I always liked my dad's SKS, its just a cheap norinco he got for about $100 back in Alabama. I like the look of most military arms and mostly those with wood furniture.

That's a nice looking rifle ya got there. I think the SKS is a little underrated. Mainly because they have always been pretty cheap to come by.
I love mine. I have the D type that takes AK mags. I replaced the wood stock with a Tapco Fusion stock. It's a blast to shoot

nice mods. looks 100 times better in black

Call me a tradionalist, but I really like the look of the wood stocks!

^^^(Then again, I've always thought the M14/M1A is the most beautiful rifle ever made!)

I think you have talked me into an sks purchase to add to my sar-1.

I like the black better than the wood stock as far as overall looks.

Yeah personally think black is better.

I purchased my Norinco SKS back in the early 90s for $125, NIB. It's in mint condition, I've thought about puttin a composite stock on it but, I think I will leave the rifle in its wood stock for now. I have a MAK90, that's going to get a furniture make over with either a KVAR Black or Plum pistol grip configuration.

At 59, I'm still best of friends with my bud from high school, so that's for 41+ years, He's a dentists make much more than me a high school teacher. He has a collection of high end AKs. On a trip to visit him, he came out with a MAK90 and ask me, if I would like to have it. I said how much, he said, for nothing more than being a good friend, to me and my Mom and Dad. He knew I had been wanting an AK but I just had an SKS at that point and I was trying build a specific function, group of weapons. About a year later, he comes out with a Remy 870 L.E. model, he told me he swapped it off for some dental work. He has so many weapons, he said here have some fun. We've been through divorces and wives but they come and go. Just wish we lived closer, so we could go out and shoot some pool or just hang out and drink some beers.
JT

The sks is underappreciated.It is a fine weapon.

An unmodified, wooden-stocked, 10-round-fixed-magazine SKS is Jean's car "rifle."
(It's a carbine, guys, not a rifle.)

The Good Parts:
• It's hard to break.
• It's really easy to clear any jams or mis-feeds.
• It's easy to operate, even for a lightweight, small woman.
• It loads from 10-round stripper clips, and uses easily-available ammunition.
• It really doesn't need an adjustable rear sight, or a scope either.
• It's easy enough to field-strip and clean, using the parts in its buttstock trap.
• It's light and easy to carry.

The Bad Parts:
• It's inaccurate without significant stock work, and, that work done well, it's still inaccurate.
• Its trigger pull is terrible, and making it better would cost a lot more than it's worth.
• It's a short- to medium-range carbine, useful all the way out to...well...200 yards...maybe.
• Oh, and did I mention that it's inaccurate?

One of the hallmarks of a good semi-auto-rifle design is the easy, open accessibility of its feed parts and chamber, permitting simple, easy, instant stoppage clearance.
Using that criterion, the SKS is at one with the Garand, the M14, and the M1 Carbine.
(Poor examples, in my estimation, include the M4, M16, the AUG, the Galil, and the entire AK series. The AUG might be the very worst.)

One of the hallmarks of a rifle is good inherent accuracy out to at least 500 yards (and 600 would be better).
That does not describe the SKS. Not by...wait for it...a long shot.

I don't think the Russians were looking for real time accuracy when they developed the SKS, just something to put some lead down range in short order. It does what it was designed to do, no more or no less.

Just "to put some lead downrange in short order" does very little to reduce the pressure and the danger applied in your direction by someone who wants to kill you.
The misses generated by "spray and pray" do nothing to defend you, or to defend your loved ones and friends.
In self-defense, only hits count.

Its mechanism is very well designed, at least from a combat-arm point-of-view. But accurized as best as I could do it, Jean's SKS remains a short-range carbine.

There are a whole lot of dead people that would argue that point

Originally Posted by skullfr

There are a whole lot of dead people that would argue that point

OK, I'm willing to listen to them.

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

Just "to put some lead downrange in short order" does very little to reduce the pressure and the danger applied in your direction by someone who wants to kill you.
The misses generated by "spray and pray" do nothing to defend you, or to defend your loved ones and friends.
In self-defense, only hits count.

Its mechanism is very well designed, at least from a combat-arm point-of-view. But accurized as best as I could do it, Jean's SKS remains a short-range carbine.

Well, I guess if you don't want to put your head down while the bullets are impacting close enough, then all the power to you. The gun was designed to perform under combat situations, not a home invasion. And yes, maintaining fire superiority does reduce the "pressure and danger" applied in your direction, even if all your rounds are not hitting your intended target.

I am not arguing the SKS is some kind of bench rest semi-auto carbine, I am just stating that it was designed to do a certain job and in that role it does what its designers intended.

Originally Posted by berettatoter

...[M]aintaining fire superiority does reduce the "pressure and danger" applied in your direction, even if all your rounds are not hitting your intended target...

As I understand things, this tactic works only if you can call in re-supply helicopters or trucks.
I strongly suggest that it does not work, if all the ammunition that's available to you is being carried on your person.

Someone much wiser than I once said, "Marksmanship has the effect of vastly increasing your ammunition supply."

1. Nobody with family in the house and a brain in his head would use a carbine or rifle inside a dwelling. They are not appropriate for defense against home invasion.
2. The best field tactics, to use against one adversary or twenty, dictate that you move to where they're not hitting, shoot effectively, and then move again as they zero-in on where you just were. This would not be a place for either inaccuracy or "spray and pray."

As I always like to remind people: It's your life. You don't have to agree with me, or do as I say. I'm just telling you what I have learned, and what I might do.

supressing fire does have a role-like moving to cover.It is like you said a short barrel carbine and not known for extreme accuracy.It was designed to hand to uneducated communist and be able to take the harshest enviroment and still fire.The whole reason for the slop in the tolerances.Pull it out of a paddy and open fire.It is a battle rifle.The m-16 is more accurite but look at all the battles where it was mainly spray a general area.

Steve, I'm going to have to disagree with one part of your observations. An AR-15 loaded with 55 gr. HP will penetrate less drywall than any handgun round or 12 gauge 00 buck. Wouldn't have believed it, but I watched a live test myself. While it does significant damage to living tissue, the combination of a light weight bullet and very high velocity, fragmented after passing thru one sheet of drywall. The fragments embedded in the second sheet, but did not penetrate. I would like to see the same test with a 7.62x39 or maybe the 6.8spc, but they are totally different animals than the 5.56. Anyway, the carbine may be more suitable for home defense than previously believed. Something to think about ?

Originally Posted by hud35500

Steve, I'm going to have to disagree with one part of your observations. An AR-15 loaded with 55 gr. HP will penetrate less drywall than any handgun round or 12 gauge 00 buck. Wouldn't have believed it, but I watched a live test myself. While it does significant damage to living tissue, the combination of a light weight bullet and very high velocity, fragmented after passing thru one sheet of drywall. The fragments embedded in the second sheet, but did not penetrate. I would like to see the same test with a 7.62x39 or maybe the 6.8spc, but they are totally different animals than the 5.56. Anyway, the carbine may be more suitable for home defense than previously believed. Something to think about ?

You are correct, that is why there are a lot of police departments giving up the 9mm sub gun for the shorter barreled versions of the M-16.

Well, we were originally writing about the SKS, so let's limit ourselves for the moment to the 7.62x39mm round.
In its case, it presents a relatively heavy bullet that's travelling relatively slowly (all relative to the 55-grain .223), and it definitely will penetrate more than two layers of drywall. Thus it is inappropriate for use within an occupied dwelling.

Note, please, that at no time was I discussing the AR-series of rifles or their ammunition. That was someone else's addition.


Note to skullfr:
"Battle rifle" is no description of the SKS.
The ultimate "battle rifle" might've been the SMLE, if one were to judge from its conditions of use.
In order to qualify as an infantryman, the British soldier armed with the SMLE had to fire as many shots as possible in one minute, on the silhouette of a man's head and shoulders that was 300 yards away, and make at least 15 good hits.
It takes a real battle rifle, to do that.
(Try it, some time—even with a scoped semi-auto.)

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

Well, we were originally writing about the SKS, so let's limit ourselves for the moment to the 7.62x39mm round.
In its case, it presents a relatively heavy bullet that's travelling relatively slowly (all relative to the 55-grain .223), and it definitely will penetrate more than two layers of drywall. Thus it is inappropriate for use within an occupied dwelling.

Note, please, that at no time was I discussing the AR-series of rifles or their ammunition. That was someone else's addition.


Note to skullfr:
"Battle rifle" is no description of the SKS.
The ultimate "battle rifle" might've been the SMLE, if one were to judge from its conditions of use.
In order to qualify as an infantryman, the British soldier armed with the SMLE had to fire as many shots as possible in one minute, on the silhouette of a man's head and shoulders that was 300 yards away, and make at least 15 good hits.
It takes a real battle rifle, to do that.
(Try it, some time—even with a scoped semi-auto.)

Steve, I have to agree with you about the "Smelly". The "Mad Minute" is quite a drill, especially with a bolt action rifle. You don't think the SKS would be able to accomplish that? lol.

My buddy put a synthetic tapco stock on his and is running pro mag 30 rounders. That thing is unreal accurate!! Underrated is about the truth though.

My Yugo wears a T6 in olive drab, it is what it is, designed to hit a man sized target at 300 m. Some are made better than others. IMO the best were the Russian's and Yugo's.