I bought an "unissued" Yugo SKS from IO. The metal is in great shape but the stock is junk. I would like to have a nice walnut or beech stock to put on it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I was wondering about that too, id like to get a thumbhole stock for an sks

Gentlemen -- be careful making changes to your rifle that way [ thumb hole stocks ] It *may* cause your rifle to loose its C&R rating with BATF. IF it does -- your weapon becomes instantly illegal. The BATF allows this weapon imported because of it "Historical" value....being an old military weapon. Change its looks and you run a risk..........

You can change out your stock to the newer Tac. versions..........but a lot of money has to be spent putting in USA made parts to satisfy US code 922r.

Please read my post page 3 on the first sticky about Magazine changes and the US code 922r

Jeff556 -- Don't give up on the original stock.  I can't say for sure what kind of stock your weapon was given, but if it is a Yugo Gov't original....more than likely it is "Beechwood". That is one of the most used kinds of wood the Gov't used. If you are handy at all........don't be afraid to take the stock off..........and using a small electric sander [ orbital is best ] refinish the stocks surface. There is a lot of wood in these stocks [ very beefy ] so you can get out a lot of dings, even deep ones. Use a good grade Tung Oil when you are done and the stock will really look great. The more times you apply the tung oil.......the deeper the finish will look. My stock has some rough areas around the forearm --  top edge. I just sanded them smooth......and rounded them a bit. Not the sharp 90 degree edge that it is suppose to be.....but doesn't look bad with my fix. I was lucky [ very ] and got one of the unissued rifles apparently destined for Africa. All those rifles were given "Teak Wood " stocks at the factory to stand up to the rain and humidity. It was sitting among a half dozen other SKS rifles....but under all that Cosmoline and Surface oxidation....no one spotted it. I had a clue something was different when I asked to inspect the rifle and found it noticeably heavier. Teak wood being more dense adds about one pound more to the weight, from what I can tell.

Part of the fun owning this inexpensive firearm....is being able to take it apart and fiddle with it......something you might hesitate to do with a new $2000 Sako !!

Have fun............

JF.

lol im sure no cops on my town know about 922r. How would any one find out if you have a different stock or an illegal sks, unless you take it to a range or something but where I live, I just shoot in my back yard so I wouldnt worry about that. but thats just me, gay gov.

gah. this is an inaccurate post. changing your stock (in the exception of the folding stock) does not make a difference in it's legality. and there are ALOT more factors that go into it. it depends on how many "options" the gun has. and even then since the weapons ban was lifted i'm pretty sure that has changed. so i'm not going to try and quote the new law. the old law was basically this: you had to have a folding stock, bayonet lug, grenade launcher and a 20+ round clip for it to be illegal. again, i'm not exactly sure what the new law is, but i'm assuming it would be more lient than the old.

Quoted: gah. this is an inaccurate post. changing your stock (in the exception of the folding stock) does not make a difference in it's legality. and there are ALOT more factors that go into it. it depends on how many "options" the gun has. and even then since the weapons ban was lifted i'm pretty sure that has changed. so i'm not going to try and quote the new law. the old law was basically this: you had to have a folding stock, bayonet lug, grenade launcher and a 20+ round clip for it to be illegal. again, i'm not exactly sure what the new law is, but i'm assuming it would be more lient than the old.

Not exactly.  The Import Ban and the Assault Weapons Ban are two completely different and seperate issues.  The Assult Weapons Ban is gone.  922r is the Import Ban and it is still very much in effect.  It deals with what weapons were banned in '86 and the prohibition against assembling a weapon that is banned from import.

A lot of mistakes in arolfsen's post, mostly a misunderstanding of what the Assault Weapons Ban was, and  how it did and did not apply to a C&R SKS.

Quoted: gah. this is an inaccurate post. changing your stock (in the exception of the folding stock) does not make a difference in it's legality. and there are ALOT more factors that go into it. it depends on how many "options" the gun has. and even then since the weapons ban was lifted i'm pretty sure that has changed. so i'm not going to try and quote the new law. the old law was basically this: you had to have a folding stock, bayonet lug, grenade launcher and a 20+ round clip for it to be illegal. again, i'm not exactly sure what the new law is, but i'm assuming it would be more lient than the old.

The now-expired federal 1994 Assault Weapons Ban did not pertain to what is being discussed here, namely changing a stock.  The Gun Control Act of 1968 is what applies to the question.  Part of the GCA allowed the BATFE to prohibit the importation of "non-sporting" rifles.   The section of the law that deals with this is Title 18 USC § 925(d)(3).  In 1989 (and again in 1998), the BATFE published some vague guidelines, which they called "studies", which mentioned some features that they considered to be "non-sporting".  And certain military semi-autos were specifically banned from importation.  People began to buy kits of "non-sporting" guns (all the parts needed to make a gun, minus the receiver), and assembling them on a new receiver, in order to still be able to have these "non-sporting" rifles.  So, in 1990, a law was passed saying you could not use foreign parts to assemble a gun banned by Title 18 USC § 925(d)(3).  In essence, you couldn't use the kits to build a gun that was prohitbited from importation.  This section of the law is Title 18 USC § 922(r).  It says that to be legal, a foreign "non-sporting rifle" must have 10 or less foreign parts.  The list of parts is:

1) Frame/receiver
2) Barrel
3) Barrel extension
4) Trunions
5) Muzzle attachment
6) Bolt
7) Bolt carrier
8) Operating rod
9) Gas piston
10) Trigger housing
11) Trigger
12) Hammer
13) Sear
14) Disconnector
15) Buttstock
16) Pistol grip
17) Forearm/handguards
18) Magazine bodies
19) Magazine followers
20) Magazine floorplates

Yeah, it's crazy, but that's the BATFE and our lawmakers at work.  11 or more parts, it's foreign made, 10 or less means domestic manufacture  

A Yugo SKS is not considered a sporting rifle, therefore not allowed to be imported as a complete rifle under Title 18 USC § 925(d)(3).  However, there is an exception to the import ban, which is if the gun is considered a Curio and Relic.  C&R rifles are not subject to Title 18 USC § 925(d)(3), and therefore not subject to 922(r), hence they can be imported.  However, according to law, if you modify a C&R rifle, it loses C&R status, and 922(r) now applies.  You either have to convert the SKS into a "sporting" rifle, or you have to replace enough foreign parts with US parts to get to 10 or less foreign parts, in order to adhere to the law.  But the BATFE has never fully explained what makes a certain rifle "non-sporting", and AFAIK, there are not enough U.S. made SKS parts to get to 10 or under.

There are a lot of grey areas under these laws, entirely intentional, so that the BATFE can re-define things as it sees fit.  Do the laws make sense?  Absolutely not, and they run counter to the 2nd Amendment as well.  But regardless, you can be charged if you are not careful.  

While I don't think it's likely you'll be charged with a violation for changing a stock (I would like  to believe  that federal agents have better things to do), you don't have to look any further than Ruby Ridge to see what the BATFE is capable of

my mistake. thanks for the info. good to know

Other than going off on a tangent about 922r, the assault weapons ban of 1994, and the Gun control act of 1968, the question still remains. Does anybody sell new aftermarket SKS wood stocks?  

aimaurplus does www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Stocks_&_Stock_Sets.html

Check out www.simonov.net/stocks.htm go to there stocks page, looks like FAJEN used to make a wood thumbhole stock from walnut. Saw one on e-bay sell late last year for around $250, so they are out there. Good luck and safe shooting.