Russian SKS 45 7.62X39 Rifle Tula Dated 1951

Russian SKS 45 7.62X39 Rifle Tula Dated 1951

Imported by KBI, All Matching .

The SKS is a Russian 7.62x39mm caliber semi-automatic carbine, designed in 1945 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS is an acronym for Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova (Russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова), 1945 (Self-loading Carbine, Simonov's system, 1945), or SKS 45. The SKS carbine was rather quickly phased out of first-line service, replaced by the AK-47, but remained in second-line service for decades afterwards. It remains a ceremonial arm even today. It was widely exported and produced by the former Eastern Bloc nations, as well as China, where it was designated the "Type 56" (and, in modified form, the "Type 68"), East Germany as the "Karabiner S" and in North Korea as the "Type 63". It is today popular on the civilian surplus market in many countries. The SKS was the first weapon chambered for the 7.62x39mm M43 round later used in the AK-47 and RPK.

Type Carbine
Place of origin Soviet Union
Production history
Designer Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov
Designed 1945
Variants Chinese SKS; Yugoslavian PAP; Romanian SKS; Albanian SKS; East German SKS; (North) Vietnamese SKS; North Korean SKS
Specifications
Weight 3.85 kg (8 lb 8 oz)
Length 1021 mm (40.2 in)
Barrel length 521 mm (20.5 in)
Cartridge 7.62x39mm
Action Short stroke gas piston, tilting bolt, self-loading
Rate of fire Semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity 735 m/s (2,410 ft/s)
Effective range 400 m (433 yd)
Feed system 10-round internal box magazine, 10-round stripper clip-fed or individual round loading
Sights Hooded post front sight, tangent notch rear sight to 1,000 meters

The SKS has a conventional carbine layout, with a wooden stock and no pistol grip. Most versions are fitted with an integral folding bayonet which hinges down from the end of the barrel, and some versions, such as the Yugoslavian-made M59/66 variant, are equipped with a grenade launching attachment. As with the American M1 Carbine, the SKS is shorter and less powerful than the semi-automatic rifles which preceded it — most notably, the Soviet SVT series and the American M1 Garand. Contrary to popular belief it is not a modern assault rifle. This is because it does not meet all of the criteria of a true assault rifle, though there are some variants that fall closer to the definition. It does not possess the capability for selective fire, and the basic design does not possess a removable magazine. Some selective-fire variants were produced in the PRC; however, the basic design of the SKS is semi-automatic in nature. The carbine's ten-round box magazine is fed from a stripper clip (see below), and rounds stored in the magazine can be removed by depressing a magazine catch (thus opening the "floor" of the magazine and allowing the rounds to fall out) located forward of the trigger guard.

A standard SKS is semi-automatic and has a fixed/hinged 10 round magazine which is loaded from the top of the rifle either by manually inserting the ammunition one round at a time or with a 10-round stripper clip. In typical military use, the stripper clips are disposable, although they may actually be reloaded many, many times and reused if necessary. The SKS is a gas-operated weapon that has a spring-loaded operating rod and a gas piston rod that work the action via gas pressure pushing against them. Also, it has a "tilting bolt" action locking system. Some variants of the SKS have been modified, with limited success, to accept AK-47 detachable magazines (military rifles designed with fixed magazines often experience feed jams when modified to accept detachable magazines, and the SKS is no exception). Norinco had, at one point, manufactured the SKS-M, SKS-D, and MC-5D models which were engineered from the factory to accept AKM magazines without problems (though the wood stock must be relieved to accept drum magazines). The SKS also has a slightly longer barrel than AK-series rifles, with a fractionally higher muzzle velocity.

While early Russian models had spring-loaded firing pins, most variants of the SKS have a free floating firing pin within the bolt. Because of this design, care must be taken during cleaning (especially after long storage) to ensure that the firing pin does not stick in the forward position within the bolt. SKS firing pins that are stuck in the forward position have been known to cause accidental "slamfires" (uncontrolled automatic fire that empties the magazine, starting when the bolt is released). This behavior is less likely with the hard primer military-spec ammo for which the SKS was designed, but as with any rifle the user should properly maintain his firearm. For collectors, slamfires are more likely when the bolt still has remnants of cosmoline embedded in it. The firing pin is triangular in cross section, and slamfires can also result if the firing pin is inserted upside down. The firing pin should be dry, and should rattle loosely back and forth inside the bolt when the removed bolt is shaken longitudinally. At most, a light weight lubricant (e.g., Eezox, BreakFree CLP, or Remington's Rem-Oil) can be used when reassembling the bolt. Dry-firing the SKS repeatedly may also make slamfires more likely. The firing pins of most SKSs can be modified with a spring to resemble the early Russian models if the owner desires such, as several aftermarket sources exist that sell a conversion kit.

In most variants (Yugoslav models being the most notable exception), the barrel is chrome lined for increased wear and heat tolerance from sustained fire and to resist corrosion from chlorate primed corrosive ammunition, as well as to facilitate cleaning. Chrome bore lining is common in military rifles. Although it can diminish practical accuracy, this is not a real limit on field grade accuracy in a weapon of this type.

All military SKSs have a bayonet attached to the underside of the barrel, which is extended and retracted via a spring-loaded hinge (some are removable whereas some are permanent). The SKS is easily field stripped and reassembled with no tools. The rifle has a cleaning kit stored in a trapdoor in the buttstock, with a cleaning rod running under the barrel, in the same style as the AK-47. In common with other Soviet-era designs, the SKS trades accuracy for ruggedness, ease of maintenance, ease of use, and low manufacturing cost. The SKS is a simple design that is highly effective and rugged.

For some shooters, the rear sight on the SKS has too small a notch for accurate shooting, even in good light. Replacement with an inexpensive peep sight is easy and popular. Another popular, and even less expensive workaround for this issue is to apply a tiny amount of bright colored nail polish to the front sight post (or replace the front sight post altogether with a bright colored secondary market (commercial) post. For other shooters, the original buttstock is too short. However, this can be easily extended with buttstock pads, or the stock replaced with a better fitting composite buttstock as well. Some may also buy a custom receiver cover that is grooved to accept a scope, although this arrangement is not known to be especially accurate, as the receiver cover must always be removed each time the rifle is cleaned

During World War II, many countries realized that existing rifles, such as the Mosin-Nagant, were too long and heavy and fired overly powerful cartridges, creating excessive recoil. These cartridges, such as the 7.92x57mm Mauser, .303 British, .30-06 Springfield, and 7.62 x 54R were effective to ranges of up to 2,000 meters (2,200 yd); however, it was noted that most firefights took place at maximum ranges of between 100 meters (110 yd) and 300 meters (330 yd). Both the Soviet Union and Germany realized this and designed new weapons for smaller, intermediate-power cartridges. The German approach was the production of a series of intermediate cartridges and rifles in the interwar period, eventually developing the Maschinenkarabiner, or machine-carbine, which later evolved into the MP44 Sturmgewehr, or "assault rifle" chambered in the 7.92x33mm Kurz intermediate round.

Meanwhile the Soviets produced an entire family of weapons designed around the new 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge, which was probably developed from the late 1930s German GeCo cartridge[1]. Among these were a bolt-action carbine, which was never produced beyond the prototype; a select-fire assault rifle which became the AK-47; a light machine-gun or squad automatic weapon which became the Degtyarov RPD, and a semiautomatic carbine, which became the SKS. A small number of SKS rifles were tested on the front line in early 1945 against the Germans in World War II.

Design-wise, the SKS relies on the AVS-36 (developed by same designer) to a point that some consider it a shortened AVS-36, stripped of select-fire capability and rechambered for the 7.62x39mm cartridge[1]. It also owes heavily to the earlier SVT-40 and M-44 Mosin-Nagant rifles that it replaced, incorporating both the semiautomatic firepower of the SVT (albeit in a more manageable cartridge) and the small, fast-handling size and integral bayonet of the bolt-action carbine.

In 1949, the SKS was officially adopted into the Soviet Army, produced at the Tula Armory from 1949 until 1955 and the Izhevsk Armory in 1953 and 1954. Although the quality of Russian SKS rifles manufactured at these state-run arsenals was quite high, its design was already obsolete compared to the Kalashnikov which was selective-fire, lighter, had three times the magazine capacity, and had the potential to be less labor-intensive to manufacture. Gradually over the next few years, AK-47 production increased until the extant SKS carbines in service were relegated primarily to non-infantry and to second-line troops. They remained in service in this fashion even as late as the 1980s, and possibly the early 1990s. To this day, the SKS carbine is used by some ceremonial Russian honor guards; it is far less ubiquitous than the AK-47 but both original Russian SKS rifles and copies can still be found today in civilian hands as well as in the hands of third-world militias and insurgent groups.

The SKS was to be a gap-filling firearm produced using the proven operating mechanism design of the PTRS and using proven milled forging manufacturing techniques. This was to provide a fallback for the radically new and experimental design of the AK-47, in the event that the AK were to prove a failure. In fact, the original stamped receiver AK-47 had to be quickly redesigned to use a milled receiver which delayed production, and extended the SKS rifles' service life.