Letter Re: The SKS: A Battle Rifle on the Cheap

Hello James,
Just a short article for the financially stressed who want a battle rifle. Not all of us can shell out $1,500 to $2,500 for the latest battle rifle with $800 to $3,000 worth of optics on it. But there is hope for us. Here in the south, you can usually pick up a good used Norinco (read Chinese) SKS for $150. (But I’ve heard that they cost more, elsewhere.) I have one that I found that was in excellent condition. These are very reliable weapons with chromed chamber and bore. One with some surface rust may go for $100 if the guy is desperate for cash. A friend bought one like this last month, for$ 100. It was a little rusty and scratched up, but functional. The guy needed beer money, sad. If worst comes to worst, go to a gun show with $200 in your pocket. You should secure an SKS and have money left over for a USA steel 30 rd. or TAPCO 20 round detachable magazine, or two. You can find, at the same show, a black plastic sporter stock, used for about $35, or so. I did, and so can you.

Note: The sporter-stocked SKS doesn’t freak out most policeman. But one a folding job with pistol grip, and Picatinny rails all over it probably will. Trust me!

Now, you need better sights. My SKS did not shoot good groups (8-9 inch @ 100 yards.) like my AR-15 does (1.5 inch @ 100 yards.) I’m 68, so did not like the open sights. I replaced them with a $26 Williams peep for some improvement, but the eye is still too far from the peep for a moving target. Went to Tech sights web site and found two styles of rear-mounted peeps for the SKS. I took a chance and risked $45 for the TS-100 model plus $6.00 shipping. The improvement was astounding! I now have over 50% plus more sight radius, from front to rear. Group diameters are cut in half, and this with El-Cheapo Russian ammo. Most aftermarket stocks for the SKS will accept the detachable magazines. If not, then you can carefully file them out so as to accept them. The best for me, was the American made 30 round steel magazine. It feeds flawlessly with any type of ammo. In my experience the Tapco 20 rounders re good too, but will not feed reliably with Brown Bear ammo. I called Tapco, and the man said this was becoming a common complaint. The coating on the Brown Bear sticks to the sides of the plastic mag body if you load it to full capacity. With only 10 or 11, it will do fine. With the cheap stuff, the Tapco magazine works well, but not as perfectly as the steel magazine. YMMV! I also avoid using the TAPCO magazine for the  hollow point ammo. I’m shooting FMJ pointed from now on.

Okay, we’ve got your SKS, say $150, plus the sporter stock for $35 (at a gun show), two steel 30 round USA mags at $40 (gun show), and the tech sight @ $51 Priority mail from Tech Sight.   Comes to $276. The sights are new, all else may be used, but in nice condition. Well done. One of the best features of the SKS is the cheap ammo. I just ordered another 500 rounds of Tula pointed 7.62×39 from a distributor for $104 plus $22 shipping. I can live with this!

Don’t just buy this and throw it in a closet. Work with it, shoot it, clean it, learn to field strip it, and care for it like a newborn child. Use real gun oil on it, never WD-40. BTW, The bolt has to be withdrawn to insert these magazines. If you shoot it dry, the carrier catch should hold the bolt back so you can easily remove the mag. If sill loaded, you must pull the bolt back and hold it back while removing the mag. Takes 3 hands at first, but you will soon learn the easy way to do it. You ARE going to practice doing this, I’m sure. Right? Any rust on it? Get #0000 Stainless Steel wool (the finest), and make a one inch diameter ball of it. Soak this with gun oil and RUB. This will remove most light rust, but will not affect any remaining finish. Rubbing with a copper penny (pre-82) held in small Vice Grips pliers will remove more stubborn rust. Copper won’t scratch steel! These served me well in my 10 year stint in gun repair. My apologies for so much of this being out of sequence, but I hope you can acquire your own Battle rifle. Not the best, but acceptable, until you can do better. Remember the old military saying “take care of your rifle, and someday it will take care of you. As we approach the precipice of TEOTWAWKI I wish each of you my best. Make sure Jesus Christ is your Savior, so you won’t have to go you know where. God Bless you. ????? ????. – Mack, in Lower Slobovia