My LGS has a Norinco SKS that I am intrigued by. I did some digging on my own and found that in spite of the name, this particualr SKS never was actually used by the PLA (which honestly is sort of a relief). I guess they shortened it for export purposes, and US gun market imported tons of them. The reviews I have read claim they are rock solid in terms of reliability and accuracy which is encouraging as those two qualities are what I value most in a firearm. I also like that this is the Chinese version as my daughters are half Chinese and it would be cool to see them shoot a Chinese made gun someday when they are older.

The price is 500$ which is apparently very high compared to what they used to go for, but I am told this will only continue to go up. The gun seems in good condition and apparently the barrels are chrome lined which seems good for longevity.

My only hesitation is the Type 56 AK is more what I was looking for in a Chinese rifle and as I pointed out in another thread, the real dream is to own a Springfield M1903, so much so that I passed on a quality Enfield that has since sold. I am thinking that this Norinco could be a good placeholder at minimum and coul be a gun I really grow to love, because the ergonomics work perfectly for me.

Ultimately, I am just curious from your experiences on the good, the bad, and ugly of the Chinese Norinco SKS (regular or paratrooper version)

I have one. They are excellent and what I would consider to be a carbine in practicality. I have a spare stock that I used to adapt the steel mags made years ago so I now have 20 rd mags, easy to change, and it runs like a top.

I consider the Paratrooper to be the best SKS made for shooters, not collectors. I sold all my other SKS models (Yugos, Russian, etc) for good money, but I wouldn't sell my Paratrooper. Great truck gun.

If you are in the market for a crudely made, fairly inaccurate, semi-auto rifle, then go for it. I had an SKS bring back that I passed down to my daughter. The best thing going for it was a chrome lined bore (not chamber). The enemy seemed to prefer the AK 47.

I don't know what a Norinco SKS Paratrooper model is. If it is basically a Norinco SKS, these are pretty crude guns. I bought two of these new when they were very cheap, about thirty or more years ago.

They actually shoot fairly well considering the trigger and sights. I shot mine extensively, even with cast bullets, but for $550-$600, one could find something more refined than an SKS. I sold mine years ago and don't miss them.

This would be a shooter, I do not collect guns at all. To me they are tools to be used for fun or a specific purpose.

I have a Norinco SKS standard length rifle. It is fairly accurate, extremely reliable and easy to maintain. I also have a Saiga AK clone, but I shoot the SKS a lot and the Russian AK very little.

A safety concern SKS owners or potential owners should be aware of...these guns weren't built with user safety as a key factor. They are subject to slam fires and full automatic fire. Most shooter probably will never deal with this, but enough have that the AMERICAN RIFLEMAN published a warning regarding this, about twenty-five or more year ago, after these low-priced guns flooded the market.

If you shoot only the cheap bulk ammo and/or factory ammo that uses a military-type primer, chances of slam fires and full auto fire are probably greatly reduced. If you handload, use a military-type primer.

With my handloaded ammo, using CCI-400 primers, one of my guns slam- fired when the bolt was released. Another time, it emptied a magazine with one pull of the trigger. A Bowie, TX gunsmith developed a firing pin spring kit which can be installed in these guns. The kit works well and will eliminate the safety hazards I've described. These inexpensive kits were and may still be available from Brownells. I had them installed in both my SKSs before selling them.

I've got two of them and recommend them to anyone. Handy, with easy recoil, and 10rds on-tap.

The slam-fires most often occur with guns without a properly cleaned bolt and carrier. They all ship/ped with cosmoline, and that's thick and gummy. It can cause a free-floating firing-pin to stick forward, causing the "issues" RQ detailed above. Remember, our own AR-15's have a similar floating firing-pin, and you nearly never hear of similar problems. The fix is offered by:

SKS Firing Pins – Murray's Gunsmithing

Yes, the Para versions have far more of a following than the standard 20" barreled version. They were made for commercial export and civilian sales, as you know.

The SKS has the worst trigger that I've ever felt on any firearm. They are typical communist made weapons...bare bones.

You're right, everthing needs to cleaned of grease. While the AR15 does have a floating firing pin, there is apparently something different in comparison with the SKS setup as slam fires and full-auto fire have been more prevalent with the SKS. I doubt most of these incidents are caused by grease buildup, though that may be a contributing factor. I don't know what the spring kits cost now, but it's money well spent.

The "Paratrooper SKS" descriptor actually covers a number of different guns. A breakdown can be found here. New Page 1

The Chinese SKS is considered to be the most accurate of the SKS variants in the milsurp community provided you can get the right surplus ammo. Quite a lot of US ammo was made undersized. Caveat Emptor. You must view some of the comments regarding quality and finish with the knowledge that many ComBloc/Cold War guns are made good enough to work and kill stuff, no more.

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Release the Kraken

I love that!!!!!

I had one, actually 2, many years ago. I never took the cosmolene off and mine had the best machined parts, etc. Back in the day they were $125.00. At 4 times more than that I'd find an AR; there are plenty of inexpensive ARs around that are not crude or junkie.

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Come and take it!!

I'll see your SKS trigger and raise you a 1895 Nagant revolver in DA. That one makes an Enfield No.2 revolver feel like a Python.

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Release the Kraken

I've had several sks carbines. Most were well made; a few of the Chinese had very poor stock in inletting. Some had poor triggers. The Soviet Russian ones were excellent.
I have one Chinese paratrooper now.
If you find a Chinese with good inletting and a decent trigger, 475.00 is about all I would pay. 550.00-650.00 should get you a nice Russian with a bit of looking. I don't believe all the Russian ones were chrome lined. The Yugo sks's were definitely not. The Chinese definitely were.
It's a shame these have gotten so expensive...they were a lot more interesting when they were 99.00.

That is a low price around here. As long as it has not had a detachable mag conversion, it will be a reliable, minute of deer working gun. We had one in the Jeep on the farm for years. They are solid performers, if a bit crude.

The SKS did what I asked of it back in the 90s. Mine had a decent trigger and shot rings around my friends AK and Mini 30. I found an imported factory load that put my rounds in the upper chest of a silhouette target at 300 yards with a 6 o'clock hold on the head and the sight set on 3. Not stellar accuracy but effective.

Having witnessed a "run away" SKS with another shooters "brand new" rifle, I took my concerns to a local gun smith I trusted. He pulled out my bolt, held it vertically and shook it up and down. The firing pin clicked back and forth freely. He said he wouldn't take his "bring back" to the range without checking for that. He told me he believed the slam fires and full auto problems were caused by 2 factors: Rifles shipped with bolts coated in cosmoline and not cleaned before shooting with firing pins "glued" in the forward position, and the same condition caused by corrosion in the bolt of poorly maintained rifles. He told me that most of the steel cased Chinese surplus 7.62 x 39 ammo flooding the market at the time had corrosive primers leading to rusted bolts resulting in rat-tat-tat and cracked stocks.

The minute my budget allowed, I upgraded to the AR platform. The SKS went away. As a utilitarian no frills defensive tool that I could afford, it was perfect for me at that time. When I had it, I wished it was a Para model.

I wouldn't hesitate.

Yes, they were worth the price when they were cheap; about what you would expect to pay for a fairly crude gun. Triggers aren't great but you can get used to them.

Chrome lined barrels offer little in the way of benefit and are likely less accurate than a non-chrome lined bore. However, they would be great if you swim with the gun or fire many, many thousands of rounds.

In defense of these guns, they are surprisingly accurate for what they are. I'd have to look up old notes, but I think the two I had would shoot cast bullets more accurately than the cheap steel core ammo I bought that came in a big sardine can.

I can do better and afford better than an SKS. I couldn't imagine paying several hundred dollars for one of these. No remorse in selling mine.

I was working in a gun store during the heyday of the SKS Para. $99 for the rifle, $99 for a spam can of ammo. Sold tons of them.

if you REALLY want a pre-ban Norinco/Polytech AK, save your money.

That being said, I have all flavors of SKS; Russian, ChiCom, Romanian, Albanian, Yugo 59 and 59/66. The Chicoms are the most accurate with military spec ammo.

Again, save money, don't settle (just to get something), have patience, get what you really want. When you finally get it, it''l be worth the wait and money, trust me!

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Thread Killer.

I hope they eventually get a Type 56 AK or Springfield M1903

The Springfield is a much better gun than the others; better quality, well built, more accurate and far more desirable at sale or trade time, at least to most people.

No such thing as an original SKS Paratrooper. They are standard SKSs cut down for the US market. Despite the dislike that many seem to have for the SKS they may be the best milsurp for the money ever offered to American shooters. Tough, durable, chrome bores and accurate enough for home defense and woods Deer hunting.

My DCM M-1 Garand was the best rifle for the money that I ever have seen! Of course, I got mine back in the '80's. It shoots rings around any SKS and the trigger is so far superior that there is really no comparison. The .30-06 round is far superior to the 7.62x39, as well. Nice Garands are expensive, maybe twice that of any SKS, but they are more than twice the rifle!

Comparing an M1 and an SKS is an apples to oranges comparison. For awhile brand new SKSs could be bought at gun shows for $100 or less back in the 90s. My Chinese SKS will shoot 3" groups from a bench rest at 100 yds with Norinco steel cased ammo with it's "inferior" trigger just as it came from the factory. Few untuned M1s will do that. The weakness of the M1 is the barrel. Cleaned from the muzzle usually. Try wearing out a chrome lined SKS barrel, better have lots of ammo. And the endless repetition that a "smooth" trigger means the whole gun is somehow superior A 30-06 is more powerful than the 7.62x39, no kidding . For the money brand new SKSs for $100 or less remains the best milsurp deal ever offered to the American shooter. Just because it came from China and is the enemy's gun doesn't somehow make it junk, it is not.

"Every body knew" that the Japanese Arisakas were junk because the finish had lots of tool marks. Until they were tested after the war and found to be super strong and nearly indestructible.

I was buying them when they were $85 for the Chicom version, and $99 for the Russian guns. Owned 4, but eventually sold all but one - A standard ChiCom model new in the grease. The Russian guns looked nicer, but one was unreliable, the other not so very accurate. 1 case of Chinese, and one case of Russian ammo thru it, with NO failures. Not a tack driver, but more accurate than most AK's I have shot, decent trigger, and good handling.

At today's prices, there are "better" rifles out there. But if you want an SKS, then you want an SKS.... They kind of remind me of a poor mans M1 Carbine. I have no intention of selling mine - It is fun to shoot. I seen somewhere that there is an optics mount that utilizes the rear sight mount. Now that I am thinking about it, and SKS with a red dot would be a fun and practical rifle. Never had one slam fire on me.

Larry

Very true according to P.O. Ackley's testing, but would you want one? Strength alone doesn't a make for a good or desirable gun.

Ignore naysayers. These are very good rifles. I well remember when they could be had for $89.95 -- but that doesn't make them overpriced today. I bought many great-condition S&W Model 28's for under $200 back then, too... but I ain't saying they're not worth what they're bringing now.

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Pisgah

I have four "7.7 Japs" as they were called and dismissed as junk some years ago, and maybe still are. Bought for less than$200 each on GB several years ago. Checked the prices they bring today? The 7.7 cartridge is as easily handloaded as the 30-06 or and other rifle ctg on the same head size. They are very well made rifles and mine aren't for sale.

Before I really knew what was what with sportered milsurps, I turned my nose up at a Type 38 in 260 Remington in a beautiful Fajen stock complete with a well mounted scope. My error was in not knowing what 260 Remington was and being nervous about a rechambered gun. Later I found out that 260 Remington was really 6.5x51, and the original Type 38 cartridge was 6.5x50. I suspect there is more than enough metal in an Arisaka action to stretch a chamber 1 mm.

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Release the Kraken

100%, the Nagant revolver trigger is something else!!

SKS trigger is okay, fairly typical of older military rifles. I’ve found SKS rifles to be easy shooting, very reliable, and fairly accurate rifles. For a fun shooter/defense gun for a reasonable price, you can’t go wrong. Plus, you won’t hurt it…! .

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NRA Life Member

I was working part-time in a pawn/gunshop and was offered a used paratrooper SKS for $75. It shoots just fine. I need to get it out of the back of the safe and fire it up.

A friend of mine bought a standard SKS and was disgusted that it outshot his new Ruger Mini 14.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

What won't outshoot a Ruger Mini 14?

I have an old single shot .22 that will make the Ruger look like a tack driver. I'm kinda nervous being behind the thing. If it weren't so inaccurate, I would have given it away a long time ago, but I won't pass it on to anyone. It was literally abandoned in my brother's back seat. When my brother dropped the owner off after going shooting, he got out and told my brother to keep it. Makes sense, he was going to Alaska and it wasn't worth shipping or flying with it.

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The best I can with what I got

I think anyone who served in the Pacific Theater had a healthy respect for the Japanese longarms. My dad thought "Little 25 caliber Japanese Carbine" was a very handy rifle. I've seen pictures of Marines going out on patrol and one was carrying a 6.5 carbine.

My father said that the Japanese grenades were very good too. They worked very well when Japanese soldiers used them to commit suicide!

I have an SKS. It's worth every penny of the $69 I paid for it.

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213th FBINA

When the "Assault Rifle Ban" was signed into law but not yet started, I bought an unissued SKS for 69 bucks. I liked it so much within a few years I bought 2 more. I added a scope mount on one of them and it works awesomely well. Better accuracy than ME, and 100%b reliable.

I also have a Garand, an Eddystone and a couple 1903s. Sure the Springfield is a finer gun, but an Enfield and an SKS also have a place in anyone's collection.

I guess I don't understand the "placeholder" term. If the "collection" is ultimately going to be one gun, then go buy what you want in the first place. Springfield 03s are selling readily on Gunbroker for about $1200. They will never be any cheaper.

In my situation I am limited to one gun per major category. My wife grew up in Communist China and was brainwashed in their anti-gun, anti-freedom culture. She is a fantastic wife and mother, but guns are something she is very cold to, I have tried to take her to the range, but to no avail. She understands that guns are a part of our culture and understands our daughters will be raised with them, but she would never be ok with me having anything remotely resembling a collection. More important than that, I am building a college fund so my girls can go to college with no debt as I did, and I do not have the expendable income for such a collection. All my guns have a purpose, my 686 is my EDC, my Mossberg 500 is my trap/skeet/duck gun, and this rifle would be a range gun to train my girls, or deer rifle.

The reason the SKS appeals to me, is my wife is familiar with it growing up in China and warmer to it than an AR-15 or Type 56 AK, and it is a cool part of my daughters culture that I could share with them when they are older. The other potential options will be listed in a poll later because I do value multiple qualitative/quantitative data points.

One of the guns I foolishly sold that I really miss is my old Norinco SKS Paratrooper. Back in the day they sold a pistol grip you could put on the milled ones. I reworked my stock to make it feel better.

I have become very fascinated by the SKS at my LGS. I just love how it feels in the hands and it feels very well built for a gun that was made so affordably.