iamkris
Member
Just picked up my Yugo SKS 59/66A1 from my FFL last night. Ordered from AIM surplus and got GREAT service -- 2 weeks from dropping the order in the mail until having the rifle in my hands (including mail transit time, waiting for the ATF to run the background, conflicts with work/family to go pick it up, etc.) $149 delivered ("unissued" condition) + $20 transfer fee = great deal
As soon as I got home I ran down to my cave (a.k.a. reloading room) and spent 3 hours with Gun Scrubber, Hoppes No 9 and a solvent pan brushing, scraping, soaking and wiping (wow that's a lot of cosmoline). Actually didn't mind since it forced me to detail strip the rifle and really get familiar with it. So far, I really like this rifle. It makes a nice addition to my slowly growing Cold War battle rifle collection (HK G3, STG-58 and now SKS. Next stop...M14).
The Good:
The rifle itself is in really superb shape. Stock is that clean, light golden color teak. All matching serial numbers (and EVERYTHING is serial numbered), and 90+ % of the parts look truely unused. I'd guess that this is an armory queen or an arsenal refinsh where they replaced just about everything. Fire control group shows zero wear (not even the hammer). Bore is 99% bright and shiny with sharp rifling. The only wear I could find on the entire rifle was some light bluing wear on the gas piston extension rod (the spring loaded rod that connects the piston rod to the bolt carrier) and bluing wear where the gas system takedown lever actuates. THAT'S IT!
For such an early assault rifle design, there are quite a few nice user touches (although some I'm sure are evolution from the orignal design). The safety ergonomics aren't the worst I've ever seen. Nice trapdoor in the buttstock for the cleaning kit. Cleaning rod stowage under the barrel makes sense and doesn't seem to rattle. Cleaning kit cap makes a great muzzle protector / cleaning rod guide. Flip up tritium sights (actually phasphor as pointed out by DMK below) are nifty. Really amazed how easy the stripper clip loads the mag. Integral bayonet and grenade launcher are well designed and have positive engagement. The rifle is overall very straightforward to fieldstrip and all pins / takedown levers are captive (smart - no little parts to misplace). Machining / millwork is quite good with machining marks only left where there is no movement between parts.
AIM includes lots of goodies including a late model canvas sling (not sure if E German or late model Yugo), leather ammo pouch that holds 10 ten-round stripper clips, oil can in its own leather pouch and a nifty breakdown cleaning kit for the buttstock. I just read that these things were made at the Red Star Armory within the Red Banner Works industrial complex. We apparently bombed the living begeezus out of that place during the late Balkans unpleasantness in 1998 so these things are real pieces of (unrecoverable) history.
The Bad:
The stock has a gouge and a deep scuff on it. Not bad for an issue rifle that's 30-40 years old. Everything else is 1st/2nd gen design related. Trigger is mushy but certainly not the 15 lb pull I've heard about (maybe 8-9 lbs). Detachable mag certainly would be nice but that's what the AK brought to the table. Bolt hold open is a nice feature but having to stick your finger in the action to push down the mag follower to release the bolt is kinda cheesy. It's heavy but I'm not planning to hump this rifle on a forced march anytime soon.
The Ugly:
Kris' verdict? Buy this rifle. Can't beat the price. Lots of great history included in this design (Russians progressively extending weapons designs to satellite countries to bring them closer to the Mother land, etc.). I'll let you know after this weekend how she shoots.
As soon as I got home I ran down to my cave (a.k.a. reloading room) and spent 3 hours with Gun Scrubber, Hoppes No 9 and a solvent pan brushing, scraping, soaking and wiping (wow that's a lot of cosmoline). Actually didn't mind since it forced me to detail strip the rifle and really get familiar with it. So far, I really like this rifle. It makes a nice addition to my slowly growing Cold War battle rifle collection (HK G3, STG-58 and now SKS. Next stop...M14).
The Good:
The rifle itself is in really superb shape. Stock is that clean, light golden color teak. All matching serial numbers (and EVERYTHING is serial numbered), and 90+ % of the parts look truely unused. I'd guess that this is an armory queen or an arsenal refinsh where they replaced just about everything. Fire control group shows zero wear (not even the hammer). Bore is 99% bright and shiny with sharp rifling. The only wear I could find on the entire rifle was some light bluing wear on the gas piston extension rod (the spring loaded rod that connects the piston rod to the bolt carrier) and bluing wear where the gas system takedown lever actuates. THAT'S IT!
For such an early assault rifle design, there are quite a few nice user touches (although some I'm sure are evolution from the orignal design). The safety ergonomics aren't the worst I've ever seen. Nice trapdoor in the buttstock for the cleaning kit. Cleaning rod stowage under the barrel makes sense and doesn't seem to rattle. Cleaning kit cap makes a great muzzle protector / cleaning rod guide. Flip up tritium sights (actually phasphor as pointed out by DMK below) are nifty. Really amazed how easy the stripper clip loads the mag. Integral bayonet and grenade launcher are well designed and have positive engagement. The rifle is overall very straightforward to fieldstrip and all pins / takedown levers are captive (smart - no little parts to misplace). Machining / millwork is quite good with machining marks only left where there is no movement between parts.
AIM includes lots of goodies including a late model canvas sling (not sure if E German or late model Yugo), leather ammo pouch that holds 10 ten-round stripper clips, oil can in its own leather pouch and a nifty breakdown cleaning kit for the buttstock. I just read that these things were made at the Red Star Armory within the Red Banner Works industrial complex. We apparently bombed the living begeezus out of that place during the late Balkans unpleasantness in 1998 so these things are real pieces of (unrecoverable) history.
The Bad:
The stock has a gouge and a deep scuff on it. Not bad for an issue rifle that's 30-40 years old. Everything else is 1st/2nd gen design related. Trigger is mushy but certainly not the 15 lb pull I've heard about (maybe 8-9 lbs). Detachable mag certainly would be nice but that's what the AK brought to the table. Bolt hold open is a nice feature but having to stick your finger in the action to push down the mag follower to release the bolt is kinda cheesy. It's heavy but I'm not planning to hump this rifle on a forced march anytime soon.
The Ugly:
Kris' verdict? Buy this rifle. Can't beat the price. Lots of great history included in this design (Russians progressively extending weapons designs to satellite countries to bring them closer to the Mother land, etc.). I'll let you know after this weekend how she shoots.
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