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I'm toying with the idea of picking up and SKS. Budget rifle with cheap surplus ammunition. Anyone here have any experience with them?
I owned a Ruskie model, it was a decent rifle. SKSs make for good truck guns, or deer/hog hunting rifles. I know 7.62x54r is still available in spam cans and other surplus stuff, x39 seems to be drying up, modern steel case is still cheap though. Remember to buy stripper clips, they'll make reloading much easier, you can get pretty fast using them, with practice.
If you can find one in good shape, at a good price, enjoy. However you might end up in the long run, wanting to get rid of it, and end up getting an AK like I did.
Pros: It's slightly more accurate than the AK, due to it's milled receiver and longer barrel length.
IMO, the SKS was more ergonomic, with it's safety on a better location in comparison the AK, and felt more like a hunting rifle in my hands.
Cons: Capacity, 10 rounds isn't too bad...but 30 rounds makes your plinking experience more enjoyable.
The availability for customization isn't too great for the SKS, when compared to the AK...you'll find Tapco and other parts for it..but I say, leave your SKS alone, in stock configuration. If you wanted something with a modern look or custom friendly, pick up an AK or AR.
I'm toying with the idea of picking up and SKS. Budget rifle with cheap surplus ammunition. Anyone here have any experience with them?
I owned a Ruskie model, it was a decent rifle. SKSs make for good truck guns, or deer/hog hunting rifles. I know 7.62x54r is still available in spam cans and other surplus stuff, x39 seems to be drying up, modern steel case is still cheap though. Remember to buy stripper clips, they'll make reloading much easier, you can get pretty fast using them, with practice.
If you can find one in good shape, at a good price, enjoy. However you might end up in the long run, wanting to get rid of it, and end up getting an AK like I did.
Pros: It's slightly more accurate than the AK, due to it's milled receiver and longer barrel length.
IMO, the SKS was more ergonomic, with it's safety on a better location in comparison the AK, and felt more like a hunting rifle in my hands.
Cons: Capacity, 10 rounds isn't too bad...but 30 rounds makes your plinking experience more enjoyable.
The availability for customization isn't too great for the SKS, when compared to the AK...you'll find Tapco and other parts for it..but I say, leave your SKS alone, in stock configuration. If you wanted something with a modern look or custom friendly, pick up an AK or AR.
Thank you very much for th first hand knowledge. I'd be limited in what I can do with it (stupid Canadian gun laws), and AK's are out of the question. Found a Russian surplus 39 that looks to be in decent shape with the stripper clips for a good price. I heard from a friend last night that the RCMP is talking about reclassifying them because of how simple they are to modify to full auto. Which means I need to do a little further research. I really hope this bullshit isn't true.
Regarding the capacity, I have mentioned elsewhere on the forum here that it's pretty easy and simple to convert the SKS to take a 30 or 50-round banana clip. Plenty of vids on Youtube showing how.
And while I personally think the SKS looks better on a Tapco intrafuse stock, the ones that come stock standard on the dragunov aren't too bad looking either.
Except that would be illegal in Canada. I've played around with detachable mags in SKSs, not really worthwhile, especially if you're stuck with 5 round capacity no matter what. I find that an SKS with detachable mag doesn't lend itself to quick reloads either due to how the mag would have to be released.
Honestly, I don't see the point of dumping much money into an SKS, maybe upgraded iron sights if you really hate the factory ones, but they usually end up costing just as much, if not more than the gun itself.
I'm toying with the idea of picking up and SKS. Budget rifle with cheap surplus ammunition. Anyone here have any experience with them?
They're not "easy to convert to full auto", but they can be prone to slamfire, especially because most have been sitting in cosmoline for 50+ years.
Every Canadian owns one, decent non-restricted rifle and cheap to get into. Not that you'll be shooting indoors, just be aware that most surplus 7.62x39 is steel core or bi-metal and some ranges may give you shit for it. RCMP did issue a bulletin either last year or the year before that, but that had more to do with the commonly known slamfire issue.
Vote accordingly if you don't want them reclassified, even a minority government can reclassify through an Order in Council.
how come everyone is referring to theirs as a rifle? mine's a carbine... do they come in both?
Standard SKS' had a 20" barrel. The paratrooper models had a 16" barrel. Either way, a rifle is a rifle. A carbine is just a specific type of rifle