From the gurus at the SKS Board who have been collecting and identifying them for decades. Because of the fact owners often swap or remove parts on their rifles, sometimes a variation may or may not have something listed, example being the bayonet.
The Chinese SKS‑D is the “pre-ban” version that has a standard length barrel, a bayonet lug and attached spike bayonet, and a standard stock (with a steel filler plate in front of the magazine well). Actually, there is no official rifle as an SKS‑D. Since the SKS‑D has no specific markings on the receiver, dealers coined this term in order to differentiate these rifles from the fixed magazine ones. Some people continue to use the term “SKS‑D” to refer to any SKS that uses an AK magazine.
The Chinese SKS‑M is the “post-ban” version, typically with a shortened ‘Paratrooper’ barrel and without a bayonet lug. The SKS‑M was equipped with either a thumbhole style stock or a fancy Monte Carlo style stock. These will usually have either “SKS Sporter”, “SKS M”, “SKS NR”, or “MC 5D” stamped on the side of the receiver.
It has been reported that the following variations exist:
- SKS Factory modified at factory taking several different factory markings and reducing the barrel to 16 inches, and shortening the bayonet. These are the “Navy” (imported by Navy Arms) or “Type 84” rifles they have a bolt hold open of either a pin or a button detent.
- SKS‑D: 20-inch barrel, standard stock, detachable bayonet, with striper clip guide, and serialized with a 4-digit or 5-digit serial number and all components are marked as well. Note that the earlier units are reported to have the 5-digit serial numbers.
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- SKS‑D: 20-inch barrel, standard stock, detachable bayonet, without stripper clip guide, and serial numbers starting with 88 (having 7-8 digits). Some of the components on some of the rifles are not serialized. Some “88” serial numbered rifles were caught up in customs when the 1989 ban was imposed, these were required to have the bayonet mount removed before being released to the US distributor. Note: Of course, bayonet mounts have been removed for various reasons — So just because a particular rifle doesn’t have a bayonet mount, doesn’t mean the rifle is one of the ones that were “caught up in customs”.
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- SKS‑M: Post ban type rifles with no striper clip guide, no bayonet and equipped with either a fancy Monte Stock or one of four or five different thumbhole stocks (with either wide or narrow forearms, black painted cuts in the pistol grip or with smooth pistol grip, rear sling mount at the bottom or on the side). These have serial numbers that start with the year imported. These were imported in both 16-inch and 20-inch versions. These rifles will usually have either “SKS Sporter”, “SKS NR”, or “SKS M” stamped on the side of the receiver. However, some just marked “SKS imported by <XYZ>”. The 20-inch version is very scarce. All of the 20-inch models reported to date are marked “SKS M”, have fancy Monte stocks, and have serial numbers starting with “94”.
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- MC 5D: These are assumed to have been imported without any “SKS markings” to get past the ban imposed on SKS Carbines with detachable magazines by the state of California. These are equipped with a fancy Monte Carlo stock and a magazine release that looks like it’s for a standard fixed magazine rifle. Note: some folks claim this variant is stamped with “MC 50”, but those who actually own one have confirmed it is “MC 5D”.
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- A number of companies provided aftermarket conversion of fixed magazine SKS Carbines to utilize AK-47 magazines. These can typically be recognized because they continue to use the standard fixed magazine SKS Carbine magazine release.
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- Added category: First conversion by Midwest Ordnance. This is the one that the Chinese came over and looked at then went back and made the 84’s and then the D’s. It was sold in the ATI folder stock with a filler in the mag well, 20-inch barrel, and bayonet.
SKS-D
Norinco sold a few SKS models that would accept and use standard AK magazines. This is the standard length version with the regular stock, shorter versions and Monte-Carlo style or thumbhole stock models were also available. These are probably the most sought after SKS variants due to the AK mag compatibility.
Yugo M59/66 Bangladeshi soldier with an old Yugoslavian M59/66, a distinct SKS variant due to it’s longer profile thanks to the grenade launcher sights and attachment. He has three rifle grenades in his chest rig. Note the two with the white tail fins. Since they seem to be tucked away and aren’t bulging outward, indicating a slim profile, its likely those are the Yugo M60 Fragmentation Rifle Grenades. The one with the dull, faded looking tail fin, which is noticeably larger is more than likely a Yugo M60 Anti-Tank Rifle Grenade. Considering modern tank armor nowadays, it may have little to no effect unless a vulnerable area is hit.
Yugo M59/66 Generally the Yugoslavian SKS’s are often the ones in the best condition due to many being unissued before arriving on the U.S market. Unfortunately, their excellent condition also makes them the prime SKS variant for many custom builds for Tapco parts and the like. On a side note, my friend gave me a box of spare parts a few years ago and inside were 10 Yugo SKS bayonets. I tried to make a “glove” out of them…
diabsoule said: Are those Albanian SKS’s? :|
Regarding the “SKS Parade” post.
No, they’re probably Russian or Chinese SKS rifles refinished for parade duty.
Albanian SKS’s have key differences; primarily the larger ventilation slots on the upper handguard and the AK style charging handle.
SKS Parade
Somali government soldiers, dressed in Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) uniform and trained by the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) team, march in a parade during their passing out ceremony at Bihanga army training school 300km (180 miles) west of the Uganda capital Kampala, May 10, 2012. The European Union Training Mission trained 603 Somalia soldiers for six months in urban combat skills in preparation for deployment back to Somalia to maintain peace and order. Somalia had been mired in violence, lacking effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of military dictator Mohammed Said Barre, resulting in clan-based fiefdoms in the country.
Norinco SKS Farmer’s Friend Not something you see too often for sale, especially with the transit case. The Farmer’s Friend was Norinco’s attempt to make the SKS somewhat more acceptable to the average American gun owner. The name is derived from the notion that this would be used to clear out varmints like coyote from farmlands. The receiver has a special side rail mount that was somewhat of a cross between the AK and Mosin PU mount. Not sure how many Farmer’s Friends were sold in the U.S but they average around $1,000 or so if you have the transit case.
Yugoslavian M59/66
A rather unique and easily distinguishable SKS variant. The grenade launcher ladder sights and muzzle attachment were also carried over to the Yugoslavian M70 type rifles. You can still find a lot of these in excellent to near unissued condition.
Unfortunately their superb condition often makes them the platform for aftermarket parts.
Russian SKS
A semi-auto rifle chambered in 7.62x39mm, it had a short service life, being eclipsed by the more infamous AK-47 series of rifles. The Chinese, Yugoslavian and Albanian versions did have minor aesthetic changes. U.S importers are also responsible for the creation of a “Paratrooper” model. Some people consider the SKS the “Poor man’s AK”.
Wanderer… A nice Yugoslavian M59/66 SKS, easily distinguished by the prominent grenade launcher portion of the barrel. Sometimes you’ll find these with dark brown stocks, other times they’re almost a golden honey hue, this is usually seen on the unissued rifles.
Russian SKS
Much like the Mosin Nagant 91/30, the sheer amount of SKS rifles on the surplus market often leads to them being modified. This one at least has a scope mount that doesn’t alter the rifle permanently.
LAPD Gun Buyback… So this one so called “journalist” was absolutely amazed and stunned that an AT4 and LAW rocket launcher showed up at the gun buyback. It really shows how stupid, uninformed, lazy and useless most of the media is. With all this technology at our fingertips, the “journalist” could easily have looked up information that ATF and the military require all surplus rocket/missile launchers to be demilled. The AT4 and LAW are single shot launchers and generally not reloaded…even then, finding the proper rocket to use without blowing yourself up would be difficult. Read the article for laughs to see how much the author’s panties got twisted into knots upon seeing the rocket launchers. Source
Albanian SKS
One of the rarer SKS variants out there. The rough estimate on how many remain in the world is about 6,000; majority were destroyed by the Albanian government. It’s unique from other SKS models for a few reasons. It has a slightly longer upper handguard, two trapdoors in the stock instead of one for cleaning kits, and most distinct of all is the AK-style charging handle. Also note that the sling attachement is on the side of the stock, not under it. Worth collecting if you find one.
SKS More of a focus on the receiver, stripper clips and the stock. A professionally refinished SKS, though it’s hard to tell what nation of origin without seeing the rest of the rifle. Refinishing an SKS doesn’t necessarily hurt the value unless it’s something rare like an Albanian or Vietnam bring-back. Personally I think cleaning up the original stock is a much better alternative that what happens to most of them, being dropped into Tapco “tacti-cool” plastic stock sets.
Execution practice…
The first photo I posted before; it depicts Chinese officials executing a young woman with a Type-81 rifle. The second image is an interesting add-on. This shows Chinese officers actually practicing mass executions. Note how the second officer is positioned to restrain the victim’s arms and duck down to avoid most of the muzzle blast. I was going to post the image of the young woman after she had been shot but that’s on my gore blog.
