Who Remembers?

[RugerNut]

Who here remembers the late 80's-early 90's SKS prices? Me and my gun range/collecting buddies would buy them from THE SHOTGUN NEWSPAPER for a starting out price of $69-Norinco $79-$99-Russian. $5-$10 extra for hand picked. Man, those were the days! Oh, and I don't miss cleaning the cosmoline. My ex wife would get very mad when I would put the parts in the dishwasher. LOL!
BTW, how much are they selling for today? I see the advertised prices, but $$$$ talks.

[Mark AP]

I just seen a 1953 refurbished Russian SKS sell for $600! [emoji44]

[SA1911a1]

I bought my first SKS around 1995 and a gunshow in Miami, Fl. It came boxed with accessories and cost $79.00. When I told my gun buddies about it, they thought I was nuts and told me that I bought a piece of cheap junk that would probably shoot around corners. It was a few weeks before I was able to get to a place to shoot it and was I ever pleasantly surprised. So, yea, I remember.

The thing I remember better than the inexpensive repeater is what gun shows used to be like. That show filled the Coconut Grove convention center with sellers that were motivated to move guns. It was like Christmas and birthday rolled into one.

[steelbuttplate]

I'm not sure what yr. but I bought one at an Asheville NC gunshow, $95 for a Norinco(new) and $105 for a 1200 round crate of yellow box ammo.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I was heavily involved in collecting during the 80's and early 90's, what I like to call the happy time. I well remember the cheap SKS and Chinese AK rifles, there were heaps of them at all the shows and flea markets, they sold for next to nothing. Shotgun News was decorated with them on most of the pages as that was before they turned it into a half magazine, half advertising affair it is today. At the time I was busy grabbing up Garands, M1 carbines, M1903's, 1917's, Krags, and a plethora of Mauser's from all corners of the world. I only picked up three Chinese SKS's back then, one a Vietnam bringhome, another a Chinese surplus used rifle and a third one of Norinko's AK magazine shortened abortions that came to me in a multi gun deal. There were flea market Sundays back then when I would be coming out with 20+ assorted firearms, and every market had multiple choices. I think I have bought maybe ten firearms at the flea markets in the last 10 years. The final one three years ago, a Remington NYS rolling block carbine. Now I mostly just find cool old tools, maybe a helmet or something.

[RugerNut]

I bought my first SKS around 1995 and a gunshow in Miami, Fl. It came boxed with accessories and cost $79.00. When I told my gun buddies about it, they thought I was nuts and told me that I bought a piece of cheap junk that would probably shoot around corners. It was a few weeks before I was able to get to a place to shoot it and was I ever pleasantly surprised. So, yea, I remember.

The thing I remember better than the inexpensive repeater is what gun shows used to be like. That show filled the Coconut Grove convention center with sellers that were motivated to move guns. It was like Christmas and birthday rolled into one.

I lived in Tampa, FL. 1987-2012. Me and my buddies would always go to these (3) gun shows exclusively;
1) Tampa State Fair Grounds
2) Palmetto/Manatee
3) Lakeland
Those (3) gunshows would have the BEST of everything. Esp. the Lakeland gunshow. Man, I wish I knew then what I knew now. I would still have an arsenal of milsurp rifles and ammo. Ah, the good ole days!

[M39 Shooter]

Lakeland ,Fl. when the gun club puts on the show was always one of the best. I miss the old days when gun shows would pop up just about anywhere. I went to one in the G. A. R. bldg. in St. Cloud many yrs. ago. Jackpot!, all the veterans were dumping their old crap as they would put it. Jap swords, rifles, helmets. 1903 Springfields , Garands. My first sks was free, sort of. One of my brothers brought it home from Vietnam. Finally i could get ammo for it. I still have the first one i bought, $59.95 all match, early features with a reddish fiberglass stock. Now i am glad i bought all those legend AK`s and left them in the boxes for the last 30 yrs. My turn to play the old guy.

[Heavy Metal 1]

Back in those days I did pick up a Norinco from a private party because at the LGS the employee called them "Cheap Commie pieces of shit" and refused to carry them. The other LGSs did carry them and made a killing. He stuck to his principles, but it cost him.

[amx4080]

Prices have gone up from the 1990s!

Here's data from on-line auctions:

Russian SKS Sale Prices

Romanian SKS Sale Prices

Albanian SKS Sale Prices

Yugoslavian M59/66 Sale Prices

[SA1911a1]

The Lakeland shows are still good. They are just a hard six hour drive for me, no matter which way I go. There is not a good way to get there from the Tallahassee area. There is also a good collector show in Jacksonville; a lot closer to me. It may be put on by the same bunch, I am not sure. My best deals at both shows were from walk-ins....Local shows (within 100 miles) stink like last week's fish and I ignore them any more)