SKS Carbines

The Russian SKS (Samozaryadnyi Karabin Sisyemi Simonova) proved to be one of the most popular military rifles of the Cold War (much to the chagrin of Western arms makers) and retains its popularity among firearm collectors. Chambered solely for the 7.62x39 calibre, the SKS has seen service in most of the major world confrontations since at least 1950. Originally a Russian design, the Soviets were quick to realize the value of licensing production of the SKS to their Brothers of the International Struggle as a way to woo or retain friends. The most common collector varieties to be found are the original Russian, Chinese and (more recently) the Romanian. Other less common varieties include East German- and North Vietnamese-production rifles.

Among the Chinese rifles is an interesting "niche" item for collectors. I have come to phrase these rifles as the "SinoSov SKS".

"Sino-Soviet'' SKS

There is much debate over whether the original Russian SKS is better-crafted firearm than is it's (generally less-expensive) Chinese brother. Personally, I have chosen to enter this debate by HAVING MY CAKE AND EATING IT TOO!

How? It's simple, really.

During 1956 and at least part of 1957, there was an unusual period of time during which these mutually suspicious Brothers in Revolution actually got along with one another. During this time, the Soviets sent Russian technicians and Russian-arsenaled parts to China in order to teach the Chinese how to build these marvelous firearms. The result is that a small number of these firearms bear all of the armory markings (and the price) of a Chinese rifle while having been made from the ''superior'' Russian parts. These few rifles were also constructed either by or under the supervision of Soviet armorers. The result is a wonderful shooter made of excellent steel that is measurably heavier than the later-made ''export model'' Chinese SKS.

The way to tell if you have a ''SinoSoviet'' lies here SinoSoviet SKS Secrets.

Standard military configuration Chinese SKS.

* BTB, try here if you are wondering How tricked out can I trick my SKS and still be legal?
* There is a good site dedicated to SKS (including a comprehensive FAQ/ history and an on-line tech manual under construction) at SKSman (aka Paul's Guns in New Hampshire)
* I remember thinking to myself this could be heaven or this could be hell... Captured in Kosovo. (Hit browser BACK button to return here).
* The SKS Exploded view drawing and parts list is here.
* A note about SKS and slamfires. (This is probably a good one for ANYBODY who shoots semi-automatic firearms.)
* This is a work in progress. It is a fairly complete and in-depth History of the development of the SKS and chart of technical specs.

Photo of Russian SKS with bayonet and 30-round magazine.

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6/24/00