Need advice - SKS experts

Several years ago the head guy on my lease picked up a couple of SKS's. I got in on it and got one too. I am more of a hunter and don't do much shooting at targets for the heck of it. Anyway, one of these days I might sell or use it as a trade. (But my brother wants me to hang on to it and pass it on to him if I croak first!) Anyway, I am no expert and just want to know what the heck I have.

It's a Norinco and I have shot it very little. I put a little 4 power scope on it and never shot for groups, just at cans, etc. In looking at pics of other SKS's, the clip on it looks different. One fella (not an expert) said he thought it had been modified to take an AK 47 clip. It has no numbers on the stock. I also got an Aries 258 night vision scope but never got around to putting it on it to make it a hog killing machine. (Will sell or trade that scope for sure sometime soon) I am not at the house, so I'll have to get serial numbers later and post. Based on the pics, what have I got and what might it be worth?

Thanks!

It looks like a the Chinesse Norinco and the floor plate has been taken off and replaced with a 10-15 round magizine.
Hard to tell from the pics.
Caliber is 7.62x39 pretty common among this style rifle.

Based off what I see.
The Scope looks like a NC Star, with a Weaver replacement reciever cover. I'm thinking maybe $400.00.
It's hard to say.
They are not the most accurate, but they will shoot.
Mud, Water, Sand, and what ever else you can cramp in there.

Great pig rifles, well that's what I have used one for for years.
Anytime I take people hog hunting with me, that's what they get to shoot.

That is an SKS D which takes AK mags. It's not converted as the stock doesn't have the duckbill slot.

It also appears to be a paratrooper model since it has the shortened barrel.

These are getting harder to come by and you can probably figure it's worth if all the numbers are matching to be anywhere from $400 to $600 in the condition it appears to be in.

Check out this website and it has all the information you need about that rifle.
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php

Wow, thanks for the great info. I am pretty sure it is the paratrooper. I'll measure the barrel, but it is shorter than the "bayonet" models I have seen on here. What am I looking for as far as "matching numbers"?? And will something in the numbers verify that it's the paratrooper model?

Matching numbers= all of the major components carry the same serial number. Nice rifle. It would fetch a few bucks. They're not rare but not common either.

The stock, the trigger guard, bolt and reciever, and gas tube (not critical) which is uaually etched under the wood hand gaurd, should all be matching.

The supply of Norinco's has dried up and because of regulations there probably won't be anymore imported in the future, so no they aren't rare in that sense, but what is here is here and people are holding on to them, which is driving the price up.

Check that website for serial number varification and explanation as to it being an actual paratrooper or armory conversion.

Thanks again. I'll check out the numbers tonight and report. It's starting to look like my kid brother is going to one day inherit a nice SKS!

I'm jeolous, those D's are sweet versions of the SKS and the short paratrooper is as good as it gets.

I had one, (paratrooper, not the D model, which was my first SKS and like you, didn't know much about them back then and traded it.

Big mistake, and I had bought it for a song, and now they are easily in the $300 to $450 range and I've seen them go higher.

I've owned three and all Norinco's and they are flawless if you learn how they operate and clean them every now and then.

Accuracy? They aren't match rifles and never were meant to be, but don't buy into the "they aren't accurate BS."

I'll take the SKS anyday over the AK when it comes to accuracy.

That said, the scope mounted as it is on your rifle probably won't hold zero very well mounted to the bolt cover since it moves upon recoil although ever so slight. The most accurate mount for an SKS is a side mount that bolts directly to the side of the receiver. I would use the irons personally.

Nice gun but if you gonna use an optic id have it mounted correctly.

Here is the last one I bought. It was bubba'd already but the price was right. I thought about restoring it with a wood stock, but it wouldn't be the original so I'll leave it as is.

She runs like a swiss watch with cheap russian ammo!

Interesting SKS stories. I am so thankful I found this site for great advice, information, and a place to buy and sell. You're right about the play in the scope mount. The scope is a 6x32 Eurolux by the way. It is definitely a Norinco made in China. There was quite a bit of info in the numbers on the receiver. It starts with SKS M which I now believe is the post-ban version of the SKS D. It then had BTC S El Monte CA which must be the American distributor??? The receiver had a 5 digit serial number starting with 43. The bolt had the same, matching number, but that's all the visible numbers I found. I have no reason to believe that any other numbers would not match because everything seems to belong together. It's been sitting in a gun case about 99.999% of the time I have had it, and it's been at least 3 or 4 years since I've taken it out and shot it.

New wrinkle -- I just went to that SKS website and found this nugget:

"These rifles will usually have either “SKS Sporter”, “SKS NR”, or “SKS M” stamped on the side of the receiver. However, some just marked “SKS imported by <XYZ>”. The 20-inch version is very scarce. All of the 20-inch models reported to date are marked “SKS M”, have fancy Monte stocks, and have serial numbers starting with “94”.

Well, on the receiver, off to the left of the serial number (partially covered by the stock) it did have the number 94. So I might have the more scarce 20 inch version.

Most people who have trouble with the SKS more than likely don't know how to clean all the cosmoline from a new rifle, and just because the outer appearance looks good there can still be some cosmoline in the bolt and the gas tube and piston as well.

That was the case with the one I have pictured above.

They guy sold it thinking it was junk because it wouldn't cycle.

I took it apart after I bought it and sure enough it was caked with cosmoline and the piston rod that kicks the bolt back when you fire it was frozen inside the tube.

I was able to finally get everything freed up and clean and it runs like a swiss watch as I said.

Learn to take it apart and clean it thouroghly and properly, and you'll have a fine rifle to hand down to your brother.

Yep, it's been a while since I've been on that site and you're right about the SKS M, and by the sound of it you just hit the SKS lottery.

Check around an see what a rare SKS M goes for and you might be pleasantly surprised.

I'd also like to warn you that these rifles can be very addictive!

Thanks a ton Jimbo. What part of south TX are you at? I grew up south of San Antonio.

I am going to finalize the sale of my Mossy ATR this weekend. I have my eye on a Tikka on the Tx Gun Trader and was thinking of using the SKS as partial trade bait and do about a $250 trade value for it. Boy have you guys saved my bacon!!!!!!

Born in raised right here in good ole San Antonio! Lived here all my 65 years but Uncle Sam had me taking a small vacation for three years in south east Asia where I got aquainted with the SKS.

Grew up 60 miles south of SA and spent 4 years at Lackland and luckily never vacationed in SE Asia. I got back on that website and found a couple of guys that had posted similar SKS M serial numbers and the El Monte distributor. But they said they had 16" barrels, so I'll have to break out the measuring tape.

I had a gut feeling from when I was getting the serial numbers that it just didn't seem like a 20 inch barrel. Well, the measuring tape proved it. The barrel is 16", so it is not the more rare 20". Maybe the "94" has to be the first 2 digits in the actual 5-digit serial number. Maybe the 94 to the left of the serial number on mine is the year of manufacture instead?

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

It won't make much difference in it being 16" or 20" since what is out there is all that there will be, so it's value is what someone want's to pay, and the one you have isn't your run of the mill SKS.

At least now you have a good idea of what you have and a ball park figure of it's value.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Hey Jimbo. I am 99% sure it will become a safe queen. I just need to make sure that my kid brother knows what he has before he ends up with it.