Is the Russian sks the best kind to get.Iam thinking of getting one.

IMO the Russian is the best SKS, but I like them all.

You can't beat the Yugo SKS for the price right now.

I dig Yugo's!

the Russian SKS is the original and the best,
the second best is the Chinese SKS.

I called AIM and got 3 of the "cracked stock" ones for $99, once you get the peanut butter like cosmo of off them they are in decent shape...about 60-85% finish and only one of the stocks needed replaced.  It is a neat variant of the sks with the extended gas tube and handguard.  Haven't shot them yet.  Gave the onw with the replacment stock to my son...AIM also had replacement stocks for $10, they will definately need some fitting but it was a good project for the boy.

oops forgot to add these are the Albanian SKS

I picked up 2 Yugos for my oldest sons at the Richmond VA gun show, got the cosmo out of them, took them out to my farm and got sub 1.5 inch groups with iron sites at 80 yards. Not bad for the first 5 shots out of each. For myself, however, I prefer my FAL.

If anyone wants to know some tips to get the cosmo out of the way quickly, feel free to ask and I'll post my short cuts founds. The 1st yugo took about 4 hours to clean. From that experience, I used what I learned and did the second in about an hour (the stocks take longer if you want to keep the bulk of the finish in the wood).

i am partial to the yugos myself.

How is a Chinese SKS superior to a Yugoslavian SKS?  The Yugoslavian SKS is one of the best made communist rifles I have ever seen.  If weight is an issue, you can still buy an original 59 before the grenade launcher and sight were added.

i have a cheap chinese sks with a red vietnam stock on it, and just ordered a yugo for 150 from www.gunsnammo.com .  considering it is unissued with all serials matching it seems like a good deal.  i wanted one for a while and jumped on it since im selling my paintball stuff for 400 bucks

yes any tips on getting the cosmo off would be good

The best ways I have found to remove the cosmo involve the following steps:

1) Use WD40 to remove the initial layers off the rifle when you first get it. This makes it so much easier to handle from this point forward.

2) Field strip the rifle completely and separate all the wood components from the steel components.

3) For the wood, wipe and degrease. If you allow the wood to set in the sun for several days, you will find the cosmo will weep out of the wood and you can periodically wipe it off.

4) For the metal parts, I had my best luck soaking them in automotive parts washing fluid. I did this by going to Home Depot and getting a 48" long gargening plater and lining it with a trash bag (planters have holes in the bottom).

5) After soaking for a while, remove the components and wipe them. Return to soaking and repeate 2 to 3 times.

6) Use q-tips as needed. You will need a lot.

7) Put it all back together and visit the range!

Quoted: I picked up 2 Yugos for my oldest sons at the Richmond VA gun show, got the cosmo out of them, took them out to my farm and got sub 1.5 inch groups with iron sites at 80 yards. Not bad for the first 5 shots out of each. For myself, however, I prefer my FAL. If anyone wants to know some tips to get the cosmo out of the way quickly, feel free to ask and I'll post my short cuts founds. The 1st yugo took about 4 hours to clean. From that experience, I used what I learned and did the second in about an hour (the stocks take longer if you want to keep the bulk of the finish in the wood).

I heard of people taking their rifles to the carwash and washing them off .  That sounds like a fast method of getting off the heavy cosmo on the outside of the rifle.

This is probably a really dumb question but what is cosmo??

Cosmoline:
MIL-C-11796B Petrolatum-Base Compound
Anti Corrosion Coating
It works, but can be time consuming to remove.
x_v

The best SKS is a free SKS !

The Russian SKSs are the predecessors to them all. The type56 Chinese is nearly an exact copy of the Russian! The Yugo is a grenade launcher- the best way to lighten it up is the thread protector device, offered by centerfire systems.

The best SKS is any SKS under $200. I bought a post ban Chinese Paratrooper version years ago for $125. Fun accurate little gun. Don't see much point spending more than $200 on one though.

I'm thinking I need to buy a Yugo just to have it. Can never have enough guns.  

I have chinese(back when you could get them for $100.00) Yugo and Russian., All of them did fine, but what surprised me was the fact that my North Vietnamies one out shoot them al. My dad brought it back in 1965 and it sat at his sisters house untill 89 when he gave it to me. All of them were capable of shooting sub 2 inch at 100 yards, but the NV one would put 2 out of three in the same hole.