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Simonov SKS Type 56
isutoad
Member Posts: 156 ✭✭
My son have a friend who want to sell a SKS Simonov rifle. It a Chinese made. I can?t find anything about these. Can someone help me out. Thanks
Comments
The Russians built many SKS rifles. They also gave the specs, & maybe even tooling, to other Soviet bloc countries & allies, to include the Chinese, Yugoslavians, Albanians, North Koreans, East Germans, Vietnamese, & Romanians. Long after the Russian & Chinese military stopped issuing the SKS, the Chinese continued to make them at the government Norinco factory for export to the US.
There are differences in the SKS's made by every country, so it is always important to specify the country when describing one.
Neal
Norinco is name of the commercial sales department. Of the Chinese State factories. They exported and sold massive quantities of SKS's, to the U.S., between 1985 and 1994. When Slick Willie Clinton cut them off, to please his left wing commie friends.
Back in the early 90's. You could buy a new Norinco SKS, for less than $100. Recently I have seen folks, at the local gun shows. Trying to peddle, Norinco SKS's for $400 or more. Whether they are actually selling for that. I don't have a clue.
My son have a friend who want to sell a SKS Simonov rifle. It a Chinese made. I can?t find anything about these. Can someone help me out. Thanks
What kind of help do you want? If you want a good overview see here: https://tinyurl.com/ct6b25x
Reiterating the above, Simonov was the Russian who designed these rifles. They pre-date the more famous Kalashniknov/AK pattern rifles. In the USA most people call these "SKS" rifles, after the Russian acronym for "Simonov Karbine Semi-auto" but "Simonov" is synonymous and some people just call these "Simonovs".
The original design uses a folding bayonet and an internal fixed 10 round magazine. Due to the popularity of these in the USA, there are plenty of aftermarket parts and modifications available, including higher capacity/detachable magazines, different stocks, etc.
These guns were made in a variety of commmunist bloc countries including Russia, Yugoslavia, Romania, E. Germany, and Poland. The design was also exported to China and a *HUGE* number were (and IIRC) still are made there. The Chinese export guns were (and are) made by "Norinco" the Chinese national arms manufacture. "Type 56", Chinese SKS, and Norinco SKS are all synonymous. . .these are all different names for the same thing.
The guns from different countries are largely similar, but they each have their own little variations in stock wood, bayonet shape/type, parts design, materials, etc. Some variants are rarer and more desirable to collectors than others, but all of these are functionally similar, highly durable and reliable weapons. Mass export Chinese SKS is probably the LEAST desirable from a collectors standpoint, but from a functional standpoint its more or less the same as all the others. (Chinese made Vietnam era "bringback" SKS with documentation might have collectors value. . .that's a sort of "special case").
The lack of detachable magazine and vertical pistol grip means that even though SKS are military grade semi-auto rifles, they're NOT considered "assault rifles" in many jurisdictions where those are restricted.
Without beating this to death, tons of the Chinese rifles were imported into the USA for years, and at one time they were dirt cheap (~$100). I believe Clinton era regulations stopped importation of these. Because of State requirements (eg) CA, many had the folding bayonets removed.
Importation of these stopped years ago, and prices have climbed accordingly. Figure that a good condition used Chinese SKS is probably worth around $400 now.
IMO SKS isn't the most accurate or modern design, but they're really highly functional guns, and they've been used in combat all over the globe. They're not bad LOOKING guns, and some armies still use them for honor guards and such as ceremonial guns.
The 7.62x39 round they use is cheap, readily available, and well suited to defense and hunting small/medium game like deer. With some practice, the guns can be reloaded pretty quickly from stripper clips, giving them a better rate of fire than the non-detachable magazine might suggest.
Edit: Responding to Rufe Snow, above. I agree with your post 100%.
I just went over the GunBroker completed auctions and Chinese SKS guns are going in the range of $325-$500. Yes, people actually ARE paying $400 for individual guns like these now. . .and even more in some cases.
Like everything else, price depends on condition of the gun, exact model, what comes with it, etc.
In general, newer guns in original condition with folding bayonets and wood stocks are worth more. Rare variants can be worth more. Shorter "paratrooper" (which was never actually issued to paratroopers) variant is worth a little more. Version that takes detachable AK mags is worth a good bit more.
Heavily used or beat up guns, guns without bayonets, and guns with cheesy aftermarket parts tend to go for less. But even a plain-jane used Chinese SKS with no bayonet and plastic stock is worth north of $300 now.