Military SKS vs AR Clone

[ed308]

While simplicity of operation was indeed a desirable feature, the Soviet Union had a literacy rate that exceeded that of the American South in 1940.

On the whole, the US literacy rate far exceeded Russia's literacy rate in 1940's. The US literacy rate was in the 90% while Russia was in the 60% range. Or phrase per your standard, the US literacy rate far exceeded that of Russia's peasant literacy rate in the 1940s. You can make statistics say anything.

[JJ45]

What does literacy rate have to do with learning to handle a weapon efficiently IF he is instructed to do so correctly.

Mikail Kalashnikov had no formal training as an engineer and attended no technical schools, he was a Russian peasant and tank sergeant until wounded on the Eastern Front during the 1941 Battle of Moscow, never the less, he designed the most prolific assault weapon in world history.

Army General and Marshall of the Soviet Union Georgi Zhukov did not attend any military schools or have any formal tactical training but was undefeated against the Germans on the Eastern Front during WWII..

.

[mr bolo]

2damnold4this

Jimbob and Mr. bolo, what attributes does the Russian SKS have that would make it your choice over a low end AR for defense against people?

1. limited rifles available for California residents
2. cheap ammo, combat proven in Vietnam War, and other hot spots around the globe.
3. with some practice can be reloaded very fast with 10 rd stripper clips
4. very reliable gas system, rarely ever malfunctions even under the harshest conditions
5. looks like an old fashioned WW2 rifle, not as evil or intimidating as a AR15, looks more "PC"
6. can be just as effective as an AR15 in the hands of a well trained man, since both are semi auto rifles, the main difference is one looks like a full auto machine gun, and the other looks like a old rifle with a short mag, but it's just as deadly as a fighting gun.
7. THE AR15 is no more dangerous or deadly as a RUGER Mini 14, except one looks like something a soldier would carry in war and the other looks like a civilian's rifle, or old WW2 relic with the sks.
8. the SKS is plenty accurate at most real life combat ranges, for home defense against armed intruders, more likely for a defensive role to protect family / property
9. ITSHTF larger capacity magazines can be fitted to the SKS, they make a Chinese 20 round fixed box magazine that works great, if you needed more firepower.

[JJ45]

IMO after market "duck bill" high cap detachable mags are unreliable and a real waste of money and this includes the fixed 20 round Chinese box. Ask me how I know this ...the weapon is best left as originally intended.

Manufacturing tolerances of the SKS are such that many after market gadgets won't fit properly, I have tried, in my younger, uninformed days, detachable mags in 10, 20, and 30 round configurations including the fixed 20 round "Red Star" box in a number of SKS weapons and all were a PITA and ALL caused jamming and feeding problems... I know others will say "oh, but I have"...but this has been MY experience.

Another case in point is the old Red fiberglass "jungle stock" that some might remember. This was a ChiCom military piece and NOT a civie made gadget. It was designed to prevent wood eating beatles and termites from destroying the wood stocks when the weapons were buried in underground bunkers. I have fitted them to a couple of SKS carbines, both Russian and Chinese and they ALL needed modification and fitting for proper fit.

I have come to the conclusion that a stock, well made, original SKS is a better weapon than an "AR" copy/clone....without giving a windy summation, the SKS was made for war, the "AR" clone (I stress clone or copy) was made for civilian consumption.

[2damnold4this]

Mr. Bolo, you have some good points. The SKS is California legal, reliable and looks less intimidating than the AR. If I lived in California, I would prefer an SKS to a California legal AR. The way the SKS is viewed compared to an AR might be a factor for juries or prosecutors in other locations but I'd likely go with an AR in most places.

[dmattaponi]

I've had #2 Russian, #2 Chinese, #2 Yugoslavian, and #2 Chines Paratrooper SKS' rifles. I liked them all. The Russians we're the least reliable. All were mostly reliable, but none were 100%. They were of mixed quality,and other than the paratroopers, not as handy as I'd like.

In contrast, I've only had one AR, a Colt 6721.

If I had to choose one, I would choose the AR. I'd also trade the whole batch of SKS' for the AR. I base this on function, magazine capacity, quality of manufacture, non-existent recoil (even my daughter loves shooting the AR), handiness, and sights. I could probably think of some other reasons if I tried.

And I'm not an AR fanboy, and I do like the SKS.

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

[mr bolo]

2damnold4this

Mr. Bolo, you have some good points. The SKS is California legal, reliable and looks less intimidating than the AR. If I lived in California, I would prefer an SKS to a California legal AR. The way the SKS is viewed compared to an AR might be a factor for juries or prosecutors in other locations but I'd likely go with an AR in most places.

plus the sks doesnt require a "bullet button" or special device to break open the rifle for reloading, the CALIFORNIA COMPLIANT AR is a poor choice, it's been b@stardized too much, plus they banned magazines over 10 rds, you could get in trouble just for possessing or using a standard mag over 10 rds in a CA with your AR15 type rifle, so the AR wouldnt have much of an advantage over the SKS if you lived in CA.

at least the SKS is still available in it's historically correct military configuation without any modifications, exactly the same rifles issued to Chinese or Russian soldiers and other former com bloc soldiers.

I wouldnt feel outgunned If I had a standard military SKS, it's just for personal defense, Im not going to war with it, it will do the job.