I usually stick with bolt action milsurps but recently found an unmolested Norinco SKS and put it on layaway.
I'd like to hear everyone's pro's & con's, as well as lore and actual experiences.
Thanks.
Jay
Nice,clean rifle there. Can we ask how much it cost you, and what arsenal stamp is on it? I've gotten to be a bit of an SKS fan lately, and particularly like the shorter Paratrooper versions. These are much handier and more nimble than the full-sized versions, though an aftermarket stock improves the ergos (for both size rifles) , as does adding a screw-on butt-pad, as Chicharrones mentions above. Last I checked, there's a guy on e-bay that sells them for about $10 delivered, it's money well spent, I promise you. That little extra LOP makes a BIG difference.
I've been seeing decent (or nicer) SKS's on the local (Georgia) used market recently down around $300-350, and still not selling very quickly.
A couple days ago we dropped by a favorite old gunstore about an hour away and they had a beat-up Chinese for only $249. It looked like the very used (but still servicable) one's that AIM,Classic Arms and J&G have been selling for a while now, for $279 (plus shipping and transfer).
You should look into getting some stripper clips. The one's everybody are raving about right now are the one's marked "BXN", out of eastern Europe. The best place to find these seems to be e-bay. I got a pack of 25 a little while back for $15 delievered, which was a deal. And these things do hold the ammo well, and feed like buttah !! They are a "force multiplier" for the SKS, you want to get you some!
Also, when re-assembling the rifle, if you have the bolt/carrier attached to the receiver when snapping the magazine back into place, make sure you have the bolt pulled to the rear.As I understand, you can damage the mag if you don't.
Also, be careful not to try and cram more than 10 rounds into the magazine. Resist the urge to attach one of the tapco 30-rd mags, they are considered junk by most SKS fans.
Check out the two SKS forums for more info than you would think there is on these things, The SKS Files, and Survivors SKS Boards.