Sight issue

[getvicious]

I have a Norinco SKS, I believe from 1972 (if I read the markings and the "When was my Chinese Type 56 SKS made?" post correctly).

It shoots nice and is as easy to handle / shoot as my AR-15.  It came with a 50 round magazine (I haven't loaded it to capacity yet to verify the round count).  I've bought a 10 round ProMag magazine for it that works well (at least it did today - used it for the 35 rounds I fired today).

See the images below.

My issue is the sights, or actually the rear sight.  It's enough out of focus that it's next to impossible to see the slot in it to line up with the front sight.  I can see it well enough to hit a person but not get a good group.  I put a little white nail polish on the rear sight and now see a white "U" that I can line up with the front sight.  I see a white "U" with the black pin of the front sight floating in the middle.

I had LASIK a few years ago and have mono-vision where one eye is "adjusted" for close vision and the other is "adjusted" for distance vision.  The two images integrate to give me close to 20/20 vision but tiny, close things still need reading glasses.  I shoot left handed with my "close" eye (I've always shot left handed).  The white nail polish helps my sight picture a lot and the front sight is in good focus with the target slightly blurry, as I was taught to shoot.

I can shoot right handed but my mono-vision makes the sights way out of focus with the target crystal clear.  It's not way worse than left handed with a rifle (but just a little) but is very noticeable with handguns. 

Anyway, any one have a suggestion for a more visible rear sight that I can install without drilling?  And is able to be removed to return the rifle to OEM configuration?

I don't mind changing a couple things but don't want to do anything that would prevent me from returning the rifle to OEM configuration and condition.

I have nothing against the aftermarket stocks and parts - I really like the pullpup offerings - it''s just that I don't want to make any major changes to this rifle.

Here's the images.

[Worm]

Hmmm...

Nice rifle first off, looks very clean.

If I'm reading your post right, there is nothing wrong with the sight itself.. just the slot in the rear sight due to your vision, correct?

While I can't really envision what you're exactly seeing, the only thing I can recommend is buying yourself an extra OEM rear sight leaf (to not damage the original), and file out the groove a bit wider.

After that, it may even help to take some tape (for a paint-guide) and tape around the sight gap, leaving a little metal on all sides and evenly put some flourescant paint on it, kind of like the white surrounds the opening on a stock Glock rear sight.

I have never used any aftermarket sights, so I cant help you out there. Sorry! But I'm sure others can.

Hope I maybe helped! 

[running-man]

I like the gun too, but man that banana mag sure makes the rifle look fat (, read the GB listing threads to get that joke) 

At any rate, maybe you need to bite the bullet and scope it or at the very least get a set of techsights or something.  You could always get an extra receiver cover scope mount and keep the original for safe keeping to return the rifle to it's original state (well as original as you can get with 50 rounds sticking out the bottom)

Maybe see what kind of sights work well on your AR for your particular condition, and then try and mimic them on the SKS? It's not easy to change the sight configuration to something totally different on an SKS (especially keeping it reversible), but it can be done.  Maybe look first into replacing the RSL with a peep sight and see if that makes it better/worse with your eye configuration.  That's a really easy reversal back to the stock RSL if need be.

[K-9]

Mojo sights

[John Galt]

Hey Getvicious,

Beautiful rifle!  Do you see iron sight on other rifles ok?  I was out yesterday running my Russian and had the same issue.  When shouldered, the rear sight was very blurry and produced a "ghost" image that was higher and offset from the "real" rear sight. 

I believe that the root of my problem is 2 things:  My russian is a refurb that has a rear sight leaf that is in the white and a rear cover that is blued.  That combination + clean and oiled + bright sun is what made the "ghost" problem…either that, or my eyes are just old

Maybe a used rear cover in a dull finish would serve you well with the painted rear leaf.  I guess you could cover your original rear cover with some dull black paper next time you are out and see if that makes a difference before buying any parts!

Good luck and very nice rifle!

John Galt

[Dannyboy53]

That is a really clean looking and beautiful carbine 

[Justin Hell]

I have that same problem, although...it is old eyes vs. an outdated contact prescription...

Something I have considered are these:

SKS Rear Fiber Optic Sight New | eBay

I had issues with the night sights on a Yugo causing the same problem, so I kind of held off on this idea, but it simply replaces your rear leaf.  I have heard flat black paint on your sight post helps, and I have tried white paint on the sight post...it didn't help....so I have shied away from the colored Tapco posts.  There are also similar peep sight options available too....I believe they are made by Williams.

I gotta say that is one nice carbine, but that fifty rounder is kind of ridiculous looking on it.  I had one once, it came with my first SKS (thankfully with the original mag too).  The best SKS accessory trade I ever made was dumping it for a couple of USA 30 rounders.  The fifty is not only extremely prone to jamming, but it nearly doubles the weight of the gun when fully loaded.....not to mention the absolute lack of the ability to lie prone.  The only way to deploy the bayonet would be to first remove the (empty) mag, throw it and pray there isn't a boomerang effect. 

IMO they were a gimmick mag for the masses buying cheap SKS's when they were first being imported.  I would prefer a drum mag (also notoriously problematic) over these silly over extended mags.  There are even hundred rounders out there, still available for sale the last time I was mag shopping....BOY are those goofy....they are pretty much a half circle, and I am not even sure how hard they are to remove and install, but looking at them, there might even be stock interference when trying to rock them into place.