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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:06:21 PM EDT
I acquired this bubba'd up SKS from my brother in a trade for a little work on his truck.
With 50+ year old rifle bag   As I acquired it. Was told it hasn't been shot in 10 years or more?    He said he could never get it run correctly and it stovepipes the spent case more times than not. It never had the factory magazine since he bought it 20 years ago; he was running 20 and 30 round detachable mags. My plan is to get it back to factory. Bayo, factory mag, and cleaning rod on the way.  I was floored at the cost of the factory 10 round mags, thinking I could grab one for like $20 (They're going for over $100). Then I got to looking at what an SKS goes for now-a-days. $500+ for beat up guns missing everything, $700+ for complete Chicom variants in OK shape, and $1000+ for clean Russian ones.  |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:10:25 PM EDT
[#1]
We know.
There is a thread on SKS prices once a week. In before people bought them for 79.00 back in the day. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:13:25 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted: We know. There is a thread on SKS prices once a week. In before people bought them for 79.00 back in the day. It was $49 dollars for Albanians at AIM.  |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:14:23 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted: We know. There is a thread on SKS prices once a week. In before people bought them for 79.00 back in the day. And a 1k rounds to go with it!!! Bought a crate of em!!! |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:15:11 PM EDT
[#4]
Good work, put the money into it, it's worth it.
I rescued a baba'd Russian SKS a few years ago. The magazine was around $120 and the stock was $150. Rest of the rifle was intact and in good shape. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:21:28 PM EDT
[#5]
I got a line on a nice Russian one owned buy a guy at work looking to sell; I'll pay more for it than I did for my first AK (WASR), but it'll be well below what some are paying now. That's what you get for waiting to pick up surplus guns.
FWIW by the time I was old enough to buy guns for myself they were well over the $200 mark, so I don't want to hear any "you snooze, you lose" bullshit from you oldsters. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:23:12 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: We know. There is a thread on SKS prices once a week. In before people bought them for 79.00 back in the day.  Attached File |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:24:08 PM EDT
[#7]
I bought my ChiCom SKS from SOG for $350 before the banged up for good. Should have grabbed a couple more.
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:26:29 PM EDT
[#8]
Two listed locally,both look to be nice rifles,price is a bit high but that's no surprise.
https://www.armslist.com/posts/13847902/great-falls-montana-rifles-for-sale--matching-numbers-factory-906-chinese-sks https://www.armslist.com/posts/13847915/great-falls-montana-rifles-for-sale--matching-numbers-yugoslavian-m59-66-sks |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:27:38 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: And a 1k rounds to go with it!!! Bought a crate of em!!! Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: We know. There is a thread on SKS prices once a week. In before people bought them for 79.00 back in the day. And a 1k rounds to go with it!!! Bought a crate of em!!! I got screwed and paid $120 for a Yugo. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:33:00 PM EDT
[#10]
I have a TapcoFucked Chinese Carbine that I really need to get around to correcting.
My first battle rifle bought back in '98 at 18yo. I used to take those duckbill USA mags, drill out the spot weld on the top tab that indexed the mag catch and MIG plug weld it. Then cut a 1/32 slit and hammer the feed lips down slightly and place a small weld in the corner. Then those suckers were reliable/durable. As an 18yo I went to great lengths to make those stupid mags work ????? |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:36:19 PM EDT
[#11]
All milsurp has gone up since "new" supplied have dwindled.
The only reason they were ever that cheap is because the governments that paid for them did so decades ago, used them, then sold them for pennies on the dollar. Look at an SKS, really, and tell me what you think it'd cost to produce today. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:37:47 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: All milsurp has gone up since "new" supplied have dwindled. The only reason they were ever that cheap is because the governments that paid for them did so decades ago, used them, then sold them for pennies on the dollar. Look at an SKS, really, and tell me what you think it'd cost to produce today. $800-$1200 depending on build quality is my guess. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:38:48 PM EDT
[#13]
Been living under a rock OP? Next thing you'll be complaining about how Mosin Nagants aren't $69.99 anymore.
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:45:57 PM EDT
[#14]
I have a box of factory mags and a good supply of stocks to unbubba the sks's I find.
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:47:02 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Been living under a rock OP? Next thing you'll be complaining about how Mosin Nagants aren't $69.99 anymore. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YnukvBCvWxc/TJ4gGAtEVWI/AAAAAAAAABU/VUtxhTh_amY/s1600/buy+the+crate.jpg I worked at Tenn Guns Int'l back when we were getting 10k-15k of them at a time. Uncrating them one crate at a time, engraving the importer and a new US serial number. That took about a week, week and a half to get them all done. About 2 months after the rifles showed up, about 5.5 million rds of 54r ammo in 660rd crates would show up. Each 20' container had to be unloaded by hand as they were not on pallets for shipping. 48 cases to a pallet, strapped and wrapped. Stuck in the warehouse. It was usually all gone in less than 2 weeks. Fleet Farm, Classic and AIM bought the biggest part of each shipment of the rifles and ammo. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:48:57 PM EDT
[#16]
I've noticed, too. They have crap sights, an aweful trigger, terrible accuracy, and are no longer at least cheap to shoot. If the prices climb much higher, I'll sell mine to fund something else.
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Posted: 3/20/2022 1:51:01 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I worked at Tenn Guns Int'l back when we were getting 10k-15k of them at a time. Uncrating them one crate at a time, engraving the importer and a new US serial number. That took about a week, week and a half to get them all done. About 2 months after the rifles showed up, about 5.5 million rds of 54r ammo in 660rd crates would show up. Each 20' container had to be unloaded by hand as they were not on pallets for shipping. 48 cases to a pallet, strapped and wrapped. Stuck in the warehouse. It was usually all gone in less than 2 weeks. Fleet Farm, Classic and AIM bought the biggest part of each shipment of the rifles and ammo. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Been living under a rock OP? Next thing you'll be complaining about how Mosin Nagants aren't $69.99 anymore. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YnukvBCvWxc/TJ4gGAtEVWI/AAAAAAAAABU/VUtxhTh_amY/s1600/buy+the+crate.jpg I worked at Tenn Guns Int'l back when we were getting 10k-15k of them at a time. Uncrating them one crate at a time, engraving the importer and a new US serial number. That took about a week, week and a half to get them all done. About 2 months after the rifles showed up, about 5.5 million rds of 54r ammo in 660rd crates would show up. Each 20' container had to be unloaded by hand as they were not on pallets for shipping. 48 cases to a pallet, strapped and wrapped. Stuck in the warehouse. It was usually all gone in less than 2 weeks. Fleet Farm, Classic and AIM bought the biggest part of each shipment of the rifles and ammo. When was that and were you there when the AMD-65s came in? |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:03:41 PM EDT
[#18]
I can’t even find a 10 rd mag for mine.
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:04:14 PM EDT
[#19]
Congrats on the new addition, OP!
I'm very tempted to sell my Russian. It's a very very nice '55 Tula with black bayonet, silver bolt carrier, laminate stock, and all parts numbers matching. The serial starts with AK  Shoots great but I haven't shot it in close to 10-12 years, so it's time to make room with prices being what they are. 
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:05:20 PM EDT
[#20]
Don't see the appeal.
Sure, for $89 when a Mini-14 was several hundred more, a Bushmaster was even more, and a Colt AR was like a month's take home pay for a younger guy, I can understand why people bought them. But more than an decent AR costs now? |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:06:36 PM EDT
[#21]
Prices are nuts.
I'm down to just one. It's a bringback so I want to sit on it. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:17:19 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Don't see the appeal. Sure, for $89 when a Mini-14 was several hundred more, a Bushmaster was even more, and a Colt AR was like a month's take home pay for a younger guy, I can understand why people bought them. But more than an decent AR costs now? Because people aren't buying them as their first and only rifle or for self defense or shtf. They are buying them for a collection. Why is collecting always understood when someone buys a Garand or a Mosin even, but if SKS is mentioned it's always compared to an entry level AR15? Imagine someone buying an old car for its history and somebody come along and says you can get a brand new Toyota Camry for the same price and it will be more reliable as your daily driver. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:20:05 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Been living under a rock OP? Next thing you'll be complaining about how Mosin Nagants aren't $69.99 anymore. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YnukvBCvWxc/TJ4gGAtEVWI/AAAAAAAAABU/VUtxhTh_amY/s1600/buy+the+crate.jpg Someone needs to make this into a Wolverine crying in bed meme |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:20:24 PM EDT
[#24]
I remember a friend buying one for $79 and thinking it was expensive. That was a long while ago.
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:23:09 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I can’t even find a 10 rd mag for mine. While I initially laid on a good supply of spares from a buddy that used to import SKS's and parts, I still grab all the loose factory mags I find at gun shows and shops for typically $20 or less. It is of course getting harder and harder to do that but it still happens. I got 2 nice chinese wood stocks at an antique shop the other day for $10 each. Deals are out there but they involve time and gas so in reality it's probably cheaper to buy at current retail than beat the bushes for a 'steal'...  Good luck on the hunt! |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:28:02 PM EDT
[#26]
Quoted: I acquired this bubba'd up SKS from my brother in a trade for a little work on his truck. With 50+ year old rifle bag https://i.imgur.com/TfPKzPI.jpg As I acquired it. Was told it hasn't been shot in 10 years or more? https://i.imgur.com/2e00ZhM.jpg https://i.imgur.com/9HVMf26.jpg https://i.imgur.com/KEOQEJP.jpg He said he could never get it run correctly and it stovepipes the spent case more times than not. It never had the factory magazine since he bought it 20 years ago; he was running 20 and 30 round detachable mags. My plan is to get it back to factory. Bayo, factory mag, and cleaning rod on the way. https://i.imgur.com/4C4v1Ds.jpg I was floored at the cost of the factory 10 round mags, thinking I could grab one for like $20 (They're going for over $100). Then I got to looking at what an SKS goes for now-a-days. $500+ for beat up guns missing everything, $700+ for complete Chicom variants in OK shape, and $1000+ for clean Russian ones. What kind of 30 round mags do you have |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:29:48 PM EDT
[#27]
What happened to cause prices to jump in the past year or so?
When I was bored, I used to look for bargains on those SKS's. Those days are long gone. - About three years ago, I grabbed an SKS on Gunbroker. The description was a plain old SKS, with a buy it now price of $435. The photos showed that it was an SKS-M, with the butthole stock. Now those are currently going for twice that price. - I had another SKS-M with a cheap folding plastic stock. I found a original SKS-M Monte Carlo stock listed on Ebay as an "unknown" rifle stock. Scored that stock for $20 delivered. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:31:52 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: And a 1k rounds to go with it!!! Bought a crate of em!!! $25 rifle at best! |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:35:04 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I wouldn't take one for free! $25 rifle at best!
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:35:57 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: $800-$1200 depending on build quality is my guess. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: All milsurp has gone up since "new" supplied have dwindled. The only reason they were ever that cheap is because the governments that paid for them did so decades ago, used them, then sold them for pennies on the dollar. Look at an SKS, really, and tell me what you think it'd cost to produce today. $800-$1200 depending on build quality is my guess. Yup.... I tell all the folks that cry a mosin or an SKS ain't worth the current asking price to tool up and make em for cheaper.... |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:37:37 PM EDT
[#31]
Are the Tapco 20-round magazines still being made?
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:38:07 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Because people aren't buying them as their first and only rifle or for self defense or shtf. They are buying them for a collection. Why is collecting always understood when someone buys a Garand or a Mosin even, but if SKS is mentioned it's always compared to an entry level AR15? Imagine someone buying an old car for its history and somebody come along and says you can get a brand new Toyota Camry for the same price and it will be more reliable as your daily driver. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Don't see the appeal. Sure, for $89 when a Mini-14 was several hundred more, a Bushmaster was even more, and a Colt AR was like a month's take home pay for a younger guy, I can understand why people bought them. But more than an decent AR costs now? Because people aren't buying them as their first and only rifle or for self defense or shtf. They are buying them for a collection. Why is collecting always understood when someone buys a Garand or a Mosin even, but if SKS is mentioned it's always compared to an entry level AR15? Imagine someone buying an old car for its history and somebody come along and says you can get a brand new Toyota Camry for the same price and it will be more reliable as your daily driver. I never understood this thinking either. It's a milsurp for collecting at this point. Maybe it was more viable 30-40 years ago when ARs were significantly more expensive? It's not that era of firearms anymore. Other uses are not going to be as effective when the past two decades have seen AR rifles drop to ridiculous levels. I didnt buy my FN49 or Hakim to be a SHTF rifle. My M1 Garand or Carbine would be low on the list to grab if the commies get more uppity. Why would an SKS fill that role with modern, cheaper, more effective options? Plus, why not buy guns just to have fun or collect if that is what you want? |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:38:09 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Congrats on the new addition, OP! I'm very tempted to sell my Russian. It's a very very nice '55 Tula with black bayonet, silver bolt carrier, laminate stock, and all parts numbers matching. The serial starts with AK Shoots great but I haven't shot it in close to 10-12 years, so it's time to make room with prices being what they are.https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/166952/IMG_20220320_135708727_2-2320296.jpg https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/166952/IMG_20220320_135722818_2-2320297.jpg That's fucking hot |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:39:15 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I wouldn't take one for free! $25 rifle at best! |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:40:15 PM EDT
[#35]
I have not watched all of this but the intro is interesting.
 The Russian SKS, The Soviet gift to the world. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:40:34 PM EDT
[#36]
Many years ago, maybe 28, there was a shop near me that sold SKS, they were $79 each or buy three and get one free....the guys at work jumped on this deal and many were never shot...and a lot of them were lost in Katrina waters....
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:42:06 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm kidding, but have seen comments like that in SKS threads. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: I wouldn't take one for free! $25 rifle at best!  Love me some SKS. Sold off an Albanian along with all my other Eastern European stuff. Regrets, man. Regrets. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:44:50 PM EDT
[#38]
There was a local auction last week that had a dozen or so Russian SKS's and a few Chinese SKS's. They all went pretty reasonable compared to what I see others selling for.
Auction |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:49:00 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I never understood this thinking either. It's a milsurp for collecting at this point. Maybe it was more viable 30-40 years ago when ARs were significantly more expensive? It's not that era of firearms anymore. Other uses are not going to be as effective when the past two decades have seen AR rifles drop to ridiculous levels. I didnt buy my FN49 or Hakim to be a SHTF rifle. My M1 Garand or Carbine would be low on the list to grab if the commies get more uppity. Why would an SKS fill that role with modern, cheaper, more effective options? Plus, why not buy guns just to have fun or collect if that is what you want? It certainly appears that there are some 'affordable' makers of RELIABLE AR's out there these days while in the past "cheap" AR reliability was spotty. So when non gun folks asked about wanting to put aside a "rainy day' rifle on a budget I typically advised them to get an SKS and a case of ammo. Ten years ago if you shopped hard enough you could put both of those things in your closet for $400 or less total... not so much any more. For over all robustness and reliability I'll take a well cleaned (cosmo removal) SKS in factory configuration over any Mini14 or 'super budget' AR any day of the week for 'social work' purposes. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:51:46 PM EDT
[#40]
My early Chinese was a gift. Russian pattern with a blade bayonet. But the stock was rotten. Right now it's in a newer Chinese stock with a spike bayonet. Blade is in the safe. I should really just cut the stock to work with the blade.
What are the old steel non-detachable 20-round mags worth anymore? The ones with the star. I still have one of those in the safe. Works well on mine, but i keep it assembled with the 10-rounder. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:51:53 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted: There was a local auction last week that had a dozen or so Russian SKS's and a few Chinese SKS's. They all went pretty reasonable compared to what I see others selling for. Auction Lots of great deals on lots of stuff there... sellers left a LOT of $$ on the table going that route... oh well. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:53:32 PM EDT
[#42]
I saw a Norinco in a shop two weeksa ago...$799
Before the Pandemic two years ago i thought $450 was stupid high. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 2:55:05 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My early Chinese was a gift. Russian pattern with a blade bayonet. But the stock was rotten. Right now it's in a newer Chinese stock with a spike bayonet. Blade is in the safe. I should really just cut the stock to work with the blade. What are the old steel non-detachable 20-round mags worth anymore? The ones with the star. I still have one of those in the safe. Works well on mine, but i keep it assembled with the 10-rounder. $100-200+ I THINK there have been some "new production" ones brought in that may or may not be as good as OG ones, I have not looked too hard into it but that's what I recall hearing. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 3:05:28 PM EDT
[#44]
Y'all know buds has racks of Chinese ones for 399, right?
Even on their website |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 3:06:35 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Because people aren't buying them as their first and only rifle or for self defense or shtf. They are buying them for a collection. Why is collecting always understood when someone buys a Garand or a Mosin even, but if SKS is mentioned it's always compared to an entry level AR15? Imagine someone buying an old car for its history and somebody come along and says you can get a brand new Toyota Camry for the same price and it will be more reliable as your daily driver. Two things. "Collecting" is too often a mental illness disguised as a hobby. And "collecting" beat up SKS rifles is the equivalent of collecting beat up Ford Pintos. |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 3:09:54 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Two things. "Collecting" is too often a mental illness disguised as a hobby. And "collecting" beat up SKS rifles is the equivalent of collecting beat up Ford Pintos. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Because people aren't buying them as their first and only rifle or for self defense or shtf. They are buying them for a collection. Why is collecting always understood when someone buys a Garand or a Mosin even, but if SKS is mentioned it's always compared to an entry level AR15? Imagine someone buying an old car for its history and somebody come along and says you can get a brand new Toyota Camry for the same price and it will be more reliable as your daily driver. Two things. "Collecting" is too often a mental illness disguised as a hobby. And "collecting" beat up SKS rifles is the equivalent of collecting beat up Ford Pintos. Do ford pintos appreciate in value like the SKS has? |
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Posted: 3/20/2022 3:17:43 PM EDT
[#47]
What's this worth? Slovakian honor guard/presentation. 3 rounds. No scratches or dings. I will ride this into Valhalla, shiny and chrome
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Posted: 3/20/2022 3:19:45 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Two things. "Collecting" is too often a mental illness disguised as a hobby. And "collecting" beat up SKS rifles is the equivalent of collecting beat up Ford Pintos. 
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Posted: 3/20/2022 3:24:40 PM EDT
[#49]
Picked up an unfired 1969 Chinese last week for $595. It will go with my $100 Yugo and Russian from the good old days. Times change.
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Posted: 3/20/2022 3:26:39 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Don't see the appeal. Sure, for $89 when a Mini-14 was several hundred more, a Bushmaster was even more, and a Colt AR was like a month's take home pay for a younger guy, I can understand why people bought them. But more than an decent AR costs now? A few things... 1) Unless I'm missing something, the SKS is one of the only semiauto rifles that's legal in all 50 states. 2) The SKS is probably the best firearm design to ever come from the wrong side of the Iron Curtain. They're very solid rifles. 3) "More than a decent AR costs now" is a stretch. What are we calling "a decent AR?" |
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