Chinese SKS, tactified, need opinions

[A.J. Holst]

Got a lead on one for $300.

Aftermarket folding stock, full camo including barrel and receiver. Bayonet removed.

Accepts AK47 mags.

Owner reports shoots like a dream, but you have to hold the mag "up" otherwise it won't reliably feed. 

States can be remedied with a simple replacement of an inexpensive pin. I have no clue  as to the level of skill or tools necessary to replace this pin.

Other than a cursory handling when he first got it, I havent really inspected it, what should i be looking for? 

 

[xtriggerman]

First of all, those are not AK mags. They are aftermarket "duck bill" magazines used in place of the original fixed 10 round mag. I have no idea of what pin he is talking about. It looks like the mag catch is in place. If it has spring tension holding it in a forward position, the mags "should" lock in place. These are rugged guns and easy to replace parts for the most part. The thing I would look at is remove the hand guard and look at the forward part of the piston cylinder tube for pitting. If the tube is pitted, you can get poor ejection of the cases. A good rust free bore is a huge consideration also.

[56FordGuy]

"Works great, just won't feed" 

 

I've never seen those aftermarket mags work correctly. If you could find an SKS that took real AK mags it might be worth $300, but the one you pictured is a $200 gun at most in my opinion. The stock looks like a cheap ATI/ Tapco, the one I had wobbled pretty badly. 

[A.J. Holst]

Thanks for the replies and info. My  limited Internet-based research didn't indicate these were "proprietary" mags.

 

[Moped]

I have alway thought the original 10 round fixed magazine was the best.  Nothing else in my experience comes close.

[Caster]

Pass.  

 

The Siminov rifle is a wonderful all around gun to have.....in stock configuration.  Aftermarket magazines suck.  Stripper clips and the original magazine is the only way to go IMO.  

Edited May 15, 2016 by Caster

[Pete123]

I can't think of more to add other than someone has taken a fine looking gun  and every piece of history related to it.

 

[Pete123]

Yes, it took a little while, but you all on TGO have done exactly that.

[Moped]

I have no problem with the stock or the paint job.  To me those rifles have little historical value.  They were too late for WWII and replaced by the AK47 shortly afterwards.  However in stock configuration, they are good rifles, that tend to be a little short for me.  I need another inch or so on the stock for them to be truly comfortable.  If you could find an original magazine out there somewhere, you could have a pretty dang good semi-auto truck gun right there.

[Pete123]

The SKS rifles have  more history to them than you may realize.  The SKS was the primary infantry rifle for the Chinese for 30 years.  Militia and reserves in China still have them today.

They have historical significance to America because they saw some use in the Korean War and much use in Vietnam, both for America as well as the French.  Far more SKS's were used in Vietnam than AK 47s

They saw use in the Balkans and have been in service for a lot of poor countries.

Here are a few pics from Vietnam:

 

 

[gjohnsoniv]

If you're looking for an SKS, check SIA over in Hardin Valley.  I bought a Chinese one from them a month or so back for $299.

[Garufa]

8 hours ago, gjohnsoniv said:

If you're looking for an SKS, check SIA over in Hardin Valley.  I bought a Chinese one from them a month or so back for $299.

I was out there a few weeks ago and saw at least a dozen completely covered in cosmo.  It was such a beautiful sight it nearly brought a tear to my eye.

[frankmako]

a sks that has not had a bunch of mods done to it is a great rifle to have around.  they are one great rifle for what they were made for.  simple to use and maintain.  the sks that you are looking a is priced a little high for what it is.  the owner has made at least two major changes to it, i.e.,, stock and mag.  these changes do not add value to he rifle.  it takes value away from it.  just take his own words about having to hold the mag a certain way so it will fire.  i would offer way less knowing that you will ave to buy the correct parts to make the rifle right.  or i would keep on looking.

[crossfire]

TULA/SIMONOV 1954 SKS-45 Its Russian, it's red, it looks like new and I would never even think about doing any mods. to it. As much as I like that gun, that poncho liner it's sitting on means much more. I brought that back from Nam 1967, they were worth there weight in gold back then. I've kept it all these years, some things are just hard to explain.S

Edited May 20, 2016 by crossfire

[Caster]

34 minutes ago, 06sandstone said:

 

No one can have just one Russian.  

 

It's nice knowing zombies and ghetto trash will have a hard go at it in our little neighborhood.  

Edited May 16, 2016 by Caster

[gjohnsoniv]

6 hours ago, Garufa said:

I was out there a few weeks ago and saw at least a dozen completely covered in cosmo.  It was such a beautiful sight it nearly brought a tear to my eye.

I heard they had even more than that in storage lol.  It is fantastic seeing that though. 

[NoBanStan]

I have an adapter that allows me to run AK47 mags in my SKS. It's small, cost me like $5 many years ago. I just have to remove the stock, pop it in between the receiver and the stock and viola. It works great but it made it very unwieldy. My yugo was my first rifle so I played around with the bubba toys for a bit and decided it worked best in it's original config. 

[Caster]

56 minutes ago, NoBanStan said:

 My yugo was my first rifle so I played around with the bubba toys for a bit and decided it worked best in it's original config. 

Pretty much everyone who puts any REAL trigger time behind one will come to the same conclusion.  

It has nothing to do with historical value or significance and EVERYTHING to do with function.  If one can acquire some decent stripper clips that feed properly, it's downright amazing how fast you can shoot ten rounds, reload and shoot again.  

[NoBanStan]

5 hours ago, Caster said:

Pretty much everyone who puts any REAL trigger time behind one will come to the same conclusion.  

It has nothing to do with historical value or significance and EVERYTHING to do with function.  If one can acquire some decent stripper clips that feed properly, it's downright amazing how fast you can shoot ten rounds, reload and shoot again.  

Yup, I've got a whole stack

[xtriggerman]

19 hours ago, NoBanStan said:

I have an adapter that allows me to run AK47 mags in my SKS. It's small, cost me like $5 many years ago. I just have to remove the stock, pop it in between the receiver and the stock and viola. It works great but it made it very unwieldy. My yugo was my first rifle so I played around with the bubba toys for a bit and decided it worked best in it's original config. 

If your SKS was originally made for a 10 round fixed magazine, please don't keep the myth alive that there is a simple adapter part that will allow a steel AK mag that is 1.015" wide at the top into a SKS receiver mag well that is only .970" wide. Now if you have a SKS M or SKS D model, both of those models have their mag wells machined to accept the thicker AK magazines from the factory. Maybe that is what you have.

[Obiwan]

On 5/16/2016 at 0:23 PM, 06sandstone said:

 

No one can have just one Russian.  

 

You know you can reload these, right?    

 

Nice looking rifles though!

[NoBanStan]

On 5/17/2016 at 11:30 AM, xtriggerman said:

If your SKS was originally made for a 10 round fixed magazine, please don't keep the myth alive that there is a simple adapter part that will allow a steel AK mag that is 1.015" wide at the top into a SKS receiver mag well that is only .970" wide. Now if you have a SKS M or SKS D model, both of those models have their mag wells machined to accept the thicker AK magazines from the factory. Maybe that is what you have.

It's a Romanian. It came with a 10rnd fixed and the adapter let me use an ak47 mag. Not sure how mythical that is, but it is.

Maybe I do have to specific model, who knows. I paid $195 for it soaked in cosmo when I was 22. I've shot it a bunch but I've never tried to track down it's origins.

[xtriggerman]

16 hours ago, NoBanStan said:

It's a Romanian. It came with a 10rnd fixed and the adapter let me use an ak47 mag. Not sure how mythical that is, but it is.

Maybe I do have to specific model, who knows. I paid $195 for it soaked in cosmo when I was 22. I've shot it a bunch but I've never tried to track down it's origins.

 I sure would like to see that adapter of yours! It would have saved me a bunch of machine work on the pictured AK mag-ed SKS in my user name icon. Yeah, a picture of it would go a long way to understand just what it is.

[ironsniper1]

2 hours ago, xtriggerman said:

 I sure would like to see that adapter of yours! It would have saved me a bunch of machine work on the pictured AK mag-ed SKS in my user name icon. Yeah, a picture of it would go a long way to understand just what it is.

Same here I have heard from a few different websites over the years of a adapter like what he is talking about but no one has ever seen one or posted pictures just been a rumor

[NoBanStan]

17 hours ago, xtriggerman said:

 I sure would like to see that adapter of yours! It would have saved me a bunch of machine work on the pictured AK mag-ed SKS in my user name icon. Yeah, a picture of it would go a long way to understand just what it is.

I will dig it out. I just moved into a new house on the 18th so everything is in boxes. Headed to NRAAM for the weekend so give me a few days.