Have you ever wondered: SKS or AK-47 tonight?

I own an SKS. The commentary in this forum is all accurate in my experience. The SKS is a very enjoyable rifle to fire. Since it is a cheap firearm, it does have some setbacks. The portion of the barrel which contains the piston gets extremely hot, even after firing only a few rounds. You can't play rapid fire games with it, or you will warp the barrel quickly, and you need to be very careful about touching the area containing the piston. I've burnt myself several times..

I use one of the 30-round clips with mine. Changing the clip completely sucks. Since its an after market thing, the design is less than optimal. The bolt has to be fully back to put the clip in and out, and every now and then when you put in the clip, the action likes to spring forward for no apparent mechanical reason. Most of the time when you put the clip in, the top round pops out. Kind of annoying.

Another thing, and this may be specific to my rifle, but after re-assembling/cleaning, it doesn't always like to fire. It will dry fire fine, but once a round is loaded in the chamber, the trigger mechanism will refuse to fire for some reason I've never been able to figure out. The solution is the same every time.. Slam the bolt forward three or four times, then pound the side of the rifle three or four times. Repeat until it fires.

From a tactical usage perspective, that's the biggest setback. You never know if its going to fire after a cleaning without requiring a little bit of a beat down. Once its fired the first time after reassembly, its extremely reliable and never jams. Very accurate, easy to sight, and very little recoil for 7.62.

RE: SKS vs AK 47 - Gun and Game Forums