Does anyone shoot their SKS regularly?

MarylandWillWin · Oct 29, 2015

Are they fun? ergos, recoil
Reasonably accurate? I'm not a marksman.

It appeals to me, like a Mini-30 or M1A, but a bit cheaper, and with old school good looks. Plus I've read they can consume the cheap ammo.

I just wanted to know if anyone regularly uses theirs, or if these are better left to collectors.

cantstop · Oct 29, 2015

Don't shoot it a whole lot, but my Chinese SKS is fun, fairly accurate with cheap ammo and very little recoil.

wilcam47 · Oct 29, 2015

they are fun to shoot...get two one to collect one to shoot. Problem solved!

platekiller · Oct 29, 2015

They are fun guns. One of my favorites. I had to thin my collection and that's one that had to go. I will get one again some day.

Kman · Oct 29, 2015

No SKS expert, but fun, not ammo picky, easy recoil and relatively accurate.

I only have a Yugo and a Chinese.

LOP is a little short and awkward and stock seems chunky. I have been thinking about Tech sights for one of them.

PS I take one out to the range maybe 4 or 5 times a year. Maybe 75 rounds per trip.

Laddertowr · Oct 29, 2015

I bought a few .. and they are fun and cheap to shoot...

iH8DemLibz · Oct 29, 2015

Best thing since peanut butter and jelly in the same jar.

A world class, durable, reliable, and well priced battle rifle.

Can't be beat and cheap ammo too.

MarylandWillWin · Oct 29, 2015

Seems like a strong vote for a first (non-22) rifle for me then. Awesome.

iH8DemLibz · Oct 29, 2015

Buy a very good to excellent condition rifle if you're not a tinkerer.

Stay away from the bottom of the barrel types and gunsmith specials.

While they can be made serviceable, they are often times mismatched, damaged, or pretty beat up.

Have fun.

MacGuns · Oct 29, 2015

As they say* стрелять в них, jim ustrelil, 射击他们

*Depending on the flavor of SKS you pickup.

CasualObserver · Oct 29, 2015

I shoot one a few times a year. I have one that I've run several thousand rounds through. I have to admit though, I have both my shooters and my safe queens. Definitely my go to plinker (if you can go plinking with a 30 cal round) when not shooting .22

HappyCamper · Oct 29, 2015

Shooting them seems a bit cruel, even for the Chinese ones. I prefer to beat them with a stick and verbally berate them for not being more like their AK brother..

Doctor_M · Oct 29, 2015

I take mine out for a walk quite a bit... kind of view them as the commie version of the M1 carbine (with a bit more punch).... lots of fun to shoot.

sandeman · Oct 29, 2015

I own a AK and a mosin.The Russian guns work out in the field.My brother has a east German SKS.I think it has a head space problem. He is happy just to own one.

alucard0822 · Oct 29, 2015

Lots of fun, slim and compact to carry around well, they can be fairly accurate and soft shooting too, good rifle to plink around, easy to shoot from sandbags or prone, loading with strippers is fun and quick, and the built-in bayonet is cool. Don't expect it to be an AK, or try to turn it into one, and enjoy it for what it is.

MarylandWillWin · Oct 29, 2015

HappyCamper said:
Shooting them seems a bit cruel, even for the Chinese ones. I prefer to beat them with a stick and verbally berate them for not being more like their AK brother..

Ha! Let me know if you have any luck reforming them.

alucard0822 said:
Lots of fun, slim and compact to carry around well, they can be fairly accurate and soft shooting too, good rifle to plink around, loading with strippers is fun and quick. Don't expect it to be an AK, or try to turn it into one, and enjoy it for what it is.

I like the M1/M14/Mini14/30/M1A stylings. I promise that if I obtain one, I will not turn it into a bubbAK.

lsw · Oct 29, 2015

I was regularly shooting mine up til about 2 years ago, put around 2000 rounds through it without any problems. Since I bought a vz2008 I don't take the SKS out nearly as often.

It's a good reliable rifle, somewhat heavy for the 7.62x39 cartridge, which keeps recoil down. My vz needed a good muzzle brake to become as soft shooting as the SKS. I'd say the SKS has fair accuracy, the vz is better.

alucard0822 · Oct 29, 2015

MarylandWillWin said:
Ha! Let me know if you have any luck reforming them.

I like the M1/M14/Mini14/30/M1A stylings. I promise that if I obtain one, I will not turn it into a bubbAK.

Outside of the issues with many tacticool parts that are not well made or reliable for the SKS, it's a completely different animal than the AK designed for a different purpose and different tactics, kinda like trying to turn an M1 garand into an M14. Marylanders kinda sorta get a pass being AK's are banned and SKSs are not, but if you want a big detachable mag and pistol grip/folding stock, an AK (or VZ58) is a much better way to go. Used to be SKSs were dirt cheap, and plentiful where AK's were more expensive, before everyone started building AKs and SKS stockpiles dried up.

Combloc · Oct 29, 2015

I have a bunch of them but haven't shot them in years. They are decently accurate and generally 100% reliable. For some reason, I really enjoy owning them but have no interest in shooting them. One of the nice things is that they come in so many flavors being that so many countries produced them. There is variation within each country too. For example, here's a 1951 "as issued" (that means it was never arsenal reworked) made by Tula:

A 1954 Tula as issued with a 1952 Tula light rework (they only replaced the stock):

And a 1954 Izhevsk as issued:

All of the above are Soviet yet there is significant variation among them all. When you get into SKS's built by other countries, the variation continues. They used to be very cheap so you could buy a bunch of them and have fun looking at all the flavors but prices are rising unfortunately. If you are new to these, I highly recommend buying ones that are 100% matching and never reworked. They will be commanding premium prices in just a very few years.

BossmanPJ · Oct 29, 2015

Combloc said:
I have a bunch of them but haven't shot them in years. They are decently accurate and generally 100% reliable. For some reason, I really enjoy owning them but have no interest in shooting them. One of the nice things is that they come in so many flavors being that so many countries produced them. There is variation within each country too. For example, here's a 1951 "as issued" (that means it was never arsenal reworked) made by Tula:

A 1954 Tula as issued with a 1952 Tula light rework (they only replaced the stock):

And a 1954 Izhevsk as issued:

All of the above are Soviet yet there is significant variation among them all. When you get into SKS's built by other countries, the variation continues. They used to be very cheap so you could buy a bunch of them and have fun looking at all the flavors but prices are rising unfortunately. If you are new to these, I highly recommend buying ones that are 100% matching and never reworked. They will be commanding premium prices in just a very few years.

Mother of God. Those are great rifles!

Does anyone shoot their SKS regularly?

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