Newbie Yugo SKS questions

[homesteadfree]

Hello, I hope to soon be a gun owner. I don't know what changed my mind about owning a "semi automatic rifle" (not an "assault rifle" as I myself used to call them). I think it's the way things are going...not good, and that I'm planning to own a sailboat soon and travel around, so...and now that I'm getting a little older I reminisce childhood memories of going hunting with my papi I'd like to do that kind of thing again. Luckily, I live now in Florida where our freedoms to own and carry arms have not (yet) been taken away.
Anyway, I've been looking at the SKS rifles and they seem to be inexpensive and well made so I'm leaning toward them. I thought about the M1 carbine but the ones that work are the old ones which seem to be now collectible antiques and expensive at that.
I'm looking at a Yugo SKS that has the factory built 10 round(?) magazine. Will this rifle take the other magazines, like a 30 round, also? Also, I've heard that some of them had the grenade launcher welded over. How can I tell from a picture if that's been done.
Thanks for your response.

[Garycw]

The 10 round mags work the best, but the 20 round Tapco mags work ok.the Chinese NORINCO SKS would also be a good choice with chrome lined barrel and with a simpler gas system. The paratroopers have a shorter barrel if you can find one.

[tahunua001]

I would also recommend a Chinese SKS instead. it doesn't have the grenade launcher to worry about and the gas port doesn't have the same problem of rusting shut, the Chrome lined barrel is also a plus if you plan to shoot cheap surplus ammo out of it.

now for the magazine question. the factory 10 round magazine in SKS are designed to be a fixed box mag. you can't just drop the mag and slam a new one in like some other paramilitary designs. instead you have to completely fieldstrip the rifle to get the factory mag out. however once you do that you can put the rifle together(without the mag) and start using the tapco/promag 10/20/30/40 round mags just like you would on anything else without requiring the field strip. the tapco 20rd mag I have for my chinese works 100% reliably but I just prefer loading from strippers with the factory mag.


one thing to keep in mind is US CODE 922R. one of the most worthless pieces of legislature ever signed but none the less something that we must abide by. many SKS are imported as a curio & relic, meaning that it is historically significant or fairly collectable in stock configuration. however if you start changing things(like high capacity magazines) then it is no longer considered C&R and then requires you to have no more than 10 foreign made parts in your SKS from a list of 20 parts. the yugo SKS has 15 of those parts total but all other SKS only have 14(no grenade launchers/muzzle devices). changing the mags drops 2 parts from those lists and usually changing the stock will drop within compliance but it's irritating to say the least.

[farmboy]

Don't discount the use of stripper clips, as the rifle was originally intended. They're cheap, easy to use, and once you get used to them, just as fast or faster than changing magazines, if speed matters to you.

I will agree with looking at an SKS without the grenade launcher. there are fewer parts involved, and the balance so much better without it.

Feel free to post back with any other questions. You'll get a variety of responses, one of which will hopefully meet your needs.

Good luck.

[Boomer58cal]

First off you don't need to strip the gun to change to a 30 rd mag. You push one botton(well pull back) and the stock 10 rder comes right out. That simple.

Second... my 40 rd mags are way faster than strippers. You'll have to reload 4 times just to equal one mag. I then I just slap in another 40. I've not had one failure from my after market mags. Not one. Plus if you ever scope your rifle strippers won't work unless you use a very short scope.

Third... Russia/chinese type 56 are your best bet but yugo's are pretty good too. IMHO norinco's are hit or miss. I'd check a few out to find one that has a nice trigger and slick action.

You'll love the sks. Built like a tank and as reliable as the sun rise.

Boomer

[new_camper]

Be sure that you check and see that the firing pin moves freely in the bolt of whatever version that you get. If they are stuck you can get a slam fire. Easiest way to check is to take the bolt out and shake it up and down and make sure that it rattles (from the firing pin moving back and forth).

[tahunua001]

First off you don't need to strip the gun to change to a 30 rd mag. You push one botton(well pull back) and the stock 10 rder comes right out. That simple.

um... no, that only releases the floor plate, the magazine body remains intact. the trigger group holds the magazine body in place.

Second... my 40 rd mags are way faster than strippers. You'll have to reload 4 times just to equal one mag. I then I just slap in another 40. I've not had one failure from my after market mags. Not one. Plus if you ever scope your rifle strippers won't work unless you use a very short scope.

so if you had a single 40 round magazine and I had a stock 10 rounder and we had to fire 80 rounds and all our ammo was on stripper clips you seriously think that you could get your 40 out and loaded all the way to max again and have all 80 down range before the 10 rounder with strippers?

modularity is the only advantage that the high caps have over fixed. if you are restricted to only a single mag the stock mag is superior.

[seanc]

Changing out the stock 10 round box mag does not require stripping the gun down. Just a firm press to release the trigger guard, remove the trigger group, then the fixed 10 round box mag:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPQYBn98HNE

tahunua001, in your tight scenario, you win. In the real world where we're allowed to own more than one mag, Boomer58cal wins.

Per the Original Post, please check out the following thread:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=526126

Also, since this is going to be your 1st gun, you'd be well served by buying a .22lr rifle. I'm not trying to talk you out of an SKS, I'm trying to point out THE BEST WAY TO LEARN ABOUT GUNS. Period. Still buy an SKS

[tahunua001]

Changing out the stock 10 round box mag does not require stripping the gun down. Just a firm press to release the trigger guard, remove the trigger group, then the fixed 10 round box mag:

the trigger guard is the only thing that holds the action to the stock, with the removal of the trigger guard you have pretty much field stripped the rifle. besides that was not the assertion made by boomer, he stated that by simply releasing the floor plate you can remove the original magazine, an assertion that is incorrect.

however, if a person really does want to carry around a bunch of duckbill mags more power to them. I much prefer to carry stripper clips as they are lighter and I can carry more of them for the same amount of weight. my argument that if a shooter is restricted to 1 magazine, be it a matter of expense, or he just forgot his/her extra mags, the metal mag is more capable in prolonged engagements.

[seanc]

Boomer never says "removing the floor plate", he says you push one button. I wouldn't confuse the trigger guard button with the sliding mag release tab.

I always felt removing the trigger guard and magazine was optional when field striping and usually the very last thing I'd do to separate the barreled receiver from the stock. I also understood removing the firing pin was optional, but I did it every time, none the less. All optional takedowns are required for initial cleaning.

Field stripping an SKS: 1. verify unloaded 2. verify empty chamber 3. engage the safety 4. remove dust cover 5. remove recoil spring 6. remove bolt carier and bolt 7. raise the gas block mounted gas tube lock lever 8. remove the gas tube and gas piston 9. move gas tube lever all the way up to remove short op rod and spring
To also remove the barreled action from the stock, MAKE SURE THE SAFETY IS ON, then depress the trigger guard retainer button at the rear of the trigger guard (not as easy as it sounds) until it pops off, then lift off the trigger guard and magazine.

[Boomer58cal]

I remove and replace the stock mag all the time. If the trigger group needed to be removed I'd have to remove the pistol grip on my tapco stock. I haven't had to so far. I use my stock mag when shooting from the bench. Maybe it works differant with the tapco stock. I don't know.

If you just feel like using stipper you can still use 40 rders. Still better than 10 rds no?

Boomer

P.S. I agree with getting a .22 to learn on. Single shot or bolt would be best but I use my 10/22 with tapco stock for a cheap training gun. It's not the same as the sks but close enough.

Edit. I wanted to add a thing or two.

I can also preload my mags with strippers. Or use strppers at the range to reload.

In a man to man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine. Erwin Rommel sorry couldn't help it.

[seanc]

Boomer:
You can cut a notch in the Tapco pistol grip, just under the trigger guard, to allow you to get in there with a phillips head screwdriver to depress the trigger group retaining button thingamajig. That's what I did to mine instead of having to remove the pistol grip all the time. SKS + Dremel = Happiness

[Boomer58cal]

I've been thinking about doing that but thanks for the tip. I've just had to many projects to get to it.

So many guns so little time


Boomer

[tahunua001]

Boomer said:

You push one botton(well pull back)

as you do not pull anything back to remove the trigger guard then one must assume he is talking about the floor plate release, a device that is not intended to fully remove the magazine.

if it does remove the stock magazine, either you have a very out of spec rifle or the person that owned it before you modified the rifle to do so, standard SKS design does not allow removal of the magazine without also removing the trigger guard.