Dressing up the SKS - SG Works Bullpup Kit

[dirtd0g]

So, I fell in love with the SKS the first time I saw it propped up against the wall in a local shop. At $350, including 2x 30-round magazines, 1x 15-rounder, 1x 5-rounder, and 300 rounds of surplus Chinese 7.62x39 I was sold. It was a Norinco and had already been modified with a compensator which prevented the spike from locking out and, as mentioned, did not have its fixed magazine.

Months later I saw another one; $350 again but completely stock. This time is was a very early Chinese model with a blade bayonet and Russian furniture.

Armed with 2 serviceable weapons I decided the earlier Norinco that had already been -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED-ed with would become my project gun. After a disappointing attempt to fit a Barska Mount... Which, while a fun little project, just couldn't reliably hold zero with optics... I decided to just depart from "stock" as far as possible.

What better way to accomplish that than by throwing a gun designed in the 40s into a modern bullpup stock? Check the out if you're interested: http://sgworks.com/

The installation was easy. It took me 2 hours total and I was really taking my time. It required NO modifications to the barrelled receiver itself, other than prying off the rear sights. Now, if you find an installation video that makes this task look easy, that is a lie. It ate up around 45 minutes on the total install time.

Here she is after her first trip to the range with her older sister.

After everything was in place I was concerned about the trigger, but after dry firing a few times everything felt smooth.

I was going to wait for some irons to throw on the rail but I couldn't wait so I threw a decent little Monstrum x3 Prism Scope on it at went to the after boresighting range.

My boresighter is apparently -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED- and I ended up sacrificing most of the rounds I brought trying to figure out where the -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED- they were going. I ran out of ammo before I could fully zero it in, but I did shoot some tight groups at 50 yards. A true zero should be easy to accomplish next time I go it; looks like I need to impact a few clicks to the right and even more high.

Always bring more ammo...

The first 10 rounds were... odd. The trigger failed to reset often. However, once everything was broken in the action and cycling was as flawless as ever.

I run mostly with this weird little 15-rounder. One of my 30s feeds really well and I can get it in without issue, it makes shooting at the bench awkward. Besides, I enjoy using stripper clips.

After I was able to hit the paper I started walking the rounds up and over. Apart from some flyers I am very very very happy with how the SKS Bullpup handles. It is so well balanced I can't, like, even. I am looking forward to fine-tuning it; I will be getting another gas tube so that I don't have to ruin my original trying to get the wood off. I may even end up playing with the linkage a bit as the current pull is a bit mushy with very little feedback and it seems to just break whenever it wants to.

My biggest complaint is that the ejection port cover digs into my cheek when I'm shooting... But I will probably learn how to avoid it. Having a less-than-ideal scope doesn't help as the eye relief is pretty poor at ~3-inches.

As an aside, for under $100, I am very happy with the scope... Just, before you mount it, thread-lock the screws that hold the plate to the scope itself.

So, if you've got a trashed SKS and want to get into a 7.62x39 bullpup for ~$500... I totally recommend this -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED- right here.