jobs.  The trigger group drops right out, so you don't have to even send the whole gun.  Ship the trigger group off and have them fit it properly, put new springs in and send it on back.  I think I paid about $40 last time I had one done.  It will tighten up your groups and make the ugly little commie duckling into a pleasure to shoot.

  One of, if not the most common issues people have with the SKS is cosmoline in the action.  Many of them were in storage for decades, then shipped and sold in the US.  You can run into all kinds of problems from slam firing to not firing because the rifle was never detail cleaned.  The SKS is easier to fully disasemble than a Garand, and that's saying something.  You can find directions online, take it all the way down.  Clean it well and put it back together.  Done deal.

  Last but not least, the firing pin mod.  Most SKS (exception being 1949 manufactured Russians) have a floating firing pin with no spring to return it away from the firing pin.  Not a problem with thick primered military or Wolf ammo.  The American made sporting ammo can have thinner primers and there have been slam fires attributed to the firing pins.  The solution?  For about twenty bucks you can get  a replacement firing pin with a spring.  I have never had a problem using the original firing pins, but this year I changed both of mine over to the improved after market firing pins just to be safe.

  I have heard of people having problems that were tracked back to high cap magazines.  They were originally made with a fixed ten rounder that works well.  Swithching over to the detatchable high caps is, in my opinion, a waste of money.  AK rifles are made to take a box mag.  SKS is better left as made.

  Overall, I think the SKS is an under rated rifle and probably among the best values in the shooting world.  They are rugged and reliable.  With a little attention you can address the issues that give them a second rate reputation in some circles.  They are plainly under respected rifles capable of better acuracy than you might expect.

  If you find one, don't be afraid to take it home. 

[bilmac]

That has kind of been my opinion too, that they have been undervalued. Yes they are ugly, but so is an AK. I think a lot of the difference in price is the full auto capability by a bunch of folks who don't know any better.

[1marty]

I bought an sks through J&G Sales. Took me the entire day to get the cosmoline out. Rifle shoots 4  inch groups depending on the ammo at 100. It is very reliable. I usually use the Bear ammo which shoots the best groups of the cheap imports. Never had a misfire or jam with that ammo.

[cjclemens]

I honestly think the SKS is better made and shoots more accurately than the AK's...just my experience, though.

[bilmac]

First one I saw up close came from a grave. There had been a firefight in this area just a few hours before. We were a reaction force that went back into the area. Some of the guys dug up a fresh grave to find an NVA soldier and an SKS. Couldn't believe it, can you imagine an American armorer when he found out some GIs had buried one of his rifles with the guy it was signed out to. Of course we carried M 16s not SKSs. But then we didn't leave our fallen behind either.

[Bigeasy]

Bilmac -

I have a Chinese SKS I bought back in the mid 80's, when you could get them for $80.00, brand new, packed in grease.  It shoots chinese ammo at about 3 to 4 inches at 100 yards, and has never jammed in several thousand rounds.  I just make it a point to keep it clean.  The quality of the rifle is actually very good, better then a lot of imported AK type rifles I have shot.

Larry

[res45]

I've been shooting SKS rifle for about  four years now my first rifle was a refurbish all matching 1970 Yugo M59/66 I paid $149 for it,I was lucky enough to hand pick my own for a crate of 12 rifles.  Thanks to another board I hang out on a lot I had a good idea what to look for at the time in a rifle but you never really know what you have till you get them stripped down,cleaned and give them a test fire.

One of the biggest problem with the Yugo rifle is that they have had a steady diet of corrosive ammo fed through them during there entire service life.  This is not usually a problem as long as the rifle is cleaned and service properly,another is the gas valve and block found on the M59/66 rifles,this areas usually suffer the most from improper cleaning after using corrosive ammo as many people have found after purchasing the Yugo rifles and the valve is corroded in place or pitted,plus the extra movement can cause wear and tear around the nipple of the valve where it contacts the gas tube and cause a loss of gas pressure leading to short stroking of the bolt and FTE issues.

As far as the Yugo having a chromed lined bore goes I consider that a non issue in a rifle that was properly maintained for the beginning,even a chromed bore want save you from corrosive ammo if left unattended and there is always the entire gas system that isn't chromed lined to begin with,so there is more to consider than just the bore lining when choosing a SKS.

As far as my Yugo goes,other than some wear on the bluing and a few dents and dings in the original wood stock it's in excellent condition,I did have to replace the gas valve due to FTE and stove pipe problems with Wolf ammo,it would function perfectly with any other Russian or American ammo with the original valve I replaced it with a CNC Worriers valve and it even functions perfectly with the Wolf ammo from then on.  It could have just been a bad lot of Wolf which i haven't use in my SKS rifle in over three years,it may be fine ammo but it's on the bottom of my ammo food chain.  As with any rifle I own I always set up to reload for it,I don't trust cheap imported ammo to always be available and being that I have reloaded for 25+years it wasn't much of a investment in dies and tools to do the X39mm rd. anyway.

The SKS lends itself well to reloads,you just can't imagine how much more accurate the SKS is with some good hand crafted ammo that matches the rife as well as the bullet performance of American  vs. Russian in target shooting and hunting.  I understand this isn't for everyone so each to his own on that.  All that I can say is I can cut any group in half or less with a stock SKS I own with reloads vs. any store bough ammo at any range.   Although I haven't done it as of yet I'm considering th Murray's spring loaded firing pin kit $47 installed by Murray,just in case the availability of Mil-Spec primer becomes and issue and I have to switch to the softer standard LRP's which is used in American X39 ammo and can potentially cause a slam fire issue in rifles with free floating firing pins. Which I haven't had happen in three years of reloading using the Mil-Spec primer.

Other than reloads the only modification I have made to each of my SKS rifle is I replaced the front sight post with a TechSight target post $7 shipped,it's about half the dia. of the original SKS post and will give you a finer sight picture.  I haven't done the trigger mod as of yet I have shot SKS rifles that have and it makes a big difference in the trigger,I just never found the triggers on my SKS rifle to be much of an issue at this point.  My other SKS is a Chinese /26\ 1965 I bought NIB for $200 last year never fired,it's about 1 1/2 lb lighter than my Yugo but accuracy wise both rifles are equal.  As far as modifications go sights and adjusting them properly,trigger and finally ammo that shoots consistently will make a world of difference with your SKS shooting experience.   Poor maintenance and trying to make your SKS into something it's not meant to be with a lot of after market dress and your just asking for problems. 

[prairiedog555]

my only modification was a plastic stock, it reduced the groups by 1/2.
I have a Chinese mod.  I have found that the Wolf 154gr shoots much better than the 123gr.

[a4beltfed2000]

the yugo sks rifles are not chrome line the rest of them are. I have the chinese, russian, romanian and yugo sks rifles, or all they are pretty much the same thing, a few minor differences. For the most part they will hit a man sized target at 100-150 yards which is what they were designed for. I do like the chinese a little better as the bolt carrier is chrome lined and doesnt foul up as easy.

I originally I purchased the chinese when they were 89.00. I got the russian which is a 1953 for 150.00

I recently ran across two in the pawn shop locally one for 175.00 Missing bayonet cleaning rod and kit for 175.00 the other was a very nice one for 200.00 all matching.

hths
kevin

[jeager106]

I've owned several over the years. The one I have now is supposed to one of the better built rifles.
How anyone knows this is way beyond me.
Internet reading. You can learn almost anything wrong on the internet.
Many SKS owners have said it's a fine deer rifle.
Huh?
Really BAD trigger, piss poor sights, ammo that will under no curcumstances expand at all.
When they were 79 bucks you could afford the work needed to make a shooter of it.
But not at $350 to $500 bucks.
You want your SKS to shoot respectable groups at 100 yards?
RELOAD. Buy 100 commercial casings, 100 commercial bullets, use your mind over matter to control that horrid trigger and I can almost promise 2 inches at 100 yards.
The soft point ammo might/might not expand depending upon the grade of babbot metal used that day, the h.p. ammo will NOT expand at all unless you shoot 5/8 inch steel plates.
Or grind the h.p. off to a small meplat. THAT will make it blow on contact.
If you buy and use commercial brass rig up a catcher so you don't loose it.

[bilmac]

That was my impression of the rifle without any knowledge. Communist rifles are made mostly for sound effects in my way of thinking.

[elmer]

Please don't tell any Vietnam vets they are for "sound effects". They are designed for a purpose and it wasn't bench rest shooting. They were for putting a bullet in a human size target at combat distances with little or no maintenance.