The SKS rifle: Inexpensive, Not Cheap

November 30, 2016
1 min read

“The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic carbine chambered for the 7.62×39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. Its complete designation, SKS-45, is an initialism for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 (Russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова, 1945; Self-loading Carbine of (the) Simonov system, 1945). In the early 1950s, the Soviets took the SKS carbine out of front-line service and replaced it with the AK-47; however, the SKS remained in second-line service for decades.”[1]
I bought one several years ago, a Yugoslavian made model, for $200.
My SKS
The Good: It’s a solid rifle. Real wood, strong metal components, decent trigger pull weight for something this old. It doesn’t take a whole lot to maintain it. You can field strip it without tools. I think everything on mine is still original and working fine.
sks_field_strip
You can put on a bayonet and the Yugos have grenade launching option which is more of a novelty now. The iron sights are good to at least 100 yards.7.62x39mm vs .30-30
The 7.62x39mm round is similar to the .30-30 and because of the weight it doesn’t kick very much.
The Bad: Stripper clips. They work, sure, but the speed difference in reloading vs something with a magazine like the AK-47 or AR-15 is significant. You can buy third-party mods to switch to magazines but the reports are mixed about the reliability. It’s hard to mount a scope. No rail system at all, in fact, so you can’t dress it up like an AR-15. It’s heavy. Real wood and iron have a real weight to them. Since they are old, a lot of them have really crappy barrels and other issues. Parts are a little hard to come by, too.
Yousks_modified can buy aftermarket parts to change nearly everything on it. You could change the rifle so it hardly resembles the original.
Might as well get a different rifle if that’s your plan. AKs start pretty much where the modified SKS end up.
So why get one at all?
Great plinkers. Ammo isn’t too expensive to get several boxes and go shooting. Aside from loading the stripper clips, it’s easy to shoot and because the kick isn’t harsh anyone can shoot it.
This isn’t meant to be your main battle rifle. This is more of a cheap addition to your collection and one you can hand out during a zombie apocalypse to an under-prepared neighbor.
USSR and Romanian built rifles are generally the best ones. Chinese hardware is poor but they lined their barrels with chrome. Yugos are in between.
Because the quality varies so much don’t buy one without checking it out, especially the bore of the barrel. Don’t pay over $300. Gunbroker.com has them up to $600 which is freaking insane. At that price, you can get a decent AR-15 for not much more, and the AR is a far superior platform.
[1] https://infogalactic.com/info/SKS

6 Comments

    • The SKS Rifle is so far superior to the AR-15 or 16 (What ever you what to call it) There are and should not be categorized together. In every respect the SKS will out preform the Armalite Rifle and The AK- 47. As far as cheaper to build both the AR and the AK will come out ahead.
      As far as distance durability and construction of the SKS the only semi auto battle rifle that comes close are too of americas finest, The M-1 Garand and the M-14, witch is the Garand with a magazine and full auto selection. These two great guns (SKS and M-1 Garand)fell out of military use simply because of the cost to build them. But if you will have to admit, if you were called to be on the battle field today, wouldn’t you want the strongest most reliable rifle on the market at any price? Besides, What’s you life worth?

      • “In every respect the SKS will out preform the Armalite Rifle”
        HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No.
        “These two great guns (SKS and M-1 Garand)fell out of military use simply because of the cost to build them.”
        HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No.

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