Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

As much as I love shooting,I know very little about guns.Everytime I walk in to a gun shop to buy,or even just look at guns I get somewhat embarrassed at the fact I never know what the heck I'm looking at.The same thing holds true for my SKS.I've owned it for years and have shot thousands of rounds thru it,but I don't know what it is.I can post pics or just numbers if needed.This gun has stuff stamped ALL OVER IT! SO,if anyone can point me in the right direction I would much appreciate it!When talking about SKS's I've heard the words "Norinco,Chineses,Russian,Albanian" and even "Rebuild". Clueless,absolutely clueless.Help,please!Thanks!

A serial number and pictures would be most helpful in ID'ing your SKS.

Ok,I have been lurking on the site that Hiway posted the link to.Thank you btw.Theres a lot to digest there,but i hate to join up there just to ask one question.I will try to put up some pics if ya'll don't mind foolin' with it.

We always love seeing pictures of Firearms.

Look at enough photos on the SKS to be able to tell what you are looking for. The Chinese (Norinco) come with both stamped and milled receivers and threaded and pined barrels. Look for a milled receiver with threaded barrel. The Yugos do not have chrome lined barrels, not a big issue unless you shoot corrosive ammo. The Chinese and Yugos are the most common. The Yugos do have some parts that are specific to them. As far as quality most people agree the Russians are the best. A rearsenaled Russian is no big deal. Study the markings on the SKS site to know what the markings mean. I personally would look for a 1952 or later Russian...but they are going to cost you about $100.00 more. Make sure to buy an all original, complete rifle. If it has been modified in any way it may be illegal unless enough parts have been changed to make it compliant. Lots of good info on the SKS site about this subject. Lots of differences in opinion about which are the most accurate. Just my opinion but I would look for in order Russian, Yugo and Chinese. I dont list others because they can be hard to find. Do your research and inspect the rifle carefully. Have fun and good luck.

Go to this page: http://www.yooperj.com/ and click on SKS on the left. He has a ton of info and pictures of different stamps/variations, etc.

Thanks for all of the replies. I will check out those links. Just been too busy lately to be on the puter much.Thanks again

Well,according to yooper john my SKS is a 1951 Russian. But there a lot of markings on my gun that i dont see mentioned on his page.Man,there is a TON of info on that link Unknown.Thanks for that link.Seems like he knows what hes talking about at least.LOL

shinyribs wrote:Well,according to yooper john my SKS is a 1951 Russian. But there a lot of markings on my gun that i dont see mentioned on his page.Man,there is a TON of info on that link Unknown.Thanks for that link.Seems like he knows what hes talking about at least.LOL

You're welcome. Make sure you go through all the different pages. You will find some stuff mixed in between stuff that might be helpful. Like page 31 has odd markings or unusual s/n or just odd versions of the SKS.

Page 31.Will do.Once my eyes recover.Holy cow,i swear this gun at least 873 different stampings on it!

Well...congrats on having a Russian. Since it is a 1951 you may or may not have a chrome lined barrel. If it has a chrome lined barrel that much the better for you.

This is probably a stupid question.I'll ask anyway.How do I tell if it is chrome lined and what difference does that make?

shinyribs wrote:This is probably a stupid question.I'll ask anyway.How do I tell if it is chrome lined and what difference does that make?

Shining a bore light down the barrel will tell you if it's chrome lined on not. If it's shiny like chrome, it's chrome lined. If the bore looks black, it's not chrome lined.

Most SKS rifles have probably fired some type of corrosive ammo during their time in service. Chrome lined barrels tend to survive in much better condition given that they probably only received the bare minimum of cleaning will in service.