Yugo SKS M59/66 Grenade Laucher Mods

[roo_ster]

Were they Swedish Mausers, M1 Garands, No5Mk1 Jungle Carbines, etc? I'd love to find a gun show that offers such a wide assortment in that good a condition, and at reasonable prices reminiscent of even 5-10 years ago.

There's a false belief that today's butt-ugly milsurp couldn't possibly be anything worth collecting or keeping in one piece, they're never going to amount to much. I disagree with that false premise.

Off the top of my head, the last gun show I hit had one sporterized Mexican Mauser, bubba-style. I thought about buying it, but the fellow wanted too much ($145). I won't pay more than $100 for bubba'd mausers. I could not find any other sporterized milsurps. There was the usual assortment of folks selling milsurps at 2x retail as well as a few guys selling them what they were worth. Like I said, lots more unmodified milsurps than bubba specials.

'Round here, there is a decent gun show every two weeks or so.

A similar ratio occurs at the gunshops I frequent. 3 or 4 bubbas over 5 years at 3 gunshops (to include consignments). Two of them were worth buying, but I did not have the cash. Oh, also a well-done sporterized Swede 96 rebarrel job. I was able to "sell" it to a young fellow working behind the counter at that gunshop. Gave him a little Swede mauser primer & moaned about how I didn't have the funds to buy it myself. He bought it next payday & loves it to this day. Wish I could have picked it up, but at least it has found a good home. He hunts everything from groundhogs to black bear with it. 6.5x55 is a fine round, IMO.

I never said that I saw a bunch old milsurps in "a wide assortment...at reasonable prices reminiscent of even 5-10 years ago." YOUR words, not mine. There was a wide assortment around current prices.

Oh, I believe you when you say that, in a few years, the Yugo SKS may be worth more than it can now command. Today, however, I would enjoy the utility it has to offer. The utility it provides today is worth more to me than its possible value 10 years from now. If I could find a Chinese SKS for a similar price, I would more than gladly purchase it over the Yugo SKS. Key terms: "similar" and "price."

Patriotism is a wonderful thing. I espouse it wholeheartedly, as long as it's not applied selectively.

"Selective patriotism?" Huh? Please elaborate. This ought to be interesting (if not especially rifle-oriented).

 

[Gewehr98]

This is counterproductive.

I'm not going to turn potential income away. A good chunk of my "fun" money, and other firearm-related expenses, comes from restoration work I take on from the new owners of Bubba jobs. A certain 1903A4 sniper seen elsewhere on this forum was a hacksaw victim before I spent a couple years putting it back to milspec. So I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth by cautioning folks to not hack up military rifles in decent condition. My bad. Press on.


Regarding "selective patriotism". It's an all or nothing proposition, with respect to the gun owner, or even consumerism in general.

Ouch. I guess you feel the same way about Swedes that I feel about SKSs. I would not have done that to a Swede in original condition. But then, the Swedes did not oppress billions & kill millions the way the commies did.

Perhaps it might help to give y'all a sense of where I'm coming from, with regard to commie guns, SKSs, & Yugos.

I have no feeling toward commie guns the way I have for some of the milsurps from the West. To me, they are low-tolerance tools of a failed totalitarian empire (the remnents of which are now selling them off for hard currency). I consider buying some of them due to their low cost and utility. Taking a tool that may have been used to violently oppress folks and bending it to MY will gives me a warm & fuzzy feeling in my belly, however.

It's a weak premise, at best, unless one chooses to follow their convictions 100% of the time. Otherwise, one is only kidding one's self. That includes what one buys at Wal-Mart. See examples:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4535

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64660

 

[c_yeager]

If you wont buy contries that have at one time been an enemy of the US that doesnt leave you with many options in the mulsurp market.

 

[joab]

There were a finite number of Randall .45s sold and there will never be anymore. The price of mine in !991 was $1391. The price I bought it for in 2002 was $450. Most are in the hands of collectors. I would imagine if there was a military campaign associated with them the price would have doulbled instead of plummeting.

My 03A3 cost me $200 in 2000because Bubba had worked his irrevocable magic on it. If it were original it would bring much more I think the wood was around $100 when I toyed with restoring her. I remember when K-Mart used to have them on the sales floor in wooden kegs for $39 about the same as a Marlin Model 60.

With all that being said I'm still gonna modify my Yugo SKS after I get another to keep stock. Not for any high minded moral code or even for the sake of functionality. But simply because they are butt-damn-ugly with that launcher on the end. Im also gonna put a long muzzle brake on it and a Dragunov typr stock. VIVA LA BUBBA !!!!!!!!

 

[jefnvk]

There's nothing legally wrong with modifying a Yugo SKS, including removal of the grenade launcher, as long as one doesn't run afoul of federal and state laws regarding firearm configuration.

The ATF told ( in a letter) me that modifying a Yugo SKS is a no-no, unless you want to change out enough parts to make it a US rifle. They are imported under the C&R status. When you start messing with anything on them, they become non-C&R, and fall under some importation of semi-auto assualt rifle ban. Basically, you need to change enough parts that there is less than 10 foreign parts on it. Try this link for info on this: http://www.victorinc.com/SKS-FAQ.html

Also try searching on http://www.sksboards.com.

And if you want, I can try to attach the letter they sent me regarding this. basically what I got out of it was if you dont want those features, buy something else.

 

[jefnvk]

Edited: Double post

 

[jefnvk]

Might I also re-emphaize that the low cost and high availability of mil-guns many years ago is why there is so many bubba out there. And probably partly why the prices are going up. Don't be BUBBA. Its a Curio and Relic gun for a reason. If a Rem 700 were a C&R gun, I would probably advocate not changing it either.

 

[railroader]

jefnvk, members of the sks forum have also gotten letters from the ATF saying it ok to change things on yugos as long as the evil features such as the bayonet and launcher are removed. If the rifle would be importable as a sporting rifle it would be okay, it just wouldn't be c&r anymore. One member wanted to add a muzzle break, scope and dragunov stock and he was told it was okay. As for 10 parts or less that is for using hi- cap mags. Basicly the ATF has been giving out conflicting info. Just look at all the altered yugos that are being sold in california by century arms and others. You can't tell me the ATF isn't aware of that. Mark

 

[rbernie]

I have a 'devils advocate' question for all of the keepers of the mil-spec purity flame: who's gonna give me a Chinese SKS for what I can get into a Yugo? Don't jump up to fast now to volunteer... ;-)

If money is an issue, chopping up a Yugo SKS isn't a fashion statement - it's may very well be the difference between having a brush/truck rifle and not.