Chinese SKS $300 at Classic-worth it?

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I'd have to see the actual rifle as I have seen Norincos that, even now, I would not pay 300 for.

However - if it is anywhere near or certainly above average, I say YES as an SKS is almost a must-have from both a collectible and practical point of view.

It truly is hard to beat a GOOD SKS now that so much ammo is available for them. Can really only go wrong in the case of overpaying for a bad barrel.

Todd.
 
beeenbag said:
Simple really. Worth is very subjective in this context, but the SKS rifles are now "worth" $400 because they will sell for that in the current market. Maybe it isn't so much that they aren't "worth" $400 now, as much as it is the perception that you have of them based on when the market was flooded with them and drove the individual consumer price down. Supply and demand with consideration of past perceptions of value.
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That was semi-facetious. Personally I didn't like the rifle at all. I can understand why others might. FWIW I don't much care for the AK, either. It's not that I'm an AR fanboy as I had an AK almost 20 years before I ever fired an AR for the first time much less owned one.
 
If you just want something else to shoot M43-ish ammo in and have $300 and you already have an AR15, consider a 7.62x39 Upper. PSA is currently offering Carbine format 16+ inch barreled uppers with bolt Carrier Group and Charging handle for $289 as of this afternoon. Bear Creek also occasionally has them for less than that.

You do need a special magazine and either a rear sight or some sort of optic to go with that. I will say the C Products Defense 20 rounder seems to work and hear good things about the 28, 30 and 10 round magazines as well. I chose the 20 because I felt the 28 &30 were to long to allow me to get in a good prone....just as are 30 round AR .223 mags, which is why I use 20 rounders there as well. The M43 ammo mags are longer than AR 20s but seem a bit shorter than AR30 rounders while the 28 &30 rounders seem a bit longer than the .223 30 rounder.

I seriously considered getting several 10 rounders for the M43 ammo upper....I mean an SKS is a 10 shot and a Garand is an eight shot and I liked both of those in the way back, granted both are clip loaders (SKS stripper and Garand enbloc) but I hope not to be in anymore military battles at my age but do like keeping myself as low to the ground as possible for my prone shooting and as close to the table as I can bench shooting.

-kBob
 
I will be the first to admit that I never liked an sks. I bought two for $65 each, back in the day...which was 1993, because one of them was stamped 00093 on the bolt coincidentally.
They are short stocked
Crappy trigger
Crappy safety
Crappy sights
But....I did like the 7.62x39 chamber.
I traded my last sks in on a RAR 7.62x39. (Best move ever)
20190117_084825.jpg
If you like your sks, I'm happy for you.
 
If you want an SKS in general, then yes, it's a good price. Comparing it to an AR isn't really valid IMHO. If you are just looking to buy a rifle in general the AR is a significantly better and more practical choice. A lot of times though you're buying something different because you want that item specifically. The SKS isn't just "a rifle" - a piece of cold war history.

They are not likely to ever get back under $100 again like they were. Years ago I bought a Yugo SKS for $90 that I later foolishly sold for $275. I just replaced it again with one of the $299 ones from Classic. While it's not in NEARLY as nice of condition as the one I got rid of (that one was basically unissued), I do like the Chinese configuration better - it certainly balances better than the Yugo did with that obnoxious grenade launcher attachment on it. Once they exhaust however many of these they have to sell expect prices to start creeping back up again.

They're covered pretty thick in cosmoline - the gun shop called ahead and recommended I bring a trash bag to transport it back out. Took me nearly 2 hours to get it fully cleaned up. As to condition - the wood has a lot of dings and nicks and is really dark in color. I may try to "sweat" some more of the cosmoline out later to lighten it, but for now it is what it is. No cracks or anything though. The metal - it's decent. The finish is still largely there, but there was a LOT of pitting on the receiver right below the wood line.. In that location though you can't really see it with the gun assembled. A bit of pitting and surface rust near the handguard and on top of the bolt carrier too (it looks worse in the pics below than in person - camera flash makes it more apparent).

I obviously didn't pay for a handpick, and it's a bit rough, but here are some pics of the one I got from Classic last week:
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IMG-0514.jpg IMG-0515.jpg
 
mgmorden said:
If you want an SKS in general, then yes, it's a good price. Comparing it to an AR isn't really valid IMHO. If you are just looking to buy a rifle in general the AR is a significantly better and more practical choice. A lot of times though you're buying something different because you want that item specifically. The SKS isn't just "a rifle" - a piece of cold war history.

They are not likely to ever get back under $100 again like they were. Years ago I bought a Yugo SKS for $90 that I later foolishly sold for $275. I just replaced it again with one of the $299 ones from Classic. While it's not in NEARLY as nice of condition as the one I got rid of (that one was basically unissued), I do like the Chinese configuration better - it certainly balances better than the Yugo did with that obnoxious grenade launcher attachment on it. Once they exhaust however many of these they have to sell expect prices to start creeping back up again.

They're covered pretty thick in cosmoline - the gun shop called ahead and recommended I bring a trash bag to transport it back out. Took me nearly 2 hours to get it fully cleaned up. As to condition - the wood has a lot of dings and nicks and is really dark in color. I may try to "sweat" some more of the cosmoline out later to lighten it, but for now it is what it is. No cracks or anything though. The metal - it's decent. The finish is still largely there, but there was a LOT of pitting on the receiver right below the wood line.. In that location though you can't really see it with the gun assembled. A bit of pitting and surface rust near the handguard and on top of the bolt carrier too (it looks worse in the pics below than in person - camera flash makes it more apparent).

I obviously didn't pay for a handpick, and it's a bit rough, but here are some pics of the one I got from Classic last week:
View attachment 875593
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View attachment 875596View attachment 875597
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I intend to pay the $25 for the best of 10 finish. I figure if I pay that extra now it will be passed on to someone else in the future if the condition is very good.

I would believe there is pitting below the woodline on all these Chinese rifles to varying degrees.

Main reason I have thought of a stock upgrade is I'm never going to get all the cosmoline out.
 
People who are citing the prices they paid in the 90s for the SKS need to get with the times. Gas prices back then were under a buck a gallon, now the average price is $2.50 a gallon. Gold was under $500 an ounce, now it's almost $1500.

Look, prices have gone up for everything, it's only natural the prices for the SKS have double or tripled because the value of the dollar has gone down while supply for the SKS has dwindled and demand has gone up.
 
TTv2 said:
People who are citing the prices they paid in the 90s for the SKS need to get with the times. Gas prices back then were under a buck a gallon, now the average price is $2.50 a gallon. Gold was under $500 an ounce, now it's almost $1500.

Look, prices have gone up for everything, it's only natural the prices for the SKS have double or tripled because the value of the dollar has gone down while supply for the SKS has dwindled and demand has gone up.
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Prices are much lower now on ARs now than they were then. They were north of $1k then.
 
Armored farmer said:
Prices are much lower now on ARs now than they were then. They were north of $1k then.
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There are also 100x the manufacturers in the AR game now. Supply and Demand. Just for the sake of argument, pretend the demand has remained constant for both the sks and the AR platform, which we know isn't the case. The supply for AR's has risen drastically since the late 90s where as the supply for SKS rifles has all but disappeared in regards to new importation.
 
TTv2 said:
They're on sale thru the weekend and come with the folding spike bayonet. While I already have an AK, I have so much 7.62x39 ammo that a second rifle in x39 would be cool. I have been waiting for a single shot in x39 from Midland, but at the rate they're going with spare barrels I'll be collecting social security checks by the time they come out with it.

The Ruger American would be another option, but I don't have a Mini-30. The CZ rifle would be another option, but it would be a much more expensive option.

The only things I'd look at changing to the SKS would be to add a rear sight from Tech Sights, maybe a folding paratrooper stock, but that's not a guarantee.

IDK, what do you fellas think? Are the Chinese SKS rifles worth the $300?

EDIT: Total price after taxes/shipping and ffl transfer is going to be closer to $400.
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I am going to say no at $400 . My dad got one less than 200 almost new. That is worth it to me. At 400 I start to think about Ruger, CZ. and one more month pinching pennies.
Unless you just really want an SKS. Probly find a nice used one for less. I had a beautiful Russian SKS but the groups from the Chinese one were prettier.
 
If you want a milsurp rifle, and a semi auto to boot, there isn't a better option than the sks. Cheap ammo, low recoil, easy to work on, and huge aftermarket support. Hard to beat for 300 bucks.

If you want a scoped target rifle though, just look elsewhere, primarily AR rifles.

I love the sks, and I will probably pick up one or two from classic arms to replace all the ones I bought and sold in the late 90s...

Edit to add, I had a norinco sks that was an honest 1 moa rifle, and a couple others that were very close. With a trigger cleanup they can be VERY accurate.
 
Aperture sights on an SKS? I had the specific --Tech Sight (the fully-adjustable SKS option)-- about six years ago, on my "Norinco".

These sight seem to be almost unknown outside of SKSboards and AKfiles.

"How do I find these"?.... a guy actually asked me. I told him that Google would help him find their website ("Tech Sights").
 
Ignition Override said:
Aperture sights on an SKS? I had the specific --Tech Sight (the fully-adjustable SKS option)-- about six years ago, on my "Norinco".

These sight seem to be almost unknown outside of SKSboards and AKfiles.

"How do I find these"?.... a guy actually asked me. I told him that Google would help him find their website ("Tech Sights").
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I take it you had good results using Tech Sights on an SKS?
 
Well forget about this, I tried to make the order but Classic's website is horrible and so is the wait times for the customer service. You have to choose an FFL from their list and if the one you want to use isn't on their list, you get to jump thru hoops and wait on the phone behind 20 other people and the internet chat is busy too.

So buying from Classic is apparently a PITA around Black Friday and as such they won't get my $500 order I was going to make.
 
The Tech Sight is really good. Add their target front post too. The sight radius is unbelievable and is the best part of the SKS. The downside is that you have to remove the takedown latch to install the rear sight, and you have to remove it if you want to clean the back end of the receiver and then you need a re-zero upon completion. But, you can make this modification without worrying about 922r compliance.

If you really want one, check your local pawn shops and the used section at most gun shops that are not big box chains.

Well heck, as long as we're posting photos. This is the only SKS I kept. A few years back a fellow was selling Polish Honor Guard stocks, so I refinished it and slapped a Russian into it.
hSbl2DP.jpg
 
TTv2 said:
Well forget about this, I tried to make the order but Classic's website is horrible and so is the wait times for the customer service. You have to choose an FFL from their list and if the one you want to use isn't on their list, you get to jump thru hoops and wait on the phone behind 20 other people and the internet chat is busy too.

So buying from Classic is apparently a PITA around Black Friday and as such they won't get my $500 order I was going to make.
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When I order anything from Classic, I just call in and order. Then I have them send whatever to my local ffl. I never have to choose from one off of a list. After I hang up my ffl send them his ffl information and that's it.
 
TTv2: Yes!
Much better accuracy and consistency with the Tech Sight on my Norinco SKS. At that time there were two versions for these rifles: one option which has adjustable aperture height And windage. The other type seemed to have only a dual 'flip' type of aperture sight.
 
I've been buying these little monsters since I got my first one for $89 in '91, it was a Norinco and I didn't keep it very long. I have since bought a couple of early Chinese Type 56 carbines (arsenal /26\ guns) and now we have three....a Chinese Type 56 ($275), a '53 Russian Tula ($450) and a Yugoslavian M59/66A1 ($350)
Chinese.Russian.Yugoslavian.jpg
 
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