Yugo sks. Talk me in or out?

[shaunpain]

Congrats on your purchase! The Yugoslavian SKS is a wonderful rifle which I can't even compare to an AK. Everything is just about better besides weight and capacity, both of which matter naught to me for the purpose I use it for (plinking). Generally, you will want to stay away from any blanks for grenade launching unless they are specifically manufactured for 22mm grenade use.

I have no experience with high capacity/detachable magazine capable SKS platforms, but some people say they're great, others complain of egregious misfeeding. I am unsure of what may have been permanently done to the rifle to accept 30 rounders, but it will be up to you to keep it or swap it out with an original fixed magazine. In my opinion, the conversion to any duckbill magazine defeats the whole point of the rifle, but maybe that's just me.

[HJ857]

But is It not best to understand that there might be an issue with one that has an after market 30 round magazine installed?
It would be interesting to know If the OP even knew there was federal law regarding what can be done to an SKS. Many people I have talked to had no idea about 922r, and compliant parts. "Well they sell the 30 round magazines every where, so they must be legal"!

I think this is the correct view. 922r shouldn't be dismissed, it would require hugely more money to defend yourself against a weapons violation than it would to spend a few bucks making your rifle legal. Regardless of whether it preceded the AWB or not or regardless if the charge is bogus or not.

As a note, the SKS D and M versions are harder and more expensive to make 922r compliant unless you feel that the Tapco AK mags are reliable enough to use. Though I'm not sure why anyone would willingly replace what is likely the most robust and reliable magazines ever with a Tapco.

Up until a year or two ago, I'm not sure there were enough USA parts to make a D or M complaint. Now that Ben Murray is making USA trigger parts it's a lot easier.

In any case the D and M versions are just exceptions in the SKS world, but (in my view) should be treated just like any other C&R rifle. To infer that they do not fall under 922r, right or wrong, seems like needlessly leading people down the wrong path.

[Boomer58cal]

Everything you need to know about 922r at the link. Weapons imported before the AWB are exempt.
http://www.tapco.com/section922r/


Boomer

[new_camper]

I had one and it wasn't my cup of tea. It was heavy, not that accurate, not easy to scope, and had a odd balance point. Now there are several scope mount options for the dust covers, but the poa shifts. You can drill and tap the receiver for a side mount but for me the scope is mounted way too high for a good cheek weld. The accuracy was probably mostly the surplus ammo.

[tahunua001]

I had one and it wasn't my cup of tea. It was heavy, not that accurate, not easy to scope, and had a odd balance point.

heavy compared to what? a handgun? M1 garands, mosin nagants, those are heavy, the SKS not so much IMO.

Now there are several scope mount options for the dust covers, but the poa shifts

you're thinking of the dust cover mounts for AKs, the SKS dust cover is held quite firmly in place, I can't see POI shifting more than 1/8 MOA which is less than the standard variance of most x39s anyway.

[seanc]

Congratulations! You should have a lot of fun with your new rifle. And good idea to take home enough break-in ammo too. My advice on the magazines is don't get too worked up if they work or not. If they do, you did good. If they don't, don't chase after bad mags. You might be best off both functionally and legally putting a factory 10 round mag on there. If you want reliable detachable mags, the Tapco mags are great, but you need to watch out for 922(r). The fact that you have a 30 round mag on the rifle makes me think you need to look into that (922-r) sooner than later. The Tapco site should help you understand the parts count issues.

After going to Tapco's website, you really need to head over to Survivor's SKS Boards: http://www.sksboards.com

tahunua001:
A typical SKS weighs a little over 8 lbs and Yugos, with the grenade launcher sight and barrel extension weigh even more at around 9 lbs and are more muzzle heavy for the same reason. I have a Vepr 2 AK with a thick barrel and receiver and it weighs in at just over 8 lbs. Many naked ARs are under 8 lbs. But considering none of us are likely to be toting these rifles 10+ miles a day, days on, it really doesn't matter as long as you like the rifle you got.

Also, SKS dust cover scope mounts are not generally considered a precision mounting point. If you want to put a red dot on there, they should be fine given red dots are usually 3+ MOA which won't be affected too much by the less than rock solid mounting and return to zero issues with dust cover scope mounts. If you head over to the SKS Boards, they have suggestions on how to improve on the stability of dust cover mounts. 1mlt had some good ideas that didn't require too much modification, but I couldn't find quickly just now. For my Yugo paratrooper, I had a red dot mounted on a cheap UTG tri-rail that worked wonderfully. There are also scope mounts that replace the rear sight that are rock solid. There are lots of scope mount options.

[seanc]

Garycw: Love your Chinese para! I had one a few years ago and loved the handling on that rifle. Mine just wasn't accurate enough to keep .

[ChrisTx]

If you want an AK get an AK. I had a yugo sks and it rarely saw daylight. It's longer than an AK and as such, more cumbersome. If they were still $100 rifles they'd be worth it, but not anymore.

[new_camper]

tahunua001:

I am used to bolt guns and lever action rifles for hunting and I know that they will generally be lighter than an sks. I wasn't familiar with the weight of a Mosin so I looked it up and found it weighed in the upper 8 pound range, as does the yugo sks. So for practical purposes they weigh the same, and you said that Mosins were heavy. Anyway like I said earlier the balance was off for me (way too nose heavy) so it may have made it feel heavier than it was.

The dust cover mount that I tried never gave me satisfactory results. Yes it was fitted to the gun, but it eventually got lose and you could tell it. I shot better with the iron sights. ***I realize that it isn't a bench rest gun***

I will be the first to admit that they are reliable as anything can be, but they didn't fit what I need/want. Thus not my cup of tea.

Not trying to start a argument, the op asked for thoughts and I let him know my experiences with mine.

[Justice06RR]

I've fired a good friend's Yugo SKS quite a few times side-by-side with my Spikes AR15. It is accurate enough even when shot free hand. My friend can very easily shoot soda cans at 50yards on the first shot with irons. I would say 2-3MOA capable with enough practice.

We've also never had any type of malfunctions on the SKS, even with the use of the "duckbill" mags.

[Ryu825]

Says my sks the 59/66a1 is a c&r gun in original condition but that 30 rd mag on it is not an original part.. But it also says I'm allowed to own it that way as long as I didn't assemble it that way and I have a pic of it sitting on the rack at the shop with the hi cap mag in it that predates my date of purchase to prove I didn't add it myself so I should be fine. Also if my gun is non compliant I'd think they would've rejected me during the delay I mentioned as they know exactly what I bought (the gun,3 30rd mags, and 640 rds of ammo), right? I just got a call from my lgs 5 min ago saying I was approved . Anyway thank you all who informed me of the 922(r) laws, i learned a good bit about both the law and this gun. If anyone reads this post and thinks I'm taking the legality of this gun too lightly, please let me know as I def do not need any trouble with the law. Work is stressful enough, I don't think jail time will do me any good I'm gonna go get my gun now

[HJ857]

Everything you need to know about 922r at the link. Weapons imported before the AWB are exempt.

I think the first sentence of that Tapco page is the most important one.

I've never trusted Tapco's interpretation of 922r, I think they intentionally omit information, but that's just one man's opinion.

I suppose I have to leave with one last thought, advice on the internet is free, actual legal representation is not.

[Ryu825]

Heard that. Ok so I have a (probably stupid) question: by law if I emptied my 30 rd mag and reloaded, would me inserting the next or reloaded mag be considered "assembling" the gun therefore making it illegal? I'm probably thinking about it too hard but one can never be too sure of the law.

[tahunua001]

you are thinking about it way too hard. the magazine is designed to be removed for reloading. as such removing it and puting it back in does not count as assembling as you are operating it in the same condition you purchased it in.

[stubbicatt]

Either the Yugoslavian or the Chinese SKS, if in good working order, will provide many years of shooting enjoyment. The one thing I have noticed with the Yugoslavian version, is that many of those with the grenade launchers have worn out gas valves in the gas block, which hamper their function. This is a point of wear and corrosion, and I have witnessed many shooters have to replace this valve to restore proper function. For this reason, were it to be a shooter, I would choose the Chinese version over the Yugoslavian SKS.

I have always enjoyed the unmodified, original, SKS, whether Chinese or Russian. Presently I own a hardly collectible Russian SKS, and I enjoy plinking with it. It is plenty accurate to shoot bleach bottles at about 300 yards, and does what I ask of it. I had Bill Springfield do a trigger job on it, and after a couple hundred rounds, that trigger has really freed up, and the rifle is a really sweet shooter.

I understand the comments about the weight of the rifle, but I like to think that the slightly hefty weight confers a little bit of robustness. It does seem perhaps a little complex in some ways, and there are a lot of square corners one must clean up after shooting, which presents its own challenge.

When I shoot it, I always presume that ammunition is corrosive, and clean it accordingly. This approach has kept the rifle ship shape for several years now.

Recoil is modest, but shooting it next to my SVT 40, I would have to give the nod to the Tokarev for overall shooting enjoyment! Plus, I think the Tokarev is maybe a skosh lighter than the Simonev. Oddly, the recoil impulse is about the same. The brake on the Tokarev must be effective enough to make perceived recoil about the same with the full sized x54r cartridge as it is with the intermediate x39 cartridge.

One of the features of each rifle is a "safety sear" of sorts, which will not allow the rifle to fire unless the bolt is in battery. This prevents the surprise and woe of an out of battery discharge.

These rifles are relics of bygone years, and carry with them reminders of our collective history, from Korea to Khe Song, the Balkans, and beyond. They are fun to shoot, and enjoyable to own.

I hope you enjoy yours too.

[seanc]

Ryu825:
R.E. 922(r), I've never heard of nor read of anyone being arrested for a 922(r) infraction. Like 99.99% of the other folks here, we're responsible gun owners and generally good citizens and I tend to follow the law in both letter and spirit and though I think 922(r) is foolish, it does not violate my own personal moral code so I comply at minimal addition financial expense. If I ever need to use one of those firearms in defense of self or others, I know no prosecutor will find the slightest legal leverage upon me.

Enough about legalities...As far as using the 30 round mags, you definitely need to function test them. After market mags for SKS's are notorious for reliability issues. If one doesn't feed every round, every time, throw it away. It's not worth wasting ammo on something that doesn't work. Tapco duckbills, the original fixed 10 round box magazines and the fixed Chinese 20 round "star" box mags work. Period. You would be well served by getting a fixed 10 round box mag and some stripper clips and practice loading, and then loading and shooting.

I would like to add one more thing to what stubbicatt wrote: If your rifle doesn't work reliably, it could be because of the worn gas block cut-off your Yugo has or it could be because of the 30 round mags. Again, put on a reliable 10 round fixed mag and shoot your rifle that way to verify it's reliability. If you have any reliability issues, definitely take a look at Survivor's SKS Boards Yugo forum and feel free to ask questions here or there. Lots of good people to help out.

[Ryu825]

I still haven't shot it yet but 2 of my 4 mags won't even fit the gun. They must be for other makes. And one of the 2 that do fit is slightly bent and while it fits it slides up against the wood. Whoever used it used it a good bit tho judging by the wear so I guess it shouldn't be an issue.
I did not know the ammo I bought was gonna come in what looks like a big sardine can and it came with a can opener lol. It'd be even cooler if it had a flip tab on it

[tahunua001]

the spam cans are nice for long storage, it'll keep for decades unless you break the seal. once you open the can you only have a few years to shoot it before it starts to degrade just like normal ammo. the spammies may be corrosive surplus so be sure to clean your gun after every use to keep it from rusting. good plinking ammo though, blows squirrels to high heaven.

the mags are not made to the highest standards, some fit some don't it's just luck of the draw, you may be able to file them down to fit but you'll have to be careful. I actually dislike aftermarket mags for the SKS, I prefer the 10 round fixed magazine and loading from stripper clips.

[bustersmaster]

Hmmm, here's a thought. That cheap 640 rd. spam can of ammo sounds like 7.62x54 to me. I haven't seen 7.62x39 in spam cans in a long time. I figured they were pretty much used up. The 7.62x54 comes in a big, inexpensive olive drab can and it doesn't actually state x39 or x54 on the can. It has some other foreign designation in place of that. Before you open that spam can, take a second look and make sure it fits your yugo.

[tahunua001]

Hmmm, here's a thought. That cheap 640 rd. spam can of ammo sounds like 7.62x54 to me. I haven't seen 7.62x39 in spam cans in a long time. I figured they were pretty much used up. The 7.62x54 comes in a big, inexpensive olive drab can and it doesn't actually state x39 or x54 on the can. It has some other foreign designation in place of that. Before you open that spam can, take a second look and make sure it fits your yugo.

all of those russian cartridges came in olive drab at some point or another from some nation or another. I have a can that says 7.62 but also came with a sheet of paper with a picture of an SKS and AK47 on it. pretty sure it's not 54R. I doubt a store would chip in a can of stuff that they had no idea what it was.
also 54R comes in 440rd cans, not 640.

[Ryu825]

Everyone knocks Tula but I figure a Russian design is for Russian ammo. It states the caliber and that it's non corrosive here's a pic of it Attachment 89926
I need a photobucket account. Ill make it once I stop being lazy about it

[Ryu825]

Now imagine if it came like this lol
Attachment 89927

[Ryu825]

And while I'm at it here's the gun Attachment 89928

[Ryu825]

Now what exactly is this flip up white dot for? Unless it glows in the dark or something I don't see the point of it Attachment 89929
Also, I can beat that ring back to shape with a hammer or something right?

[bamaranger]

I am not a fan of the SKS. Too long and heavy for a true carbine. And quality and support is all over the board. And the aftermarket stuff trying to turn it into an AK is just plain silly.

Save your money and get an AK variant, ....or a mini-30.