• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

What would you pay for an SKS

Jmccracken1214

Supporter
Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Dec 10, 2018
    2,296
    1,045
    Thomasville, NC
    I’ve had a few in the past and enjoyed them, but never kept one… seeing what some people have posted them for lately, makes me wish I would have held onto a few.

    EC93EC46-03DD-4C77-BC37-9F9633D44512.jpeg
     
    Unless you have chance of buying one with some prominence, just look for a shooter. I'd say no more than $600. This is just my opinion, but the cheap ones shoot just as well as that expensive one.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: roostercogburn98
    Unless you have chance of buying one with some prominence, just look for a shooter. I'd say no more than $600. This is just my opinion, but the cheap ones shoot just as well as that expensive one.
    I thought about offering him $600 but doubt he’d come down that much.
    I really want one to thread the barrel and put a can on
     
    It is very hard to tell what is going to jump in value 20 years later. I bought a numbers matching Norinco SKS in 2008 with about 150 rounds of ammo for $150. A few rounds were handloads and actually came in Lapua brass of all things. The gun remains the most accurate SKS I've ever been around. Had I known that it would be worth 4x that amount now, I would have bought a safe full.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: roostercogburn98
    I let them sit on the shelf when they were under a hundred bucks because cheap ak’s could be had for 300. Only reason I bought the cheap ak’s was because those green crates of brass Yugoslav ammo would go on sale for 5 cents a round out the door.
    Good times.
     
    IMO, They only made sense when they and the ammo were cheap being bought from ex soviet com blocks. I personally don’t believe most are worth the high prices people are asking as of late, most are heavily used. I’d rather put $$ into something new.

    At $950 Id buy a new Mini-14
     
    They are a great rifle but no more then 250
     
    They are a great rifle but no more then 250

    $250??? Not in today's world. I just saw a beater/trunk gun sell for $500 on Gunbroker. So, I'm guessing in the real world you may be able to buy it for $350-$400.

    The other problem, no one locally is selling anything they own, so Gunbroker is almost the only game in town.
     
    The last couple we have had in our store sold quickly at 650-700$ without all the goodies in the picture. My buddy who has been a gunsmith for 40 years or so has three crates full of them in his gun room in his house, one for each one of his grown kids. I don't even know if they know they are in that closet.
     
    An SKS that takes AK magazines is worth double a regular SKS. For example, SKS-M, SKS-D, SKS Sporter, SKS 30, SKS-MC5.

    These go for about $1,000 and up currently. So a regular SKS would be worth about $500 to me. However, most of the ones I see at the local shows around here in SW Missouri are Chinese, generally in decent shape, and are priced anywhere from $650- $1200. Anything Russian just seems to be WAY too high priced. I rarely see Yugo, Romanian, or Russian SKSs anyways, mostly Chinese. I have seen SKS prices (and other gun prices, as well as ammo prices) go down a bit lately, since Covid buying fever has slacked off a bit. Most stuff at local gun shows around here is overpriced to begin with, especially ammo.
     
    I dont know or care much about the market price of these, but last year a guy traded a couple into a local store. I picked up his pretty much immaculate Yugo SKS for 400 out the door. I'm happy with it for that price and it's a fun shooter. The deals are out there, they're just going to come from the people who bought a crate of them way back when.
    20210926_170945.jpg
     
    • Like
    Reactions: long range sponge
    I had SKS Paratroopers. Several, 90.00I think, new. AK mags. Tuna cans of ammo was 80.00. Don’t miss it. I have a 12.5” AR that shoots tight with 55gr. Norma.
    Not what you want to hear but if you did not want one at 100,00, why now.?
     
    I’ve got a Letter Sino Soviet Norinco KSI that I got in about 95. Best I can tell it is new/unfired 1959. Just sits in the safe & everytime I think about selling it, I change my mind. The old ones are pretty well built with a lot of milled & well fitted parts parts.
     
    $250??? Not in today's world. I just saw a beater/trunk gun sell for $500 on Gunbroker. So, I'm guessing in the real world you may be able to buy it for $350-$400.

    The other problem, no one locally is selling anything they own, so Gunbroker is almost the only game in town.
    yeah ….that shit was around 2010 and it came with 500rds. i shot the ammo and sold it for 275.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Hobo Hilton
    Bought a Norinco crate with my buds back in the 90s. We all kept one and sold the others for $100 each. Meant we had about 75 bucks in the ones we kept. I shot it very little and sold it a year ago for $750 at a gun show right after I pick up a Russian for $300 from another guy. I like where am at and will keep the Russian for another 30years or so but I will be pushing 100 years old so maybe my son gets a Russian for free. Beats my deal but good for him.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Texascbr
    Traded my old BMX bike for a Norinco SKS years ago. Knowing what I know now, I traded right.
     
    Got 3 for $450 several months ago but they rough. Deals are out there, just slim.

    For the one op posted, that is a $350 gun to me but I know that would not happen in todays market.
     
    Wow... the price sure has changed.
    I bought one for a Hundred bucks... and a 1200rd case of copper plated case for another 100bucks.

    At the time.. the main reason for the purchase was.... a little more money than a 10/22 and a lot more ooomph.

    Me and my friends treated those SKS's like dirt... only cleaning out any salts from the fired corrosive ammo.

    I am not sure I could bring myself to pay $950 for one today.
     
    Wow... the price sure has changed.
    I bought one for a Hundred bucks... and a 1200rd case of copper plated case for another 100bucks.

    At the time.. the main reason for the purchase was.... a little more money than a 10/22 and a lot more ooomph.

    Me and my friends treated those SKS's like dirt... only cleaning out any salts from the fired corrosive ammo.

    I am not sure I could bring myself to pay $950 for one today.

    What about $600 for a plain jane 870 shotgun?
     
    • Like
    Reactions: bfoosh006
    i bought a few at $100 for Romanians.

    When an SKS was $100 and an AR was $1000 it made sense.

    Now? Why would anyone want an SKS for AR prices when they were so cheap 15 years ago? Aren’t you happy with the ones you got back in the day?
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Jsp556
    Houston Astro Hall gun show, was going to buy one they were $69 . Couldn't do it, ugly , horrible sights , felt horrible, didn't do it. Wished I had now. During Clinton years one of his bans remember seeing people waving cash 3,4, deep buying anything. Bobtail trucks in parking lot lines of people buying crates of ammo. Dealers were rolling in dolly loads of sks crates. Rip them open throw empty against the wall open another . East Tx. Throwed their 30-30 away and every 4 wheeler had an SMS on it
     
    Houston Astro Hall gun show, was going to buy one they were $69 . Couldn't do it, ugly , horrible sights , felt horrible, didn't do it. Wished I had now. During Clinton years one of his bans remember seeing people waving cash 3,4, deep buying anything. Bobtail trucks in parking lot lines of people buying crates of ammo. Dealers were rolling in dolly loads of sks crates. Rip them open throw empty against the wall open another . East Tx. Throwed their 30-30 away and every 4 wheeler had an SkS on it.
    They were even cheaper before the bans
     
    Houston Astro Hall gun show, was going to buy one they were $69 . Couldn't do it, ugly , horrible sights , felt horrible, didn't do it. Wished I had now. During Clinton years one of his bans remember seeing people waving cash 3,4, deep buying anything. Bobtail trucks in parking lot lines of people buying crates of ammo. Dealers were rolling in dolly loads of sks crates. Rip them open throw empty against the wall open another . East Tx. Throwed their 30-30 away and every 4 wheeler had an SMS on it

    I remember those shows, however my shows had them covered in the stickiest cosmoline. Not just covered, but lathered in the stuff. Barrels were plugged with the stuff too. They were a terror to clean up. weeks to months to clean some of them.
     
    don't get it
    wouldn't give you 100 for one and sold the ones I had try as I did, just didn't like them
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Im2bent
    Houston Astro Hall gun show, was going to buy one they were $69 . Couldn't do it, ugly , horrible sights , felt horrible, didn't do it. Wished I had now. During Clinton years one of his bans remember seeing people waving cash 3,4, deep buying anything. Bobtail trucks in parking lot lines of people buying crates of ammo. Dealers were rolling in dolly loads of sks crates. Rip them open throw empty against the wall open another . East Tx. Throwed their 30-30 away and every 4 wheeler had an SMS on it

    A buddy’s dad “got his wife” an SKS for mother’s day that year because the ban was coming. She wanted a sewing machine instead. It’s a bold move to arm your disgruntled wife.
     
    I’ve had a few in the past and enjoyed them, but never kept one… seeing what some people have posted them for lately, makes me wish I would have held onto a few.

    View attachment 7913257

    Going rate for a Yugo SKS all matching is around $600- $700. If you really want one just search around on different forums marketplace or try a gun show.

    Why the Yugos go for more than a norinco is beyond me especially since the barrel isn't chrome lined (not a huge issue). If you just want an SKS then look around for a Norinco which you can probably find for around $400-$500.
     
    Buying an SKS made sense before and during the assault weapons ban, but does not today- except to fill a hole in a collection.
     
    Buying an SKS made sense before and during the assault weapons ban, but does not today- except to fill a hole in a collection.

    Definitely why I bought mine. I just need a yugo to finish my sks collection. They wouldn't be bad investments either as the SKS has only gone one way value wise. Pay now and enjoy shooting it, then pass it on to the kids or sell it for what you paid for it (possibly more) 10-20 years down the road.
     
    I remember seeing pallets and tables full of them at fun shows in the early 90's along with cases of ammo. Centerfire bullet hoses from back in the day. Now the ammo isn't even cheap. Never bought any because I could buy 10 bricks of Winchester Wildcat for $89 and had a .22 that I felt was more accurate than any SKS ever made.

    The price is always what people are willing to pay. But when you can buy an AR for $750 or so, why?
     
    • Like
    Reactions: THE COPPERHEAD
    Just to illustrate how completely far out of these loops I am, I bought my first G11 Swiss long rifle for $12.50 with one box of ammunition in 1959 the year before I joined the service. That same rifle now is between six and $800 from Simpson's Limited.
    In the mid-70s when I was still a very active dealer, I paid $49 apiece in groups of 10 for the SKS's. I actively sold them for $75 apiece. I wasn't impressed enough with the rifle itself or the caliber to keep any in the armory at all, so I didn't. In retrospect, it probably was not a mistake because I could not have foreseen the insanity that continued on in the firearms business in the following years.
     
    Last edited:
    I remember seeing pallets and tables full of them at fun shows in the early 90's along with cases of ammo. Centerfire bullet hoses from back in the day. Now the ammo isn't even cheap. Never bought any because I could buy 10 bricks of Winchester Wildcat for $89 and had a .22 that I felt was more accurate than any SKS ever made.

    The price is always what people are willing to pay. But when you can buy an AR for $750 or so, why?
    Or $499 or $599 for basic rack grade ARs these days.

    Of course when original Soviet production SKS rifles were $89 and available by the truckload of crates full of them, I was too poor to buy more than 1
     
    I picked mine up for $134 including tax, I think in the 2006-ish timeframe. They are decent enough rifles, and were great back when they were the cheapest reliable semi you could get, but ARs have gotten way cheaper, and they've gotten more expensive. There's way too many better options in the same price range for me to give SKS's any thought. Hell, I picked up an RM1 special Garand with a new stock and Criterion barrel 3-4 months ago for $750, and you can still get rack grade rifles for $650... Hard to figure opting for an SKS, even if you want something historical.