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Old December 28, 2012, 09:17 PM   #1
YankeeIronSights
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What is the average price for a used Chinese made SKS?

I am shocked by the price increases for all firearms, following the tragic event at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Looking at SKS rifles, I came across a beaten up used Chinese SKS selling for $439.00. The action had lost most of its blueing but seemed to work right. The wood stock looked old and worn out. My thought is I could buy it and upgrade it using a Tapco stock.

I would appreciate your opinions.
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Old December 29, 2012, 02:37 AM   #2
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That sounds like alot for a beat up chinese sks unless its something special. Check with SAMCO arms they have some pretty nice yugo sks's and alot of guys are reporting back that they are near new condition. I just ordered one for $399.00 Go to sks survivors boards they have alot of info on all the sks's.
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Old December 29, 2012, 09:40 AM   #3
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I remember at gun shows seeing SKS's being sold by the wooden case.....you could buy a case of them for around $1000. Think there were 8 or 10 per case.....(sigh)
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Old December 29, 2012, 08:06 PM   #4
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There was a little flea market outfit I went to last year and there was a guy there that had 2 at 400.00 a pop! I remember seeing these things in old wooden barrels at a gun store I use to frequent for 75.00 a piece and the barrels were always full, I've owned several over the years from the russian, yugo, and chinese I sold and traded them about as fast as I got them, never had any desire to keep one, same goes for the AKs except they brought more money
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Old December 29, 2012, 08:45 PM   #5
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Too much.
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Old December 29, 2012, 09:04 PM   #6
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$439 seems about the average right now but I would recommend waiting, 3 weeks ago they were selling for right around $300. I just got a decent deal on a beat up Chinese for $239 simply because the shop I bought it from refuses to jack up prices when demand soars. mine has some problems with the stock and I am not a fan of the AK/SKS sights so I bought a rear aperture sight and a tapco intrafuse stock.

reviews on tapco stocks seem to be terribly hit or miss, many people call them garbage while others say they are well made, I personally think it may be a combination of peoples expectations being too high and different manufacturers making slightly different contoured rifles, making the tapco fit some rifles well while others are a bit loose.

if you decide to wait for prices to go down on an SKS I'll be sure to post my experiences with the tapco stock and tech sight aperture.
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Old December 29, 2012, 10:00 PM   #7
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I saw a norinco for sale at my lgs the other day for $349.95. It was in excellent shape and looked original to me. IMO a great price, I just had no need to buy it. I was back a week later and there was a guy buying it. So it sat for at least a week at that price. In that week the lgs sold all their ar's mini 14's and 2 M1a's.
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Old December 30, 2012, 01:29 PM   #8
Unspoken
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Yeah that's steep. Even in times like these you should be able to snag them in nice condition for 300-350...

As I'm looking on Gunbroker, I see the prices haven't jumped too noticeably...at least not into $439 territory.
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Old December 30, 2012, 01:32 PM   #9
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it's worth about 3 times what it was about a month ago.
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Old December 31, 2012, 06:16 PM   #10
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What they are going for and what they are actually worth are two different things.

I would be irked to put more than 250 into one. The last I had was an almost new presentation grade Russian sks with blade bayonet.It had a beautiful wooden stock on it. I allowed a 250 dollar trade value on it. that was about a year ago.

If I got another sks I would get one of those again. It was very nice.
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Old January 1, 2013, 10:07 AM   #11
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it's worth about 3 times what it was about a month ago.
And it will be worth 3 times what it is now next month after Fienstein and Biden introduce their gun ban proposal.
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Old January 2, 2013, 08:34 AM   #12
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And to think we could once buy Yugos for a paltry $99.00!
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Old January 4, 2013, 05:29 PM   #13
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I remember when Russian SKS's were going for $ 79.00. What are they worth now in very good condition with all matching serial numbers?
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Old January 5, 2013, 02:03 AM   #14
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I remember before the 94 ban, maybe 91-92? My local gun store got 100s of SKSs in. They went for between $35 and $65. They had M1 carbines for $125, 100s. Pallets of ammo. I remember buying xm193 for $99 a 1000. The good old days.....
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Old January 5, 2013, 02:42 AM   #15
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I remember when Russian SKS's were going for $ 79.00. What are they worth now in very good condition with all matching serial numbers?
Matching, in VG condition, they were going for as high as $900 (prior to the panic buying - and I saw a handful of "excellent" condition Tulas go for over $1,200).

The decent Russians have essentially moved into the realm of collectors. $600-800 was not uncommon before the panic buying.

The not-so-decent Russians, or rearsenaled Russians have become the red-headed step children of the SKS world. The current generation of buyers does not understand what they are. So, they think the Russians should be priced at the same level as Romanians and Yugos that have rusted pistons and seized bolts.

Even last year, you could find decent rearsenaled, or 'fair' condition Russians for less than the average Norinco, and just a bit higher than decent Romanians/Yugos.


Tomorrow, the Russian (Tula) SKS in my house (formerly mine) will probably be leaving forever. Its current owner is going to try to make a few bucks while the market is up. -I would, too; if it was still mine. But, I'll still miss it. It's a great rifle, and has put every Norinco, Yugo, and Romanian that went through the family to shame.


Current market value is a far cry from the days of SKSs stacked in barrels and crates, in the corner of gun stores.
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Old January 5, 2013, 02:51 AM   #16
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Place 15minutes away from me has them for $269.99+ .07% sales tax..

Chinese type 56,Century maybe??....Only 40 in stock for the January sales flyer
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Old January 5, 2013, 03:31 AM   #17
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Buddy just sold his Norinco with 1000 rounds of ammo for it for $900.
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Old January 5, 2013, 01:06 PM   #18
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Interlock....
I have a Norinco with the short barrel that takes AK
magazines. I would not sell it for less than $600 in
the current market. I have seen the regular ones go
for $350 to $450, locally.
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Old January 5, 2013, 01:19 PM   #19
tahunua001
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Buddy just sold his Norinco with 1000 rounds of ammo for it for $900.
the buyer probably threw the gun in the bonfire and is hoarding the ammo.
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Old January 5, 2013, 09:23 PM   #20
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Buddy just sold his Norinco with 1000 rounds of ammo for it for $900.
Does the buyer have a friend?
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Old January 6, 2013, 02:09 AM   #21
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Don't know if the buyer has a friend or not. Buddy actually had a couple of people who wanted the gun without the ammo.

What was a bit scary was the buyer asking Buddy how to go about getting the gun transferred out of Buddy's name into Buyer's name. This being Texas...
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Old January 6, 2013, 01:29 PM   #22
tahunua001
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nothing scary about that, I hate buying guns and knowing that they are not registered in my name.

FFLs do face to face transfers all the time.
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Old January 7, 2013, 05:53 PM   #23
Alabama Shooter
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nothing scary about that, I hate buying guns and knowing that they are not registered in my name.
Idaho has gun registration?
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Old January 7, 2013, 07:53 PM   #24
tahunua001
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rephrase: I hate buying guns with no paper trail to prove that I actually bought it and that I really do own that gun.
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Old January 8, 2013, 04:53 PM   #25
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" I hate buying guns with no paper trail to prove that I
actually bought it and that I really do own that gun."
That's just the opposite of what many gun buyers want.
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