New rifle

[Arsyx]

Hey everyone, well I got my first firearm today. It was actually a gift from my father. It's an SKS with an integrated bayonet, and bipod. It's a poly stock with a steel 5rd mag. I'm looking to make some TAPCO modifications to it already but my problem is he swears it's a pre-ban chinese SKS despite the papers saying Russian SKS. In my opinion, it's not crude enough to be a cheapo SKS like a Norinco. With that said we're unsure, is there a way I can find out where it's from?

On another note for curious ones, I'm planning on ditching the 4x scope at the rear and adding a front rail and a new red/green dot scope. I also want to add a new lengthier poly mag clutch, a muzzle brake, and get some detachable 20rd poly mags I'd go with the ProMag 30rd mags but I heard the failure rate is unbarably high.

 

[nwilliams]

Post some pics of it and we can tell you.

Check out the markings on the receiver. My Norinco says "Made in China" on the receiver along with some Chinese writing. My Russian says "Made in Russia" on the side and has a star with an arrow inside it on the top of the receiver which is the Tula factory symbol. Russian arsenal-refinish ones often have a blackened bolt which makes them easy to spot from a distance.

The Chinese ones are fine and actually not the "cheapo" ones anymore, now that they can't be imported anymore. Even if you have a Norinco I wouldn't worry about it, my little Norinco is a great little shooter, my Russian is unfired and more of a collectors piece.

PS:
Don't forget there is a rifle section on THR

 

[Arsyx]

Duuur, I should have done that in the first place. It is in fact a Chinese SKS which is very surprising. He added alot of US parts made right here in Michigan on it too. From what I know of he no longer can find the original Chinese parts. Unfortunately I cannot find my digital camera, and haven't seen it since I went to a car show if I didn't lose it I'll post some pictures. I wanna know if I can get these after market Tapco parts to fit on it.

EDIT:
No offense about the cheapo comment. My SKS knowledge is close to nothing. I've just compared a Russian AK-47 to a Chinese AK-47 and the difference was night and day. So I assumed results with an SKS would turn out the same, my mistake.

Plus, I didn't notice rifle topics had to be posted in rifles. If that's the case hopefully an admin will move this for me.

 

[nwilliams]

You won't have any problem fitting Tapco parts on your SKS, you should be fine.

Despite being made in different regions of the world, the SKS design is pretty much universal, so you can add the same Tapco parts to a Yugo, Russian, Chinese, etc.

 

[Arsyx]

Ok, you seem to be the only one online and know your stuff. Like I said when it comes to SKS' I don't know much. I'm confused whether I can use detachable mags and load the SKS like an AK-47. It does have the mag clutch that releases the mag, but my father has always loaded it with stripper clips is there a way too check and see if it will accept detachable mags?

 

[Acheron]

It is possible to have a SKS take detachable mags like an AK, but really isn't worth the trouble. It is a labor-intensive process and a difficult one if you don't know your way around the gun. You are better off with the integral mag or maybe getting a Chinese 20 round and load it with strippers.

Some Chinese SKS's were built to accept AK mags, but these are almost unheard of outside of China.

So in the end you are better off steering clear of detachable mags on a SKS.

 

[elmerfudd]

I'm not really sure there were any cheapo SKS's made. Some have sold for dirt cheap at times, but none that I have seen have been poorly made. SKS's really are one of the great bargains out there. You get a lot of rifle for the price.

 

[Slugless]

Sks-d

Arsyx, what length is the barrel?

There is a Chinese paratrooper SKS variant, the SKS-D, I believe, that takes detachable AK mags. 16" carbine.

I don't know about rare, but I have one and two friends each have one.

About low quality SKS, one of the 3 SKS-Ds is a POS.

Mine is a good shooter although the firing pin retainer pin mysteriously disappeared one time. The other nice one is good, too.

Retrofitted it with a rear peep & front firesight. Sweet.

 

[ROMAK IV]

I have two SKS-D's with the Sporter stock. Both work flawlessly, and the second, whic I bpought at the beginning of this year for $200, work great. The second was bubba'd pretty good for the purpose of being bale to accept a drum, and I cleaned it up as much as I could. It had been in a pawn shop for months and the gas piston was carboned up tight. But everything cleaned up real well.

 

[kurtmax]

Arsyx... sounds like you are trying to turn it into an AK. I'd forget installing a detachable mag. Those are horrid on SKSs... You should probably just keep it stock, and save the money you would spend modding the SKS towards a new AK. (Keep both.... and SKS is fun in different ways than an AK )

 

[MachIVshooter]

SKS's really are one of the great bargains out there. You get a lot of rifle for the price.

Or at least you used to. Even the Yugo's have crept up over $200 most places. You can still get them under that mark with a C&R license, but the day's of $69 Simonov copies are gone for good.

On another note for curious ones, I'm planning on ditching the 4x scope at the rear and adding a front rail and a new red/green dot scope. I also want to add a new lengthier poly mag clutch, a muzzle brake, and get some detachable 20rd poly mags I'd go with the ProMag 30rd mags but I heard the failure rate is unbarably high.

Stay away from the front rails. Being the gas tube, they aren't solid; you'll have a wandering zero. Cool looking, yes, but not functional. Also, stick with the fixed 10 round mags. The Detacheables work sometimes at best. The SKS just wasn't designed to take big magazines, excepting the M variants that use AK mags.