Should I buy an SKS???

[deadkelly]

Originally posted by DogYeller
I was in Ozz, on R&R in the 1960's and I was amazed at the number old Martini Cadets in the gun stores. I picked up one in .310 that I intended to convert to .218 Bee. But I was young and let my division officer talk me into selling it to him. I don't remember what I paid for it, I believe they were pretty reasonable back then. It had been well cared for and I’ve never seen another like it here in the USA.

i think there great, light and aussie made some of em anyway.we dont have any animals that would hurt ya thats big enough to shoot ,people will tell ya this and that but 9 3/4 times out of ten the animals know when ya have a rifle and there out of there quick smart.
so single shots are fine well thats what i think,iam going deer shooten on 2nd of june taking the ol 6.5 sweed k latter

[Duffy]

"Should I buy an SKS???"

Do you really need to ask a question like that?! If you can buy it, then absolutely buy it!

[deadkelly]

Originally posted by Adam Helmer
deadkelly,

Many thanks for the report on the onerous gun control laws imposed on honest gun owners in Australia. We, Yanks, need to hear how bad things can get.

If you ever visit the USA, I am sure many folks here will be glad to let you have a go with "the banned ones" on the local rifle range.

Keep us posted on the pending legislation.

Adam

no worries see ya's round.

[Arcturus]

So, now that is it clear that, if you can, you should get an SKS, I have a question.

I have heard a good number of opinions on which SKS to keep an eye out for. I have heard that Russians, Yugos, and Albainians tend to be the best... or in other words... stay clear of a Chinese... Granted from the people I heard it from it could just be a bunch of anti-Chinese thought.


So, I am curious, if I am looking to get an SKS, should I hold out and look for a certain one, or just go for the cheapest?

(I am not looking at any modifactions, just plinking and a cheap to feed semi-auto).

[Gil Martin]

Arcturus,
You will get various opinions on preferred SKS models from different folks. I have a Chinese SKS that is functional. The Russian ones seem to be a bit better made. The best I have seen are the Hungarian SKS rifles made by FEG. I bought a used FEG SKS from the local gun shop for $200.00. Seems the prices are varied so look around, you might stumble onto a real deal. All the best...
Gil

[Adam Helmer]

Arcturus,

Welcome to the Forum, I see this is your first post. I have Russian, Chinese and other SKS arms and all are good shooters. I have one Chinese that I bought new for $85 with accessory pack that has had about 4,000 rounds through it and it is still going strong. I do not shoot corrosvie ammo in any of my "gas" guns because it is not cheap enough to spray corrosive residue throughout the action of any of my arms.

The SKS is a "Battle Rifle" so buy what you can and keep it clean.

Adam

[Arcturus]

To continue this thought...

While biding my time looking for the right SKS (sooner or later one will jump out at me...), I bought a Yugo 24/47 Mauser off a friend of mine. He is moving and didn't have a place for it, got it fot $50 off him, with bayonet, ammo pouches, sling. He had only bought a few weeks earlier (a Big-5 special). It is also covered in cosmoline, something he never cleaned off...

I have heard that mineral spirits with a toothbrush works, and that some invest in a steam cleaner...

The Mauser should be fairly straight-forward to clean, but from what I have read some of the SKS's that can be found seem to have been literally dunked in the stuff... any thoughts on how best to clean it?

[deadkelly]

mate kero even petrol,and or carbie cleaner will do the trick,these
are all cheap .of course some rags & elbow grease. see ya round.

[Adam Helmer]

Arcturus,

I degrease heavily greased arms by detail stripping the arm and then tossing the metal parts and action into a large pan of very hot, soapy water. The grease comes to the water's surface and is easily poured off.

Petroleum products will cut the grease, but the heat from the water makes wiping the metal free of grease quite easy to do.

Adam

[gumpokc]

Arcturus, adam and deadkelly both gave good info on cleanign that cosmoline.

another method is (make sure your wfie is _NOT_ at home when you do this) to strip the rifle, and run it through on the top tray of the dishwasher. works great, but that can offend the sensibilities of the fairer sex

I myself went ahead and bought a scunni portable steam cleaner a couple of years ago. works great and not expensive, i think they run $40-60 dollars. works on all kinds of stuff around the house too.

bascially it all depend son how you want to do it, and what you feel comfy doing.

[Arcturus]

Well... found a nice $140 Chinese SKS, clean bore and only trace amounts of cosmoline in the action. Cleaned up good and nice, shoots good. Are Wolf 7.62x39'ers known for hard primers by chance? I ran into some trouble repeatedly having rounds not fire, I stripped it down later and found some cosmoline deep inside around the firing pin, but not enough to really be a problem... I haven't shot it since so, it might be it.

Also cleaned up a cosmoline-dipped 24/47 Mauser. A really nice looking gun. Haven't shot it yet... but look forward to it... with that nice big 8mm round.

[deadkelly]

Originally posted by Arcturus
Well... found a nice $140 Chinese SKS, clean bore and only trace amounts of cosmoline in the action. Cleaned up good and nice, shoots good. Are Wolf 7.62x39'ers known for hard primers by chance? I ran into some trouble repeatedly having rounds not fire, I stripped it down later and found some cosmoline deep inside around the firing pin, but not enough to really be a problem... I haven't shot it since so, it might be it.

Also cleaned up a cosmoline-dipped 24/47 Mauser. A really nice looking gun. Haven't shot it yet... but look forward to it... with that nice big 8mm round.

hi arcturus how did you find that wolf ammo ?
i've herd it leaves thick tar stuff down the barrel thats hard to get out, that was in 223 its nice and cheap though