Clean used SKS ? Over new American AK?

[OLDNEWBIE]

Getting closer ( a few months) to buying something else. I prefer new but have been wanting an SKS or an AK.

At the moment I don't need or want both. Actually I don't NEED either so says the wife.

I've been fondling the New C39 AKs at Cabelas and also had a feel of the Yugo SKS w/grenade launchers they have there as well occasionally at well over $300 in very good condition. I dilike the grenade launcher thing.

I would prefer the Chinese chrome lined barrel sks in like new condition but they are pricey and puts me near to an AK. No interest in the 30 round mag vs 10 with the SKS and the stripper clips.

Accuracy, dependability maintenance, re-sale parts etc.
Are they not very similar or is the SKS more accurate?

Anybody have experience with both and kept one over the other?

Anybody see a good selection of SKSs for sale to look at in a GS lately?

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[etrain16]

I have both, though the AK isn't brand new, it's an N-PAP. Honestly, I like them both. Both shoot very well, and as far as accuracy for me, both do about the same. The SKS I bought about 20 years ago from a friend for $150 and that was with 500 rounds of 7.62.

I've stripped/disassembled both - neither are all that difficult to disassemble or reassemble, and can be done quickly once you know how. Both rifles have been 100% reliable shooting nothing but imported milsurp type ammo. I recently shot some old chinese pre-ban stuff I had left over through both and they functioned great.

Though I haven't been in there recently, the Gun Broker in Clackamas usually seems to have at least one or two SKS's in their used rifle area - prices are okay, not great, but you may be able to negotiate.

If I had to choose only one, I'd probably go with the AK. I like the detachable magazine (which I have outfitted on my SKS and can change back to the original box any time) as well as the wide selection of mags. I like that, should I want to make any changes, there are a lot of options out there to personalize it. Plus replacement parts may be just a little more available for the AK than the SKS. That said, I'm holding on to that SKS too.

The best answer is get one now, the other later

 

[Deebow]

I like both. SKS is a fun gun to take to the range though. I have owned both, and they both have a high fun factor. I should have kept the ones I had. Bought a paratrooper SKS in college for 189 bucks. It would be worth about 600 bucks now.

I think the fun factor and ease of use, shooting etc. are a push. Go with the one you like best, or save your pennies and buy both.

Just tell your wife that in your gun-safe, there is always room "for just one more."

 

[Bon Sauvage]

I enjoy them both. My Norinco SKS is more accurate then any AKM clone that I have ever fired.

 

[Joe13]

IMO,

The only thing the AK "has" over an SKS are:

Reliable magazine feed
Less likely to jam with misuse

I love my SKS but will still buy an AK someday.

Also, SKS values continue to increase as AK values are going down.

AK variants are most likely to continue to be made in the future - probably not so much with the SKS.

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

IMO,

The only thing the AK "has" over an SKS are:

Reliable magazine feed
Less likely to jam with misuse

I love my SKS but will still buy an AK someday.

Also, SKS values continue to increase as AK values are going down.

AK variants are most likely to continue to be made in the future - probably not so much with the SKS.

Are you using the stock magazine in the SKS when it jams or the duckbill?

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

I enjoy them both. My Norinco SKS is more accurate then any AKM clone that I have ever fired.

What kind of accuracy have you experienced with the Norinco SKS?

 

[Joe13]

What kind of accuracy have you experienced with the Norinco SKS?

My Norinco type 26, paratrooper 1964 manufacture will explode a potato pretty much every time I pull the trigger at 125 yards or so - no mods done at all. I'd like at least a polish on the trigger if not a whole trigger job.

Are you using the stock magazine in the SKS when it jams or the duckbill?

I meant in general - I only use the factory fixed 10 round.

Out of the 1300+ rounds I've fired, only one failed to cycle and it was a stove pipe. I trust it with my life if need be.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

I do/did like the SKS.. But there is a reason it evolved and they transitioned into the AK.

Personaly I like the AK because you are able to do a bit more with them.
Optics, furniture, FCG, sling, options.. Etc.

I ended up selling my SKS because I just didnt use it.. However Ill own one again some day.

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

I do/did like the SKS.. But there is a reason it evolved and they transitioned into the AK.

Personaly I like the AK because you are able to do a bit more with them.
Optics, furniture, FCG, sling, options.. Etc.

I ended up selling my SKS because I just didnt use it.. However Ill own one again some day.

Is the AK really an evolution/update? The SKS seems more robust than it's replacement.

My understanding was the AK was cheaper to mass produce being stamped. Plus the AK had the 30 round mag and selective fire so more firepower.

Although some SKSs take the same Mag.

I wonder why in whatever role the SKS that took the 30 rounder was used/developed for, wasn't just filled by an AK?

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Is the AK really an evolution/update? The SKS seems more robust than it's replacement.

My understanding was the AK was cheaper to mass produce being stamped. Plus the AK had the 30 round mag and selective fire so more firepower.

Although some SKSs take the same Mag.

I wonder why in whatever role the SKS that took the 30 rounder was used/developed for, wasn't just filled by an AK?

To someone not well experienced with the AK, sure.. It seems more "robust" Id dare say much like an old 1970s truck compared to one these days thats much lighter and modular.
The slander of "mass produced" AKs being simple bullet hoses is bunk. Are they easily manufactured? Sure. But take genuine Russian and Bulgarian AKs and stack them up against AKs from other countries and you'd see a sure difference of quality.

ARs are just as easily machined now, does that make them inferior compared to an earlier model of firearm?

While the SKS lends itself to marginal accuracy over the AK there is more than one reason the AK replaced the SKS as a service rifle. Take the M1 Garand, great rifle, however we shifted to a lighter weight, modular firearm that too was easily mass produced and field serviceable.

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

"Bullet hose" I'll probably end up with both eventually anyway as they both have something to offer.

 

[Stomper]

AK's are sexier looking.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

What kind of accuracy have you experienced with the Norinco SKS?

With my /26\ and my reloads: 2" five shot groups at 100 yards.

This is with old, tired eyes, factory sights, and a factory trigger. Golden Tiger shoots next best at 2.5" and it is my preferred ammo.

All the rest group at 3".

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

With my /26\ and my reloads: 2" five shot groups at 100 yards.

This is with old, tired eyes, factory sights, and a factory trigger. Golden Tiger shoots next best at 2.5" and it is my preferred ammo.

All the rest group at 3".

I was figuring that some of the cheaper ammo was responsible for the SKSs bad accuracy reputation.
Also the short sight radius. The only mod I'd be looking at would be adding a tech sight and butt pad to extend the length of pull.
I'd be pleased with 3" or under out of an old SKS.

 

[etrain16]

I was figuring that some of the cheaper ammo was responsible for the SKSs bad accuracy reputation.
Also the short sight radius. The only mod I'd be looking at would be adding a tech sight and butt pad to extend the length of pull.
I'd be pleased with 3" or under out of an old SKS.

I'd love to add some of those tech sights to my SKS - it's on the list, some day.

 

[raftman]

I have both but if I had to choose one I'd go with the AK. AK's tend to be lighter and more compact than SKS's. AK's are slightly simpler from a mechanical standpoint. Also quality replacement parts and accessories are more widely available as AK's are still in production from quite a few manufacturers.

 

[phatdoughnut]

Love my Russian sks! And my ak!!

 

[soberups]

I have had both.

I would stay away from a Yugo SKS, they are too big and have a lot of dead weight up front from the grenade launcher, grenade sight and bayonet. They also lack chrome-lined barrels and can have issues with corrosion in the gas cutoff valve that is used for grenade launching. I also had a Paratrooper SKS, it was a fun and reliable little gun but as I get older I really need a scope instead of iron sights and there just is no practical way of mounting a scope on an SKS. I also had a couple of AK's...a Century and a Saiga....but I decided I wanted something a bit more refined so now my "SHTF zombie apocalypse bullet hose" is a stainless Ruger Mini Thirty.

 

[IronMonster]

If I was thinking of buying a SKS or a AK I would probably seek therapeutic treatment or ask a friend to watch over me till I regained my sanity.


My biggest issues with SKS's is no matter how hard I try I still see them as a $69 rifle. I have owned a number of them, they are great guns, but there is no way I could bring myself to spend $250-$400 on one. The last one I bought I think I paid $99 for and I bought a number of them for less than $70

Not much different for most cheap AK's. I bought a brand new Norinico in the early to mid 90's for $249, I wouldn't have given more than about $175 for a used one. Again absolutely a great firearm but for what ever reason I just dont see one as a $750 rifle and I dont think I ever will.

SKS's and AK's are not the only things that I see that way.

I'd like to have a IMI Uzi. The last one I owned I paid $300 for- Last one I saw for sale I think they where asking $2800

Colt Python? Great pistol, Paid $350 for the one I had. Carried it as a truck gun.

1911's? Last one I bought was a Colt Commander I paid $200 for


Maybe part of my issue with the sks/ak is that when I had those I lusted after more AR's which where way, way more money in the early 90's You could buy 4 AK's or 8 SKS's for what a Colt SP1 cost. Now I can buy/build a AR for LESS than a AK or even an SKS in some situations.


All that being said I see buying a American made AK parts kit sometime in my future because I think it would be a fun project. In my mind what I am spending the $600 on is not a "AK" but an experience. I may not see the rifle as worth $600 but I think the experience of building it is.



I know its not rational, but