SKS

[longshank]

Picked up a stock Yugo SKS. Considering upgrading with a polymer stock set and detachable mags, etc. some guys say leave it stock and use stripper clips. If I leave it stock I'm still gonna have to lengthen that stock as its waaaay too short. Any thoughts? I don't have the illusion it's gonna be a tack drivers me my bolt guns.

[KMAX]

I have a Yugo SKS. I bought it in stock condition, but swapped out the stock and box mag for a Tapco adjustable stock and Tapco 20 round mags. I kept it that way for awhile but recently switched it back because I like the original set up better. I would like to sell the Tapco stock and 5 magazines. I haven't actually put it up for sale yet, but I don't need the stuff anymore. If you are interested PM me.

[Rube]

I did a quick Google search for "sks buttpad" and came up with several choices that would add 1" or 2". It would be a fairly inexpensive way to try leaving it stock.

[tahunua001]

I agree with you there, the 13.75" length of pull is just too short. I put a ramline monte carlo stock on mine and went with a crapco 20 round mag. the ramline only adds half an inch LOP but it makes a big difference over stock and though I wish I could stay with the original mag 922R says I have to replace 2 parts besides the stock so I have to use the crapco mag for the time being until I can get some parts for the trigger group replaced.

[longshank]

Thanks guys.

[Beretta686]

I kind of have a soft-spot in my heart for the SKS, it's cheap, it goes bang-bang-bang-bang every time and will hit a man-sized target at 100 meters pretty easily (though the stock is a bit too short).

It may be just me and my tastes, but I always thought adding all that aftermarket stuff to an SKS, made it look rather silly and defeats the purpose of a $250 knock around gun. You'll often see guys strolling around the gunshow with $500 worth of Mall-Ninja crap on a $250 weapon (I'm waiting to see an ACOG on one).

If it makes your SKS more enjoyable to you, go for it (I may still snicker at you at the gun show though). But if you want detachable mags and such, it's easier to just go buy an AK, which is a better designed weapon anyway.

[lee n. field]

Picked up a stock Yugo SKS. Considering upgrading with a polymer stock set and detachable mags, etc. some guys say leave it stock and use stripper clips. If I leave it stock I'm still gonna have to lengthen that stock as its waaaay too short. Any thoughts? I don't have the illusion it's gonna be a tack drivers me my bolt guns.

Leave it stock. Don't bolt takticool crap on it. They make stock extender buttpads for SKSs, that will add a couple inches.

[tahunua001]

beretta,
I kindof agree and also disagree.
I purchased my SKS 3 days after sandy hook when the evil black rifle racks were completely bare but the LGS still had an SKS for cheap so I decided to try a little experiment and bought it. my goal was to see if you could build a passable evil black rifle for less than it would cost you for the cheapest decent alternative(being the AR15 at about $600). I gave myself a $400 budget including the rifle just so that if I went a little over it would still be reasonably priced below the AR.

I went with a crapco stock which I couldn't get to fit my rifle so I sold it at the gunshow to recoup my losses and bought a ramline monte carlo stock that fits like a glove, no fitting or dremel required. I bought a crapco 20 round detach mag and a TS200 to replace the awful commie sights(same as the mosin nagant and AK47). the mag has been perfectly reliable but it's a pain to try to load from strippers which I can do much more rapidly with the stock magazine than single feeding it like an AK47 magazine. I guess if I had several mags at my disposal it wouldn't be a big deal but since I only have the one, the detachable mag is just less practical and when my pocket change jar fills up I will be spending lots of cents for two trigger group parts so that I can swap back to the standard 10 round mag. the TS200 is day and night difference, much better sight picture than commie leaf sights, more customizable as well and doesn't require a special tool to adjust.

however I will strongly disagree with you that the AK47 is a better designed rifle. the SKS may weigh a little more and has a fixed magazine but the internal mechanics are much simpler, easier to place in and take out and the tolerances are much tighter letting less dirt inside. I much prefer a milled rifle to a stamped one and it just felt like I was holding a toaster when I was messing around with my AK clone.

I once read a thread about a guy that built an AK out of a shovel and parts kit. he used the handle for furniture used a burn barrel and hammer to shape the blade into a receiver. his end product shot just as well as a factory AK clone so I really don't see anything superior about their construction.

[iraiam]

I find the SKS in it's stock configuration to be more tactical than any of the "tacticool" accessories, at one time mine was set up in both configurations.

The only modification mine currently has is the updated spring loaded firing pin and trigger group parts, which was done more for safety reasons than anything else.

[jackpine]

If you square your body to the target rather that a more traditional off hand stance the stock will fit better and you gain much but looks when you switch to "modern tactical" parts. A stock box sks is a happy sks

[skizzums]

i have a vast many sks's, i have always loved the cost, availabilty, ammo, etc. but i will say from many different stock choices that i have, the sgworks bullpup is not comfortable to shoot. it seems a little ridiculous to spend 250$ on a 250$ rifle, but i promise you will love it. although, i don't care for it too much unless your barrell is under 17" or your willing to get it cut and crowned.

[tgstoken]

The problem with the SKS nowadays is that they are just not worth the $350-$500 they are going for. I saved a few extra pennies and got an AK for $600. I can see adding a stock to the SKS, but ALL the "detachable" mags are trash. Yes, the Tapco 20rd is crap too, can only load 10 in via stripper, the rest need to be thumbed in. If you own an SKS, just consider it a 10 rd gun, period.

[skizzums]

i have to take issue with that, all my magazines work flawlessy, even the tapco 20's. the promags used to be garbage, but now have a new design which i havent had a problem with yet. i have thousands of rounds through my magazines. that being said, i wouldnt pay more than 350 for an sks. i would rather build an ak. i built a vz-58 for 500 and it is a much better rifle than the sks

[tahunua001]

The problem with the SKS nowadays is that they are just not worth the $350-$500 they are going for. I saved a few extra pennies and got an AK for $600. I can see adding a stock to the SKS, but ALL the "detachable" mags are trash. Yes, the Tapco 20rd is crap too, can only load 10 in via stripper, the rest need to be thumbed in. If you own an SKS, just consider it a 10 rd gun, period.

first of all,
all of those $500 SKS are russian, you know the good ones, find me a $600 russian AK? you can't. even stock siagas that haven't been converted yet don't go for that. if you want to compare cheapest to cheapest, then yes you can still find a $600 romanian WASR under a rock every now and then for $600 but it's just as easy to find a Chinese SKS for under $250.

then your rant about magazines. I have no idea why you felt the need to put the word 'detachable' in quotation marks. it sounds as if you don't think that they really detach. I assure you, they do. and they do it just as easily as an AK. then your laughable comment about having to single load the high cap magazines therefore they are crap? show me a single AK that allows even loading the first 10 rounds from a stripper no less a full magazine? they dont exist. all of those mags have to be loaded one by one from empty to full.

so by your own logic you saved your extra pennies for a gun that you should consider a 1 round gun, period.

[KMAX]

Maybe I am missing something, but I thought the point of detachable mags was so you wouldn't have to use stripper clips. Just swap out mags. I understand that in a life or death situation it might help to be able to load another quick 10 rounds, but if I get into a life or death situation I hope I have more to count on than my Yugo SKS. I view mine as a range toy.

[Jim243]

To fix the stock problem just get a slip on recoil pad adds about 2 inches.

Jim

[tgstoken]

all of those $500 SKS are russian, you know the good ones, find me a $600 russian AK?

Rant?? I wasnt ranting, just offering my personal experience. Your the one ranting, must have had too much coffee this morning? First of all, did I say $500 SKS only? No I didnt, I suggest you learn to read before offering your advice here. I said $350-500. $350-$400 will net you a decent used SKS. Yes, you can load any milspec AK mag with stripper clips, which you are apparently very unaware of. The aftermarket SKS mags are technically detachable, but they are simply clunky at best, not being able to insert a mag on a closed bolt. Having to hold the bolt back to insert a mag is just silly. AK's have dropped in price along with everything else post panic. Yes, gunshow prices are too high, thats why most gunshows are a joke anymore. Here's a link to a decent AK for $600 http://www.kygunco.com/mm-inc-m10-76...pe-rifle-58572 . I challenge you to find a BRAND NEW SKS for a lot cheaper than a brand new AK. If a person is going to buy a used SKS for $350, dump $100 on a new stock and be forced to live with the horrid trigger/clunky detachable mag setup, why not just spend the extra $150 and get the gun most SKS owners wish it was? I have had Russian SKS (the best), Yugo, Chinese SKS-D (AK mags) and 1 Romanian. They were all serviceable 10rd (except the SKS-D) traditional style rifles, but they are simply inferior to the AK in every way, except price (and even then, the margin is low and getting lower).

[iraiam]

The problem with the SKS nowadays is that they are just not worth the $350-$500 they are going for.

I couldn't agree more, My SKS cost me $90, and it's a pretty good one.

[tahunua001]

perhaps rant was the wrong word but I still stand by my comments.

having to hold the bolt back with one hand? obsurd. there is a last round bolt stop on SKS, without a magazine in the bolt slams shut on an open chamber but why are you shooting a single round without a mag in and then trying to insert a mag?

you can also actuate the bolt stop manually, I've done it a couple times. if you are shooting with high caps that last round bolt stop locks the bolt back in the first place, meaning that you can dump a new mag and put a new one in with the bolt holding itself back and then just a simple retraction and it's good to go, it's actually a faster process than the AK since you have to fully retract the bolt on it to chamber the first round from a new mag.

as for stripper loading milspec mags you'll have to show me that one. I see lots of companies that sell adapters...too many actually, considering that the ability to load from strippers is apparently a 'very common feature'.

clunky trigger? my SKS trigger is every bit as good as my AK trigger ever was. I bought a red star trigger for my AK, I have never felt the need for my SKS. there, I believe you are being facetious.

those brand new AKs for $600 are junk. I owned one for three years before selling it. it was a rust bucket, literally. regardless of what I shot out of it, how I cleaned it, how I stored it or even whether It had been shot since it's last cleaning, it rusted. it always filled with dirt. it was the 2nd least accurate rifle I have ever owned. it was incapable of feeding from milspec mags. and no amount of plastic, optics and upgrades could make me like it.

the SKS is a great gun and I will recommend it over a budget AK any day of the week and twice on sunday. if you have the $1200 to dump on a converted saiga, by all means buy the saiga but if you are torn between a WASR and a SKS, I will vote, without hesitation, for the SKS regardless of make and amount of use.

[skizzums]

if you really like sks's and really can't stand the bolt having to be backto insert mag(doesnt bother me, cuz the bolt stays back after the last round is shot), but i do have the bolt mod on my chinese, it was free if your handy, or 90$ if you have it shipped off and done.

[skizzums]

p.s. i love hearing the never-ending arguement about sk's and ak's. they all do the trick i promise. and i doubt any of us will ever be in the situation to need any of them in a civilian situation. having lots of different guns is alot of fun, and i know in the back of our minds we all have each one of our guns reserved for different purposes if the apocolypse ever arrives, but let's be real, it's probably not. sk's and ak's are both great weapons with a good strong(widely available) round and an almost infalliable reputation for reliability. i think most of us bought our sk's for the value and also have a mutual respect for ak's. for those of you who wouldn't be caught dead wth an sk over your shoulder.....fine, keep it to yourself, because we like ours........alot!!! be safe out there and have fun.

[shaunpain]

I couldn't agree more with the above poster. Comparing a SKS to an AK is like comparing apples to oranges. They're both fruit, but the chemistry is much different. An AK was designed as a full auto gun with detachable magazines. A SKS was designed as a main battle rifle (albeit the intermediary cartridge) for semi automatic fire. The fact that it has a fixed magazine matters not to me. Loading with stripper clips is not difficult, and some can probably charge the SKS much faster than an AK.

I own a Yugo myself and think it's a beautiful gun, even if it's a little heavy. It's one of my preferred rifles for a number of reasons; stripper clip capability, the cartridge, sturdy milled steel, and short LOP just some of them (I'm not a big guy). Yes, it's heavy, but a sling will help a lot with that. I wouldn't switch the furniture unless it was absolutely trashed, and if I did it would only be for another set of nicer, more beautiful wood. These guns are classic and the Yugo is a pretty gun (to me) that loses a lot of its grace in polymer. I can understand why people would want to install detachable magazines, but I see no point in rendering a gun subject to malfunctioning when the OEM mag works perfectly.

I think people are under the impression that they can tack on a bunch of stuff and it will raise the price of their rifle. I beg to differ. To me, you annihilate any potential collector value, now matter how small, and people often render these guns permanent parts guns for messing with them.

[seanc]

Per the OP: Just get the stock lengthening butt pads for now. Get to know your rifle and maybe later you can change the stock if you still want to.

I've owned several SKS rifles (Yugo and Chinese) and AKs (Siagas and Veprs). For semi-auto fire, there's not much difference in rate of fire other than it's easier to get standard, larger capacity mags for the AKs (I did like the machined in stripper clip guide on SKS rifles, though).

I do beg to differ that even practiced stripper clip loaders can load an SKS as fast as someone can swap mags on an AK. I did the bolt mod to my Yugo and appreciated the Tapco mags, being able to reload with the bolt closed. I got pretty good with stripper clips, but being able to quickly pop in another 20 round mag was less stressful and easier for the wife as well.

Shaunpain: If you're still living in Chicago, your Yugo will soon be or is now illegal if it's still in stock form. The grenade launcher is now a banned feature in the just past ordinance.
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