The SKS thread

[Bigghoss]

Attachment 115965

I'm this old

I'm just a few years younger than that.

[NuJudge]

It is mentioned above that these rifles sometimes have a problem with the firing pin sticking, resulting in slam fires. There is available a retro-fit firing pin retraction system. Only the very early Russian SKS rifles have a retraction system for the firing pin. My experience with SKS and AK rifles, using really hard, insensitive primers for reloading is a good thing, even if you have a firing pin retraction spring. https://murraysguns.com/sks-firing-pins/

A gun club I am active in, used to hold AK & SKS rifle matches, at 200 yards. The SKS always shot better than the AK for me, especially after a trigger job. There may be lots of people doing such, but the guy I had do work for me is:
https://www.kivaari.com/SKS%20Target%20Match.htm

Being 6'-4", the stocks are way too short, so I typically put an extension on the butt.

[Dov]

I had one of the new made chinese sks when they imported them as sporters with no bayonet, the example I had made a 7/8" group of 3 off the hood of the truck at 100 long paces when checking zero. I like the guns in general and would like to have another clean one for cheap plinking and multi-state travel.

The first one I ever saw, before they started importing them to sell was reportedly a Viet Nam pickup/bring home. The stock looked like it was made from a board, the outside of the gun was heavily pitted and rusted, then cleaned up. The bore was perfect due to being hard chrome plated. The story was it was found in a canal, the stock had rotted off it. Someone had in fact made the stock from a board. This would be maybe early-ish 1980s when i saw it?

The stocks are a bit short, the sights are mediocre, the safety is so-so, but they are a simple and fairly reliable gun, and reload easily with only stripper clips. I understand the feeling they are better made than an AK, being a milled receiver rather than stamped sheet metal as most aks are, and I like the longer barrel for less muzzle blast. They carry decently in hand. A decent red dot mount would go a long ways to making them more useful, but they still have a usable niche to me as is.

I sold mine because I could outshoot it with slugs in my Win 1300 with smoothbore and bead, but that was a good gun with slugs.

If the Techsight had been available/known to me I would have kept the SKS https://www.tech-sights.com/sks-products/

[Dov]

My uncle was a Vietnam vet that collected guns. Because of his experience there he had an extreme distaste for the AR-15 platform. I tried once 20 some years ago to tell him things are different but he was having none of it.

But he spoke highly of the AK-47 and SKS. He felt compelled to buy any reasonably priced Winchester 1887 or SKS he saw at a gun show. Don't know why he wasn't into collecting the AK pattern guns, he was only really ino SKSs, 30-30 lever guns and 1911s. So he has maybe a dozen SKSs.

There's a photo of me from the late 80s when I was like 9 holding an SKS. I had "tricked" him into letting me hold one by asking if it was heavy.

He wasn't much of a shooter though so I never really shot one until I was in my mid 20s. I wonder if I can scrounge that up somewhere.

I've had an AK and SKS don't miss the AK do miss the SKS.

Don't know if I can fully articulate why but I like leverguns and SKS like your uncle.

[awp_101]

I've had an AK and SKS don't miss the AK do miss the SKS.

Don't know if I can fully articulate why but I like leverguns and SKS like your uncle.

I wouldn't say I miss having an AK, but I do want another one day just because I'm a child of the 70s and 80s and they held an almost mystical appeal to a young gun crank. Making my way though the AK world with AWB-era MAK90s, an NHM91, multiple SAR1s and a SAR2 somehow didn't really break that appeal.

I grew up with a Win 94 .30-30 so leverguns will always be .

[Bigghoss]

If anyone wants to know the history and mechanics of the SKS.