Off-CAS question but need advice from a fellow Plinker/Shooter...

[Ol Gabe]

Pards,
Just acquired an older, but very legal, Chinese SKS (NIB!) on a trade. The previous owner had it for a long time, he had degreased and cleaned it and put it in his safe and forgot about it, imagine that! Recently he decided over coffee that he needed something I had two of, so, trade time!
It only has the standard clip, cleaning rod, one stripper clip, etc. I'm planning on using it for Coyote and varmint hunting, is there a multi-round clip available without modifying the action, and if so, where can it be had at a fair price? I've seen some comments on other forums that say newer repo clips won't fit properly and I'm not a retrofitter so am looking for advice on where to get something that'll fit out of the box. There are many are advertised in SHOTGUN NEWS ads but I'm not smart enough to know the difference so am asking for help from a fellow CAS Pard, any and all advice or a suggestion via a PM is much appreciated.
Best regards and good shooting!
'Ol Gabe

[Delmonico]

Ol' Gabe, when you say "Clip" do you mean it already has a detachable mag or the standard one that loads with stripper clips?  I have one as a 'pick-up" (as I drive it pick-up) and I would never change it to a detachable mag, love the stripper clip set up.

[Bristow Kid]

I would agree with Del on this Gabe.  Your better off leaving the set up as is.  I have had 2 or 3 of them SKS's and the 10 round fix magazine works great for just shooting around at coyotes and such.  But if your really interested try http://www.cheaperthandirt.com  they may have what your looking for and its also a cheap place to buy ammo especially if its 7.62x39.  Once you get used to loading the stripper clips and how to load the gun with them you'll find it a quick way to load unless you put a scope on it then you'll have to load it by hand.


Bristow Kid

[Bristow Kid]

Ol' Gabe,

Just checked cheaperthandirt.  Yes they have them but you better be pretty handy to make them work.  Not alot of positive feedback from the customer reviews I read on there.  In my honest opinion I think you better off using it as is.  Buy a bunch of stripper clips(20 10 rd stripper clips are like 10 to 15 dollars at above mentioned site) and load them up before taking the field.  On another note it may not be legal in Iowa to hunt with more then a 10rd clip check local game regulations before purchase.

Bristow Kid

[Delmonico]

As an aside, I bought mine years ago when we had a problem with feral dogs at our farm, at the same time I discovered the most accurate ammo for one.  Take that cheap Norinco that used to be around a lot and pull the bullets and seat a Hornaday soft point in it's place and crimp it in, I used a Lee Collet crimp for that.  Far better accuracy than either yjr ammo as loaded, Winchester, or the Russkie stuff.   A friend who works with Hornaday on some of there projects told me that it had one of the lowest Velocity spreads of any factory ammo he ever cronoed, figured out the rest. 

Yers I have 200 rounds of Norinco in case the dog packs return.

[Ol Gabe]

Thanks Pards, appreciate the comments, makes perfect sense to me.
Best regards and good shooting!
'Ol Gabe

[Guage Rod]

Ole Gabe, the SKS is a hoot to shoot and almost as cheep as shooting a 22 semi auto.  THere was a factor attached clip (drops in the same and fits all attachments) made for the sks that will allow for 20 rounds.  They were plentiful about 5 years ago (the one I bought was made in china with a 1" dia star stamped on the right side)  They double the capacity obviously.  THese are hard to find now and I have not seen them advertised anywhere.

Most of these guns were equiped with a Chrome lined barrel.  Last time I had mine out I was horsing around and almost over heated the barrel, if they are not chrome lined like some of the Eastern European guns it might be possible to warp a barrel. 

These Guns were originaly made in Russia in the mid 1940's and replaced by the infamous AK-47 as the standard battle rifle of the Soviet armies. 

If you buy ammo for it, try and get a wide selection, the most cost effective are the expansive loads, fairly light and not very accurate.  The steel jacketed ball ammo is probably the best choice for accuracy.   I shot a few of the expansive rounds in to some very soft mud one time and it was scarry the effect they had when the expanded.  The ground where i shot looked like some one had taken and Ice cream scoup and dug up the mud, came out almost round, very little penetration but the slug seperated and came out as very wicked shrapned that looked like a curved razor blade.  I am sure the round is against the Geneva convention with the expandable slug in it. 

Like Del said these are not very fast rounds and have a nasty drop rate simialr to pistol caliber rounds. 

Hope this helps, Via Con Dios     

[Silver Creek Slim]

I agree. Get ya a bunch of the stripper clips. The stripper clips load the magazine much faster and easier than by hand. Good shootin', pard.

Slim

[Delmonico]

As an aside, the Norinco ammo I pulled the bullets from were the old steel core stuff.  I did not waste them, I loaded them in Winny cases and shot them where it was easy to find the brass.  Used them to tear down a small brick retaining wall at the farm that needed removed.  More fun that a sledge hammer to do the work. 

[44caliberkid]

As far as currently available accesory magazines go, whether extended or detachable, don't waste your money.  None of them work as reliably as the original set up.   I used to have one of the old 20 rounders that Gauge Rod mentioned and it worked alright, but sold it with the rifle years ago.   These were around about 1990 or so.   Nothing in current production is worth bothering with.