Bought a new/old Chinese SKS... my first gun

[pavmentsurfer]

Hey guys,
As a canadian this is a much bigger deal than it is for your americans. I finally got my PAL (possession and acquisition licence) so i can buy and own firearms in canada. For us, pretty much anything cool or fun is restricted. Anything that CAN be full auto is not allowed. Any hand gun is restricted (which is a HUGE deal to get a licence for an using it is extremely limited).

After looking at what kind of semi auto rifles are affordable, upgradeable, durable and cool and which I could actually afford to buy round for I settled on an SKS.

Theres a place only about 4 hours from where i live that had some new stock but old chinese versions that had never been fired. they are nearly 50 years old and are brand new. They also had cases of 1400 rounds 7.62X39 surplus ammo for $279. If you buy the box of ammo, you can get the gun for $75. So, after all was said and done, shipped and taxes paid I ended up with the SKS and the case of ammo for $450. Heres a stock pic of the gun:


Being the compulsive upgraded that I am I had to pick up a few accessories for it. Starting with a Tapco stock in tan, 2 clips, fore grip and upper sight rail. Everything should be shipped by this coming week and SHOULD arrive by next weekend. Im pretty excited.
Heres a pic of the stock with a few of the accessories I bought for it installed:


My brother has a Ruger Mini 30 which shoots the same ammo but costs like 12X the price.

[ReaperGN]

Just make sure you dont order a clip that is to large to comply with local regulations.

And if you just want something to take to the range or shoot in the back yard then definitely pick up a .22. You can shoot one all day long and it will be much cheaper than your SKS.

[Wildman4910]

Your gonna like the SKS, it's old design but a great rifle and very robust.

Love the Tapco furniture you got for it too.

Have fun but be safe!

[pavmentsurfer]

In canada the limit is 5 rounds including one in the chamber so a clip must be pinned at 5. Which the Tapco clips I bought are... they are 5/20 so they look cool but only hold 5. Perfectly legal.

I intend to buy a Ruger 10/22 and put a kit on it as well. In canada you can have as many rounds in a .22 as you like so I'm going to get a 10/22 with a nice looking stock and a couple 30 round clips... maybe even a barrel. Like you said reaper, something to waste alot of cheap rounds with but something thats good quality. Problem is, I'm having trouble finding a reasonably priced 10/22 right now. All the local stores want $300+ for them. In the US you can buy one for $180 or so. Im going to look into what it would take to import one across the border. Apparently its not as hard as many think. You just need the right form.

[Wildman4910]

Your aftermarket options for the 10/22 is ridiculous, & it is a fun plinker to boot!

It might be worth looking into importing one, the worse that you can find is it may cost you the same to import one as buy one local, but it may cost less too.

[ReaperGN]

There are tons of .22's to choose from so dont limit yourself to much. I am not into hunting or going to the range so guns are not all that important to me. Probably because I started out young. After all the years of going to the family hunting camp and roaming the yard they became boring. But I do love to shoot an old Remington .22 pump action. It can fire any .22 round and never skips a beat. If you can find one for a good price it would be worth picking up. Not much in the way of upgrades but it doesn't need them and the pump action always attracts attention.

Here is a picture of one. (Not mine)

[pavmentsurfer]

My grandpa has a remington 22 pump. Its a really nice gun. What I really want the 22 for is firing off LOTS of round really fast. Its really the only way to get that "rapid fire" feeling in canada since all our other rifles are limited to 5 shots max. If if you want to just blast a ton of rounds its gotta be a 22 so having a pump kind of defeats the purpose. If i ever owned some property and had a varmint problem I was actually thinking the gun id buy would be a remington 22 pump though. Set it up really nice with a good scope and it would be very accurate.

I love the 10/22 BECAUSE of its upgrade options. For $110 I can get a cool looking kit or for $220 I can get an absolutely SICK stock for it. I can easily get 30-50 round mags... rounds are cheap. Its just a common gun with common upgrades you can get anywhere. I was actually thinking about a bullpup stock also... that might be cool.

[Kyleb]

Sks is a really fun does yours come with the fold out bayonette? Mine was original one from the war. Lol it adds the eery effect to it. The sks is almost as cheap as a 22 as far as ammo is concerned. You can also bump fire it to make it a full auto. Oh yea BTW not all hand guns are restricted. Here in Canada anythingade before 1896 is considered a antique and you only
Need you p.a.l. My father owns a French made 8mm that was made in 1882 that fires like new. Have to reload his own ammo though. The great thing about antiques is you can take them anywhere and shoot them out in the bush, unlike handguns that can only be used at the range. And after the restricted class there is "prohibited. Which I'll be getting this fall . Hey pave of you want info on prohibit license you can pm me

[Kyleb]

Sks is a really fun does yours come with the fold out bayonette? Mine was original one from the war. Lol it adds the eery effect to it. The sks is almost as cheap as a 22 as far as ammo is concerned. You can also bump fire it to make it a full auto. Oh yea BTW not all hand guns are restricted. Here in Canada anythingade before 1896 is considered a antique and you only
Need you p.a.l. My father owns a French made 8mm that was made in 1882 that fires like new. Have to reload his own ammo though. The great thing about antiques is you can take them anywhere and shoot them out in the bush, unlike handguns that can only be used at the range. And after the restricted class there is "prohibited. Which I'll be getting this fall . Hey pave of you want info on prohibit license you can pm me

[ReaperGN]

The pump is a bit slow and apparently a bit expensive if the for sale adds are priced right.

If you do get a 10/22 forget the clips and get a couple of these.

[pavmentsurfer]

Haha... thats the plan. At least one barrel mag... I want two of the stick mags with the mag clamp that puts them side by side... I think that looks awesome. Honestly, Id like to setup the SKS so its fairly accurate and a decent shooting gun... I want it to be fun but also functional. The 22 I end up with I want to be strictly for fun and cool looks. Im planning to head down to our largest gun store tomorrow afternoon to see what they have. If they have any used 10/22's in stock ill probably buy one so I can shoot something this weekend. Though my brother will likely let me shoot his Mini 30 since I can replace the rounds I fire once my case shows up.

Kyleb... thanks for the heads up. I have no interest in getting my restricted for the time being. My brother may get his but Im not really THAT into this just yet. The guy who does the training courses here in town is married to my secretary so i have a great "in" with the courses and stuff. But for now I just wanted to get my PAL and a few fun guns to mess around with. My wife offered to pay for the SKS ($75 after I buy the ammo) as my fathers day present. I think for now, the plan is to set this gun up and keep it as a family heirloom kind of thing. The gun my daughter will shoot one day when she's older. I came from a family where there were NO guns whatsoever. My dad always said, "if there are no guns in the house, no one gets shot" and while that IS true, at some point we all come into contact with a gun somewhere along the line. For me, that was a bit uncomfortable the first time as I was so unfamiliar with them. The way I see it now is if you learn about guns and gun safety at a young age you'll be less likely to shoot someone when you get older (or younger... whatever). Like GI Joe said "now you know, and knowing is half the battle". I want my daughter to know about guns and how to be safe with them. Plus, I think a girly girl who can shoot is awesome.

[Kyleb]

Yea it actually starts off by just one gun but it's a expensive addiction. Like rc Yea its so true You never know when you will need or come into contact with a gun but hen you do it's usefull to know how to use it. I'm only a teen but I was shooting handguns before I was in my double digit age and it's a BIG help introducing guns to kids at a young age. Plus if you go camping and stuff it's nice to have for bears. Anyways happy shooting, you will have lots of fun with the SKS

[ReaperGN]

For the price I feel every child should go through hunters safety. The chance of a child coming in contact with some sort of firearm is to high to ignore. And on the list of every day items that will kill you firearms are pretty low. For example the kitchen or tool shed are far more dangerous than a gun in the closet. But kids are taught not to drink drain cleaner or play with knives. So if a child is taught firearm safety then the chance of something happening is very low. But if you just tell them not to mess with it then chances are they will.

[Kyleb]

For the price I feel every child should go through hunters safety. The chance of a child coming in contact with some sort of firearm is to high to ignore. And on the list of every day items that will kill you firearms are pretty low. For example the kitchen or tool shed are far more dangerous than a gun in the closet. But kids are taught not to drink drain cleaner or play with knives. So if a child is taught firearm safety then the chance of something happening is very low. But if you just tell them not to mess with it then chances are they will.

Very well put. If a kid that knows nothing about guns might try to handle it and shoot themself with it and a experienced kid could at least unload it lol.

[pavmentsurfer]

I know my first few outings with firearms were with ZERO understanding and/or training and now that I know what i do I can't believe I survived. "borrowing" my grandfathers 12 gauge without anyone knowing and simply learning how to use it by trial and error... I'm lucky to be alive. I was MORE than old enough to have been given proper training by that time.

What reaper said is so well put. I had ALOT of respect for knives at a very young age and was always very carful with them. Especially hunting knives and my camping/survial knives. But I really didnt know anything about guns. Crazy.

[ReaperGN]

Just make sure you have a trigger lock on your firearms. Better safe then sorry.


The scariest thing I have ever fired was an old crossbow. While that may not sound scary it is once you understand the arms may break sending splinters into your face or the line cutting a few fingers off. Even slide pistols bother me a bit. Older models dont have much to protect your hand so if you hold it to high or at the wrong angle the slide can remove a good size chunk from your hand. Rifles are probably the safest. They one have one side that can harm you. Even really old ones are not that dangerous unless you load way to much powder.

[Kyleb]

Even slide pistols bother me a bit. Older models dont have much to protect your hand so if you hold it to high or at the wrong angle the slide can remove a good size chunk form your hand.

. Yea the blowback leaves pretty nasty "snakebites".

[deerhurst]

Congrats on the buy but im still trying to wrap my head around that you need a permit to buy and own firearms and there is a 5 round max. Thats worse then california! Havent they learned that gun control doesnt really work.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 2

[hatethmpr]

no canada has not. and they have spent billions on gun control. but. that is neither here nor there. we in the US can do nothing about it.

as for the 22 idea. we can get one here in minnesota for about 100 bucks. not anything crazy. mag is down the barrel. but they are crazy accurate if you spend some money on a good scope. we have a few at the shack.

i personally love a good slide action pistol. i do not like the 'compact' pistols though. really dont want slide bite. havent had it yet with well over a 1000 rounds shot per summer.

across the border the only real thing we have to worry about special permits unless its fully auto. or we are buying a hand gun. then its just a background check.

by the way. nice looking sks. at least after the mods are done.

[mass-tmaxx]

Very nice congrats , my next one is going to be a WASR-10 AK . Very limited on what is for sale in Massachusetts and what in on the pre-ban list .... but the good news is I can get 30rd mags for it here legally. But a couple months ago there was a used SKS at the gun shop for only $300 , it sold quick ! the WASR is more like $600 .

I started with handguns back in 2005 and got the LTC large capacity conceal permit , in Feb I picked up a new SIG P250 .45cal , I love Sigs I carry the P238 .380, great pocket pistol . A mini 14 is my only rifle now , all stock , alot of fun .

[pavmentsurfer]

I looked at mini 14's as well... $1000 new and ammo isnt cheap but man they are nice guns.

Canada actually just relaxed its gun control ever so slightly. You used to have your long guns (rifles and shot guns) registered and had to pay a registration fee. Basically, if you were an honest citizen you got penalized... whereas the criminals still used illegal guns. We spent billions on the long gun registry that could have gone into actual policing criminal activity. Oh well. Now, you don't have to register your long guns at all... which is great.

[hatethmpr]

father in law is a huge gun guy. was telling me all about the registration of the long guns. i dont understand it all but alas its not my deal. just love the smell of burnt gunpowder right after waking up. and defiantly liking the not registering the long guns. it helps you out. i just dont like the strict laws on guns.

[ReaperGN]

father in law is a huge gun guy. was telling me all about the registration of the long guns. i dont understand it all but alas its not my deal. just love the smell of burnt gunpowder right after waking up. and defiantly liking the not registering the long guns. it helps you out. i just dont like the strict laws on guns.

I dont like speed limits but they are needed. And here in the states they have to control the firearms. Otherwise there would be many more killings.

[pavmentsurfer]

Just found pretty much the last remaining base model 10/22 in all of canada. Got it for $229... which is over $100 less than the higher end model with the synthetic stock... I don't need that one as I'm just going to replace the stock anyway. So I bought it and its being shipped to me tomorrow. HOPEFULLY... if I'm super lucky, it will be here saturday, but thats pretty unlikely.

Either way, ill have it next week. Only thing I bought with it is a spare 25rnd clip.

Once I get rid of some extra RC stuff and build up my paypal account I'm going to pick up the archangel nomad body kit and another clip. Nothing more is needed with that kit. Its a pretty serious looking stock.

Anyway, these are really the only 2 guns I really wanted anyway. So once I get the nomad stock I'm done buying guns. Famous last words right. Heres a pic of the Nomad...

[1979chevy.]

I do a little shooting, and I really believe it's the person behind the gun, not the gun that is the real danger.

[ksb51rl]

That's so tactikool, lol.

[pavmentsurfer]

Hehe... I think thats the term for it.

The reason I chose this stock in particular is because its big. I would have liked the added length of the extending stock on the 597 but the front area is smaller and seems less substantial. The Nomad is just bigger overall... I think it gives it less of a "toy" feel...

[dan1486]

Everytime you fire it make sure to clean it. When i had my sks i forgot to clean it once and it wouldnt eject the shell

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

[pavmentsurfer]

Well... I couldn't help myself. I was going to wait but I went ahead and ordered the Archangel Nomad stock. The place I wanted to order it from all of a sudden went out of stock so I went online and found that they are quite hard to find right now in canada and shipments aren't expected till the end of the summer. So I figured, why miss out... and hit "buy it now". Also got a 2nd mag and a dual mag clamp... so I can hold 50 rnds on the gun. Pretty excited to get this stuff in the mail... hopefully some of it will come this week.

[CarGuy7a]

Congrats on the SKS purchase. They are great guns. My buddy owns several of Chinese SKS' and an original Russian made SKS. I myself own a Romanian AK that I've fully tac'ed out with quad rails foregrip reflex sights and the rest of the works.

We can get full auto firearms here in the states but it's not as easy as some may think. You have to go through all the paper work and pay the hefty tax stamp yearly, so for the average Joe it's really not worth the yearly price only to own 1 full auto firearm. Mostly the fellas that pay it have their FFL license and deal guns. But really who needs full auto when you can buy a bump fire system. It's basically the same thing only you are not modifying the guns internal parts to make it fire like a full auto, only converting the gun stock. Look up "Incredible Bump Fire!" on youtube. The system is made by Slide Fire Solutions.

[pavmentsurfer]

Got my 10/22 in the mail today, I bought a 25rnd mag with it as well. Put my scope on at lunch and shot a few rounds through it. I really like it. Its really a nice gun overall, kind of small but still feels decent in my big hands. the bolt release system is just silly and really akward to use. But the new stock I have coming has an auto bolt release included so that wont be a problem.

I fired off 25 rounds all in a row from the one mag and it worked great. Feels GOOD to shoot that fast.

My SKS shipped today as well so hopefully ill have it in a few days and can take it apart and get the cosmoline removed from all the parts.

[CarGuy7a]

My SKS shipped today as well so hopefully ill have it in a few days and can take it apart and get the cosmoline removed from all the parts.

Ahh. Remove it the fun way, shoot it and let it burn off. It smells horrible but it works unless it's really caked up with it. I tried to clean my AK but it still smelled terrible. It took about two or three shooting sessions to totally burn that nasty smell off. Also if your SKS has a rough parkerized finish make sure you keep it greased up real good with gun grease or it will rust fairly fast. I use the Hoppe's 9 gun grease which has a more tolerable smell when it burns off.

Quick question on your 10/22. I have one as well and was wandering about this. Does your bolt lock open after the last round is fired? Mine never has but it shoots and functions perfectly.

[pavmentsurfer]

No, it only locks open when you use the bolt lock. Which is a pain. The Sparta stock includes an auto bolt release so once its locked open you don't have to use the lever to unlock it again, you just pull back and release. You can mod the stock bolt release plate to do the same thing. But, to get it to stay open you always have to use the lock.

Ive been firing this gun alot the past 2 days... a few hundred rounds at least and i really really like it. Its super fun, seems to be very accurate and it has a nice feel. Im looking forward to the new stock and a few more mags but as it is now its excellent. A little small for me but still really fun.

[ReaperGN]

I find most guns feel small. About the only ones that feel right are the larger shotguns and the muzzle loaders.

[pavmentsurfer]

Did my first mod to the 10/22 tonight. Dremel the bolt release plate so you don't have to push it to release the bolt. You still have to push it to lock the bolt, but then just pull back and let go to release it forward. Simple and easy but I lack confidence when it comes to modding items that can kill me. RC's, sure. Whats the worst that can happen, it doesnt work? No biggie. Guns, well... I value BOTH my eyes... alot.

I also got my SKS in the mail and completely disassembled it and cleaned all the cosmoline off. I havent Re-assembled it just yet as my new stock is supposed to come in the mail tomorrow. If it doesnt, ill put it back in the factory stock so I can fire it this weekend.

[1979chevy.]

Hey that's a nice looking firearm man, I don't shoot a whole lot but when I do I usually only shoot the boring guns aka 20 gauge pump action or 410 haha.

[pavmentsurfer]

Today was a big day. Got my 7.62 X 39 chinese surplus ammo, got my Tapco stock and extra parts for the SKS and got it all installed. A few minor issues here and there but nothing my experience with RC's and a dremel couldn't fix. One of my Tapco magazines needed slightly modification or the bolt wouldn't release. Kindof strange but some comparison with the other mag and a bit of dremel work and they function fine.

A trip to the nearest good gun shop proved shooting is no different than RC when it comes to 2 things. First, spending. I dropped $275 on some ammo, a bi-pod for the .22, 2 more mags for the SKS (both needed the same modding), 2 more mags for the .22 and a red dot sight. Dang. Then I was off to the local canadian Tire store to pick up $80 worth of hard gun cases.

The 2nd one is the shops not knowing crap. I was asking the guy why my one Tapco mag didnt let the bolt release when it was supposed to and if I should do something about it. He said "oh, with those mags you just remove the magazine catch from the receiver... the bolt has a magazine catch built in". So I trudge back home to test his theory. Ummm, NO. I simply compared the one that did work to the one that didnt and found one tiny part was thicker. So I trimmed down the ones that didnt work and now they work just fine. With the catch removed the bolt had no way of staying back. Not only wrong, but dangerous.

Anyway, put the sight on the SKS and the Bi-Pod on the .22 and locked everything in the cases and I'm ready for tomorrow.

This thread is getting useless without pics... so here you go:

Ruger 10/22. Only upgrades are a scope, bipod and the 25rnd mag:


SKS, upgrades are Tapco stock, fore grip, mag, mag release lever, scope mount and optic:

[Wildman4910]

Lookin good Pave!

You will find some counter guys in the gun world are just like their counter parts in the RC world as the know little but claim to know alot.

The main difference is their "advice" can be deadly. Best advice if you run into a major issue with a gun is to consult with a gunsmith to get the issue fixed.

Have fun but be safe.

[CarGuy7a]

No, it only locks open when you use the bolt lock.

Ok good. I was just hoping that mine wasn't defective. It is a shame though that it doesn't lock open. It would make reloading so much easier. My Marlin locks open after the last round but it's tube fed, but still you don't have to manually charge the first round.

On your 7.62x39 ammo. Make sure you get Non corrosive rounds. If you have corrosive ammo, you need to clean your gun immediately after every use or you can ruin it. There are some pics floating around the internet of a guy that shot corrosive rounds through a brand new Barret .50 cal rifle and didn't clean it and it rusted up. He completely bricked an $8,000+ firearm. I find the Brown Bear or Wolf Military Classic to be about the best surplus 7.62 rounds you can get, and they're fairly cheap. The Brown Bear and Wolf are also non corrosive.

[pavmentsurfer]

My ammo is definitely corrosive. There are many different opinions on the topic. Most agree that because my SKS is chinese and has a stainless bore and bolt it wont be nearly as hard on it as if it was a russian version without the stainless. Most just say to keep it clean (which I intended to do anyway) and take extra time with the bore and bolt area. Honestly, the ammo is cheap and the gun is even cheaper. If it only lasts a few years I'm still WAY bucks ahead of buying a more expensive gun and more expensive ammo.

I must have put 200 rounds through it tonight. Maybe more. I love this gun. Its super fun. Only issue is the scope mount SUCKS. The screws rattle loose and the mount itself does not fasten tight to the gun so its never centred. Then, the one scope mount ring screw stripped (even with the right wrench). Apparently the the screw they use is made of butter. So now I can't get the scope off the mount. Oh well... ill work on it tonight.