Picked up a Yugo SKS Today

[Titanium Hammer]

I picked up a Yugo SKS today from a local shop. I traded a 38 Tula refurbed 91/30 and $200 cash for it. Sorry for the poor pictures but it's raining outside. In the little bit of research I have done on these Yugos I've found a site that said that serial #'s beginning with a "J" are believed to have been manufactured in 1973. Is this the consensus here? This is only my second SKS so I'm still learning a ton about them. Any insights you might have would be greatly appreciated. I/O was the importer.

[Brian the Brit]

Nice find

[Dan4good]

my second sks was a yugo and mine is a 78 i like it more than my chinese

[Wulfheard]

To my knowledge you are correct about the “J” prefix, 1973 would be the correct year of manufacture but I wouldn’t be surprised if it has been refurbished somewhere along the line. The rifle looks like it is in nice shape. How does the bore look?

I have one from 1968 that I recently picked up and it was definitely rebuilt to some degree at sometime in it's life. From what I have gathered many of the late 1960s early 1970s vintage M59/66A1 rifles were refurbed, stored and then sold years later as “new unfired” rifles. How much truth there is to that, I don't know. But it does seem plausible.

In any event nice find and lots of luck with it.

The Yugo M59/66 is built like tank, they are heavier than any other SKS out there. A lot of guys don't like the extra weight but I find that just like with any muzzel heavy rifle they seem to settle on target a lot easier than the lighter ones. I think that also has a lot to with how some people think the Yugo is more accurate than many of the other versions of the SKS.

[Greasemonkey]

Very nice Mine is a good shooter.

I have one from 1968 that I recently picked up and it was definitely rebuilt to some degree at sometime in it's life. From what I have gathered many of the late 1960s early 1970s vintage M59/66A1 rifles were refurbed, stored and then sold years later as “new unfired” rifles. How much truth there is to that, I don't know. But it does seem plausible.

Not all M59/66A1s went through the refurb process, some of the early imports didn't. I got mine the end of '99, it was imported by Numrich, back when they imported weapons. It's dated '71 and looks like a battlefield pick up, little if any finish remaining in areas, scratched and dinged up in places. Also, dirt/sand was found embedded between the action and stock.
Mine has a pitted bore, but shoots as good as any other SKS I own. Just keep it cleaned and the bore won't be an issue, even after many, many rounds.

[Junk Yard Dog]

[Wulfheard]

Very nice Mine is a good shooter.

I have one from 1968 that I recently picked up and it was definitely rebuilt to some degree at sometime in it's life. From what I have gathered many of the late 1960s early 1970s vintage M59/66A1 rifles were refurbed, stored and then sold years later as “new unfired” rifles. How much truth there is to that, I don't know. But it does seem plausible.

Not all M59/66A1s went through the refurb process, some of the early imports didn't. I got mine the end of '99, it was imported by Numrich, back when they imported weapons. It's dated '71 and looks like a battlefield pick up, little if any finish remaining in areas, scratched and dinged up in places. Also, dirt/sand was found embedded between the action and stock.
Mine has a pitted bore, but shoots as good as any other SKS I own. Just keep it cleaned and the bore won't be an issue, even after many, many rounds.

Very interesting, it sound like you got one with its history still written all over it, very cool.

Mine on the other hand is the exact opposite. As I stated previously it is a 1968 vintage and with exception of some relatively minor dings in the wood it looks like it came right from the factory. The metal finish is 98% and the bore is bright and the rifling looks very good. The grenade launcher is the later non ported version and it has the flip up night sights both of which the 1968 rifle isn't supposed to be equipped with. Obviously it went thru some kind of refurb process somewhere along the line.

It’s also a decent shooter and it will hold a 3.5” group at 100yards with 123gr FMJ ammunition if the guy driving it does his part. I’ve only shot it once so far with discount factory crap but overall I was pleased with its performance. Now I need to get a set of dies and some brass for it and start reloading.

[Titanium Hammer]

Thanks for all the input. All exterior numbers match but all the internals are electro penciled with a different number from the exterior number. I collect mainly Russian & Finn Mosin Nagants so this use of numbering internal parts with matching electro pencil #'s that are different from the exterior stamped #'s is a bit new for me. Is it normal? Is there a definitive mark that will tell me it has been refurbed like the Russians used? My Russian SKS isn't really like this. It was refurbed but the Russians didn't get anywhere near this anal with the electro pen. I got a chance this morning to break her down and do a good cleaning. The bore was a mess and it looked like it was just turned in after being fired A LOT and then shipped here to the US. She leaned up pretty nicely though after a ton of carbon soot and buildup was removed. A chunk of carbon fell off of the piston. Bore has a light frost. There were a few nooks and crannies with remnants of cosmoline. Overall I'm pretty happy with how she cleaned up.
The one thing that has always scared me a bit about SKS's is the issue with slam fires while using civilian ammo. Both firing pins in my Russian and Yugo do "rattle" so is it just an overblown issue or one that needs serious attention? I've seen a couple of sites on the Internet that specialize in solving this issue but is it worth the cost to do this or is the cheaper "fix" just to ensure that the firing pin is clean and moves freely? Again, thanks for all your help guys. If I get some time this afternoon I might just sneak out and take a few more pics.

[Titanium Hammer]

I'm really liking the weight of this Yugo over my Russian. The Yugo just feels more solid/substantial and I like the sights on it. More pics:

[Greasemonkey]

Electro penciled parts are common, some of the numbers in the 00-000.000 format are more or less like part numbers. But electro penciled serial numbers are possible also.

As for the firing pin, thats always a touchy subject. I, personally have never had the slam fire issue with any of the ones I own. But, I don't frequently fire American made ammo either. I do keep the firing pin channel clean, check the pin for straightness and use little if any oil on it or in the channel. The oil can attract soot, carbon and debris which could cause sticking. If you notice a popped primer, stop firing and tear the bolt down, check the pin, as that can bend the pin just slightly and given the close tolerance there, any bend could cause binding. Just my

Others, swear by the spring loaded aftermarket pin, Russia used them in the early models, but went away from it. A popped primer would destroy the spring given the heat and pressures involved, and then your back to a chance of a stuck firing pin due to the spring being tweaked.

Any weapon with a free floating firing pin can in theory suffer from a slam fire . An M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, M14, the French Mas 49/56, all have free floating pins.

[Tackett]

I've always wanted an sks. I just can't bring myself to fork over as much cash as everyone wants these days.

[Greasemonkey]

I've always wanted an sks. I just can't bring myself to fork over as much cash as everyone wants these days.

Just keep an eagle eye out, my last Romanian w/true Romanian sling was 300 out the door. That was last month, prices are slowly dropping back to pre-buying frenzy levels.

[Titanium Hammer]

Thanks a bunch for the info Greasemonkey. I'm beginning to like these SKS's. Now I just have to find some time to get it out to the range. Tackett, the SKS's are coming down a bit in price and as Greasemonkey said, you've got to keep your eyes open. I bought this from a place that is actually a boat shop with a very small gun corner which usually has about 6-10 rifles in inventory. When I walked in this last time he had just bought the SKS inventory of a shop that had closed. He said he originally had 10 of them but by the time I got there he was down to three. One was identical to the one I bought only it was a (K) year, and the other had VERY COOL trench art on the stock complete with a Bosnian(?) shield and some other things nicely carved. It was $250 because the stock had a crack in it and the magazine had been replaced with a 5 round MADE IN CHINA one. So just keep your eyes open and don't get discouraged.

[Tackett]

I'll keep looking!

I have a large list of guns I want and the sks is one.


I need to sell my mossberg .22 and put it towards an sks.

[Judi and her Mosins]

I swear!...I am going to start following some of you guys...the deals you find. I look high and low and can barly find ammo,...That is a very nice rifle. I think maybe soon I'll buy a SKs,...now I am hunting a few more Mosins that been keeping me up.

[res45]

There are several general ways to tell if you Yugo is a refurb. One is a small square box with a #2 stamped in it on or near the butt of the hand grip area. Also if the stock had been sanded down the small screw head under the hand grip slots on the stock are flush with the wood and the rubber butt pad is also flush with the edge stock.

On a NIB or true Unissued Yugo SKS both the screw head and butt pad are recessed below the wood and the butt pad is slightly smaller that the butt of the stock it will also have a thin rubbery ridge going around the center of the rubber but pad where it was molded. During the refurb process this ridge is removed and the stock is sanded flush with the edge of the pad.

My brother the lucky dog he is actually has a NIB Yugo M59/66-A1 rifle it was one of several hundred that made it into the US through IO before the BATF found out and had the remaining rifle either destroyed or broker down and sold as parts,the sold rifles were grandfathered in. His rifle basically looks like it came right off the end of an assembly line and has some of the most beautiful wood on it I've ever seen,the rifle had no cosmoline whatsoever on it. I have a pic but due to bad indoor lighting it doesn't do the rifle justice I will be seeing him in a couple weeks so I get some better pics and update the post.

My 1970,all matching.


My Brothers A series 1987,the stock is light brown not red as it appears in the pic,if you look in the back you can see that the rubber butt pad is slightly smaller that the actual base of the butt stock.


On the subject of firing pins,popped primers or slamfire I've never had any issues with the first two but I have had one slamfire and that was my fault for shooting a couple of someone else's reloads and not inquiring about the type/brand of primer they used which worked fine in there rifle but not in mine. I've never had an issues with a slamfire with my reloads as I always make sure the primer is seated properly and use either CCI #34,Wolf/Tula or Win. LR primers that are recommended as safe to use in semi-auto rifle with free floating firing pins,however I would always recommend that you do your own testing to make sure there safe in your rifle.

As far as popped primer go this articles pretty much explains what is causing the issue and how to fix it.
http://www.murraysguns.com/poppedprimers.htm

[notabiker]

i picked up a never fired SKS 59/66A1 last year. i bought it PP 350 bucks. i love my Chinese SKS but side by side the YUGO is hands down a better rifle. part for part it is beefier . i do like the chinese chrome lined barrel but normal cleaning makes that a non issue. pick them both up and the chinese is a feather weight compared to the yugo.

[Titanium Hammer]

Thanks for the info Res45. It does in fact have a 2 stamped on the handgrip area. There is also a box with what looks like a 3 inside of it but even with a magnifying glass it's quite hard to tell. I'll try to post pics later. The screw head appears to be recessed just a tiny bit and the rubber butt pad is larger than the butt. It looks to me like this SKS was lightly refurbed at some point in time and then reissued during the Balkan conflict where it was used and then turned in dirty before it was crated up and shipped over here at some point in time.
Congrats to your brother on his pickup. I had read about those 200 or so that were NIB and made it into the country before BATF could figure things out and grandfather them in.

[gurn]

TH, nice looking SKS you got there and cool looking tree carving its displayed on! Did you do that? If so then lets see more of your work. Judi, a little advice all you got to do is look higher and lower