Opinions please.

[steelbuttplate]

How about a review on the SKS model M / Norinco . JYD ? Anybody else had one ?

[Junk Yard Dog]

My Chinese SKS's are all former Chinese military surplus items, I never bought any of the new Chinese SKS, or AK's. The former North Vietnamese Chinese SKS doesn't seem to have any issues, it's just another normal SKS. They work, but I don't know anything about the ones Norinco was pushing on the US market 30 years ago, just that they sold quickly and there were a lot of them around.

[millman]

Hey Jim, I think he is asking about that mag dropping sks model.Don't you have one of those?

[steelbuttplate]

Hey Jim, I think he is asking about that mag dropping sks model.Don't you have one of those?

Yea the one with the fancy grip and takes an AK magazine.

[SA1911a1]

I have only experienced the PLA rifles myself, but here is something that may answer some questions: http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=440.0

Norinco did export some of the PLA rifles in the timeframe that Jim mentions along with the made for the US tacticool rifle market. I do not remember hearing anything dreadful about the Paratrooper rifles except that they were not military surplus and that the magazines were not 100% reliable.

There is always Yooper John's site for SKS info. To my knowledge he is or was the SKS guru. http://www.yooperj.com/SKS-10.htm

I did buy, in the pre-ban days a magazine adaptor to insert into the SKS for it to accept high-capacity mags, (AK mags if I remember correctly) it was total junk and I ended up throwing it away. There were also some cheap plastic 30 round magazines for the military SKS rifles that were also pretty trashy. I wouldn't turn down a Paratrooper for the right price, but I would not go out of my way searching one out.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Hey Jim, I think he is asking about that mag dropping sks model.Don't you have one of those?

That abomination is a true piece of shit, very poor workmanship , not on the rifle, but the conversion work. Fucking thing dropped it's magazine right on my foot after the first round was fired while standing. Single shot SKS, I do not recommend anything but 60's vintage Chinese military SKS rifles in their original form, I don't know anything about the later ones. That single shot " paratrooper" AK mag conversion piece of shit is currently in my parts rifle pile in case I lose or break any parts on my, or my friends Chinese SKS.

[steelbuttplate]

So your sayin you don't really like yours ? I guess I have enough anyway.

[Junk Yard Dog]

It's a Bubba created by Norinco to temts US buyers with something kinda like an AK for a few bucks cheaper than an AK. I got it with a collection I bought in the early 90's. That collection also included the Finn marked M38 and some other goodies that I was more pleased with.

[billybob123]

My brother has had a Russian SK that takes the AK mags for around 40 years and likes it quite a bit. I've tried to buy it off him but he wants too much for it. He used to shoot it a lot but rarely uses it anymore nowadays but has always had good things to say about his.

[SA1911a1]

I also had a friend who had one and loved the thing. I shot it a few times, it worked, but it did not blow my skirt up. One of the advantages that I like of the SKS over the semi-auto version of an AK is the shorter magazine that allows you to shoot from the prone position or from a bench without acrobatics. If I ever needed to shoot at someone, I would rather not have to expose so much of my head for the questionable value of a higher capacity magazine that may or may not work consistently. The SKS system works fine, I see not need to monkey with it.

In the late 80s and early 90s the importers had a hard time moving the SKS rifle at the $79.00 retail price range, so this was a gimmick to make it more palatable.

[Phosphorus32]

I had one but never shot it. Seemed to be a good conversion based on a simple non-firing inspection, for what that's worth. Mine came from a multiple lot auction where I won the SKS-M on one of those low-ball "too good to pass up" type of bids. I moved it along quickly, since I decided the commercial SKSs just didn't interest me as collectibles and I had a good Chinese AK to fulfill the same shooting role as the M.

The SKS Files sticky post by Joe (RIP) posted below has a good overview of the different AK mag compatible SKS versions.
https://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=216.0

[Junk Yard Dog]

I see they called it the Navy Arms Assault carbine, very appropriate name, it definitely assaulted my feet with it's dropped magazines. A waste of a perfectly good Chinese military surplus SKS.

[Darryl]

I do not remember hearing anything dreadful about the Paratrooper rifles except that they were not military surplus and that the magazines were not 100% reliable.

I own 2 "paratrooper" SKS rifles now. Both are cut down from ex-military SKS rifles. Some Paratroopers were not (newer ones).

There is no issue with the magazines that I have ever experienced. They run flawless for me.

However, these things are like M1 Garand "Tankers" and are made up only in someones mind. I bought it many years ago when they came out. Wanting a SKS just so I could poke Californias legislatures in the eye with it. I'm not a big SKS collector (I have other things). Sure are fun to carry around in the desert in Nevada at my Brother house. It's my go to rifle for that. Light and fun and fast and cheap.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I tried every AK magazine available at the time, East German, Soviet, Chinese, plus a few others that would have been from the buffer states. None held in the magazine well. Chinese Bubba, American Bubba, all good at fucking up a perfectly good rifle by " improving" it I never set out to own that SKS abortion, it came to me in a package deal that was take it all or nothing. At the moment it's a parts supply in case I ever break anything on my other normal SKS rifles. I remember how the Chinese were flooding the US market with anything that would shoot

[Phosphorus32]

I think that's a solid vote in the NO column for JYD

[Darryl]

Just to make it clear. The SKS JYD is talking about is not a "Paratrooper" (shortened SKS). He's talking about a piece of crap that they made up to take a detachable AK magazine. I've heard a lot of bad things about them. The loading magazine on the Paratrooper remains the same as all the other SKS rifles. Just shortened.



I have a magazine that detaches off the SKS and takes a larger amount of ammo. It's a metal after market. I've never tried it out.Never saw the need really.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Nope, it is a shortened SKS, the so called " Para" size. They cut down and modified a surplus Chinese military SKS, but they didn't bother to do more than minimal refinishing of the stock in that red color, and the bluing isn't near as nice as the one in the picture. They also stuck a little plastic pistol grip on it. The guy I got it from bought it around 1988-89 from one of the outfits selling them at the time, but he didn't pay much, neither did I. I have a picture of it on photobucket, I will search for it later.

[Darryl]

The one above is a "paratrooper" SKS sold by Norinco and made by them. Originally they were made by cutting down original Chinese SKS rifles. (which the one above is) They all looked new, because they basically all had new stocks. The one above was from the first batch of Paratroopers.

Then the next batch came out using new Norinco SKS paratrooper parts made for thaty rifle. It was easier for them to make new parts then it was to cut them down I suppose, because there were still lots of old chinese SKS's running around. So it must have been easier to build new parts. Those came out about 6 months or more after the first batch?

Then you saw (3rd) new made rifles with a longer AK mag added on. Those things were crap. All around junk. I never saw one of those till a year or so after I owned mine. So they came out much later I would guess. I don't know much about them.

I'm not sure I have ever seen one with a pistol grip on it. That sounds like someone added that after it got to the States.

Dolk

paratroopervssks.jpg

.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I will have to find the rifle, I don't think I ever bothered with good pics of it. It will be a monumental project as being a parts rifle it's buried deep, and I am not exactly sure were I stashed it. It's definitely a para, dinky little bayonet and all. I never even noticed it was short until much later when I chanced to have it next to my NVA bringhome SKS.

[steelbuttplate]

The models that take the AK mag and have several variations of thumbhole stocks, or Monte Carlo, were called "type M". I think that is stamped on the receiver.