m 59/66

[46wl]

hello, just picked up a m59/66  from a buddy, was wondering what year it was built, and what sling would be correct? ser. # m-5166**    thanks Dave

[spongemonkey]

Welcome to the forum Dave!
It should be a 1976.

[46wl]

thanks for the quick reply spongemonkey .  what do you think  about the sling ?  I have seen leather , fabric with leather ends, fabric with metal ends?  Dave

[spongemonkey]

thanks for the quick reply spongemonkey .  what do you think  about the sling ?  I have seen leather , fabric with leather ends, fabric with metal ends?  Dave

Dave I may be wrong but it is my belief that the canvas (fabric) sling with metal ends would be correct for the 59/66.  A good reference of slings for it would probably be:  http://www.yooperj.com/SKS-20.htm.  I went to a manufacturers chart to determine the date on your 59/66. 

[Loose}{Cannon]

Yugoslavia started with the canvas sling on the sks and later transitioned to the leather sling.  I dunno exactly​ when the leather sling showed up, but either version is correct on any Yugo sks.

[carls sks]

hi Dave and welcome. good to have you here.

[Justin Hell]

Yugoslavia started with the canvas sling on the sks and later transitioned to the leather sling.  I dunno exactly​ when the leather sling showed up, but either version is correct on any Yugo sks.

I have a pair of these, a 1967 M59/66 and a 1980 M59/66A1 and my experience is the opposite of that.  The canvas slings will not fit the earlier models, I have two types...I think...unless they get really discolored and stretched when used.....neither fit the sling  loop until the later models.  If I recall correctly, this is a carry over dimension from the M59, as in order to improve the search results for the sling for my 67, I had to include the M59 in my quest for Yugo leather slings.

I think you can put the leather on either, but the canvas only later models have the wider sling hoop dimension to allow for the metal hook type slings. The swivels I believe are the same on the stocks though.
I think, but can't confirm the change to a wider loop likely happened when they reworked the front end (again) for the night sights...or possibly when gas blocks/barrels were replaced due to corrosion. For a 1976, it should have canvas.

I would be more specific, but it seems the calipers have been evacuated to a safe zone that I have not been briefed about.  My Yugos are hanging just above my left shoulder as I type...it is frustrating sometimes only to have a 'need to know' clearance regarding my own tools. 

[Loose}{Cannon]

Your surely right and I have the two backwards. 

You say the loop changed from 59 to 59/66?

[Justin Hell]

Your surely right and I have the two backwards. 

You say the loop changed from 59 to 59/66?

I think it happened sometime around when they added the night sights originally, but it is likely when barrels or gas blocks were changed, refurbs also got the wider loop. My unfettered with (no night sights, original everything) 67 has the narrow loop that would likely be the same as the 59. 

[Greasemonkey]

The leather sling is about an inch wide, the canvas sling is about an 1 1/4 inch wide. Some early production 59/66s must have had the narrow sling sling hanger right off the production line, the one I got in '99, came out of the box from Numrich with the narrow hanger and a leather sling. A canvas sling will not fit it, according to the prefix, it's a '71. Also on later ones, it's possible there was a narrow hanger mixed in at the refurb/restock shop, so one could get installed randomly until they were worked out the system. I believe the M76 8mm Ak shares the same canvas style sling, that gorgeous hunk of reach out and touch something, this might be the time frame the canvas slings hit the scene. I don't know what the M70 or M72 Aks took, again, they fit in the same time frame.

[46wl]

thanks for all the info, I will have to measure the sling swivels on my stock. I am not sure that the stock is original or not. I do like the look of the fabric sling better, with the metal on the ends. Dave

[Loose}{Cannon]

In my honest opinion, they are both very nice slings.  I would use them on.... Anything

[Justin Hell]

I have used a ratty Yugo canvas sling on a Chinese without problems...

I think the M59 through whenever loop sizes were just smaller for some reason.  I think the standard loop size was reduced by design...and then went back to orignial spec somewhere around the addition of night sights. With the amount of surplus Yugo barrels, I doubt many would have survived rearsenal treatment. The gas blocks the loops are attached to each other, and are a common corrosion problem as surplus rifles....the barrels are not chromed, the ammo was corrosive...and, they had the night sight upgrade they clung to until the end...

The few that did not get the night sight upgrade may be the only ones, unless there are partial upgrades? That would be a neat addition to the back burner...along with one with tritium night sights.

 Perhaps they blew up all the cows with those nifty grenade launchers, and lost their leather resource. 

[Greasemonkey]

This is what I was talking about.. this is a M59 "C"(top) and a M59/66A1 from '71(bottom), the "B" and long barrel are identical in size as well. So all 4 Yugoslavians I have, have this narrow rear sling loop installed. A Yugo fabric sling, at least the 3 fabric slings I have will not fit any Yugoslavian I have, only the leather slings will fit. Seems Yugoslavia might have used a narrow rear sling loop for a while, changing somewhere later in production or upgrading earlier rifles to a wider hanger during refurb. Now, the other loop you see farther up the fabric sling is a standard...Chinese, Romanian, Albanian or a Russian, pick a winner, I have no clue to who made it, but it is the same dimensions as all the rest of the nations, seems that is a standard sized sling loop, at least in all the other SKSs I have I compared it to.



The front sling bar, same rifles as above. The M59/66A1 does have a larger/longer slot for a sling attachment, but measured, the M59 sling slot is .86 inch, the M59/66A1 sling slot is .97 inch, both the leather ends and metal attachment hasps are all right about .70-.80 inch wide, so it seems either sling would fit this end.

[Dillar Dog]

Thanks for the info guys.  This place is great.

Welcome Dave.

[Justin Hell]

It's been awhile since I had to deal with it, and I forgot about how the metal tip didn't jive with the stock swivels.  I would have gone without until finding the right one anyway...it's a pretty nice gun, despite the slight and typical crack in the stock.