SKS Carbine

[twentynine]

I inherited one of these, when my brother passed away back in January. Norinco Chinaman synthetic stock.

Couple questions----

Any one have one of these and using the Tapco 20 round AK style magazine?

I have no stripper clips-- What is a good source for stripper clips? Probably only need a couple-- half dozen or so.

What about a source for cheap 7.62X39 ammunition.

Also I have a chance to get a late model Mosin Nagant 7.62X54R, cost about $100. What do you guys think?

 

[Colt45ws]

If the Mosin is in good shape, I would jump on it.

 

[Robenstein]

If the Mosin Nagant is a good one then its not bad. You can still buy ones in decent shape for 70 bucks, but if its a M44 Carbine or a M38 Carbine then its definitely worth it instead of a standard M91/30 long rifle.

As for the SKS and detachable mags. You will find it a frustrating pursuit. The mags dont change out fast, and most will not give you good reliability. Stick with stripper clips. Numrich, Sportsmansguide, AIM surplus, or Center Fire Systems should have stripper clips.

 

[Colt45ws]

I was trying to remember if the SKS is what my friend has that I shot last year. I had to locate a picture. It is and he had the detachable mag. Talk about a pain. Very fussy.

 

[HyperJinx]

If you are talking about what people commonly call a "duck bill" magazines, they are junk. I would much rather have a sks in its proper 10 round fixed magazine.

Mosin's are good sturdy rifles and you just cant beat $100 for a reliable hefty cal rifle. I used the m44 version as a camp rifle for many many years. I think I paid $99 (tax and all) and have never been woried about beating and banging it up in the woods and always knew it would perform if need be.

 

[twentynine]

The Mosin Nagant looks to be a M44/38 variety, haven't held it in my hands. Just seen a picture in the sale catalog. It is presently on sale "while supplies last" at the local Cabela's.

The Tapco 20 round mag is also at Cabela's, $19. All the reviews of the mag on Cabelas.com give it a good rating. Truthfully I am not bothered by the stripper clips, or even hand loading the internal mag.

The SKS seems to be pretty sharp looking rifle, synthetic stock, flash supressor. It is missing the bayonet, cleaning rod and tool kit.

The rifle was given to me in a foam padded hard case. Today I was looking at the rifle and found the case padding loose, I pulled it up and low and behold there was the operations manual. How to clean, how to load, how to dismantle, how to assemble, how to set the sights.

 

[ryan-e34]

I have a yugo sks that I have recently fitted a tapco 20 round magazine to and it has worked FLAWLESSLY so far (hundreds of rounds). so long as you heed the warnings on the package, it will probably (ymmv) work for you.

firstly, the package states that the magazine is designed for the tapco sks stock, NOT any of the original stocks that may have come with the various variants of sks. "fitting may be required" (iirc) is the exact verbiage. If you have a cherry/virgin example, you may not want to modify the stock, but in my case, my example is well worn and dinged up. All I had to do was make approximately 500 careful (and soft) passes of 3m general purpose sandpaper (60 grit) in the area inside the stock where the aftermarket magazine binds (it fits too tightly to feed properly up top if you attempt to use the tapco magazine in an original stock). There is no external indication of the modification if this step is performed properly. If you think don't think that you are mechanically inclined enough to figure out where the magazine might be compressed and sand ONLY that area, that's cool, but understand that you might have to take your gun to a gun shop to get the magazine to work properly AND not screw up the stock. it is perhaps a 1 1/2 by 2 inch area (on each side of the magazine well )that you need to sand inside of the stock.

2d thing.....The bolt needs to be open to remove/insert the tapco mag. I have not been able to figure out how to use the stripper clips with the new magazine....but....if this magazine continues to truck along as wonderfully as it has been, I'll gladly take the extra 9 rounds and the ability to carry spare loaded magazines over the factory internal magazine and its 10+1 capacity and the ability to carry strippers. I'm about to buy a couple more of these mags once I find a good opportunity pricewise.

If you have a sks with a beat up stock and internal magazine....try the tapco mag....I think you will really like it!

 

[GMBoy]

You don't need the stripper clips to load them. But they are a nice feature to have. I own 3 chinese and 2 Russian SKS's and love them. Gone are the days you could buy 1000rd cases for $99. Thankfully I stocked up very well when the time was right! But you can get some good deals on ammo from the Sportsmans Guide, sometimes Cheaper than Dirt.

 

[yaris0128]

MOSIN NAGANT!!!! I have a 1943 M91/30 and I love it soooo much. You cant possibly turn down a 100 dollar WWII rifle! Soo powerful and accurate.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: yaris0128
MOSIN NAGANT!!!! I have a 1943 M91/30 and I love it soooo much. You cant possibly turn down a 100 dollar WWII rifle! Soo powerful and accurate.



So True! I picked up one around 1998 or so for $75 bucks at a show and it shoots great and looks great.

 

[yaris0128]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: yaris0128
MOSIN NAGANT!!!! I have a 1943 M91/30 and I love it soooo much. You cant possibly turn down a 100 dollar WWII rifle! Soo powerful and accurate.



So True! I picked up one around 1998 or so for $75 bucks at a show and it shoots great and looks great.


Been trying for nearly a year now to pick up either the M38 or M44 carbine version. Want one sooo bad but they are getting harder and harder to find. My local gun shop hasnt had them in since Black Friday 2009, when it was on sale for only $129.99!!!!

Been also looking to get a good deal on an AK47 and SKS. If you can see I have a fetish for soviet weapons.

 

[twentynine]

Update------------

The SKS deal started something.

I bought a Mosin Nagant, 91/30. Round bolt, comes with a bayonet, oil can, pouches, and sling. $100. Have not fired it yet, but from outward looks it's clean.

I will pick up a couple boxes of 7.62X54R tomorrow. Then I am going to see what the fire breather will do. If all works out, the feral hogs on my property will be catchin heck.

 

[tom slick]

It's a slippery slope; soon you'll be wanting an 03FFL C&R license so you can buy the surplus stuff cheap.

 

[yaris0128]

Originally Posted By: twentynine
Update------------

The SKS deal started something.

I bought a Mosin Nagant, 91/30. Round bolt, comes with a bayonet, oil can, pouches, and sling. $100. Have not fired it yet, but from outward looks it's clean.

I will pick up a couple boxes of 7.62X54R tomorrow. Then I am going to see what the fire breather will do. If all works out, the feral hogs on my property will be catchin heck.


If you go to cheaperthandirt.com thats where you go to buy anything gun related. Absolutely great site!!! I got 440rds of 7.62x54R for $93. Good price. I cant find good local prices on that ammo.

 

[twentynine]

Got a second SKS--- this one is a Yugo model I think.

Wooden stock, bayonet attached, got the whole "kit" with it. Stripper clips, oil can, cleaning kit, sling, ammunition pouch. Plus a real nice hard case for storage.

So this make 2 SKSs and 1 Mosin Nagant.