To buy or not to buy an SKS

[u/Western_Wish4280]

Hi all,

I got my PAL and am saving to get the tikka t3x this fall in 308win.

I have been eyeing a soviet SKS that my neighbour(fishing buddy) has and wants to sell it.

Growing up i had loads of native friends and almost all of their families had an sks or multiple ones. Its a beauty. Now as im in the maritimes far away from home, i felt oddly nostalgic after hearing about him willing to sell it off and take a break from hunting and guns in general.

I am also well aware that many people are saying its gonna get banned and i cant use it in the future. Im not a collection kinda guy, i strongly believe in "if i cant shoot my gun why bother stashing it away" but that doesnt mean im a one gun guy or wont buy a shitload of different types in the future.

I hope i was able to express what i feel and no offense to anyone who loves collecting guns, heck im down for collecting too but i gotta be able to use them end of the day.

I already hate the gun laws of my country and every year they try to disarm us more and more.

TLDR: would it be wise to buy an SKS and what are the chances of it getting banned in the near future?

Thanks for your Patience in reading this long body of text, please advise me on it.

[u/Aspenkarius]

Honestly the SKS is the reason the NDP squashed the last liberal semi auto ban list. Too many First Nations people use them for hunting and they raised a stink over it getting banned.

It may make the list eventually but I don’t think it will be soon. Especially if the gov is actually consulting with the rcmp on a ban list. Most rcmp are against bans as it doesn’t make their lives any easier.

I do enjoy my SKS although it’s a pain to clean after shooting surplus ammo

[u/Eisenbahn-de-order → u/Aspenkarius]

Not a pain at all! A kettle of boiling water down the barrel and gas system, let dry then oil then all g. Especially with chrome lines bores.

[u/Aspenkarius → u/Eisenbahn-de-order]

Mostly just a pain because I don’t usually clean my guns after target shooting so extra steps just for my Russians is a bother.

[u/Eisenbahn-de-order → u/Aspenkarius]

milsurp guns are great for that, toolless disassembly and low part counts, with mosin for example just pull the trigger while pulling the bolt out, then boiling water down the bore.

[u/Aspenkarius → u/Eisenbahn-de-order]

Mosin is much simpler to clean that’s for sure.

[u/AHangryBeaver → u/Aspenkarius]

You don’t clean your guns after shooting? If I send even 1 bullet down the barrel it’s a strip and clean for me

[u/PteSoupSandwich → u/AHangryBeaver]

I've sent 2k bullets down the barrel of my Henry 22LR without cleaning it 😂

Damn thing just keeps going and going..

[u/Mhaelful → u/AHangryBeaver]

Can't tell if serious or not.

[u/AHangryBeaver → u/Mhaelful]

No I’m dead serious haha I’m obsessive about cleaning them.

I’ll take them out every 6 months and dust/clean them whether shot or not

[u/Nervous_Bumblebee399 → u/AHangryBeaver]

I've got a Ruger 10/22, same thing. Never been cleaned, shoots like a champ.

[u/Aspenkarius → u/AHangryBeaver]

I clean my hunting rifle perhaps twice a year. Once after hunting season and once in the middle of the year depending how much I shoot. So long as the barrel is not badly copper fouled cleaning them changes POI so if I zero my scope I don’t want to change it immediately.

And for some of my less accurate rifles I see no reason to clean them beyond a light touch of oil unless I do a ton of shooting.

[u/Bulky_Load5312]

Do it. You never realize how much you want something until you can't have it.

[u/Cope180-Enjoyer]

Who cares if it gets banned. Liberal gun laws don't make sense and are not enforcable on NR FRs.

SLAP THE BUY NOW BUTTON. 🫳

[u/Xaxxus → u/Cope180-Enjoyer]

Even my super liberal friends think the gun laws here are stupid and could see bill blairs lies after the OIC. Sadly that’s not enough to not vote liberal for them.

[u/Cope180-Enjoyer → u/Xaxxus]

TDS and is a hell of a drug.

[u/conanap → u/Xaxxus]

I doubt gun bans are high on the list of voter issues (except for poly I guess), and it isn’t even for me and I’m a gun owner

[u/GinnAdvent]

SKS is probably one of the affordable semi auto in Canada now.

The ammo is plentiful, it's very durable, and it's great for many different purposes, and it has its own history behind it.

I see it as like an indispensable tool such as first aid kit.

If things goes south, I can use it to hunt for food.

If things goes south, I can use it to defend myself.

It could be used as a drying rack too, and whatever you can think of.

Given that 2500 semi autos are all prohibited in Canada and you aren't going to spend 2.5k plus for a M1 Garand or some rare semi auto that Poly hasnt ban hammerd yet. I would say the choice is even more obvious.

[u/Crispysnipez]

Obvious buy

[u/Content_Sky_2676]

Buy it. Odds are good that grandfathering will happen if the whole thing doesn't outright collapse, and once that's announced the market will instantly explode or be frozen. Either way, you can always buy the tikka later.

[u/Ok-Bowler-203]

You should buy it because they want to ban it.

The doubt they are putting into people’s minds is exactly what they want. And the very reason I got mine last year.

[u/thefreezy96]

Buy it, and then grab a case of norinco red box. Shoot it as much as you can and don't worry about a possible ban. It's been in debate/discussion for like 6 years. Just enjoy the rifle and the nostalgia it'll give you. I don't think you'll regret it.

For what it's worth- I've never met anyone that felt they shouldn't have bought an SKS. +All the sks owners I know own at least 2 of them haha

[u/hunterofsteelhead]

Its alot harder to buy them after they ban it

[u/iNeedAdivorce]

I don't see Carney squandering his limited political capital growing a contentious gun ban UNLESS the supreme court sides with the government in the upcoming challenges... Then all bets are off.

That said, buy it and shoot the heck out of it while you can.

[u/CeleryNo76]

Do it

[u/rearg1]

Buy it dude. I bought one for 900$. No regrets. Cheapest center fire money can buy and they want to ban it so FOMO!

[u/AsparagusUnhappy5395]

The answer to this question is always yes. Always buy an SKS

[u/GreenCactus223]

Always default to buy.

[u/Response-Cheap]

Yep, buy. I bought one and I've only shot it once. Like one round. I love it, and plan to shoot it a lot more in the future, but I don't like shooting it on my property because of its effective range and because it's louder than my .22s, so it's more of a "when I start going to a range, or when I finally buy a deer tag" type gun. But I'm glad I bought it, and the price will only continue to climb unless they abolish the OICs. Put one in your safe before they're hard to get.

[u/Nilotaus]

Dude if you see one for below $700 right now just buy it, even if you have to use a credit card. Hell below $1400 is great if it's in something like a hush holsters stock.

It's not going to get any cheaper the longer you wait, current prices are already close to reflecting the skill & material costs that went into producing these firearms. The price I paid for mine half a decade ago was already too much considering what else was available at the time, the prices will only get higher in the next 5 years regardless which government is elected unless some massive stockpile gets sold off & floods the market resulting in lower prices.

[u/scottsuplol]

I love my sks, take it with me every time I go shooting just to squeeze a few rounds off just in case it’s my last time shooting it. But it sucks to clean and honestly not my favourite gun to shoot. It’s clunky and I suck with it, I’ll stick with a .22 any day. I think if it’s something you want go for it but also realize that it’s day may come. If you want to hit the range a lot I think you’re better off with a .22

[u/Conscious_Bid_8762]

I’ll take it !!! I would go for it why? Not I have the tikka and it’s sweet… but they will always be available

[u/QuietInitial3363]

I recently got my pal too, and got a sks. I’ve shot a few guns in my time and I can say I really enjoy my sks. For the price, I don’t think you can go wrong. There’s something about shooting an older rifle that just seems satisfying

[u/ArisakaType99_]

I say buy one! I remember when they were like $200 lol. Honestly how likely are they to get banned, and how would they even go about collecting them? Isn’t there more Sks rifles in Canada than people in this country?

[u/floppy_breasteses]

Buy it if you can. This gun ban isn't going anywhere and no one will even know you have it anyway.

[u/Iokua_CDN]

My advice? Get one.

I think it's a classic. Sure it's not the BEST gun out there, but it's cool, has cheap ammo, classic look, fun to load with stripper clips.

Like do you need 2 of them? Debatable. But you at least need to own one.

[u/KorporalKarnage]

Here I thought every gun owner in Canada has one.

I find it odd he's asking here since we're biased towards saying "yes" to every impulse buy, but here we are...