r/canadaguns • u/Hungry-Craft-601 • 10d ago

Buy recommendations SKS buy

Hey guys, just got my PAL and I’m looking to pick up my first SKS.

I recently shot a Chinese SKS with an ATI stock and really enjoyed it, but I’m looking for an old school SKS.

I’ve been looking around online, but it seems like most of the wood-stock SKSs are either sold out or have gotten pretty expensive. From what I’ve seen, Chinese and Russian seem to be around $900–$1,200 depending on condition.

For those who have bought one recently, what should I actually be looking for in a good wood-stock SKS? Chinese vs Russian, particular variants/years, matching numbers, condition, etc.?

Also, are these prices just normal now, or is it worth waiting and watching the Canadian market for a better deal?

New PAL holder, so any advice on what to inspect or watch out for with a surplus SKS would be appreciated.

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u/Brandon_awarea 9d ago

Chinese are generally in better condition but have more fragile stocks. Russians are generally more beat up but have tougher stocks. The actual rifles are identical beyond collector value. Numbers matching means absolutely nothing unless you are a collector.

Prices never go down, only plateau.

Buy the cheapest rifle you can find that isn’t in a plastic stock. Usually they throw the old beat up ones in plastic because the stocks are beat up too badly.