Has anyone bought an SKS... Lately

[Walkalong]

I didnt think they were worth the 69 bucks back in the 80's.

I beg to differ at $69, but it's also one reason I wouldn't be able to, and haven't, ponied up for one at todays prices, same goes for AKs.

There were racks of $70 SKS's and $150 AKs. And cheap Chinese metal core and lead core ammo by the crates.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

As a connoisseur of firearms I enjoy the development of firearms. So a $400 SKS if I didn’t have one wouldn’t scare me away. They are neat firearms in their own right and with their 20” barrel are great deer rifles with good ammo.

The comparison to entry level AR’s is an easy arrival, but economies of scale are opposite spectrums. There are no new SKS’s being built to my knowledge where as everyone and their mother are CNCing AR parts and countless commercially sold AR’s.

Norinco still makes them. By some bizarre loophole, they are still being imported into Canada. There's a guy who brings a few to the local gunshow regularly. I have no idea if he does it legally or sneaks/smuggles them in. No bayonet mounting, but otherwise just they were in the '80s. Cant remember what he was asking for them.

 

[Ascot500]

I am glad to see that at least one person responded with "I bought one"
Thanks CoalCrackerAl & American Fusilier

 

[Savage30L]

I inherited one recently....and a couple of cases of ammo....cost me less than those $69 70s guns....

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I have 4 but bought them about 25 years ago. 2 Yugo's, I Chinese, and a Russian. Haven't seen many lately in the stores I frequent.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I inherited one recently....and a couple of cases of ammo....cost me less than those $69 70s guns....

Late 80s, early nineties is when the Norinco floodgates opened. In the 70s the only SKS in the US were rare Vietnam bringbacks and ammo was unobtainium.

 

[Savage30L]

Late 80s, early nineties is when the Norinco floodgates opened. In the 70s the only SKS in the US were rare Vietnam bringbacks and ammo was unobtainium.

That's probably when my uncle got his. I was just poking fun at a previous post.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I would assume its due to Inflation, Import Bans, etc

I didnt think they were worth the 69 bucks back in the 80's. So I really have not paid much attention.

I paid $99 for one in the early 90s, and after shooting it a while I determined it was definitely overpriced at that cost!

 

[Mosin77]

I bought one in early 2020 for $324 shipped. Glad I bit when I did because shortly thereafter prices increased by $150-250 and have not really come back down. It’s a cool milsurp, and what is more, it’s fun to shoot. The cartridge and rifle have a nice level of recoil and are not inaccurate. I wish x39 was still $0.25/round, but hey…. it’s still about the cheapest centerfire rifle caliber out there. It’s less painful to shoot (economically) than my Garand, that’s for sure. Is it better than an AR? As a tool, no. But recreationally? The SKS has that Commie milsurp character. The AR doesn’t. Maybe I’d feel different if my AR had a battered wood stick and just turned 50.

 

[jmorris]

SKS is like John Wayne toilet paper. Rough and tough and won't take poop off anyone.

Would make him both sad and happy at the same time, If he could hear that…

 

[Ignition Override]

Quite frankly, my VZ-58 has used 4,000 rounds since nib.
Each and every used ammo cardboard box is staple in groups of 10, then counted.

I could use a “beater” SKS so that my remaining heaps of 7.62x39 ammo won’t wear out this excellent Czech rifle.

The SKS is still used in combat or civilian patrols in Ukraine, unless these rifles were stored in a warehouse/ armory.

 

[American_Fusilier]

It’s a cool milsurp, and what is more, it’s fun to shoot.

This. I got mine around 2020 too. I find that I like it more than my AK. It's just a cool old rifle.

 

[Riomouse911]

Late 80s, early nineties is when the Norinco floodgates opened. In the 70s the only SKS in the US were rare Vietnam bringbacks and ammo was unobtainium.

Man, no kidding! That nondescript brick warehouse in Pasadena, Ca. where I bought mine in ‘92 was like nothing I’ve seen, before or since. There were probably enough SKS rifles and ammo in there to take over Nicaragua.

I don’t know if those guys my co-worker introduced me to were the actual importers of Norinco arms, or (more likely) just a middleman preparing shipments to retailers, but WOW!

Stay safe.

 

[Gun-Reck]

I see them for sale priced at entry level AR-15 levels
So I wonder: what motivates the purchase - not bashing the SKS, just wondering

Could be the fixed, 10-round magazine.

 

[Speedo66]

At the time the Norinco SKS’s were first being imported en masse, there wasn’t a new semi auto centerfire rifle anywhere near their prices of $60-80.

Mine was brand new in a box and came with a manual, cleaning kit, bayonet, and chest worn ammo carrier. Ammo was $2 a box.

There was no way to beat those prices at the time. The Swedes came later, about the same prices, but few really realized then what great rifles they were. But they were also used bolt actions.

By the way, that SKS chest pouch takes Mini-14 mags snuggly.

 

[kje54]

I picked one up really cheap quite a while back, sold it about six years ago. Should have waited till the pandemic.........

 

[Shawn Dodson]

My Marine dad brought an SKS home from Vietnam in 1970. It was recovered from the battlefield where he earned his Purple Heart.

Back then the only source of "30 Russian" ammo was Norma, and it wasn't cheap. The first time I shot it, I was probably 11-12 years old and I was pleasantly surprised by its very mild recoil.

Believe it or not, I took it to school (in Oceanside, California, 1971) for show and tell when I was in the 4th grade. I asked my dad, who contacted my teacher, and she and the principal approved. It sat in the coat closet most of the day, leaning against the corner.

I have that SKS now, and a few years ago I came across a Norinco SKS "paratrooper", which had a shortened stock, short spike bayonet, and shortened, 16" barrel. It's well balanced, reliable, and handles very nicely, about like an M1 .30 Carbine.

 

[Terry G]

I bought two Chinese, one full size and one "Paratrooper" (No such thing) NIB for around $150.00 back in 2001. Then bought five Yugoslavian 59/66 new in crate for $600.00 shipped. (C&R). I decided to sell one of the 59/66's at a Gun Showa couple of months ago and was asking $650.00. I barely made it to the first table and a guy just about ripped it off my shoulder. I should have asked more!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

The price depends on the "market", what people are actually paying for them or will pay for them. That is what they will "go for". The fine line is between how high you can price something, and where people, in general, will say: "nah, too much".

The first SKS I ever saw was a Chinese mil-surp, when they first came in. I really liked it, thought it handled and felt really nice. It belonged to a friend, and he instantly boogered it up with a plastic stock and some other abortions. Really ruined the gun. Handled like a wet mop.

I later came across a nice Rooskie one, un-issued. (not an arsenal re-ferb) and snapped it up. I think I paid $150 but I don't remember for sure. Now THAT is a nice SKS. The Ruskas have always gone for a lot more $$$, I'd be scared to know what they want for them now. But I'm keeping mine. The SKS is a good weapon, it is what it is. Some people don't like them, because it isn't what it isn't. !!!

 

[American_Fusilier]

If I didn't already have one, I'd definitely buy one again. I'd leave it completely stock and not change anything on it. I'd also buy some stripper clips for it. Unlike Mosin Nagants the clips actually work very well.

 

[adcoch1]

I was an early adopter of the SKS, as a kid I could afford one, and luckily it was a good one. If I remember right it was cheaper than a new Ruger 10-22, and ammo was about the same price per box at the time. I tried all the aftermarket crap over the years, and used numerous SKS rifles for amateur (bubba) gunsmithing projects, but invariably they migrated back to stock, or close to stock configuration. I still really like them as a historical anecdote and to recreationally shoot and occasionally hunt with, but current prices would dissuade me from buying one now, even with my positive history with them... They quit being cost effective for me at about the $350-$400 mark in today's money...

 

[silicosys4]

I missed the dirt cheap SKS era. I bought a paratrooper SKS sporter for $500 about 12 years ago. Being relatively rare, I thought it was a better investment than the $200 that SKS's were going for. Well, since then the SKS's have tripled in value while the sporter has gone from a $500 gun to an $800 gun.
Weird.

 

[Ignition Override]

Many of the banged-up, scraped wood Type 56 “true military Chinese” SKS imported into the US about 8-10 (?) years ago came from Albania or Slovenia.

The “Third Country” method , because we can’t import guns directly from China—-.

 

[35 Whelen]

OK....going back to the original question, yes, I bought a Chinese SKS a little over 2 years ago from Atlantic firearms. It was a hot mess, absolutely crammed full of 3/4 lb., by actual weight, of grease.

Clean up was a nightmare, but worth it. I also had to refinish the stock. Probably the best thing I ever did was replace the front sight with an aftermarket example-

I regulated the sights and have so far only shot out to 200 yds., but the rifle is very reasonably accurate at that range-

I have dozens of rifles but this is hands down one of my favorites.

35W

 

[American_Fusilier]

@35 Whelen that's a whole lot of cosmoline!

Glad you got a shooter. I wish I could take mine out to 200 yards.

What distance do you have that zeroed for?