What makes an SKS desirable to you?

[Blicero]

And I issued a warning because of your testiness. Do you need a ?

Stop deflecting. You say condition is overrated but if somebody scuffed up or dinged or damaged one of your rifles you'd be nauseous, and rightfully so. You wouldn't say hey they have more history now they have soul!

[Blicero]

Whoa that's weird. I can't even say t.imeout without it automatically inserting an icon? Who's idea is that? Runningman?

[Greasemonkey]

How can you expect different from a peon like me?

Because, it's you, you know, you practically poop German eagles, nuff said


Like I ain't never scratched or dinged one, like anything, even a car, you wanna keep it pristine, don't touch it.

[Loose}{Cannon]

Whoa that's weird. I can't even say t.imeout without it automatically inserting an icon? Who's idea is that? Runningman?

Thats what the name of the smiley is called.... you type that out and thats what it displays.

[Loose}{Cannon]

Somebody needs to stop hitting the report to mod button like its going outta style. 

[Greasemonkey]

Somebody needs to stop hitting the report to mod button like its going outta style. 

Well, it shows how attentive our Mod is to our needs, like pushing the stewardess button and she shows with your Coke after landing.   Bwhahahahahahaha

[jeepguy]

I put down "Condition" for my vote.  I think it gets overlooked too often in favor of 'rarity' and country/arsenal (which is just rarity prettied up for the Izhevsk snobs).  What may be über rare to one person might be just another new condition Yugo to another. 

Condition, BAH!!! OVER RATED!!!  Old, used, beat to death, mismatched, sloppy tolerances, dirt in the action is what "Communist military surplus" is about, thats whats sexy, especially when you pick one of these Commie made turds up for the first time, rack a stripper clip in them and dong the gong at 200yards. If one wants new, shiny, purdy, slick rifle, they roll off assembly lines all day, everyday, for roughly the same cost and are even higher quality than these street and jungle beaters are, but, these have no life, no dirty, dark trench secrets, no blood on their hands, no soul.

That is the primary reason I'll buy a a worn used firearm over new everytime.  The only exception for me so far is when I bought a RIA 1911.

[running-man]

Well, it shows how attentive our Mod is to our needs, like pushing the stewardess button and she shows with your Coke after landing.   Bwhahahahahahaha

ROFLMAO!  That one got an audible laugh loud enough for both my wife and daughter to come in to see what was going on!   

If one wants new, shiny, purdy, slick rifle, they roll off assembly lines all day, everyday, for roughly the same cost and are even higher quality than these street and jungle beaters are, but, these have no life, no dirty, dark trench secrets, no blood on their hands, no soul.

That is the primary reason I'll buy a a worn used firearm over new everytime.  The only exception for me so far is when I bought a RIA 1911.

I agree!  The biggest difference between new and old for me is really in the quality of the materials and the quality of the workmanship.  New firearms nowadays are downright cheap and flimsy just like most everything else.  A pal of mine at work bought a new Remington 700 in .270, pre-mounted with a scope.  Paid under $340 for it I believe.  Thing was light as a feather with the synthetic stock and had no heft to it at all.  Easing the bolt into battery was like fingernails running across a chalkboard in my mind as I operated it.  Pull the bolt back to cycle it and you begin to wonder if it's going to keep coming back and fall out of the action onto the floor.  Loose, ridiculous tolerances, simply a horrible, horrible gun.  You get what you pay for I guess, but good gravy I was downright embarrassed for him!!! 

Another pal of mine at work bought a $500 Kel-Tec PMR 30 in .22 WMR.  Aside from the barrel, trigger, hammer, and a few springs out of steel and the slide out of aluminum, the whole %$#%#$%$ thing is plastic.  It's unfair to even begin to compare something built in the 50's to something built in 2015.  Modern stuff might have the performance & materials down to an exact science, but there's something to be said about the soul of older milsurps. (even the trashy, POS middle-eastern ones right Blicero?) 

[Blicero]

I always feel awkward when I refuse to shoot other peoples' deer rifles or ARs or Taurus revolvers or whatever newfangled POS they have at the range. I feel like I'm insulting them. Just see no point in wasting their ammo when I know the gun will leave me flaccid.

[Blicero]

1911s are the only exception. I'll happily shoot any and every one handed to me.

[jeepguy]

That's the feeling I had when I tried a Glock 17.   It was kind of disappointing really, I don't get the obsession people get with them.

[Stoned_Oli]

It looks cool, and goes bang x10.

And you left "Because it's Romanian" choice out!!

Hear hear! I left my wife standing in front of a pawn shop in full leathers and a 50 lb. backpack for half an hour to buy my Romey... All I could say was, "It's Romanian!".

[Dannyboy53]

Hear hear! I left my wife standing in front of a pawn shop in full leathers and a 50 lb. backpack for half an hour to buy my Romey... All I could say was, "It's Romanian!".

Oli it doesn't look like she was sufficiently impressed with your announcement!  

[Justin Hell]

I had to go with 'other' because any of the additional options could come into play at any time....and there was no 'oddball' option.

I avoid pawn shops and gun stores sometimes when I have money, which isn't often...but I try to stay away like I do with regards to Huskies at the animal shelter. Just like SKS's you can almost always find something to love about them....and it is hard to feed them all.

Wifey is putting her foot down and saying that all of the tax refund (which should appear any minute) will be going to ammo and other 'things' we need to get done around here.  But, some of that is going to end up in my account too....so if a paratrooper, or any AK mag variant comes along in the next few days, I am in trouble...even scarier is my recent binge watching of the A-Team has me itching for a chrome side folder Mini 14....which, thankfully is less common and way less likely to end up with me living in the dog house.

That being said, I am a sucker for nearly any SKS I can afford and can rescue from the hands of anyone else but me....so, beware...a few lotteries and I will own them all. 

[Donp236]

Rarity and condition go hand in hand in hand.  Over time prices go up even with the SKS.  Though not to the tune of say WII Mauser K98's or WII war time P.38's or PPK's.  The early guns 1957-1960 are the rarest and should be priced higher than say a recent Norinco. Especially one in good condition. As should the battlefield pickups with documented with papers.  But the price is set what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller.  Other things come into play here milled or stamped guns. screwed or pinned barrel these would be variations.  A WII Mauser SVW45 is rare and I have one in perfect 99% condition I paid 2.8K for it  5 years ago and now it is worth 3.4k.  SKS's may never attain the rarity of the P.38 pistols but time will tell.

[SKhiSm 59-66A1]

I won't even consider an SKS for purchase unless it has stamps on it that only I can see.

[brentb636]

That "market value" term is what bothers me .  My sks's cost me between $220 and $350, delivered.  That runs the gamut from my Sneak to my cracked stock special, but they all perform well , and have some historical interest.  When I see those beautiful Russians going for big bucks, I think about all the beautiful Russian guns in Canada in the sub $200 range and do a reality check.  "market value" is whatever one of us fools is willing to pay for a reason we can't quite define .

[Power Surge]

I chose matching numbers. I guess because from years of auto restoration, I have an appreciation for originality.

Something is only all original once. And the older it is, the less likely it's all original. A rare SKS is great....but if it's missing commonly swapped out parts like the magazine, stock, or receiver cover, to me, it's lost it's appeal.

[Tank50]

I'm more of a shooter than a collector. Given that, to me the most important attribute of an SKS or any rifle is its accuracy and whether or not it is fun to shoot. I do prefer that an SKS be in its original configuration.

[reloader762]

I've never been a collector as the term is defined,if I buy a gun I'm going to shoot it at some point and I know that shooting a NIB gun pretty much take away a lot of value but I've never sold a firearm I bought unless it turned out to be a piece of junk and was just unreliable.

As to my  SKS rifles I own two a 1970 refurbished Yugo M59/66A1 and a NIB Chinese factory /26\ rifle all milled parts with screwed on barrel and lug made in 1965 if I remember the Serial # correctly,both rifles have all matching #'s 

I missed out on the days of the $89 SKS rifles but I got my Yugo for $149 which I hand picked myself from the crate and my new Chinese for $225.   I probably paid to much for the Chinese rifle but they were nowhere to be found in my area especially a new unfired one and it's been a once in a life time chance purchase as I've never seen a new one since.

I bought my rifles because they were a excellent source for a cheap effective med range cartridge good for hunting and self defence as well as just being different for the normal every day common US calibers.  Ammo was very cheap at the time and still is even for good quality hunting ammo from PPU,I reload most all my own ammo for the X39 anyway and just keep my supply of steel case ammo for a rainy day.

To me the SKS is just a poor man's M1 Garand that can serve several purposes and there just fun to shoot.