Norinco SKS ??? your thoughts

[TexMex247]

I recently acquired a Norinco SKS folder w/extras for $220 from a friend but haven't gone out n' shot it yet. What should I expect from this thing as far as performance and reliability(Muzzle, crown, chamber and bolt face all look great) ? What kind of ammo do they like ? I've put wolf and monarch through my 223 w/ pretty good results so I imagine this gun will digest the cheap stuff well. I'm hoping it will outshoot my buddys (2) AK's. If you got one, let me know what works best for you.

 

[phatcyclist]

My father had a Norinco SKS for a while and it was a decent firearm. It ate everything it was fed and never had any issues.

 

[bvillars]

norinco sks

I have shot and sold literally hundreds of norinco sks's, mostly with wooden stocks. They are extremelt reliable and will feed any ammo. a few that I put underfolders on shot ok but not as accurate due to barrel pressure. but the rifle should be a lot of fun and it was priced right if in good shape

 

[cuate]

Got one years ago at a Ft. Worth gun show for $139, only added a Vietnam War

plastic stock, thought the applebox wood it came with somewhat too soft. Fired

it all these years with then Chinese ammo, later Wolf, nary a problem with ammo.

Reworked the trigger group for a sweet trigger. Tried a few cheapo Chinese scopes

and ended up chunking them. After all these years the chrome barrel still looks great

and accuracy is a-okay. I did saw off the bayonet lug so the tanks from the Feds

wouldn't burn my house down. It is a terrific rifle and has about the same knockdown

power as the 30-30, which is sufficient. They are good plinkers and I wouldn't

hesitate to use mine for hunting if I didn't have more favorite firearms....

 

[Eli]

... I did saw off the bayonet lug so the tanks from the Feds wouldn't burn my house down...

Will that rumor never die?

Eli

 

[308nato]

I have a YUGO and still have my bayo and grenade launcher on it.

 

[TxEMTP69]

I had one that I sold earlier this year. It ate every round put into without a hitch. I had put a synthetic stock but ended up removing it and replacing the wood. I also had a detchable mag that was a PITA so I went back to the stock setup

 

[mhall8811]

I had one years ago (back when you could buy them for $100) and it was my dedicated hog gun. Loved it! Never had any issues w/ any ammo and believe me, I was shootin' the cheapest stuff I could find. FMJ's worked great on hogs and I didn't care how banged up it got.
Only issue I DID have was with the 30 rd mags.
Load 29 and it was golden, fill it to the top and it would occasionally FTF but that was a problem w/ the mags, not the gun.

 

[M. Sage]

What to expect from an SKS? Keep the firing pin channel clear, or you can expect slam-fires. Otherwise, you can expect it to go "bang" every time you pull the trigger on a loaded chamber, and you can probably expect about 2 MOA of accuracy from it.

I did saw off the bayonet lug so the tanks from the Feds wouldn't burn my house down.

You would have had to have assembled it with two or more "features" during the ban - flash hider, folding stock, pistol grip, bayonet lug - for that to even apply...

It didn't apply to firearms assembled before 1994, though. And it doesn't apply at all now.

 

[tonelar]

My Norinco SKS is a milled reciver and it works great- keep it clean- remember steel cased ammo tends to be dirtier more because the cases dont expand enugh to really seal against blow by.

 

[TexMex247]

Fun with a Chi-com rifle

Well, so far I have to admit that I am pretty impressed with this thing. I loaded up 10 stripper clips and took it out shootin' on saturday. I rested it on a bag and at about 45 yds it had less than 4" of left to right deviation on over 30 rounds. I put 3 high off the paper, but after that, they started falling right in the spot. I was shooting golden tiger fmj ammo which was somewhat dirty but only failed once(I true dud w/hard primer strike) which is about what I expected from 5 dollar a box ammo. It easily grouped better than my buddys AK but my other friend with a Saiga didn't want to shoot his . Anyhow, I recently ordered some dies and hope to see how it shoots some handloads w/ballistic tips. Overall, a great hog gun and fun to beat around(I actually baby all my guns) and shoot. I think I'll have to pencil in a little south Texas hog hunt before the summer ends and really put it to the test.

 

[M. Sage]

4" at 45 yards off a bench? Crap, you should seriously be able to do one-hole three shot groups with an AK or SKS at that range, even with the cheapest ammo. Get used to the gun a bit more and you should be making one small, ragged hole with 30 rounds at that range.

 

[TexMex247]

I'm sure I'll get better with more trigger time...and the folding stock has a little give to it too.. but thanks for your enthusiasm.

 

[IXLR8]

I have one with a wooden stock. It has shot any ammo that has ever been loaded into it. At 100 yards with open sights I get a 8" group. But in my defense, the sightis about 4 MOA , and it always hits where I shoot it.

Mine still has the bayonet lug, and I have the bayonet. Is that a big problem now? I bought it in 1992, and that is the way it came...

 

[M. Sage]

I have one with a wooden stock. It has shot any ammo that has ever been loaded into it. At 100 yards with open sights I get a 8" group. But in my defense, the sightis about 4 MOA , and it always hits where I shoot it.

Mine still has the bayonet lug, and I have the bayonet. Is that a big problem now? I bought it in 1992, and that is the way it came...

No, it's not a problem. You got it before the Federal ban (which wouldn't have affected you, anyway, since it's two evil features) and the ban is now expired anyway.

 

[akarfal]

Need some pictures. Norinco makes outstanding rifles, takes any 7.62 x 39 ammo, add 56 to the first two digets of the serial number and you get the year of manufacturing.

 

[Curly 45]

Need Advice

Have a line on a yugo 59/61. Is this a decent SKS for target (mostly) perhaps some hunting if I can find somewhere to hunt? Also I've seen MOA in a lot of posts what does it mean? What would be a good price on one of these in fair to good condition? Thanks

 

[TexMex247]

MOA refers to minutes of accuracy and 1 MOA equals about 1 inch at 100 yds. A 4 MOA gun will typically group bullets in a 4 inch circle(from center to center of all bullet holes). Norinco has been making the SKS longer than anyone else so I think they probably make the best ones. Yugo SKS's used to sell for 150 or less. As a target shooter you probably won't get impressive accuracy but at least the ammo is real cheap to shoot.

 

[Libertarian_Longhorn]

M.Sage is right. Keep that firing pin channel gunk free. If you'd like a random, dangerous, and tempermental full auto SKS, don't clean the pin. It's a free float design (for lack of better words), so keep it moving freely in the block, or it will start slam firing at the range when you least expect it. i.e. one trigger pull mag dump. NOT COOL.

 

[sjones]

I have a 68 norinco,I've tried to make it jam,it just won't jam.It fires everything I've put in it.It will also kill a deer out to 125 yards easily.Only mod I've done to it is put on a reciever sight on the rear(tec sight).I tried the tapco mags and stock but didn't like them so off they came.
BTW,if anyone wants a tapco stock I will make some one a great deal on it. sj