I've decided I'm in the market for an SKS...
Two people local to me have them for sale - one wants
$450 FIRM - the other $450 OBO - and has already said
he'd take $400 cash.
Right now Classic Firearms has them on sale for $299.
Shipping and tax is another $60, roughly, plus I'd have
to pay a local FFL and the TICS fee, so it would be
pushing $400 anyway.
The ones from Classic are Chi-Com surplus, with
bayonets, and are COATED in - oh me the name is
escaping me - the 'line' stuff that they protect
that stuff with. They are also true surplus, so
they will have 'wear and tear,' which actually
intrigues me!
So - any thoughts on this? Any advice?
GREASE wrote to JIMMY ANDERSON <=-
I've decided I'm in the market for an SKS...
Two people local to me have them for sale - one wants
$450 FIRM - the other $450 OBO - and has already said
he'd take $400 cash.
Wow! I bought two in the early 90's for about $85 each. Nice rifles.
Right now Classic Firearms has them on sale for $299.
Shipping and tax is another $60, roughly, plus I'd have
to pay a local FFL and the TICS fee, so it would be
pushing $400 anyway.
Would have to see what condition. Sometimes the "previos owner" ones
are sometimes in better shape than the import ones.
The ones from Classic are Chi-Com surplus, with
bayonets, and are COATED in - oh me the name is
escaping me - the 'line' stuff that they protect
that stuff with. They are also true surplus, so
they will have 'wear and tear,' which actually
intrigues me!
Cosmoline. Cleaning that stuff off of a rifle will teach you excellent
gun cleaning skills. But once it's gone, you'll know it's clean.
So - any thoughts on this? Any advice?
Are you wanting to update stocks? Add-ons? Or just keep it stock and
just shoot?
They are very accurate to about 200 meters with standard
sights once you get it locked in. Watched a pro in a youtube vid pick
one up and hit at 400. And that was 1 out of 5. It was a good grouping though, just to the left of the target.
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MOONDOG wrote to GREASE <=-
A couple of years ago some real rough grade SKS' came on the market.
They looked well worn and the stocks had minor cracks while others
looked horrible. Whatever type of bluing/ parkerizing was also worn to bare metal. IIRC they were selling for $299.
i would've spent a little
more for a Yugo - Zastava SKS with the gas cutoff and grenade sight. I have a Russian SKS made in the early 1950's and a Chinese "paratrooper" model that takes AK mags. The 1990's AWB compliant "thumbole" stocks. Looked like a 5th grade woodshop project made from recycled plywood.
The cosmoline it was packed in made the finish soft and tacky until it finally cured by laying it in the sun for a day to cook out the
cosmoline.
MOONDOG wrote to GREASE <=-
A couple of years ago some real rough grade SKS' came on the market. They looked well worn and the stocks had minor cracks while others looked horrible. Whatever type of bluing/ parkerizing was also worn to bare metal. IIRC they were selling for $299.
Could be this same batch...
I'm not as concernrd about the looks - I like the idea of the history
and the character.
i would've spent a little
more for a Yugo - Zastava SKS with the gas cutoff and grenade sight. I have a Russian SKS made in the early 1950's and a Chinese "paratrooper" model that takes AK mags. The 1990's AWB compliant "thumbole" stocks. Looked like a 5th grade woodshop project made from recycled plywood. The cosmoline it was packed in made the finish soft and tacky until it finally cured by laying it in the sun for a day to cook out the cosmoline.
... Velcro - what a rip off!!!
MOONDOG wrote to JIMMY ANDERSON <=-
My concern over the very worn rifles is whether it's only external wear or if there's serious internal wear. In the 1990's there were warnings about SKS's coming in the country with firing pin spring (or something like that) missing, and cautioned that you should load two rounds the first time you fire it to verify it doesn't slam fire when the bolt closes.
Yeah I would probably break it down before I shot it, just because I'm interested.
I just ordered a part for my wife's newest gun - a SUB 2000. I'm getting
her a two finger charging handle and while I was there - mcarbo.com - I
was watcing the video on their 'trigger kit' and polishing of the various internal parts for my S&W M&P Shield .40 that is my daily carry. I decided to get the trigger kit, plus their polishing kit (dremel bits that are polishing pieces, along with their polishing "goop" that they sell).
I need to polish the feedramp on my Browning SA-22, so again looking
forward to finally getting an SKS and tearing it down!
My brother collects Mausers, and he received one that appeared to be transitional between the WWI pattern and WWII K98 model. The firing pin would stick on occasion, so pulling the trigger would either result in a hang fire or may not fire at all. We stripped the bolt down and cleaned it thoroughly, however my guess was parts either need to be further fitted, or replaced completely. In the past, any gunsmith worth a hoot would have a cox of spare bolt parts, or knew how to machine and polish parts. Nowadays, most will do the same thing a customer could do and take a chance on getting parts from Gun Parts Corp.
I'm not scared to do basic cleaning/polishing/replacing of parts... That's what youtube is for. ;-)
... COMMAND: A suggestion made to a computer.
MOONDOG wrote to JIMMY ANDERSON <=-
I'm not scared to do basic cleaning/polishing/replacing of parts... That's what youtube is for. ;-)
I also don't mind performing repairs at an armorer's level. Finished parts or parts that need minor fitting or stoning are way different
than using a lathe or mill to create a prototype part from brass, then repeat the process with a billet of tool steel and heat treat it. The Midway USA and Brownells videos on how to convert old large bore
rimfires to centerfire and bore out shot out barrels to install rifled sleeves amazes me. In the old days, a gunsmith could buy a box of 1000 random sized surplus Enfield bolt faces, and fix the headspace by
digging around and finding one that fits right. Smiths with big
teardown bins of parts recovered from damaged guns are hard to find.
I've decided I'm in the market for an SKS - any thoughts
here?
Classic Firearms tempted me when they showed the big
batch of Chi Com units that have been packed in Cosmoline
for 20+ years! I watched the video where they tore one
down and cleaned it and reassembled it. I loved the
"character marks" on the stocks and such!!!
Anyway, I'd like to get one, but locally when they are
sold they go for abour $400. That's about what I can
get one for from Classic, after paying shipping, a local
FFL to handle it, tax and the $10 TICS fee. If I'm going
to pay that, I'd rather have one no one has done anything
with or to for 20+ years! :-)
I was checking Acadamy and Gander and other site for deals
on ammo and Gander had a 'used guns' section, so I clicked
on it. SKS - Cosmoline - 20+ years - all that, basically
the same thing - $342, plus a $15 'shipping charge' to the
local store. No FFL transfer fee, just tax and the $10
TICS (Tennessee Instant Check System) fee.
Hmm... I really wanted to click it and purchase, but
I didn't... yet... :-) We are in Indy visiting for a few
days, so I thought no need in it just sitting at the local
store, and I might just get lucky and find something
somewhere. :-)
So - any thoughts?
... If at first you don't succeed, redefine success.
MOONDOG wrote to JIMMY ANDERSON <=-
I was checking Acadamy and Gander and other site for deals
on ammo and Gander had a 'used guns' section, so I clicked
on it. SKS - Cosmoline - 20+ years - all that, basically
the same thing - $342, plus a $15 'shipping charge' to the
local store. No FFL transfer fee, just tax and the $10
TICS (Tennessee Instant Check System) fee.
Hmm... I really wanted to click it and purchase, but
I didn't... yet... :-) We are in Indy visiting for a few
days, so I thought no need in it just sitting at the local
store, and I might just get lucky and find something
somewhere. :-)
The Gander Mt deal sounds good. Back in the 90's I bought a Russian
SKS for $125 and my brother bought a Chinese SKS for $89. A year or
two later I picked up an SKS "paratrooper" model that used AK mags fo $139.
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