I've been looking for a good all-around hunting rifle to keep in the truck for hogs, coyotes, nosy neighbors (j/k), etc, etc. My neighbor just got his FFL, so I put him on the case of finding me a good Russian or Yugoslavian SKS for a decent price (somewhere in the $300 range or so). Tonight he brought me a sale flyer he got in the mail and now I've got a decision to make. I can get a Yugo SKS in "excellent to like new condition" with grenade launcher, flip-up night sight, and blade bayonet, and add a 30-round clip and 1000 rounds of hollow point ammo for right around $300. OR I can get a brand new Romanian AK-47 with pistol grip, extra 30-round clip, and the same 1000 rounds for just under $400. Both of these prices include sales tax and finder's fee (which isn't much at the "neighbor" price). I don't exactly have money to just throw around, but I could afford the $100 difference if I decide the AK is the way to go. I've shot both guns but only a few times since I've never owned either one and all I know is that they both shot nicely. The SKS comes with more toys, but I don't generally use a bayonet or grenade launcher on a daily basis, so I could probably live without them. Any advice about which gun might hold up the best to being bounced around in the truck and give me the best performance for the money? I'm pretty **** about taking care of my firearms, so it will be cleaned and oiled regularly, but I want something that's going to last without requiring fragile treatment.

 

Well, I personally don't have much experience with the AKs. However, the SKS is a very well built rifle, and the Russians and Yugos are top of the heap. Many dealers are listing Yugo SKSs with all the toys for $129 in "issued" condition, and $159 for "unissued". A 30-rd. mag will set you back $20 or so - but it is a non standard part. (Also, check your state laws. It isn't legal to add one in every state.) That case of ammo can be picked up at a gun show for about or from internet suppliers (plus shipping though) for about $75. That gets us to around $224...plus a transfer fee of $15 or $20 and shipping for the gun and ammo might run you $30. So a grand total of about $270. (Plus tax?) I don't think your friend is ripping you off, but he's making a couple of bills on the deal. Considering everything, that would be fine by me.

AKs are going for $275 to $350 (quality varies accordingly), but most come with a couple of mags, bayonet, etc.

Either one will be pretty much guaranteed to run forever and always go bang. I think the quality of the SKS is generally a little better but you should probably just get one of each!

Enjoy!

-Sam

 

I've never owned an AK-47, but the SKS is very versitile and rugged. I've had one since I was 14, and used it to qualify in the CMP to purchase my first M1 so it's had a couple thousand rounds put through it to say the least. We just bought the $89 Norinco specials out of shotgun news, made in china, nothing special. We removed the bayonets, filled the slot in the stock with a piece of hardwood, and sanded off all that crappy orange finish they came with. We refinished the stocks, but now they have some great synthetic options available, I also added the thickest recoil pad I could find, not for recoil, but the things are so dang short it just wasn't comfortable before. I recently added a Norinco scope base and a short 3X9 scope made for the SKS. It's nice because it sits high enough that the iron sights are still usable. It's great for deer and hogs, and I'm not afraid to shoot between 100-150 yds. if necessary. I would say it's consistent within about 4" with a good quality ammo, 6" if your shooting the cheap wolfe or ball metal jacket ammo. Oh, and I had the bolt glass beaded to reduce the glare reflecting in the scope, it was blinding sometimes. These are rugged guns though, very simple... but the safety is a bit lacking. Our gun club was right on the Ark river so after competitions there was always sand in them. When we cleaned them we would break them down and spray them out with carb cleaner, and add a little graphite lube just before reasembly. The gun never failed once on the firing line. It's not my favorite gun, it just lacks a little character I guess... but if it fits your need I think it would work for you.

 

The base price on the SKS is $149.95, and on the AK $259.95, so that's right on the good side of what you said. The prices I figured were rounded up based on my "Aggie math" and prices on the clips and ammo that are also in the flyer. I'm leaning toward the SKS as the one that would take more use and abuse, but I think the AK might be a good deal pricewise compared to other AK's. It doesn't seem hard to find $250 SKS's ("out-the-door" price, with goodies) in pretty good condition. Now the question is would an assault rifle with a pistol grip look cooler than an assault rifle with a bayonet...hmmmmm

Actually, my next real question is about a rumor I heard...Someone once told me that an SKS works much better with the original 10-round clip than with anything larger. Can anyone argue for or against that?

 

the Romanian SAR1 is an AWESOME version of the AK, and from my understanding is getting kind of hard to buy right now, so get it while you can. you may even be able to find one cheaper than $400, i just saw a new one at a gun show for $300 NEW with 2-30 round clips. i think the Romanian SAR1 is more accurate, and quicker to reload.

check out www.ar15.com and go under the discussion forums, in the AK47 section.

otherwise i was thinking, you could look for a Ruger Mini14, ive owned a couple and LOVED them but i had to sell one to make way for my Colt AR15 .223 20"barrel ( $990. )

i also own a Russian SKS, the good ones are going for about $350. its a great rifle, but id rather have an AK47 instead somedays. if you get an SKS, get a Russian if you can. try to get a TULA model. its my understanding that during the refurbishing of the russian SKS they stand a number between 1-5 on the front sight base. 1 being the best shooting/ most accurate, 5 being the worst shooting / least accurrate. one website you should try is called "www.sksboards.com" ( i think is the site )

good luck, enjoy !! p.s. dont tell the whole world you have an AK47 for your "drive around town truck-gun" or else you may experiense problems.... broken into truck one night, missing AK47, 9:00pm news the next day some gangbanger used your gun to shoot up a store....

 

From experience, I know thats true. Me and my dad have a yugo SKS we bought a couple years back. We bought a 30 rd mag to go with it, and it didnt work. It would never fire more than 3 times in a row, it ALWAYS jammed. It was a plastic one so we bought a metal one and it did the same thing. I was at a gun store a year or so ago and saw a 75rd drum magazine for a SKS for $129.99, and have been thinking about trying one out.

 

I did a little looking into the Mini14 since an ex of mine had one that I absolutely loved (too bad it turned out to be his best feature ), but I really don't think I could bring myself to leave a Mini14 in the truck and use it for an everyday ranch gun...considering my love affair with Sturm, Ruger, and Co I'd probably tuck it into bed with me every night. I have a Ruger revolver right now and I think I'd use it to shoot anyone responsible for putting a scratch on it!

 

And I never said it was for a "drive-around-town" truck gun. My truck does as little driving around town as I can get away with, and I usually empty all the weapons out before we head in!! This is for a rural setting, and if you think you can get my gun out of my truck at my house, you haven't met my dog! You'd need the gun long before you made it into the truck...he's protective of his ride!

 

Your post said you were planning at shooting at pests. Since this does not include large number of combatants you probably won't need a rifle with more than a ten round capacity. The SKS is fine for that and you will not need a thirty round magazine. My Tula SKS is accurate to about 300 yards for the first seven to ten rounds. Accuracy suffers the hotter it gets. Blasting away with a thrity round magazine is not going to do much for you but it is fun. I find the SKS a bit of chore to haul around in the truck. Personally, I would prefer to go back to a Marlin .30-30.
I keep a 6.5mm Krag carbine with an 18 inch barrel in the jeep and that is handy bolt action and all.

In my two ton truck I keep a Ruger .44 magnum carbine. That is one great rifle but only has a four round magazine.

You won't go wrong with either choice. I guess you should get the one that has the best bore.

 

My friend and I both have had experiance with the SKS it is a tough and dependable gun, however, I don't view it as a hunting gun myself. But then again I've seen some really nice deer taken with an SKS. IMO a Marlin 30-30 would be an ideal gun for what you want to do with it. It's easy to handle and has more power than the SKS. But between the SKS and the AK I would go with the SKS.

 

I would say an SKS is a fun gun to shoot at say... targets in sand hills on country roads... but not so much at living things. My dad has one (I've shot it and it's pretty fun I guess, but I prefer something smaller), and he talks about it a lot because he got a good deal on it and stuff... and I just can't see any serious person taking that out into the woods and shooting an animal... call me vain if you will, but come on... grenade launcher and bayonet... and you're killing squirrels.. Okay, so at least when you get them varmin you can BBQ them right where you are... heh heh heh
At least either gun will WORK when you shoot things though... so back to things... my dad and his friend have respectively an SKS and an AK, made in some of those European countries, and they have had problems loading with bigger clips. If you need more than ten to take out a coyote, you might as well whip that bayonet out and chase the little bugger down because you probably shouldn't be shooting in the first place... unless it's just a really big coyote...
You can probably find a better deal on these guns if you're diligent and go looking... try a big gun show. I don't really trust used guns myself, but then again, I'm still a little afraid of them. Can't stand to look into the barrel... it's scary!

 

For deer hunting, a 30-30 is no question my first choice. For small varmints (raccoons, opossums, prairie dogs, etc) I have a wide variety of .22's, semi-auto and bolt action rifles, as well as revolvers. A well placed .22 shot can kill a coyote (and really pretty much anything else, but some things go down much easier with a larger caliber). What I'm looking for is something with a little more stopping power, mainly for feral hogs, which are a huge problem where I live in TX, and for the coyotes and dog packs that are starting to overrun us as well. I was raised to believe that one of the worst things you can do is shoot an animal without killing it then and there. The reason I'm looking at larger capacity magazines is that hogs do appear as large numbers of "combatants" and I've often seen them in groups of 20 to 30 or more if you count all the little suckers. Not that I'll probably wipe out the whole herd, but it's nice to at least make a bigger dent in it without having to reload. I do very little target shooting anymore. The grenade launcher and bayonet that come with the SKS will probably not ever see use if I buy it, but how are they for selling points if I ever decide to get rid of the gun? Thanks to everyone that's replied!

 

asking about rifle's on a Ford Truck forum. Ok, I own a couple Fords and live a state or two north of you in Colorado and collect guns. So I guess it's ok to ask here. The AK is the better deal for what you want it for. Reason? Well you can get replacement mag's that really work pretty cheap for one. The 7.62x39 is ok for what you want, I like the 30-30 and lever actions but both calibers are two peas in the same pod. The Mini is a 5.56/.223 not bad, I used a 5.56mm weapon for 20 years in the infantry, but I would not hunt hogs with one. My truck rifle (79 Bronco) is a 93 Mauser in .308, it cost me 60 bux 15 years ago and hits what I aim it at. If it's stolen, I'm going to be pissed, but not heart brocken. I would go with the AK but then again I don't live in Texas.

 

Norinco makes a 20 round detachable mag for the SKS that uses the AK-47 clips, but I haven't had any luck with the thing. It took some work just to get it to function correctly, the mags would hang up a lot and wouldn't feed right. It did eventually work consistently, but I've taken it off and went back to the stock 10 round mag.

 

Hey, if your going to go, go all out...





AS50 Semi-Automatic Rifle
.50 caliber
Light at 27 pounds
Disassembles in 3 minutes
Accuracy of 1.5 MOA (Minute of Angle - translates to being accurate within 1.5 inches per every 100 yards of distance)