As some of you may now I’m a big gun fanatic and now I’m thinking of adding a 10th gun to my collection. (And soon needing a new guncabinet considering mine only holds 8 )

Anyway I have my eye on an Yugoslavian M59/66 SKS semiautomatic rifle.

So I was wondering if any of you have one of these or have used one before and if so what there like.
How accurate are they and how heavy?

See if I get it I’ll be ordering it and won’t see it until it gets here.

My buddy and I use to have shooting competitions, he owned an SKS, and an AR15. I had a mini14 and an supermatch M1a. My expirence with the SKS and the mini, depend what you are looking for. Accuracy, is not what I would call acceptable, but if you wanted something to "plink" with I would say go for it. If you are planning on customizing it for accuracy it will cost you a pretty penny. Same with the mini.

It is lighter weight than my springfield, so I would say the weight is "comfortable".

Personally unless you just "want it" I would save my money and buy something better down the road. Just my opinion...

Yup, if your looking for something cheap to plink with an SKS ain't a bad rifle. Depending on which country of manufacture it is you can usually pick one up for under $150.00.
Pros: Will shoot anywhere, anytime without much maintanence. Ammo is cheap but corrusive so you have to remember to keep it clean after your done.
Cons: Not "highly" accurate. Not the most effective round (7.62x39) for hunting. Only holds 10 rounds unless you convert to permanent banana clip.

Personally I'd save my money and pick up a MINI 14. The (223) or (5.56 NATO) round is cheaper, has more velocity. You can get anywhere from a 5 round magazine up to a 50 round. So easy to maintain a blind man could do it.

I have a few mini 14's and a Colt AR-15. The mini's are not as accurate as the AR but if I had to leave in a hurry and could only grab one rifle it would be the mini 14. I've shot as many as 800 rounds in one day at the range without a single jam. I swear you could throw the mini in the mud and have an elephant step on it and it would still fire.

My 2 cents worth

Hermon

Thanks guys.

I chose the SKS more for its look then for its capabilities.
I just don’t see the point in getting one and not using it for anything.

Seeing as its not to accurate I’ll probably keep the open sights and use it for relatively close range.

For most of my hunting I have a model 70 with a 3 to 8 power scope so I probably won’t be using it to much anyway.
Might use it for groundhog.

I have 2 SKS. They are not that accurate as others say. It's about good for soda cans but not so much bullseye shooting.

I've shot an SKS and accuracy is ehh so so, but definetly fun to shoot regardless.

if it were me, i'd go for the mak-90, it has the removable magazine, mags come in 5 round and up to the drum.

a good 100 yard rifle, and its a tuff weapon, went thru a house fire, and went out and shot 3 30 round mags without a malfunction. and you can get em with the dragon frame stock, or reg wood. its left hand user friendly too...

used it with success for hunting white tail deer in arizona, and for a plinker, its great!!!!!!!!!

you can get the german plastic core ammo and it will work in it, but they don't work in the sks. the plastic core is great for plinking, and if ya go through cheaper than dirt for ammo, its about 2 bucks a box of 10, and the case deal is cheaper also.

just my 2 bits worth.....

reb in texas

hey

another gun fanatic just like me.dont get a semi auto they are to easy to blow rounds if you wont to get gud at hunting get a bolt action such as the 223. REMINGTON they are very good guns i have shot a goat 250 metres away with one (felt so happy) and another goat at 20 feet yes thats right 20 feet away and totaly killed it.i dont know how much rounds are were you are but if they are cheap for a semi get that but if they are $$$ get a bolt they give you more bang for your buck lol.


cheers
matt

Hey thanks guys.

As I said before I probably will be getting the SKS. But I do appreciate the info on the other guns as well. I’ll probably look into some of them for future purchases.

Matt I’m glad to see I’m not alone.
My main deer rifle is a bolt action 30-06 and I don’t think I’ll ever find a gun that will replace it. My grandfather used it back when he still want hunting and killed a 16point with it.

I do have to agree with you about the .223. I just wont be getting one just yet.
I know a guy who has one and rarely uses it. Knowing him its just a mater of time before de decides to sell it and when he does I’ll buy it.

As for it being semi auto I’m not really worried about wasting too many rounds. I’m relatively good with controlling how many shells I fire. Also when I’m shooting target I usually put the gun down after each shot anyway.

Jacob, I say get it. I have three of the 59/66's and they're all fine rifles. No, they're not as accurate as some rifles, but I've put 10 rounds into a 2 1/2" circle at 100 yards with iron sights. Not too bad for a 40 year old rifle and 50 year old eyes.

As for the lack of a removeable magazine, with practice you can reload pretty quickly with stripper clips.

Just be sure you clean the bolt, and the rest of the rifle for that matter, thoroughly when you get it. These old rifles were usually put away after being coated with cosmoline. The cosmo gets into the bolt and will cause the firing pin to stick if not cleaned thoroughly. This can be dangerous as it may cause the gun to multi-tap. That may sound cool, but can be pretty scary of you're not expecting it.

Which translates into about 2.5 Minute of Bad Guy. That's reasonable.
True, they're not as accurate as some rifles, but then, most rifles are more accurate than the people behind them. My new AR15 is this way.

2.5 minute of bad guy is good enough for me. I have other rifles for long distance accuracy. I also have a variety of Ruger 10/22s for spraying lead cheaply

The SKS is a good gun unless you are looking for the accuracy. I have owned several and always had nothing but fun with them. I also own an AR-15 that was custom built for me for law enforcement work. Had a very short barrel (legal now though), collapsable (spelling) stock and was fine tuned to the point it would only use heavy grain ammo. It all depends on what you plan on using the rifle for.

Cary thanks for the warning. I wasn’t aware of that.

I still have 1 person I need to talk to before deciding if I’ll be ordering it or not. Just having trouble getting in touch with him.

Jacob, don't let that deter you from getting it. It's really easy to clean the bolt and I'd be happy to walk you through it once you got the rifle.

Cary don’t worry about deterring me.

The only reason I wouldn’t get one is if the guy I still need to talk to has anything I like for an affordable price. I’ld buy from to avoid the shipping.

Also I appreciate your offer. I’ll have to wait until I get it to see but I’m thinking I should be able to clean it. But if I can’t figure it out I’ll let you know.
Is it much deferent from cleaning most bolt action rifles?


Roderick I feel sorry for you.
I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t have guns.

Jacob,

Cleaning of the SKS is different from a bolt action because it is a semi-auto. Not difficult, just different. I've included a couple of links that show you in detail how to break it down.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/sks/index.asp

http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/showthread.php?t=144892

Once you get the bolt out, just follow the instructions provided in the links above. If you don't want to completely disassemble the bolt (that retaining pin can be a pain in the ass to get out), another easy way to clean it of excess cosmoline is just to boil it in plain water. After the cosmo leaches out, spray through the bolt with aerosol brake cleaner and lube it with whatever gun oil you normally use. Shake the bolt back and forth and you should hear the firing pin rattling freely. That's the sound you're looking for.

By the way, even if there is no sign of cosmoline on the rifle (it's a grease that's used as a preservative), clean the bolt anyway. You can't be too safe.

Any questions, give me a holler

Cary

Thanks for the links. There be a great help.