russian sks better than chinese?

[duggaboy]

I looked for a used SKS yesterday at the pawn, he had both chineses and russian made, but told me the russian made were "more" collectible and he wanted about 30% more for the ruskie. I am seeking you guys' opinion. What do you think??

[jmoore]

Functionally, no difference! No real accuracy difference, either. Somehow, I get the feeling the Soviets built the SKS's for eyewash and maybe export rather more than for front line use, as the AK program was well under way in the fifties, which is the manufacture date of most all Soviet SKS rifles ever seen. The SKS was brought out for parades and other public duties, keeping the AK hidden as long as possible. Similar story w/ the AK-74.

Anyway, get whatever is the most original and has the best bore for shooting purposes. (some folks have managed to ruin even chrome lined bores!)

For collecting, well, logic has nothing to do w/ it!

[sandstorm]

I looked for a used SKS yesterday at the pawn, he had both chineses and russian made, but told me the russian made were "more" collectible and he wanted about 30% more for the ruskie. I am seeking you guys' opinion. What do you think??

yes, russsian are more collectible bcos they stopped making them over 50 years ago therefore limit supply.

[gandog56]

A lot of the Chinese SKS's have pinned barrels, and some people don't like that.

[sandstorm]

A lot of the Chinese SKS's have pinned barrels, and some people don't like that.

late chinese models are pinned but all the early chinese are threaded.

[ltcboy]

Get the Russian.....they invented the rifle, not Hop Sing or One Hung Lo.

MIke

[Pattern14]

Now if it's a Russian vs a Romanian, I'd vote for the Romanian. A lot less Romanian's exist and they are the first direct clone of the Russian rifle.

[556A2]

A lot of the Chinese SKS's have pinned barrels, and some people don't like that.

And the pinned barrels make no difference unless you are fitting a new stock.

Get the Russian.....they invented the rifle, not Hop Sing or One Hung Lo.

And if you covered the markings on the receiver, you wouldn't notice how the Russian is supposedly better.

I would personally pick a Chinese over a Russian because they are less collectible, shoot the same, cost less, and I don't feel bad about beating it up a bit. I would only pick a Russian if it was the same cost as a run of the mill Norinco.

[sandstorm]

Now if it's a Russian vs a Romanian, I'd vote for the Romanian. A lot less Romanian's exist and they are the first direct clone of the Russian rifle.

can do better than direct clone, how about siblings ? the early factory 26 chinese SKS were made from the same machinery that made tula SKS.

you wouldnt be able to tell them apart (not looking at markings and wood).

[Stevo]

With the recent flood of Russian SKSs into Canada, I'd say that an early original Chinese military SKS is more collectible than it was before.

My blade bayoneted Factory 26 is a far nicer rifle than the refurb Russian I purchased.

[jeep]

I think not most Ruskies are well worn and refurbed. A very clean one will have some collecter value,but not shooter value. A like new Chinese will outshoot a worn ruskie anyday. The Chinese made more and improved the rifle by making the most SKS,s in the world. Millions of perfection. The most accurate and reliable sks that were made. Forget the yugo and ruskies.

[sandstorm]

I think not most Ruskies are well worn and refurbed. A very clean one will have some collecter value,but not shooter value. A like new Chinese will outshoot a worn ruskie anyday. The Chinese made more and improved the rifle by making the most SKS,s in the world. Millions of perfection. The most accurate and reliable sks that were made. Forget the yugo and ruskies.

actually , most russian are refurb , some refurb better than others .

not all chinese are perfection , have you own a commercially made SKS ? yuck!!

[bigmo]

i would buy the chinese..

[Old Sarge]

Split the differance and get them boths;)

At least thats what I would do?
Old Sarge

[duggaboy]

tanks, Sarge/ I have ordered a ChiCom type SKS yesterday and will try to shoot it asap, and let you guys all know how it does, and how it does not do.TANKS, Duggaboy

[Beadwindow]

Duggaboy,

Best of luck with your new purchase. I have two Chinese, two Ruskies and one Yugo M59, but so far have only shot one Chinese and one Russian.

I have had my first chinese for about 14-15 years now and have been pleasantly satisfied with how it shoots. Though I haven't properly benched it, it does appear capable of groups under 3 moa, perhaps better. It was purchased new.

The Russian refurb that I've shot seems to perform similarly well, grouping within 3-4moa at 100 yards from a sitting position supported by a telescoping shooting stick/bipod.

Shooting offhand, I can consistently hit the target at 100m with both rifles, and fairly consistently hit a gong at 200m, though I don't think it consistent enough to want to shoot deer at that distance. Maybe that will change with more practice, for which I've got a couple of cases of ammo.

You should be happy with the Chinese. I prefer the darker wood on the Russian, the history of having been used in military service, and would prefer to shoot my deer with a Russian made rifle. It's not that I feel that the Chinese gun is inferior, but shooting a deer with a Chinese produced rifle seems about as odd as purchasing European produced replicas of Chinese art or Japenese swords!

A comparison of Russian, Chinese and Romanian SKS on Surplusrifle.com noticed no discernable difference in accuracy. Though limited to three samples, I don't think that a more scientific test would find much difference. The only complaint I've heard about SKS accuracy is that some might come with oversized bores, much like wartime production Mosin Nagants. That said, I haven't had firsthand experience of this problem. I think that the biggest problem faced by users of the SKS is the tendency of thinking of them as a fun gun of mediocre accuracy, which then effects the amount of care put into hitting the target!

Cheers,

Frank

[David Wile]

Hey folks,

Between September 1990 and the end of 1995, as a firearms dealer I purchased and sold dozens of SKS rifles. All of the SKS rifles I received were newly manufactured Chinese Norinco SKSs until I started to get Russian SKSs at the beginning of 1994. The first Norincos came from an importer/distributor in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and they were really pretty bad. Some had blued parts and others had chromed parts. All parts had serial numbers, and on some rifles the serial numbers matched and others did not. All of the barrels were pinned to the receivers.

As time went by, new distributors were selling Norinco SKSs, and I found the quality of the rifles was getting better, yet the dealer price was dropping. By 1994, the Norinco SKSs were coming through with all matching serial numbers, all chromed bolts and carrier parts, and all the barrels were now screwed into the receivers. They were, in short, excellent rifles at that time, and they were still at or below the dealer price I first paid for the poor quality Norinco rifles of 1990.

Then in early 1994, Russian SKSs of mid 1950s vintage became available in "hardwood" stocks as well as laminated stocks. While these rifles were 40 years old, they were obviously never used. They had no dings in the wood or scratches on the metal. They were, in short, unissued and in perfect condition. The dealer cost on the Russian rifles was perhaps 20 or 30 dollars more than the Chinese Norinco was at the time.

Me, I kept one of the last Chinese Norinco rifles which was a beautiful piece, one of the Russian "hardwood" stocked rifles, and one of the Russian laminated stock rifles. The Norinco has a spike bayonet, and the Russians have the blade bayonets. All three work perfectly, so I do not know how anyone could say one is better than the other. However, I do know that a whole lot of the early Norinco SKSs were pretty crappy.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[jmoore]

I've wondered if the Chinese didn't do some "commercial" SKS's to get the import doors opened so that they could later send over all those ex-gov't rifles, many still new from the sixties, w/ the slight mods and added markings to keep ATF happy. Make biggie dollars the chinese did w/ weapons they had no use for!

[duggaboy]

Have Just Disasembeled My Chineses Sks, And To My Surprise It Was Really Clean Inside And All Parts Fit Snuggly Together. I Shot It Today, Offhand, Lapua Ammo, And It Performed Without A Hitch. I Am Quite Satisfied With The Gun. Has Anyone Had Experience Replacing The Sites Both Rear And Forward On The Sks? If You Have Done The Site Replacement Or Other Upgrades Please Let Us All Know What And How Well You Did With The New Sites. Thanks, Duggaboy

[arado]

My experience with the Chinese is; If it was issue to their troops it is the best of anybodys. This holds true with SKS, T53, TT33 and Makarov. Have no experience with AKM or MIG 21. Also, their issue small arm ammo is the best. IMHO Gary

[duggaboy]

just have to aggree with you Gary, just tore this sks apart, it is chinese,made at factory 26, in 1958, and is really in great condition. I got the book on this gun and went thru it page by page, and found many interesting things about this gun and the history. Made on Russian machines, and up to the Russian standards . Looks like I got a winner, and have to say, everyone who collects and shoots milsurps should have an SKS and get to know it as a great gun and very freindly to the user.

[CaptG]

Duggaboy,
I tried Williams sights on a Norinco & didn't like them - the rear wasn't solid & same short sight radius. I now have tech sights on it and it's a great improvement. The only downside is that it now requires a tool (screwdriver) to field strip.
G