SKS? Highly recommended for SHTF. Rugged, accurate, reliable and cheap to shoot. 10 round mag limitation is not a concern. I can reload with stripper clips as fast as changing a magazine. You just need to practice alot. VC used it to great effect with M16s shooting back. With a little modernization, just as effective as an AR. In fact, probably a little more so. An SKS can be bump fired quite easily from the shoulder with good accuracy if needed (Not illegal, but NOT recommended).
I'm NOT down on ARs. As a matter of fact, I'm buying a Stag next month. If I didn't like ARs, I wouldn't be doing so.
Some night vision, a good low light or night vision scope and it's just as good as any modern AR.
Now Lawrence why'd ya have to go and show me a thing like that? Here I was just doing well keeping things inexpensive and now I see there are all sorts of cool, after-market doo-dads to turn my cheap gun into an expensive one! LOL
Doc
Hehe........now that it's started I'll try and find some pics of some custom high speed web gear made to hold SKS stripper clips.
I put a tapco 3 position stock with the rails up front $79.00 then I replaced the back cover with a steel three rail for mounting optics $39.00 put a $69.00 pentax red dot on it and it is now a tacticool, versatile SHTF rig that will aquire targets quickly and is very accurate. I picked up my SKS back when they were $49.00 in groups of 10 from shotgun news. Boy am I glad I held onto it.
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What do I think of SKS's? Well I gave mine to my brother in law who had no rifle.
I sold one of my 2 AK's.
The problem with these rifles is that their life cycle is only 3 to 5k rounds. My exp. with AK's is that once you hit 5K sell it.
My AR's all run great. I have yet to wear one out even after 10k rds. They are easy to clean. I have never understood people saying they are hard to keep clean. Strip the rifle down, disassemble the bolt/bolt carrier. Clean the extractor and bolt. Run a bore snake down the barrel and oil lightly. Good for another 500 rd session. Thats even using wolk ammo.
It did take some patience and a little fitting but it went fairly easy. Taking it back off is more difficult than putting it on. When replacing the back cover it took some fitting and it had to be be done carefully so as to have a tight fit for the accuracy thing.
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Maybe it's just me, but I would keep an SKS as stock as possible. It is already combat proven, eronomical, and is compatable with tons of components as it is and little needs to be done to make it better. As far as the capacity of the hinged box magazine, it can be quickly recharged with 10-round chargers or topped off with individual rounds as needed. In the end, you can't carry any more rounds as the guy with an AK47, AR15, G3, etc. As Cyrano mentioned, a fixed magnification optic might be good for people with bad eye sight, but that is all I would do. Just my humble opinion.
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i could never get the reloading with stripper clips down... have always had the darndest time with it thats why i switched to mags, found that the tapco work the best for my sks... even if i put the wood back on i will keep the mags...
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i could never get the reloading with stripper clips down... have always had the darndest time with it thats why i switched to mags, found that the tapco work the best for my sks... even if i put the wood back on i will keep the mags...
It does take a while to get used to. I ...still... don't have an SKS but I fired one plenty that belonged to my shooting partner a few years back. It's sort of like snapping in five rounds off of a 5-shot charger into a Mauser, Enfield, or Springfield. I just place my thumb at the rear of the top round closest to the case head and exert just enough force for a fast and smooth charge. The motion is just a longer stroke, but just as fast with the SKS 10-round charger. I had gotten to the point that I could reload an SKS about as fast as I could release, clear and replace a spare mag into my Mini-14. Also, you don't have to recharge the bolt to chamber a round with the SKS. The SKS will quickly chamber the first round after the open bolt is released; sort of like an M1 Garand or FN49.
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i tried, pushin all over the rounds in different places... used my thumbs and fingers... just never figured it out...
This is just a thought. You might have a grimy build up on the face of your chargers causing the rounds to stick or move sluggishly down the charger clip. The problem could be enhanced if you use liquor coated steel cased 7.62x39mm like that made by Wolf and others. When you clean your rifle, put a little solvent and a nylon brush to the charger clips too and see if that helps make them smoother and cleaner. Finally, if you have big hands or long fingers, kind of "hook" the base of the top round with your charging thumb to keep the rounds from getting out of alignment. If your hand is big enough, you might be able to press the base of the receiver behind the fixed magazine with your finger tips while thumbing down the rounds. Remember, the force you exert with your thumb should be at the base of the top round and straight down, not at any angles. I hope those ideas work.
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Last edited by SightNSqueeze; 12-21-2009 at 10:05 PM.
Notice that only the shooter's thumb is anywhere near the top round and as far back on the top case as he can go; much the way one would load a Mauser-type bolt action service rifle. His finger tips are gripping the bottom of the receiver to keep a straight motion. He will thumb the rounds down with even and consistent pressure until the last round is in the mag well.
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The AR is dead only in the minds of some people on this forum.
In 2008 at the Texas Carbine championship there were about 8 to 10 AK's. This year there were none. They can't compete agains't the AR.
Reliability and acuracy just arn't there.
I have never had an AR fail in competion. I have had an AK die twice. SKS is to slow to reload even if you modify to use 30 rd mags.
The question on this forum was the merits of an SKS as a good SHTF rifle that is priced right, rugged and accurate. The SKS fits all of those requirements and more. Nobody wants to relegate the AR15-series of rifles to the scrap heap; but they, like every weapon out there have their shortcomings. As far as the time it takes to reload, I already demonstrated that with a little practice, one can load an SKS fast and keep it loaded without dropping partially loaded magazines. There is an advantage to keeping your rifle mag topped off at all times.
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This is just a thought. You might have a grimy build up on the face of your chargers causing the rounds to stick or move sluggishly down the charger clip. The problem could be enhanced if you use liquor coated steel cased 7.62x39mm like that made by Wolf and others. When you clean your rifle, put a little solvent and a nylon brush to the charger clips too and see if that helps make them smoother and cleaner. Finally, if you have big hands or long fingers, kind of "hook" the base of the top round with your charging thumb to keep the rounds from getting out of alignment. If your hand is big enough, you might be able to press the base of the receiver behind the fixed magazine with your finger tips while thumbing down the rounds. Remember, the force you exert with your thumb should be at the base of the top round and straight down, not at any angles. I hope those ideas work.
A couple of things. I ordered 100 clips through the mail. I tested a sticky one and found the tangs holding the ammo in were too high, making the clips difficult to load and charge.
Heres what I did:
Bent the tangs back (I used an ink pen and patients Be careful!), to where they're not quite flush. If you bend them too far, the rounds will fall out.
Washed them in parts degreaser with diesel fuel, dried off.
Sprayed with silicon spray.
Double checked to make sure clips would still hold ammo.
It takes about 5lb/pressure to charge my SKS with them although a little care is needed so as not to "drop" a round from the clip.
My kid can charge her SKS with it still shouldered. Mine can be charged with one, quick, smooth, motion.
Stripper clips are cheap. Buy a bunch and experiment.
Oh, I forgot..... I re-packaged the loaded clips in heavy paper in 30/40rnd lots and sealed in a .50cal ammo can with silicon kitty litter in a sock.
don5544. I happen to like the AR, I'm buying one next month.
Big Shrek, I only partially agree with you. No, it's still not optimal (5.56), but there are soooooo many ARs out there and still being sold, It's not going away anytime soon, I do agree that the 7.62 in any form is more optimal. This is the reason I would prefer an SKS.
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My dads sks has a 20 round clip and i know you can go bigger, only dissadvantage i see with the sks is if you do use a clip you have to pull the action back a lil to clip it in. Other than that i dont see much of a diffrence and I have shot both SKS, Ak, and ARs. For the money a good SKS is worth it.
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The AR15 is dead, it's being slowly replaced by the H&K 416 & 417.
.223 is not an optimal SHTF round anyway...7.62 has many more possibilities.
Who is replacing their ARs with H&Ks?
And how is 5.56 not a great SHTF round? Yeah as I said in another thread I own three firearms, a pistol, a shotgun and a rifle. That rifle is not an AR. But that dont mean I wouldnt be fully comfortable using one for SHTF.
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The AR15 is dead, it's being slowly replaced by the H&K 416 & 417.
.223 is not an optimal SHTF round anyway...7.62 has many more possibilities.
A walk down the isles of any gun show around here or a search through the catalog of almost any firearms accessories company tells me that the AR 15 is way to popular to be calling it dead. I like the idea of a bit larger round too, but the AR is by no means dead.
