M1 Carbine versus SKS: Milsurp Showdown
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- Опубліковано 18 сер 2021
- The M1 Carbine and the SKS are both excellent firearms. But which 1940s-era semi-auto carbine is better in 2021? That's not the question we're trying to answer today. But "showdown" seemed like a much better word for a title than "comparison." Mostly, we just wanted an excuse to play with the M1 Carbine again and the SKS was sitting there like "hey, can I come play too?" and we said "yes."
Check out all our other M1 Carbine videos: • M1 Carbine
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Great thing about the SKS, is its a rifle..a spear...and a club all in one. With no added attachments.
Yahbut, for that just get a Mosin-Nagant. ;) Last used in Ukraine in 1944 just after running out of ammo. Decked two German solders and then speared a deer. Not cleaned since, still goes bang every time. (Yes I know - they got really popular because they were once really cheap, and were in fact pretty cool for the prices decent copies were selling for, now absurdly over priced and one can now get other significantly better old bolt action military rifles for similar money. But as a club or spear....)
@@rogercole5054 not a fan of mosins. Ugly. Long. Loud. I understand its history but ill take a Mauser over a Mosin any day.
@@treborkroy5280 Mosin does have the advantage of being able to down load it.
@@mkshffr4936 what is "down load it"
@@treborkroy5280 Downloading is to load the ammo at reduced power/pressure. With an auto loader like the AK you have to load to a certain power level for it to function. The Mosin can use anything from full house loads to mouse fart loads. The lighter loads have advantages for certain applications such as less blast, flash, and recoil. For getting some pot meat (e.g. rabbits) there are loads that approximate a warm .32 handgun load.
"It's Fun" is a perfectly good reason to do something.
Like fat girls 😜
Maybe not ALWAYS lol. I've heard crack was fun but im not gonna try it
Yep. One of the things that bores me to tears about a lot firearms content is the unremitting focus on what's currently the best for tactical applications...it's like, I've got an AR for that already, I want fun things too.
Much like "the Vibe"
Why did you burn down that house with your family inside it, Jimmy? "It's fun"
“...by comparison, the M1 Carbine is light as a feather. Probably an eagle feather because it smells like freedom...” 🤣
You’ve got another instant classic there, Chris!
I bet he stole that phrase from Manny Mansfield.
Any weight advantages of the M1 are invalidated by the fact that you still have to lug around magazines to feed it. You can easily carry well over 200 rounds in one of those milsurp SKS chest rigs because stripper clips are smaller and lighter than even a single one of the bullets they hold. Magazines are for fools, stripper clips rule!
@@pinkhead6857890
Magazines are the meta for a reason.
@@pinkhead6857890 M1 Carbines doesn't necessarily mean 15 round magazines, they do make 30 round mags.
You can lighten the load more with a Paratrooper Folding stock instead of the original stock for the M1 Carbine, or if you can find one an under-folder stock.
@@roseblite6449 My point isnt about gun capacity, its that clips are inherently superior to magazines which in my opinion makes SKS (both the 10 and 20 round variants) superior to the M1. Have you ever seen how much ammo you can stuff into a cheap SKS millsurp chest rig off ebay? Those things will neatly carry 260 rounds or 26 clips of 7.62x39 no problem with unbeatable easy access. Try packing that much ammo in magazines on your chest rig without weighing you down or getting in the way! Dont forget to pick up all those empty mags and carry them back with you.
A hunting buddy of mine in High School back in 1989, picked up a Russian SKS in cosmoline for $70 from his uncle(FFL dealer). He went on to kill several mule deer and boar with it. Not a bad rifle for sure.
For a collector...the M1...for a shooter the SKS...
For the truck driver, supply clerk, or cook, the M1 carbine. For the revolutionary marxist warrior or bubba gunsmith, the SKS.
M1 carbine is just a expensive club !
@@benjimenfranklin7173 so is an sks, with the new ammo bans.
@@frigglebiscuit7484
Winchester makes ammo for the SKS !
@@benjimenfranklin7173 yea but it’s pricy
I have both, I really like the M1 Carbine best. The SKS is significantly heavier and the sights are not as good as the M1. The SKS is half the price and ammo is easier to find though
Now learn how stretch that whole sentence out into a 20 minute video and you, too, can be a successful UA-cam personality.
@@LuckyGunner pretty much what schools teach you to do.
Worth mentioning, 7.69x39 also delivers about 1.5x as much energy as 30 carbine.
@@LuckyGunner I audibly snorted reading that line. Keep it up.
Half the price? It's like 1/3rd to 1/4th the price lmao
In 1966 i was issued the M1 carbine in the Army Reserve unit i was attached to after my two years active duty , loved that thing .
The SKS might be a little more practical as a alternative “do all” rifle because it has more hunting potential but I’d take the M1 Carbine.
That's where I'm at . The sks will probably run circles around the m1. I would choose m1
I am a weak man so I want both
I've put 1000's of rounds through my Tula SKS...NEVER once had a failure in any way, extremely accurate also..I also own a WW2 M1 carbine. I have always had ejection and mis-feed problems with it.Tried every repair known.....SKS wins hands down...7.62x39 is very plentiful also
I agree.!!!!
Did you check the Magazine spring orientation? I had some feed issues and pulled apart the magazines only to find the orientation incorrect switched it and not a problem since.
I have several M1 Carbines and can’t remember having any feeding or extraction issues and all 10,15 & 30 round mags work just fine . I wish PSA would produce some ammo in their AAC LINE and be able to price it at an affordable price , say like their 300 Blkout . I think they would sell millions of rounds as we are starving for it . Yes you can find it online but prices are higher than Giraffe Pussy !
Many don’t even have stock .
The early Soviet sks were sweet running rifles. Ultra reliable, tough, and could eat any kind of 7.62x39.
Not so polished, but they mean business. Plus, the cleaning / disassembly kit is inside.
The Chinese SKS's run just as good. Or I will say every one I've ever shot ran like a champ.
@@smartacus88i ran 1k rounds through a beat up old norinco without a single failure sold it for pretty mucch exactly what i paid minus like 60$ cause i let it get a little rusty theyre damn quality beater rifles i just wish they had 22" 308 and 20" 5.56 versions in production with the blade bayonet
On the point of the SKS jamming, give it a once over for cosmoline stuck somewhere. I had a problem with that until I cleaned it out really well. Alternatively, your extractor could be borked, check both.
I was thinking cosmoline in the gas piston
@@ericcourville possible, although I don't think it was short stroking
That's how it handled in mine, completely stripped and cosmoline removed. Didn't jam again.
I was thinking bad or sticky extractor. Clean that thing!
@@ericcourville Don't forget to clean the piston extension buried in the rear sight base.
I have a SKS, have owned it for 35 years. Have put several thousand rounds through it, it has worked well. Had to replace the firing pin a couple of years ago, the Murray's pin works great. It is my home defense tool, along with my 1911 with an extended mag. Love it.
I put one in it too, just incase. I had a few lightstrikes then they eventually stopped .
I put one in it too, just incase. I had a few lightstrikes then they eventually stopped .
"I want to buy a pointless old gun for... reasons."
There is so much truth in everything unsaid here.
The video we didn't know we wanted or needed from Lucky Gunner... But I'm so happy Chris did it.
Now that statement is a trueism! Id a never thunk to compare them but im glad i watched it.
The only thing I would add is that in some jurisdictions a detachable magazine is considered a “feature” defining a firearm as a prohibited assault weapon. In these same jurisdictions it seems like somebody could count on their fingers and decided that was a legitimate number of rounds to have in a fixed magazine, but more bullets than fingers wasn’t. By chance, an SKS happens to hold the same number of rounds in the magazine as most people have fingers. As a result, you can live in a place where an SKS is as legal as a bolt action hunting rifle, but an M1 Carbine is defined as an assault weapon.
If you live in that kind of jurisdiction, you also might want to hesitate before you try to out-clever law enforcement and prosecutors. If you are interested in defending your family, you want to be free and employable. With this in mind, building or modifying any firearm to your own specifications kind of defines you as intentionally thinking about it more than a civilian ought to be, as far as the law is concerned.
There are a lot of places where if you want to appear to buy an “off the shelf” firearm and a box of ammunition like you were shopping for something at Walmart, an unmodified SKS is perfect. If anyone ever asks why you chose that rifle, it is factually true that it was legal, cheap, and used cheap ammo so…yeah…that is why. The fact that it can give you performance comparable to an AR for the first 10 rounds at any personal defensive distance…well, if that isn’t generally understood, so much the better, from a certain perspective.
Aye, that's one reason I have an SKS. No guarantee my local laws won't get stricter so I'd rather have a solid "acceptable" rifle now than have to hunt one down later when everyone in my area is scrambling for featureless 10 round rifles.
@@overlorddante orrrrrrrrrr, we don’t let them outlaw the most common rifles in the country. Just saying. Stop planning for defeat.
@@alphazuluz not planning for defeat, planning for plausible possibilities. Stopping such laws is of course preferable.
@@alphazuluz you ALWAYS have a plan B.
It is hard for me to swallow all of that. I got a .30 Carbine for my thirteenth birthday in 1969. In Long Island New York. I got on my bike and rode to the surplus store. I bought 1000 rounds a 2 for a penny. Then I went shooting with my friends. Waved at a Nassau County cop on the way to go shooting. I still have the Carbine.
If it gets to the point where they want to confiscate the rifle I got for my birthday or register it under the NFA it is time to tell these Nuts to go to hell. They're Nuts. They can forget about my other guns too. The Second Amendment was written to stop this kind of nonsense.
I remember two decades ago when brand new Chinese SKSs could be had for $80-100 all day long and an entire 1400 rd crate of 7.62x39 was somewhere @ $100. I turned up my nose at the cheap Chi-com hardware, owning several premium tools at the time. Looking back, I wish like hell I'd picked up between 5 to 10 of them simply to have as "expendable" pieces of gear. Leave one in the truck, one in the hunting cabin, etc, etc.
In 1990 I got two Russian sks and 1000 rounds of non corrosive ammunition for $275. I wonder what m16s are going for in Kabul now?
I got my Russia n for 169. Crates of ammo was around 99. Never shot it much but it's fun to own.
Back in those days, I could buy Lee-Enfields for $50 at my local Rose's department store... Wish I'd of bought them all.
A remember sks in a barrel for $49 each in Ohio in 1964
@@sherlockbonez still got them crates though boss man?
Well, I would keep in mind that the SKS continued to be adopted into the Soviet Army as well as those within its spheres influence throughout a good part of the 50s as the AK-47 Series 1 ran into issues, leading the USSR to enter production of Series 2 and 3 with milled receivers that were more expensive and more time consuming to make, therefore the SKS maintained its original role until the AKM came along and replaced the SKS.
Just wanna say I love your honesty about feed reliability "this is just my experience and what I've heard from others" no BS but still sharing what you know.
SKS has my vote. No magazines to lose and ammo is a lot cheaper and easier to find. Plus it flies under the radar of most assault weapons bans because it doesn't have a detachable mag or pistol grip.
Ammo isn’t going to be cheaper anymore :(
@@hanzwillford5141 Glad I stocked up when it WAS cheap and still legal to import. Also glad I started reloading that caliber and have been hoarding boxer primed brass for years. I probably have 1/2 of a 55 gal drum full of 7.62x39 brass.
There are STEEL 20, 30 and 40 round mags for them but I doubt that they're easily found these days. It requires no mods to swap out the 10 round mag to them.
@@captainjack8823 Yes, it does require a mod to the bottom of the bolt if you want to be able to insert the detachable mag when the bolt is closed. Many times the wood stock around the mag well also needs to be filed down in a few areas to allow the mags to insert. The main advantage to the SKS " in it's original form " is that it's not effected by most anti-gun laws because it does not have a pistol grip or detachable mag and doesn't have the ability to use a detachable mag without disassembling the gun by removing the trigger. That's why most anti-gun laws say " can be easily converted to accept detachable mags without disassembly of the gun "
I have a Type 56 and running Tula ammo out of it, I get close to your 300yd performance at 400yds. They're just a fun old gun to run.
I installed Tech Sights rear diopter sight on my SKS. Does not ruiin the gun's classic lines but gives a much easier+better sight picture and massively long sight radius.
As for the guns: I tend to think M1 Carbine is more fun but SKS is supremely reliable and realistically the better gun.
Can't afford the 30 carbine, although I'd love to have one, so I'll stick with my Chi-Com friend. Cost me $400 and it's never let me down
I'm solidly in the SKS camp. The ammo is plentiful and inexpensive, the short stroke gas system makes recoil manageable, and unlike the M1 Carbine, they run like champs.
No reason to get a SKS over a AK if you live in the states
@@jacobt1027 they are softer shooting, there’s a reason. If you make the necessary modifications to run archangel magazines, much (though not all) of the AK’s advantages disappear.
@@jacobt1027 Control states. That's why. (not that I live in CA or NJ).
@@SlavicCelery Easy if you're in a control state and like guns simply move
@@kftc1980 AK recoil with 7.62 is relatively mild. Not really that hard to control.
Not that I care that much I wouldn't use an AK or a SKS in a practical setting that's what the Gali Ace or AR-15 is for
Imagine a .30 carbine cartridge with a Federal HST, Hornady Critical Defense, Norma MHP Etc. projectile. I think it would be a killer extraordinaire.
Well Jim Cirillo considered the 30 carbine with just a Remington soft point as one of the best manstoppers in nyc.I'd say it's already a killer extraordinare
I remember someone claiming cops preferred the m1 stopping power over shotguns. But I find it hard to believe 30 has a better one shot stop chance than 12ga
@@realtalk4real243 thats saying the least, lol
@@realtalk4real243 if they had experience against people using bullet resistant vests, the m1 probably would do better than buckshot
Not really fond of them but would love to see the results loaded with some Underwood Extreme Penetrator rounds. They fly.
I actually really like the SKS. It's just really well-mannered and likeable. (I got the Yugo and all the grenade gizmos and night sights are a hoot)
Those Yugo SKSs are probably the best among them, but their robust construction makes them a bit heavier than the Chinese models. They also don't have chrome-lined barrels like other SKSs, so you have to make sure and clean them thoroughly after each use.
When I was still in the USMC during the early '90s, these SKSs were selling at the PX for about $90. Norinco 1911s were about $200. Was a bit of a gun snob back then and blew these deals off. Looking back, I'm kicking myself for not picking up one of each. One of my Gunnies bought one of these SKSs and it was virtually brand new, still drenched in cosmoline. He told me he was planning on using it for hunting that season (close ranges at about 100+/- yards).
Norinco made a great 1911!
Did the OPFOR unit bulk buy those PX SKSes for use en masse in exercises?
RE loading: In his SKS review, Jerry Miculek simply turned the rifle upside down, popped the mag catch and dumped 10 rounds in. The rifle ate the ammo perfectly.
That's good to know, but I've also watched him "throw" 6 bullets into a revolver in a split second, so can a mere mortal also do the sks loading trick?
@@Qingeaton yes, but I definitely prefer using clips.
@@shakesisdeadya-cunts6675 they are light and cheap and work.
@@Qingeaton He used a speedloader with the revolver, but casually dropped the ammo into the SKS. A slow load should be fine. DISCLOSURE: I don't own an SKS nor have I fired one (my loss).
@@petesheppard1709 Yeah, I know he did, but he did it so fast you couldn't even see it.
I was just making the point that someone so skilled makes it look easy.
We had a few of them back in the day. Kind of heavy for anything but playing with, compared to modern stuff. Guess it would work in a pinch if that's what you could get.
Dad bought a brand new chinese sks for $100. from shotgun news back in the day. Then I got it and bought 1000 rounds of wolf hollow point for another $100. I put a choate plastic stock on it and its so much lighter and ergonomic now ! Now I put a picatini mount on the barrel and a lazer and a light. It has become one of my favorite rifles of all time. Never jams and is surprisingly very accurate! Its the gun I take everywhere I go at camp for protection and varmit control. Best $100. spent of all time!
I feel like if Chris and I were at the range on the same day, we would look down and realize we have the same favorite rifles! Big fan of the 1894 and M1 Carbine… also have a Russian SKS as well! Congrats on having great taste in rifles sir!
Sounds like you have a man-crush
@@Bobdixon_Moonvarga_Dancer_III not often I find a gentleman with as good as taste in firearms as myself! We are like unicorns!
In terms of stock, as-is rifles, I'd take the SKS in a heartbeat. I used to be very much in the M1 carbine camp until I tried shooting under time stress in less than ideal light. The adjustable sight is, frankly, uselessly small and most I've seen have like 4 MOA worth of wobble. I still cannot figure why they put a 1903-style target aperture on a rifle that was meant to replace a handgun in service.
With a solid dot mount? Carbine all day, though I think the SKS with an Arisaka style aperture is still a good contender
Early sights were the simple flip up. Maybe you'd prefer that sight? Most "serious" folks tacticaling up nowadays replace i with a mount red dot.
@@keithsimpson2685 I've pondered getting a repro flip and then hogging out the close range aperture to a ghost ring. The apertures themselves are the same between the sights, though the flip lacks the issue of wobble. It's just a pain replace and/or zero, since the government staked the rear sight blocks on them quite well.
I did the tech sight on my Yugo (I know but it was a long time ago) and it works great but effects disassembly. Holds zero pretty well though.
The US army has always had one obsession, that is to have a gun that in the hands of your standard issue GI can blow a commie in half a full mile away with a single pull of the trigger. They tried everything, marksmanship programs, every possible variation of sights, SPIW, three round burst, ACR, AICW, duplex ammo this, flechette ammo that and add a bunch of programs that are still being kept quiet. The M1 got those sights because they couldn't figure out this was a PDW and not just another combat rifle and also because they knew somebody with a bunch of stars on their shoulders would try to take it to Camp Perry and if it didn't have the proper target sights they would raise hell until they got what they wanted.
Mine was zeroed in the Korean War and staked, it’s still dead on.
For a second I thought he said, “If I thought I was going to be hunting some vegan-sized game…”
I love my SKS. Cheap and capable, and that’s all I ask of it.
7.62X39 ammo remains cheap and plentiful even during the Global Pandemic.
This more than overcomes any perceived advantages that the M1 Carbine might possess.
A rifle without ammo is little more than an expensive club.
Love them both .. own a couple of both. If I had to grab one and bug out for a "shortish” amount of time in the wooded areas/town where I live .. the M1 carbine with a bunch of ammo would be my choice. If I had to bug out Indefinitely and maybe travel great distances into more open/arid areas and eventually forage for ammo it would be the SKS.
Polish the chamber on that sks. Only trouble ive ever had with one.
I've only had mine a short time, but being new to it I put the recoil spring in backwards and that had a huge effect on the way it cycled. It caused about a 1 in 20 round jam. Flipped it around after doing some research and it's one of my best shooters
@@coltanrickett7470 that’s a real Murphy . The designers should be ashamed
@@jonathangriffiths2499 No the operator should not be that stupid.
@@jonathangriffiths2499 the issue was quickly fixed with the AK ;)
dont even need to watch. SKS takes the cake hands down no question not even a competition
My SKS is a tank. It's been my main gun since 1993. It's the "I Pay Child Support" rifle. I have 8 guns, but my SKS will always be my first gun.
I've ran both quite a bit. In a serious situation, I would opt for the SKS. Better accuracy, more reliable, more powerful. Only detriment is weight and capacity.
The SKS reminds me of when I was a kid going to gun stores and shows. Great looking gun, glad I finally got one.
Nice review Chris. I got mine back in the late 80’s, $65 from a cosmoline drenched cordwood stack of rifles. Another $65 got me a wooden case of ammo.
The Chinese wood crate of ammo that had 1440 rounds?
@@BadWolf762 yup, that’s it, still have a crate floating around somewhere
Great comparison. I have never shot the M1 Carbine, but got seduced into an SKS in a Tapco stock that could take 30 round mags for $300.00 four years ago. The LGS had two more SKS with wood stocks, should have bought one of them.
As a Veteran I noticed that the carbine was accurate just a bit farther then pistol ranges with a little more fire power. In case of hand to hand combat it was better than the hand gun. So it fit a very small nitch. I refused to carry one and instead chose an M14. Because of my rank I had a choice,
THIS is the kind of video exit we need - great stuff Chris
Between the two, I prefer the SKS. In my mind, they both have no practical application outside of fun at the range, and I just like the SKS better as a range toy.
Also, stripper clips are extremely fun and no one can convince me otherwise.
I had a beautiful 1953 Russian made SKS that I sold years back and I've regretted it ever since...
My homeowners insurance just replaced my Norinco I paid $120 for 20 years. Cost them $1,273...
I had a m1 carbine universal.. I sold it about 10 years ago. I vowed to get another. I was at a gun show last year and saw a m1 Plainfield for$550 I also saw a Chinese type SKS for about the same price. They were at 2 different tables.. I was torn .. the guy with the sk said it was a hard choice.. but if he had to choose he'd go with the m1 so I did I appreciated him not trying to get the money for himself. He was honest. I paid$515.00 for the m1
One of the thoughts I've had about the SKS is at least when they were insanely cheap they were an excellent survival gun at least for the eastern part of the US, for 100 yd shot hunting is actually quite rare. I've had one sincerely '90s is a pre-ban Chinese made and exceptionally accurate for an SKS. Just taking some time to rework the stock as far as the best mod that you can do for one of these besides the heavier duty spring for the firing pin. The belt sander and some Palm Sanders and you take the stock right down to something that resembles a comfortable rifle stock instead of a log. And now to the survival aspect of it, ammunition for has always been relatively inexpensive and plentiful and again at closer ranges quite acceptable ballistics. The gun itself is/was dirt cheap, also quite rugged so with the bayonet makes a great club and spear which both could be very helpful. And I think one of the biggest advantages of it is with a little practice the stripper clip reloading is very effective and it means that instead of spending money on additional magazines spend a couple of dollars on 100 stripper clips and prep a thousand rounds for less than the price of a couple of magazines for just about any other rifle. Not to mention that I'm ready to go it's a lot lighter than the equivalent magazine. This is another big advantage you don't have to worry about losing your magazine in a survival situation. Just my two cents.
The only thing the M1 beats an SKS on, is weight... I love the carbine. I have 3. But the SKS is a better all around rifle.
The M1 carbine would be a great in house gun. Light and small to move around rooms with. Less chance of its bullet going through multiple walls and into a neighbor's house. (Less chance, mind you.) Whereas the SKS is better suited than the M1 for outdoor shooting at longer range.
At 2000 fps, that 30 carbine round is going through multiple walls no matter what you do, unless those walls are brick. Then again, so is a 9 mm.
Pretty much the only thing that's guaranteed to stay out of your neighbor's house is bird shot from a 410, or something even smaller and slower than that.
Awesome video! Good work! Keep it up. Very well said. Love your sense of humor! Keep the M1 carbine stuff coming. Love it.
That’s awesome 😎! The ending ! And the whole video 😀
With my SKS the ejection stove pipe happens often. I mounted a small scope by replacing the rear cover. I can nail a human figure target at 400 yds repeatedly. Mine is Chinese.
No Kimber Mako? That's a welcome surprise today.
Lucky for you, I'm the least well-connected person in the gun industry. I didn't know what the Mako was until about 10 minutes ago, and now that I know, I really don't care.
Amen, brother. 🎶
@@LuckyGunner it’s “oh hey, another magic subcompact that has decent capacity flush mags!: Kimber edition” Personally I’ll just stick to the compact sized pistols for ease of use in multiple roles, aftermarket, and not having the “J frame effect” for learning. I don’t mean they’re bad, I just don’t want to have to pay for magazines at $50 a pop in the case of the most popular one. My experience however is minimal.
@@LuckyGunner A fellow man of culture I see. 👌🏻
I love the M1 Carbine. My uncle has one and I love shooting the little thing. I'll eventually own one at some point. I picked up an old surplus issued Chinese t-56 back in the early 90s for around 70 bucks and I still have it. Back then there was no internet. I say this because I received the rifle wrapped in newspaper and soaked in cosmoline. After hours of cleaning I took it out to an open range, loaded it up and fired 10 rounds with one trigger pull...scared the hell out of me. I had no idea why it did what it did. No internet or instruction manual with the rifle. After some need advice and bolt cleaning the rifle has fire thousands of rounds without issue ever since. It's by no means a target rifle but I wouldn't want someone shooting at me with it either. Both rifles are fun for sure!
Top shelf infotainment here, Chris. Thanks again.
The problem with that sks is a gas/ammo issue. The inconsistent ejection is the tell take.
The rifle is overgassed on purpose. If you have an inconsistent ejection something is wrong.
That problem is uncommon. Buy one and see. You can own one for a year and make $100 on its sale.
At this point I would have to go with the SKS because of ammo being everywhere. but I do love the m1,
This comment didnt age well..
Better than 30 carbine avalibility by far
Yea seems like 30 carbine is the way to go.
Boiling water: the trick to remove all cosmoline from a disassembled SKS. Take a pot, add dish detergent or simple green; bring to a boil; place small parts in boiling water for 10 minutes; remove and watch cosmoline pour out; repeat as necessary. No more stuck firing pin.
I had the Norinco SKS, I believe, it's been years. But I did a folding stock mod with forward and rear rails. So eye relief was not an issue and you could mount tac lights etc as well. I ran an Aimpoint on it (kep it cheap lol) and that gun ran flawlessly for years. Paid 75 bucks for it, added 200 bucks in mods, sold it for 750. Love your stuff Chris, keep it up!
SKS with a good barrel will shoot really well with better brass case loads.
Man I really love them both, either are excellent choices imo
Great video! You do a great job I learn a lot from your vids.
Love both my M1 Carbine and Norinco SKS. Neither has given me any trouble in the decades I've owned them. I originally modded my SKS for AK Mags but have returned it to the original 10 round box. Love em both and they are always a hit at Range Days. Great overview of the pair!
I own both of these weapons and they are very good for self defense use. If the firing pin in the SKS doesn't rattle you just need to clean the bolt thoroughly. No need for aftermarket firing pin spring crap. Use quality ammunition and keep your weapon cleaned and lubed properly and they will function perfectly.
I own several SKS's, at one time or another most of them have had the magazine mod. I don't recall ever having any reliability issues with it. Not saying it never happened but it certainly wasn't something that I considered a problem. I'd trust any of my SKS's with my life if they were mod'ed to use magazines.
Never had a slam fire with an SKS. I clean my firing pin channels.
My $0.02.
Not a video I wanted but absolutely the video I needed
We’ll done! Somehow you made that interesting and entertaining… got several laughs out of it. I inherited an SKS with mags and decided last night that I’m planning to sell it.
I've shot many sks's for over three decades, never have I had a slam fire or seen one and outta all those years, the weapons might have malfunctioned less than I can count on one hand.
Mine has doubled twice. Federal primers both times. Federal soft points and American Eagle FMJ. I don’t ever worry about it, but don’t put Federal in my SKS anymore.
I replaced the rear sight of my SKS with a peep site; it really tunes in my sight picture, making my rifle particularly accurate.
Put a 1-4 Hammers IR scope on one. Works 👍
Great video Chris, thank you!
I used my Tula SKS two deer seasons ago. I humanely took out my buck with iron sights at 50 metres. The 7.62x39 with Barnaul soft points are more than powerful enough. I got him in the brain stem and he was dead where he stood.
I have never had a slam fire ever in my Chinese SKS just keep them clean. It’s a great Pig gun durable beyond belief.
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Cool video. I enjoy both, but lean more towards the SKS. Both are solid choices.
Great vid…love the sense of humor! For once I own both guns featured in a video, and by the way I like ‘em both. I can attest from experience, don’t waste your time and money tricking out the SKS. Keep it stock unless you are adding a butt plate extension to fit taller folk instead of the original intended users.
Good video, hard to go wrong with this type of content
I bought an $80 sks in the 80’s, runs great but my old man eyes can’t deal with the sights, would love to see a serious review of optics mounts for the rear sight base, I know there are a bunch out there
I'd also like to see that!
@WASH Guy Have you considered the rear-mounted aperture sight from Tech Sights, either the TS100 or the TS200? I find the extra sight radius punches up accuracy a bit. I'm over 70 and wear glasses ... tri-focals at that. I love mine to death.
I bought one back in the mid ‘90’s that is a complete rear dust cover replacement with a rail for scope rings or red dot to be mounted on. It had to have front two “ears” filed to fit which I did a tiny bit at a time for a very snug fit. Tossed a scope on it and haven’t had a lick of trouble out of it. You can buy them on Amazon for $30-40. Just search ‘see through scope mount SKS’.
Do you have trouble with pistol sights too, cuz there’s not much difference.
Madador makes a sks sight rail that holds a zero well . i matched a leaper bug buster scope on mine .
I own both, of course I'm old and paid $135 for one Carbine, inherited the other, I won 1 SKS for a $10 ticket and bought my son one for $85. It's great to be old. 😃😃😃
Liked the in depth look!
This was fun, dude. Thanks
I bought a Tula Russian SKS fresh out of the box in 1999. I love the milled parts, blade bayonet, and would never sell it. Ammo is cheap and effective, and can be quickly loaded with practice.
Not gonna be cheap anymore 😔
@@hanzwillford5141 yeah I know
As for scope mounting on the SKS I have aB-Square mount which fits on the rear receiver. Works well. I don't know if B-Square is still in business, though. I think the M1 carbine is preferable. Great videos.
My SKS is a Norinco from China. I put a muzzle brake on it and a twenty round fixed magazine and a two inch rubber butt pad. That’s it! Great shooter, reliable and comfortable to shoot. I really like it a lot!!!
The Tapco Magazine is an excellent addition to the SKS. I've also got he Tapco stock for it too. Unfortunatly up here In Kanuckistan all we can use is 5 round mags. The WARTEK rail is also a good ad on, nothing like takin a 200 $ rifle and throwing the kitchen sink at it. ..
I’ll go with the SKS all day. Unlike the M1, the SKS actually runs and ammo is easier to find.
haha....hah
M1 carbine for sure, all around pick LOVE THEM
I also have both, but my M1 has never fired more than two rounds in succession, no matter what variety I feed it. My SKS has never stumbled through thousands of rounds. But the original stock rotted, and I don't care for the replacement synthetic one I installed. Therefore, my "go to" rifle is the Czech 52/57, which I absolutely love!!
You may want to bring your carbine to gun smith.
Alternatively, you could be using craptastic magazines. The M1 Carbine already doesn't have good magazines, add on top of that accumulation of damage over the years and low quality reproductions and you got a jam-o-matic
Edit: acclimation to accumulation
@@flightlesschicken7769 Academic at this point, since it is an extremely rare ROCK-OLA in mint condition, and I only wanted to fire it once or twice in order to "stretch her legs..." The mags I have are U.S. surplus, and I have the buttstock mounted double mag pouch. Collector Grade only, at this point, I'm afraid!
Best wishes!!
For home defence with the SKS I recommend deploying the bayonet before venturing out of the bedroom.
I saw a Norinco SKS for sale at a store recently...the stock was so hammered, chewed up, and prone to splintering just from holding it that the only way to salvage it would have been to yank the stock off and either sand it down then re-varnish it or get an aftermarket SKS stock if those still exist. Didn't get a real chance to explore the condition of the metal.
There are plenty of synthetic aftermarket stocks, but I'm not sure if anyone is still making a classic style wood stock for the SKS.
I think Boyd’s makes a wooden stock for the SKS. If not, there are a few other makers that do. Otherwise, there are plenty of synthetic stocks out there.
Just get a used Chinese stock. I replaced my Yugo stock with one of those, nearly a pound lighter.
@@LuckyGunner How much does a polymer stock trim off the overall weight?
@@LuckyGunner a wooden plum stock would be- mwah
I remember when you could get a new imported WASR for the current price of a SKS. That fact alone makes the SKS too hard to swallow for me.
SKS was $100, Romanian AK's were $200. That's when gun shows were fun.
Lucky for me, I bought both when they were cheap. A Chinese SKS and a cherry example of the wasr. Last year I sold the wasr for almost four times what I paid, but I wouldn't sell my SKS for ten times what I paid.
@@shakesisdeadya-cunts6675 got my SKS for $99 back in the late '90s and I agree with you, not for sale :)
It's the law of supply and demand !
I have an SKS M (originally built for AK mags) with a 16” barrel. It was made as a commercial rifle, so no bayonet or mounts. It’s noticeable lighter and handier than a mil-surp SKS and hits harder than .30 carbine. 10 or 20 mags make it even more compact and lighter.
I just bought my Yugo SKS this morning. I'm totally stoked to pick it up next week.
The sks beats m1 for practicality all day. Far cheaper, better ammo and solid. All of the minor issues are fixable but it must be modified.
The M1 is a collector made for a safe and far more expensive so these 2 aren't in the same league.
4 MOA is still totally acceptable for military ARs. As long as it’s 4 MOA or less, the rifle is serviceable
I'm still kicking myself for not picking up an SKS back when you could still buy a Yugo surplus encased in cosmoline for ~$90-100.
I agree with your idea of a rail on the M1 carbine. The old butt mag pouch works just fine (but I do use the M1 chest rig by Olongapo Outfitters). A red dot significantly improves sight reaction time on the carbine (actually on both the M1 carbine and the SKS). I agree that HP or even soft nose lead certainly improves results on these carbines. Before ARs, many cops carried the M1 carbine for extra personnel use. When any carbine is new to a shooter, the firing pin channel cleaning should be an automatic. Thanks for the video.
I've got a badace mount with a sig Romeo 5 red dot, 500 rounds later it holds zero perfectly and I've had one failure to eject in that 500 rounds, Barnaul fmj 123g
If I had to take one to war I’m probably taking the M1. Lighter, more maneuverable, and mostly, detachable mags.
I found this on a thread; The actual military spec was supposed to be 5 shots in 5 inches @ 100 yards. The rifles could not achieve that with the quality of ammunition supplied for test. So the spec was changed to 7 shots, 5 of which had to be in a 5 inch circle. This is how Standard Products tested their carbines.
My first rifle was an SKS. Bought it for 150 bucks.
Sold it a couple years later.... damn do I regret doing that
My only real gripe with the SKS was the trigger. I wrote an article for American Gunsmith (many years ago) on how to correct this, with a proper "Mauser style" trigger.
Totally agree that most sks mods are a joke. But I tell you what, those tapco magazines, tapco stock with the tapco gas tube legitimately seems to work at least for mine and I've shot it a lot. Seems to hold zero with my red dot which surprises me too. Great video 👍.
The Archangel magazines with the bolt mod works well.
My Yugo SKS does less than 3 MOA, and has the Good Looking attachment as a muzzle device, not to mention I've sent over a thousand rounds down range, with only a couple stoppages, which I can't pinpoint if it was a cheap ammo flaw, or a weapon flaw. I love mine. I agree that the iron sights suuu-uuuuck! However, not as much as the aftermarket alternatives. Listening to your reverent fondness of the M1 carbine really makes me want one of those, too! Thanks for another great video.
Man, I gave 250 bucks for my old M1 Carbine, in really good shape made in early ‘44, with a sling and 8 magazines. I don’t know that I ever had a malfunction with it, and if I did it was very rare (obviously, I can’t recall even one). I sold it to a friend ten years ago for the same $250 I paid for it after thousands of rounds of fun. I did upgrade it a bit, changed all the springs, did a little trigger work, etc., but I thought that was perfectly fair. I should’ve held onto it. Mine was a little worn and banged up (mostly from use while I had it, it was pretty nice when I got it), and I had intended to find and buy a pristine one and be nicer to it than the one I had in my youth. That’s probably out the window now. They’re around, but I’m unwilling to pay what they cost for what would essentially be nothing more than a collectible.