Bought it for my wife for deer hunting about 25 years ago. up firmly on stock separating the two pieces. (figure5) gear. While this is a worthwhile endeavor if you plan on working on your own rifle, I believe it is cost prohibitive if you were paying someone to do it for you. careless handling and could cause serious injury, death or damage to property. cartridge. Is it a shotgun or a rifle? Not bad at all thinking of having one in a safe in case our big neighbour will decide to "cross Rubicon". Some, prior to being exported, were modified in China to have a 16.5 barrel, in what was called the paratrooper configuration. Number Produced: Millions from various manufacturers . The most recent batches of SKS imports have been Type 56s bought from Albania, as they received many as military aid from China some years ago. 10. Magazine 34. As relations between the U.S. and China improved they began to take advantage of Americans love of cheap, reliable firearms. An SKS carbine from its country of origin is obviously more collectible than any other common Simonov variety, so they command some of the highest prices on the second-hand market. At the bench block I used a punch to drive both pins into place. At some point after 1975 (not sure when), production would have shifted to production for the civilian market. groove, R.H. I belive the numbers in the triangle are plant numbers, I was told 26,36, and 52 were the best because they were made with forced labor and if they weren't right no eat. This number indicates the year of manufacture. Hold open latch Youll need to get comfortable with mitigating that climb and keeping your irons on target if youre firing quickly. - YouTube 0:00 / 2:51 how to tell if your chinese sks is a military type 56 or one just made. 2.410 f.p.s. Next, pull back the charging handle to the It looked pretty rough when I picked it up, but did not look to bad at the time. I wanted one. AMMUNITION WARNING: Hold the bayonet carefully in this position Japs, you forgot to mention nuking Japs. Muzzle cap The Soviets had the AK, and the Chinese had their 56. Make at least 10 passes though the barrel Failure to do so may void warranties and result in an unsafe firearm and may cause injury or death. While expensive for their condition, in todays surplus market that seems to be as low as any dealer is willing to sell them for. OK, now that you've determined preban "assault" rifle law, you have to determine the year of importation (IE, the '89 import ban restrictions). Quirks aside, the Type 56 is a super fun plinker if youre into military surplus rifles that you absolutely dont have to feel bad for actually shooting. For a deeper dive on the SKS and some interesting variations, take a look at our review of the Norinco & Yugoslavian SKS! The Russian Secret To Loading Your SKS Rifle (Using Stripper Clips) HillbillyNitro USA 17.3K subscribers Subscribe 2.2M views 3 years ago Showing the proper way to loading your SKS using. The bolt stop will Some feature trench art, personal decorative touches from the soldiers they were issued to, and some find that to be even cooler than having an all-matching, original-condition rifle. Begin by sliding the bayonet handle and the For example, to move the group on the target to the left, drift the front rifle. MSFPhover = These were typically sold for about $400 to $450. the safety in the "ON" position. 33. To do this, I installed the bayonet and marked it with a sharpie. Note the full length rifle to the left, my conversion to the right, and the pieces of barrel, cleaning rod and bayonet that I removed. (figure17) mechanism retaining button at the rear of trigger bow. escape. DANGER- As late as 1979, the SKS was still in frontline service in the Sino-Vietnamese war. Have to have at least a dozen SKS rifles in the safe. Some of you already probably know that Im a bit of a nerd when it comes to milsurp stuff, and Im always stoked anytime the chance to cover guns with a little bit of character and patina crops up. At the conclusion of World War II, the A quick look on gun broker found these paratrooper guns demanding a premium of between $750-$950! Yugoslavian SKSs are one of the more common kinds in the U.S. after Chinese guns, and theyre the most distinctive and easy to identify as well. Norinco SKS has one of the most difficult-to-find manufacturing dates of all the SKS rifles. For example, the serial number 419998 indicates a manufacturing date of 1960. Length: 40.20 inches This includes the East German Karabiner-S, the Polish ksS and the SKS clones made in Vietnam and North Korea. 1. 4. With so many different kinds imported over the years, it can be difficult to know what kind of SKS you're looking at, this guide will help you identify all manner of Simonov carbines and roughly estimate their value. Well used and will show their history but highly functional and very cool! Some SKS variants are easier to tell apart than others, and even some minor differences between models and years can have a big impact on their value. These rifles were caked in Cosmoline and werent aesthetically pleasing. Oh, thats right, the gun makers who fund the NRA are only interested in selling their guns, not your rights when it comes to foreign competition. guns & THE ABOVE STEPS IN REVERSE ORDER. If you wanna hear God laugh, tell Him your plans. I emailed them and told them what they sent me, and sent photo's, but they won't even email me back, they will not even offer me any kind of credit back for sending me a bucket full of rusted & rust pitted parts. 4. Safety catch These are all reasonably easy fixes if youre so inclined to go hunting for that information, but we, unfortunately, didnt troubleshoot-flowchart ours beforehand. Handguard catch These two numbers indicate the date of manufacture. 5. Hey John, I have the Yugo version, Cal-qualified (muzzle device welded on at three points around the clock, sorta kinda looks a bit like original - at a distance, at high speed). Unlike Yugoslavia, whenever Romania received technical data packages from the USSR, they didnt change much. Forum. at 100-300 dollars I'd recommend them as the perfect place to start learning about classic rifles. Trigger spring When the rifle was fully assembled, I function checked it with steel cased ammunition and it ran with 100% reliability. Regardless of the specific make or model, the sheer abundance of these rifles and the circumstances under which they were imported made them Fudd fodder. You insert the rounds one by one into the fixed 10-round magazine while the bolt is locked open. Diagnosis: Worn parts compounded by what appeared to be an attempt by some Chicom or NVA to modify the FCG to make it go faster. These are military turn-ins, so expect some battle scars. Again visually inspect the weapon. Theres nothing especially high quality about Albanian SKSs, but they are quite unique, rare and collectible. 42. My first one was a Chinese SKS. Bolt carrier how to tell if your chinese sks is a military type 56 or one just made for export. This means well have to turn down the barrel and drill two new holes. Other factories in China produced the SKS as well, but all use a similar symbol to identify the factory, typically a stylized number inside of a triangle. Following the cutoff of imports from Russia, SKSs from other nations began to fill the void. The only honorable options with Vietnam were either to escape to Canada, or refuse to serve, and go to prison. 7. Hand-Picked Daily GUN DEALS, and Exclusive Coupons Codes >>>. Two of the three Type 56s we got from PSA are on the beat to shit side of the spectrumbut thats honestly rad as hell if youre snagging one for the neat historical value rather than to brutalize it into some demented hunting carbine. 5. This is attained by moving the elevation slide to the 8. the patches, alternating wet and dry until the chamber is clean. I asked the wife of a friend of mine. 18. There exists the greatest level of variation between models when it comes to the Chinese SKS. was the SKS-45 (Samozaryadni Karabin Simonova) a self loading carbine, which was Some enterprising reloaders can load them "hotter" with the gas system cut off close and get away with it. To remove Gas tube/Handguard Assembly: Use The SKS made by them tended to have light blonde stocks, and a rivet rather than a bolt on the bayonet. Hammer strut or as the result of the use of such ammunition with this firearm. bayonet outward from the muzzle of the rifle and remove the cleaning rod. At the end of the serial number, there is a dash followed by two numbers. This community covers topics about the various SKS rifle variants available to sports men and women around the world. In this image you can see my dial indicator placement to finish setting up the barrel. The original Russian SKS was developed by Sergei Simonov and was designed to take advantage of the Soviet's adoption of the M43 7.62X39 intermediate cartridge. REMAIN CONSCIOUS OF MUZZLE POSITION!!) Using a front sight elevation tool, insert Select what level shooter you are! Aiming range: 0.621 mile or 1 kilometer, The SKS rifle consists of 11 Learn all the important stuff about handgunswith none of the attitude. Albanian SKS's were manufactured from 1967 to 1979 at the Umgransh Arsenal in Albania. In our last post, we studied a method of rifling called Broach Rifling . Thank you comrade for volunteering everyone related to you for a life of mine clearing! Remove all carbon fouling, Dry with a clean rag, then position where the camming surface located at the front is completely vertical. I was commenting on your post and found a guy who basically supports the idea with fact. SKS Disassembly and Assembly I have a few Yugo models that I love shooting. The Norinco is a type of Chinese SKS, named after the factory where it is (still) produced. Financing and managing these factories were the Russians jobs until they left them to the Chinese. You'll now receive newsletters of our best articles on techniques, 9 Hours To Build A 1911, .45 In Your Basement (Or Garage) CLICK HERE The best part is that the government can't ban this handgun or confiscate it because there's no serial number, no registration and it's 100% legal. and push though the length of barrel. I belive the numbers in the triangle are plant numbers, I was told 26,36, and 52 were the best because they were made with forced labor and if they weren't right no eat. Twist Those that badrap Norinco small arms metallurgy dont know what theyre talking about. Bolt The SKS-56 was encountered frequently during the Vietnam war. Every other countrys SKS variant not previously mentioned falls into this category, and if you even find one, expect to pay out the nose for it. I used the drill to locate the holes, then cross drilled the barrel in both sections. Any modifications made to a firearm should be made by a licensed gunsmith. to confirm that gun is empty. carrier fly forward to chamber the first round. If you own a Norinco SKS, maintaining it in its original condition will guarantee you can hold its real value in the market. assembly, raise the handguard assembly and rock it slowly from side to side It was only available in a semi-automatic version with a dulled bayonet. Latch stop pin I decided to leave myself a little extra barrel length in case I ran into any problems with the conversion so I made this barrel 17 long. It's kind of like they threw this gun together with spare parts. Turn the tool counter clockwise to lower the Recoil Spring Assembly Hold open latch spring It only had matching numbers on 4 parts, all other parts were not matching. How to look up the SKS on the MyGunValues website. From the perspective of a sight picture, move BTW am from Lithuania- small Baltic country on the coast of Baltic sea. Its bone stock except for a removable buttstock extension to improve length of pull. These included the Typ 56 SKS or the Chinese military SKS. Instructions for Loading The rifle regardless of variant are more accurate with good handloads in cast lead or jacketed than many are led to believe. Thought it might have been the old "firing pin taper gets the thing stuck in the bolt" issue, so I sent the bolt assembly to Murray's Gunsmithing in Bowie, Texas, for their bolt/firing pin magic. 4. Now the screw can be removed and the bayonet can be taken off and reinstalled later. With a Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Instruction for after 9. The weapon created by S.G. Simonov to fire this cartridge We already have an account registered for email address anything extra and your 10. Any info on that? Designed by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov, the SKS-45 was a replacement for the Mosin Nagant M91/30 and the SVT-40 rifles towards the end of the Second World War. Any SKS that has a stock that fully hides the gas tube and features three distinct, larger-than-average vent holes is undoubtedly Albanian in origin. I have an original Russian SKS in near mint condition. The CIA reported on the gun's existence in 1955 while the first real-live versions . When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. It seems that the majority of DDR SKSs were given as military aid to North Vietnam and later Croatia, resulting in the majority being lost in the haze of the conflicts each were involved in. Standard commercial variants with spike bayonets are the most common, but they were manufactured by and imported from several different factories. In over 30 years as a professional gunsmith I never once got up in the morning and didn't want to go to work. For what it's worth, I've heard that bayonets fastened on with rivets indicate manufature for export. If you do find one, however, it would compliment a WASR or other Romanian AK very nicely. The Cugir arrow in a triangle mark is much simpler and cruder than the Izhevsk one, with the Romanian arrow looking like what one would draw to point to something rather than what is used in conjunction with a bow like the arrow on Izzy rifles. Examples from other countries can be found for lower prices and will shoot just as well, so at this point, it's best to leave Russian SKSs to the collectors if youre only looking for a range toy or ranch gun. People's Republic of China inherited many of these Soviet weapons from the Get Our Top Shooting Drills and Zeroing Targets ($47 value - but FREE for a limited time). 7.62 X 39 . Using a small mallet and brass punch, or an SKS Rifle Capacity: 10+ The SKS is chambered in . indiscriminately. Wipe them dry, and then coat the bearing surfaces of the bolt and Aim to do At least One thing to support the Second Amendment every week. ASSEMBLY MAY BE REMOVED. Push downward on the handle until the slot For the US consumer, its fixed magazine makes it legal in most states, and in many cases is more than enough gun for hunting, home defense and plinking. With what SKS rifles sell for now, for the cost one would spend, putting parts on it to make it an AK . one can buy an AK and have change. rear and extract and eject the live round in the chamber. The earliest Russian SKSs used a cruciform bayonet like the ones found on M44 Mosins, but they quickly switched to a blade style. Irrespective of the confidence with which they assert such claims, individuals like this typically do not know what they got. bayonet spring over the tang of the spike bayonet. front sight seat, in the direction desired. 51. During the Chinese civil war, the PRC Piston return spring SKS 7.62 x 39 Caliber . Sourcing a rifles production time includes researching the monetary value of that rifle. during the Vietnam war. Chinese Type 56 (1956-): Numerous minor tweaks, including lack of milling on the bolt carrier, partially or fully stamped (as opposed to milled) receivers, and differing types of thumb rest on the take down lever. apply a light coat of oil. Rebound Disconnector Military surplus Type 56 models were brought in as well, along with some of the rarer commercial variants like the SKS-D or Model M which feed from AK magazines. The SKS (and Chinese Type 56) is classified as "non-restricted" in Canada and is legal to own and operate in a safe manner by anyone with a Possession and Acquisition License (PAL). Tula produced far more over the years, making them the more common and less desirable of the two factories. Come join the discussion about optics, builds, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! 4. What SKS do you want? All content Copyright 1998-2018 Rifleshooter.com, FTC disclosure: some links on this site are monetized, Sig Sauer MCX Virtus PCP Air Rifle Review- Initial Impressions, Project Guns- Gunsmithing articles and posts, 6.5 Creedmoor loads: 107 SMK IMR 8208 XBR and 142 SMK Superformance, Cut and crown a rifle barrel without a lathe (11 degree target crown), 6 Creedmoor: Effects of barrel length on muzzle velocity, Making a Foredom flexible shaft rotary tool stand, Revic Optics PMR 428 Smart Rifle Scope Review, Wilson Combats 7.62x40WT (Wilson Tactical) Review, Brownells Gunsmith Conference and Career Fair, Porting a shotgun barrel with a milling machine, Parabellum Armaments AKARS Holds its Zero, Best pistol drill ever? Christina Sloane has been writing since 1992. Since the early days of gun-making, people were looking for different ways to better protect the iron and steel parts of their weapons. In the current state of the market, for anyone interested in acquiring their first SKS, their best bet would be to hunt for one of the more generic Chinese models in good shape for about $400-$450. Early 1955: 1,305,000 thru 1,402,000. subsequent versions, and the Chinese manufactured SKS Type 56 rifle is a direct Drift They used standard combloc 7.62x39 ammunition. 40 Best Rifles Perfect For Hunting Season | Gun Carrier, Stock Condition and Aftermarket SKS Accessories, The AK-47 Rifle: An Intro To The Timeless Russian Weapon, TACFUN SKS 7.62x39 Original Butt Stock Buttstock Cleaning Kit, Navy Chinese Military Genuine Surplus SKS Rifle 7.62x39 10 Pocket Chest Pouch Rig Bandoleer Bandolier for Cartridge Ammo Ammunition Cool Shiny Brand, Rifle Shooting Tips & Techniques | 11 Surprising Things New Rifle Shooters Need To Know, Unique Wooden Toggle Closure System (plastic buckle, never corroded). Have a bunch several Chinese, besides the regular 59, have the paratrooper model and one marked Farmers Friend both are 16 inch instead of 20 inch. Grear, we wont even think of sending any of your family for re-education. In order to shorten the barrel, the front sight and bayonets mounting assembly will need to be removed. 53. When I took apart to clean off cosmoline, found very bad rust pitting in 4 places on reciever and rusted out under the wood. Starting in the 1980s, SKS rifles were imported to North America, but in 1993 the Bill Clinton administration banned the import of Chinese . 39. crown of the muzzle from damage during cleaning. Check out our review of the Chinese Type 56 SKS and see how to get one! 3. Trigger Group That gun spent many days with me at the range, it worked with 100% reliability. This is why their AKM clones are some of the closest to Soviet spec as well. Look at the four-digit number underneath the stamped star on a Russian rifle. 15. 3. We do some shooting with the Norinco Chinese Type 56 SKS with folding bayonet and discuss who may be interested in one of these in current times. East German models are distinctive due to their K98-style sling slot in the stock, and they were only produced for two or three years. // -->