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sks, anyone got one?

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24 July 2004, 07:31
NH_Hunter
sks, anyone got one?
Hey guys, i was thinking about buying an sks for a cheap bad weather rifle. What do you think of yours? For ammo i would most likely pull bullets from teh cheap wolf stuff and reload them into better components.
24 July 2004, 09:17
craigster
I had one at one time, a very nice Russian. Shot it quite a bit. Reliable, fun, and cheap to shoot, accuracy was around 3" @ 100yds. Sold it for twice what I paid. A lot of guys out here bought the Chinese versions when they hit the market @ $80 bucks or so. They make great beaters. I'd buy another at the right price.
24 July 2004, 11:50
Major Caliber
Just shoot the Wolf ammo, it works fine.
24 July 2004, 13:51
Paul Brasky
I too bought a NIB Chinese-made SKS from Navy Arms 11 years ago and am quite impressed with the workmanship and its accuracy. Mine will shoot into 3" or 4" @ 100 yd. (sometimes into 1") with the lousy trigger and cast bullets. All in all, a very reliable and well-made piece.
26 July 2004, 04:36
Eric
You ever wonder why politics always has to get involved in every single thing?

Everyone has an opinion, that's democracy.


Oh yea. I've had a Norinco, still have a Russian, Yugo, and an Albanian. The Chinese was the, uh, cheapest? The Albanian was supposed to be "Very Good" but turned out to be a decent shooting beater. The others are swell shooters and very well made.

Regards,

Eric
26 July 2004, 04:40
denton
It's the adult Ruger 10-22.

Cheetah ammo is better than Wolf, and only a little more expensive. Lapua makes first rate ammo that is suitable for reloading.
28 July 2004, 09:36
Ricochet
I've got a 1960 Romanian one. It's a blast. Why bother handloading? I just shoot the Russian hollowpoint stuff.
28 July 2004, 10:51
eshell
Quote:

It's the adult Ruger 10-22.



Ain't that the truth! Fun guns. Like a semi-auto .30-30. Centerfire blasting doesn't get much cheaper or easier.

I have a Russian and a Chinese. The Rusky is a much better made rifle.

Quote:

Cheetah ammo is better than Wolf, and only a little more expensive. Lapua makes first rate ammo that is suitable for reloading.


Agreed, I've been using the Cheetah too. I prefer the brass cases, rational or not. Paid a $.10 a shot for it, though a lot of Russian stuff is out there for $.08 +/-. Here's a review over at AR15.Com on the 7.62x39 ammo types: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=54&t=56018

All of the ammo discussed so far is FMJ, and not for hunting. More expensive expanding ammo is made by a couple outfits. Disregard the claims made for the Russian holowpoints, they're still steel jacketed and do not expand. Further, much of the HP ammo doesn't feed well.

I don't think I want to use it for anything larger than deer, since it's ballistically similar to a .30-30, and has a lighter bullet.

Shop around, I don't think I've ever seen more variation in the price of a rifle as with an SKS. Made in so many countries, over such a long time, and available in such diverse conditions, too. From "new unissued", to "arsenal rebuilt", to "most numbers match", to "shooter grade".
28 July 2004, 15:29
denton
Quote:

From "new unissued", to "arsenal rebuilt", to "most numbers match", to "shooter grade".



You forgot "collector grade"--I'm too chicken to actually fire this thing, but I'll sell it to you, and let you try it!
28 July 2004, 17:11
Clark
I remember Bob and Ray talking about a meat loaf collection [some of the older pieces were nothing but little brown lumps], so collecting SKSs must be possible too.

I know I do it.

SKSs are at their best with cheap imported ammo, shooting not at a range, but an unstructured rural setting. Shoot the 22 rimfire until it runs out of range. Then bring out the SKSs. They shoot further than the 22s and make good dust clouds where they hit. Then get out the .308 semi autos and shoot still further and make bigger dust clouds.

But don't sit around writing love poems to your SKS and thinking of having them blue printed.