SKS Assault Rifle?

Question

I going to buy a SKS assault rifle, and I have 2 to pick from a Chinese and a Yougoslavian rifle which one is better to buy, and why. Thank you

Answer 1

I'd go with the Yugoslaian because usually Europeans put higher quality parts in their guns and the best made AK-47 is supposedly comes from there.

Answer 2

There kinda like cars you can buy a lemon in any model .

Answer 3

This is a hard question to answer with the limited amount of information. I've owned both kinds and found that in general the Yugo is better made with a higher quality of craftmanship than the typical Chicom SKS. The Yugo has such features as night sights and grenade launcher that will increase it's collectibility, and has a forged and milled receiver with s***w in barrel  while a lot of the Chinese SKSs have cheaper quality stamped receivers, stamped trigger assemblies, pinned barrel, and a stock that is close to being a softwood that is easily scratched. About the only redeeming features on the ChiCom SKS is it's lighter, shorter ( especially the Para model ) and has a chrome lined barrel.  While the Yugo gas valve has received a lot of bad publicity, it's an easy fix ( or just get a Yugo M59 and avoid the gas valve all together, ) and not having a chrome lined barrel is only a problem if you plan on shooting corrosive ammo and not doing a proper clean-up afterwards. Between the two, I'd get the Yugo unless the Chinese one happens to be a "D" or "M" model.

Check out this website, it will give you a ton of info on SKS's

http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php

Answer 4

To start with the SKS is not an assault rifle. An assault rifle has full-auto capabilitys. The SKS does not have this feature... Its more of a battle or infantry rifle.... The Yugoslavian ones (or at least the ones I have seen and fired) seem better built that the Chinese SKS....  I have owned a couple of the Chinese units and they have performed flawlessly but just don't have quite the build quality..... NO MATTER what you buy - purchase the NEW or almost new condition SKS DO NOT buy the $99 cheap skate special..... They are used up c**p and are dangerous (slam fires)..... Yugo or Chinese get new....   Consider them both... There actualy both decent rifles to 100 yards so why not buy, collect and own both of these pieces of history???

SKS rifles at Samco Global Arms....

http://www.samcoglobal.com/sks.html

Answer 5

Chinese made model is primo; you are probably tired of hearing that it is not an assault rifle so I won't say that.  If possible get one with the screwed barrel instead of the pinned one; it is supposed to be better.  Have both types and have never had a problem with either so don't worry about it.  Crappiest made SKS I ever owned was a russian made one; and it still functioned just fine.

Answer 6

I'd say whatever is cheaper, they are really made about the same, and an sks will go bang, even after torture

Answer 7

Harry-

I am a big SKS fan.  

Stay away from the Chinese Manufactured ones thay are garbage.  I had ONE, and sold it after no end of trouble with it.

Those Norinco's are total garbage.

The Yugoslavian one are Ok, but they are not the best production ones either.  I have one in my collection, its shoots OK out to about 50 yards, after that its anyones guess as to where the bullet goes, and even at 50 yards its not all that great.

The ones that you want are from Russia.  In particular from the Tula Aresenal outside Moscow.  They are really easy to identify, they have a large Russian Star with a Fletched Arrow in the middle of the star, and a small diamond above the star.  

The other Russian model has a large triangle with the same Fletched Arrow in the middle of it, those are from an arsenal in the Ukrane, and are also very well made.

OK, a couple of things you need to know about them.

The Russians, had an issue with their ammunition, so ALL of the Russian SKS's will have a chrome lined barrel.  You can see the chrome lining at the very tip of the crown.  

The Rifles that come from the Tula Arsenal, are also normally equipped with a chrome bolt, and chrome bayonette.  These were their best quality rifles, in the country according to a Russian friend of mine who used to work at the Arsenal.

They had the best wood, best finish on the steel, worked the most reliably, and if you are lucky enough, (like one of mine), you may even obtain a "March Rifle".

I did not even know what I had until I met him, then he and I went shooting.  I though it was a standard SKS, the only difference was that it shot extremely well, (far better than my others), and was very happy with it.  

When he looked at it his eyes got really big, and he asked me where I got this rifle.  I just told him that I purchased it at my local gun shop, and then showed him all of the other parts that came with the rifle.

OK, now before I get you hopes up.  Some of the gun stores will get the rifles in these crates, that have mixed guns in them.  They were normally shipped in plain brown boxes, that were the length and size of the rifle, then they just wrap the accessories in brown paper and toss the items into the box with the rifles.  So many of the shops, will just pull the rifles, test fire them, clean them and return them to their boxes.

This was such the case with mine.

When I pulled the accessories, mine came with a white shoulder sling, fitted with brass clips, and adjusters, a brass oiler, bronze cleaning brush, and a highly varnished stock.

I knew these were different, so I bought another stock, and sling, (which the rifle is in right now for shooting purposes), that is how the rifle was when I showed him.

So needless to say, I am the owner of a Red Square March Rifle.  

Any back to your question, sorry.  

The other countries, manufactured these as fast as they could with little regard to their form and function.  The Chinese in particular use some pretty low quality materials in their rilfes.  I think they are better used for a shovel than a shooter.

The Yugoslavian ones are a better choice, as most of their tooling came directly from Russia, but the only issue, is they did not have the best steel, and the barrels are not chrome lined, so you have to be very careful about your ammunition, as there is lots of the corrosive 7.62x39 ammo still floating around.

Now some safety things you need to know about this rifle.

First is the trigger group.  They are extremely easy to foul because of their location in the rifle.  The parts are exposed to the soot and debris from the fired cartridges.  So after a long shooting session, they may have a tendancy to double or triple on you at the range.  So keeping that trigger group clean and properly lubricated, is very important.  Basically, spray it out with Gun Scrubber after your shooting sessions, and re-lubricate it and you are going to be just fine.

Pick up a manual for the rifle, as they do not come with one.  Most of the Russian ones are direct imports from former Military Arsenals, so the training was done on base.

Make sure that you clean these rifles VERY well after shooting.  This includes their gas operating system.  The piston, and associated tube get pretty dirty after a shooting day.

Make sure that you keep the firing pin block/bolt very clean.  These have an enertial firing pin, meaning there is no spring to pull the pin back from the bolt face.  If this area gets excessively dirty, the firing pin can stick and cause the rifle to go full auto when you close the bolt on the first round.  Needless to say, that will get pretty exciting.  That is why I got rid of my Norinco.

Just be sure to keep that area clean and lightly lubricated, and you will have no trouble.  Just be sure that when you test the rifle for the first time, only place ONE round in the internal magazine, point the rifle down range and close the bolt full force.  If the rifle pops the round, then you are going to need to have a Gunsmith look at it and correct the issue. If not and it closes reliably, fire the cartridge, reload and enjoy!

The Safety, is a trigger block safety only.  This means that if you have a cartridge in the chamber, and you set the rifle down; should it fall and strike the butt of the rifle, it will fire.  So my advise, is to remove all cartridges from the rifle, before placing it on the bench.  

These are some safety things I picked up from my friend, that I did not know about the rifle.

OK, lastly, these are NOT Assault Rifles.  These are combat rifles.  The difference is, Assault Rifles are manufactured with the ability to select a full automatic function, meaning one pull of the trigger, and you can discharge the entire magazine.  

SKS's were never designed with that in mind.  There fore they are not Assault Rifles.  They are also not fitted with a removable magazine.  Though there are kits available for this modification, (not recommended), they are a fixed 10 round internal magazine that is loaded through the top of the rifle using a steel stripper clip.

If you look at the bolt, you will see a small "Claw" or "Notch".  When the bolt is fully retracted and locked, you place the stripper clip, loaded with cartridges in this location and push the cartridges into the magazine well.  Pull the stripper clip out, pull and release the bolt, and the rifle is loaded.

Anyhow, I hope that answers yoru questions about this rifle.  If you need to know any more, click on my profile and drop me a line.

Answer 8

I have a Chinese/Norinco I bought new in '89. I have never modified it (except for a rubber stock extension as the stock is short). Still has the pike bayonet. I have shot every kind of c**p ammo out there through it and have NEVER had a malfunction. Just keep them clean and they will last you a lifetime and then some.

A couple of years ago I picked up an early Chinese AK-47 Paratrooper (underfolding metal stock). It is not stamped with Norinco, just China. Same story as above. I shoot any cheap ammo I can get my hands on. I stick with Chinese magazines including one 75rd drum. I keep it clean and have NEVER had a malfuntion of any kind.

Answer 9

I'm ex-military and I'm afraid these would be poor choices. Get a milled-receiver Bulgarian 7.62x39. It will jam less frequently than Hillary smiles off-camera. Also, let us not use the "A-word," since this denotes select fire (burst or full-auto). The granola-globalists love to demonize gun ownership with this misleading term. You want a semi-automatic rifle.

Nevertheless, you've made wise choice with this caliber--it's still the cheapest centerfire cartridge. Check out Wolf's 154grain soft-points at the listed sight.

Answer 10

Mine was made in China. I bought it in 1991 and have never had any problems with it.

Answer 11

I know you've heard it before, but... it's not an "assault rifle."  No pistol grip, no full-auto capability etc etc etc.

Ok, lecture over.

I have an excellent Yugo, made in the Zastava factory, a model 59/66. It is beautifully made, milled, not stamped, and has deep, dark bluing.  The blade bayonet folds down and fits perfectly into a slot in the stock.  The inside of the barrel was like a mirror (I bought it new) with crisp, clean rifling.

Solid as a rock.

It has gorgeous wood that only required a very slight sanding and oiling to make it the equal in appearance of any fancy showpiece.

These Yugos have a grenade launcher attached to the barrel.  Since Yugoslavia wanted its own version of communism and didn't want to follow orders from the USSR, they tried to balance off the U.S. and the USSR, buying things from both sides, and shifting from side to side on various issues during the Cold War.  As a result, this weapon shoots a common Soviet bloc round (7.62x39, the same as an AK-47) but the grenade launcher is designed for US issue NATO-style grenades.

Depending on what state you live in, the grenade launcher can be a problem.  In California you can buy Yugo SKSs with the grenade launcher removed and a muzzle brake welded on to make sure that the barrel is long enough for federal law.

There are only two drawbacks to the Yugo -

1.  Yugoslavia has no native chromium ores.  The USSR had (and Russia today still has) the biggest deposits in the world, but they wouldn't sell any to the Yugoslavs.  So there is no chrome lining in the barrel, making cleaning a BIT more important.  But this is not a rifle that needs to be babied.

2.  The gas valve for the grenade launcher sometimes becomes stuck in the "off" position if you flip it back and forth from the "grenade" to the "rifle" setting.  This is fine for the grenade launcher, but it turns the rifle into a single-shot that has to be cycled by hand each time.  Careful cleaning and regular checking of the valve will prevent this, and there are commercial upgrade kits that have a longer valve sleeve than the original, which will eliminate this problem entirely.

Other than ONCE, with THIS particular problem, I have never had a failure to feed or failure to eject from my Yugo SKS.

I used to own a Chinese SKS with a spike bayonet.  It was not as high quality.

The Chinese shot fairly well, but was a little finicky with ammo.  NEITHER type is any kind of a hot-rod competition item, but the Yugo definitely shoots more accurately.

I am VERY pleased with my Yugo and would recommend it highly.

I got it brand new for $200.00 from these folks --

http://www.impactguns.com/store/sks.html

(follow the links on the page)

These fellows are pretty good, too --

http://www.classicarms.us/

(about 3/4 of the way down the page)

However, the surplus market has changed significantly in the last 2 or 3 years and I doubt that you can get a new, unissued Yugo quite as cheaply anymore.  All of the advertised ones I've seen (on those websites above, for instance) have been used, although of different grades ("excellent," "good," "fair" etc.)

While the rifle itself was new, mine came with used accessories - a sling, a metal oil bottle with a leather pouch, and a two-compartment leather ammo pouch.  The ammo pouch had ballpoint pen graffiti on it, probably bored army recruit doodlings, in what looks like Serbo-Croatian (I'm trying to get it to a friend who can read it and find out what it says).  I thought that was pretty cool, actually, and did not clean it off.

I would recommend buying stripper clips and practicing using them - if you get good you can fill the original 10-round fixed magazine using a stripper clip almost as quickly as switching out a detachable magazine with a rifle like an AK.

And if you are tempted to do upgrades, replacement parts, or rebuild parts of it, remember, it's a "Curio and Relic" item as classified by the ATF.  This means you have to leave it in its original battlefield configuration.  If you make any kind of a major change, you have to go through the entire rifle and replace a certain number of parts with U.S.-made ones, so that it is officially a "U.S.-made" rifle, otherwise you are in violation of federal law.

It's easier, and WAY cooler (as a historical relic), to just leave it alone, and make any repairs or changes with original-type parts.

Always wear ear and eye protection, and be careful of your target, AND what's BEHIND it!

Have fun and enjoy your SKS.  They are fine rifles.

Answer 12

First off, a great piece either of them.  I like the Yugoslavian versions as I have found that the Europeans put a little more pride into their craftsmanship.  The Chinese SKS will work fine for you though.  I have found that the Chinese versions can be found in a little better condition than those of European descent, but it is a matter of taste and whatever you have that is up for purchase.  You want to make sure that the barrel is not pitted or marred and I always recommend having a gunsmith look it over to make sure that it is safe.  Please also stop calling it an "Assault Rifle" those terms give guns bad names, it is a semi-automatic rifle that happens to have been a weapon of war and liberals love to see titles like Assault Rife and make ban accordingly.  Happy Shooting.