I have SKS questions, thoughts, and ramblings.

[12 Volt Man]

Last summer I picked up a Norinco Paratrooper SKS from a guy at work. I picked it up for a song. I have shot it a few times. It is a cool little gun. When I got it from him he had two 30 round magazines included with it. I even bought an evil bayonet some time back for it. I never took off the fixed 10 round mag. I didn't take it off for fears of causing problems during the ban. Last night I was going through cleaning some guns because I like to to a complete strip and clean at the start of every winter. I decided that I would try taking off the fixed 10 round magazine and try the 30 detachable mags for a while. Now I am not sure I like it this way. How do you guys keep your SKS's? Ready to rock with 30 rounders? Or do you keep the fixed 10 rounder in there? I don't see my SKS as a "go to gun" when hoards of zombies attack. I have my AKs and and AR for that. In a way it is good to know that I have the 30 round capacity ready to go if needed. I am just wondering what configuration most people keep their SKS in.

Next issue is my bayonet. There is a pin that goes through the bayonet lug to secure the bayonet to the front of the gun. The pin that came on my bayonet is just a straight pin with no threads on it. My bayo lug is larger on one side and on the other side it is smaller with threads on it. I believe I need to find a pin that has threads on it. Anybody have any experience with this? Maybe I have the wrong bayonet?

 

[musher]

You might want to read up on 922r (USC 18 44 922(r) )

While the 'assault weapon' ban of '94 is gone, the ban on assembly of imported non-sporting firearms is alive and well. If you're going to reconfigure an sks that was imported after that ban into a configuration that could not be imported, you'll need to replace some of the parts with US made parts to avoid building an illegal rifle. Non C&R SKS rifles (like your norinco) were not allowed to be imported with detachable magazines or bayonets after 1989(executive order) or 1990 (by statute)


All that being said, I have one of the norinco's imported before the ban that were configured at the factory to take AK mags. I like that one, but my other SKS rifles I prefer with the 10 rd mag as designed. I've not found an aftermarket extended mag that I liked.

 

[12 Volt Man]

Doh! Forgot about that. It is all going back to original configuration until I can figure out how to tell when it was imported.

Anybody know how to tell? My buddy at work had this gun for a number of years before I got it, so the chances are there that it was brought in before 89.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Doesn't matter when it was imported. Unless it was in the US and configured with the evil features prior to 1989, if cannot now be modified,

Also note that only the actual act of modifying the weapon is illegal. It is not illegal to possess the weapon after it is modified. If by chance someone decides the gun has been illegally modified, the most they can do is confiscate it as contriband. Given the number of SKSs in the US in all types of configurations, even that is highly unlikely. This is NOT a recommendation to violate any federal firearm laws.

 

[musher]

HK,

You're right enough there. I don't think folks were neutering the imported SKS's prior to it being a requirement to get them imported. If you could determine that your SKS was imported in '86, then I'd be willing to bet it came in with its bayonet. I think restoring it to its 'as imported' configuration would be ok...but then again....

 

[Marko Kloos]

As a general rule, the SKS is one of the most reliable semi-auto rifles ever built...when used with the integral 10-round magazine. Using the aftermarket duckbill 20- and 30-rounders usually makes the rifle far less reliable.

The SKS has a lot of advantages over a magazine-fed rifle like the AK. THe only advantage of the AK is higher capacity and very slightly faster reload speed, but as a "go to" gun, the SKS is superior in my eyes. No mags to damage or lose, reloading from stripper clips is just as fast as magazine changing, and the SKS is much easier to shoot from prone with the short 10-round integral box. In addition, you can haul a whole lot more ammo comfortably with stripper clip-filled bandoliers.

Lastly, the SKS has four inches more barrel length than the AK, and a last shot bolt hold-open that the AK lacks. In short, for a "SHTF" type rifle, I'd just as soon have an SKS than an AK. The AK has a higher rate of fire as long as you have loaded magazines at the ready, but when you have to start working from ammo boxes or cans again, the SKS is faster to bring back into action. Ripping off thirty rounds in ten seconds may be an important part of Soviet rifle squad doctrine, but I don't foresee myself having much use (or the ammo supply) for suppressive fire tactics.

With these points in mind, I think the SKS is a very capable system, much better suited to the task than many "more modern" designs. Just keep the magazine stock, load up a good ammo supply on stripper clips, and you'll have a cheap and effective social rifle that will do the job reliably if and when you need it.