As last month had been all about the Mosin Nagant it only seemed fitting to follow up on its replacement, the Samozaryadny Karabin sistemy Simonova we all know as the SKS. In a brief time before the AK-47 the SKS had been a look into the future, lasting only a few years before being eclipsed by the much more feature-rich Kalashnikov. While it may have been quickly nudged toward ceremonial roles the SKS has proven to be such a solid and simple rifle to have made itself a lasting legacy.
First designed in 1945 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov, a designer with over half a dozen firearm models to his name, the original SKS had only been manufactured from 1949 through 1958 to the tune of around 2.7 million units. Collectors almost universally praise the Russian designed models to be the best of the lot and from a rarity standpoint an all matching numbers rifle from this era in good condition will command good prices. However, as someone who had a Russian SKS as my first firearm and have had two Chinese variants pass through my hands, and after hearing out someone who is far more knowledgeable than I am discussing the matter, I’ve been led toward a different possibility.
Much like the AK patterns of firearms the SKS has had quite a legacy. Production began with the Soviets but it has since been produced in China, Romania, Poland, Yugoslavia, Albania, East Germany, North Korea, and Vietnam. As with the Mosin Nagant there is a treasure trove of information out there for collectors on specific models, variants and oddities, but for simplicity I’ll be focusing on the Norinco produced Chinese Type 56. As you may have guessed, it was first made in 1956.
Unlike many other countries the Type 56 continues to live on virtually unchanged from nearly seventy years ago. On the American market you can find plenty of variations including 16″ carbine or paratrooper models, versions which take AK pattern magazines, sporterized versions, thumbhole stocks, what have you. Amusingly, some had arrived with factory scope mounts despite a distinct lack of any sort of optics which are designed to fit them. These modifications had been made for export with some commanding higher prices due to rarity and desirability.
As for the Type 56 itself, aside from a couple of cost-cutting measures employed over the decades, a civilian made rifle which matches the Type 56 profile without actually being labeled as a 56 is in fact a 56. They’re all made the same. Even those 16″ barreled carbine models started as Type 56 rifles with the barrels and bayonets cut down to fit the new profile. A very limited number of SKS rifles were imported in the late 1950’s with many more of the Chinese examples being brought back as war trophies during Vietnam. In 1986 proper importation became legal following an amendment to the Gun Control Act only to be cut off around ten years later.
The most obvious difference between SKS rifles is the type of bayonet with the original Soviets and some to follow using a slightly shorter blade style. The other is a spike style (commonly referred to as “spikers”) which first came from the Tula plant in 1949. Albania also produced spikers but the majority were found on the Chinese models where the spike bayonet eventually migrated onto some of their AK rifles as well.
The more common version of Yugo SKS also famously has a muzzle grenade launcher attachment with a flip-up ladder sight and gas cut-off. Batches of Yugo rifles occasionally still pop up, albeit much more rarely these days. Finding a more traditional patterned Yugo without the launcher modifications will drive up the price as fewer of them had been available.
More subtle changes of the Chinese include the omission of lightening cuts on the side of the bolt carrier and front sight base, switching from a milled trigger guard to a stamped steel one, and three different ways of fitting the barrel to the receiver. The typical attachment involves threading the barrel in but over time the amount of threading had been shortened before switching to a pressed and pinned arrangement.
Functionally there’s no difference in operation, although I have seen some evidence to suggest the pressed and pinned barrels are more subject to point of impact shift as the barrel heats up. Unsurprisingly, the “long thread” types are generally preferred.
Shifting gears, there has been some controversy over the SKS which comes from its free floating firing pin. The popular show Mythbusters had tackled (and busted) a myth about one of these rifles discharging in the back seat due to the thump from a car’s audio system. I can touch on a couple of points about this but the short of it is that you should always maintain your equipment and be wary of where the muzzle is pointed.
Having a free floating firing pin is nothing new. AK pattern firearms use it. The AR-15 and AR-10 (LR-308) all use it. The design itself is not inherently dangerous, though one consideration is the 7.62x39mm’s primer with military loads having harder primers than commercial loads. Just how much this might factor into potential unexpected discharges I don’t know.
My first rifle, a very poorly “sporterized” Russian model, did actually have a slam-fire incident with steel cased Wolf ammo which should have been using the tougher military primers. That poor gun had always been a pain. The cross-pin holding the firing pin in was stuck tight, I was never able to fully disassemble the bolt. In the one instance I pulled the bolt back on a fresh round, let it go, and immediately put a new hole into the dirt field. What I don’t recall is whether I was feeding the round from a magazine or if I had one dropped into the chamber, part of my early SKS owner experience was ditching some cheap aftermarket 30 round magazines and not initially having the original fixed ten rounder on hand.
Anyway, while very uncommon to get a slam-fire it can indeed happen under the right circumstances.
Another point to cover is the realm of modification. Quite a lot of SKS rifles have been altered or sporterized by owners, my first one included, but I’ve since become a strong opponent of this, particularly since the SKS is no longer a sub-$100 surplus gun you can pull out of a barrel at gun stores. If you’re interested in a pistol grip or a detachable magazine then you’d be far better off getting a firearm designed for such features, such as an AK. Palmetto State Armory makes a ton of them for not too much money and they’re apparently solid quality. If you’re more interested in optics there is no lack of options of modern produced guns with miles of Picatinny rail. If you attempt to modify the SKS you’ll either get something janky and unreliable or you’ll end up spending far more money than the gun was worth before being permanently altered.
The SKS is one of those designs which works great as intended but as soon as you start changing things around it can go from great to meh, speaking from experience. Find some high quality stripper clips, maybe a rubber buttpad extension for a couple bucks from Amazon or a more ergonomic stock, and you’re golden. The only other things you need are bullets and maybe a front sight pusher. I didn’t “get” the SKS experience until I had a classic original rifle and stripper clips which actually worked. It’s a transformative experience, especially after being surrounded by modern tactical rifles. Own an SKS because it’s different, own one because it’s cool and fun and simple.
But wait, there’s more controversy! Recall when I suggested the Chinese SKS was actually better than the Soviet made ones? I’d like to thank Youtube user “Triangle 26” for his excellent deep dives into just about everything SKS related. It’s all his fault that I now favor the Chinese models. The reason is quite simple: The Soviets may have done it first but the Chinese have done it longer.
Consider this, the Soviets stopped making the SKS after just nine years. China has been making them since 1956 and despite pulling them from military service is still producing them. Technology has come a long way, such as how to chrome-line barrels. The Chinese models have had time to evolve, opportunities to improve upon the design even if it was just to make them more affordable to produce. The Soviets made around 2.7 million. China cranked out an estimate north of twenty million of these things!
This said, some elements seem as though they were never looked into. Having had a chance to shoot a remarkably clean matching serials Soviet model side by side with this 1990 produced Norinco has shown me the triggers between the two are exactly the same with inherent mush, creep, and a difficult to predict break. Embarrassingly, I fired both rifles out to 25 yards and between the triggers and sights I had almost identical looking groups measuring about, oh, ten inches. Can you tell I don’t shoot many SKS rifles? More trigger time on the Norinco significantly tightened up these groups while the Soviet example had to get cleaned up and put back.
My Soviet model had been, if you’ll pardon the pun, a bear. I distinctly remember how sloppy the safety selector was on mine which left a bad impression that all SKS rifles were sloppy and junky. I’ve since handled three more Soviet rifles which were clean and tight but that Triangle 26 youtuber showed some examples of other Soviet models which were perhaps inspired by a little too much vodka. My current Norinco looks fantastic but there’s one exception with the holes for the recoil plate being drilled off-center. So close, guys… So close. At least the Soviets hadn’t mucked up that bit.
Worth noting about the Chinese SKS is the way they handle serial numbers. There are online guides made with the sole purpose of helping owners figure out when their rifle was produced. Be wary, there are many many different ranges and formats of serial numbers for these guns. Getting to the bottom of one is half the adventure of ownership.
If you’re in the SKS game from a collector standpoint then by all means, go for the rarer models. The red stocked Soviet rifles certainly are lookers! Though if you’re looking for a shooter to take to the range or hunt with, consider taking a look at the Chinese options.
Simple, rugged, reliable, and still decently affordable, the SKS is a great little rifle which can be a solid choice for newer shooters looking to move up from .22. The 7.62×39 provides a healthy .30 caliber kick while having less range than a 5.56 and less recoil of a .308. As with the Mosin Nagant I’d strongly encourage any would-be owners to keep their SKS rifles looking classy and original as they’re just more enjoyable to use in their original configurations.
