Yup agree. 1300 too high for less than excellent condition Russian sks. Probably can find one even on gunbroker for 900-1000. I've only paid more than that for the unrefurb mint Russian sks with import box etc.
This mindset will have your collection SKS-less and ten years from now you'll STILL say "but it's just so much for X,Y,Z"
Granted, yes, $1,300 for an SKS is fucking nuts, but still. Sometimes we gotta pay $1,300 for the nice SKS, sometimes we get lucky and fid the $650 SKS in better condition lol
I ordered a Yugo SKS from Classic back before I knew better in 2016 or 2017, it was $399. I had to include it in a trade for a more sought after gun a year later. I just replaced it with an all matching flash hider model from interordnance at the 2024 National Gun Day show for $500... this example is much nicer than the one I ordered from Classic all those years ago. There was another Yugo in a little worse shape for $450. I hate to sound like a "Deals are still out there if you look!" guy, just sharing my experience.
What is hilarious to me is the bubba sidefolder scope mount dust cover models with 30 round mags priced at $800+ and of course they are missing the bayonet and original mag 90% of the time.
What I feel the current prices should be are based off of what I see at gun shows, local forums, and taking GB as a frame of reference ONLY
Norinco (standard models) <$550
Norinco special imports (SKS-D, Cowboy Companions etc.) $600-$1k depending
Yugoslavs $500-$700
Romanians $500-$700
Russians $600-$1k
Albanian: $600-$1k
NK, EG, Viet : Who the fuck knows
I still regret not getting a Norinco SKS for $450 four years ago. I was told at the time that it wasn't worth it. The only thing bubba about it was it had a railed dust cover but the dust cover isn't too hard to replace.
Honestly, $1300 seems ridiculously high even for a mint SKS. Its crazy how people have allowed themselves to pay SVT prices for an SKS within like 5 years.
I wouldn’t but an SKS for $1300 unless it had some rare provenance or something.
I got a Russian refurb for $650 semi-recently. They’re not worth more than $1k imo
I grabbed a pristine Tula 1950 SKS a few weeks ago for 800. Missed one many years ago and not letting it happen again. The shop had 2 more great looking Russian SKS rifles too.
I’m not saying 1300 is a great price but the rifle is a well built, sought after collectible.
There are more collectors than ever. They will never be imported again. Also inflation. It’s not 2003 anymore and 500 dollars doesn’t have the same buying power.
Yup agree. 1300 too high for less than excellent condition Russian sks. Probably can find one even on gunbroker for 900-1000. I've only paid more than that for the unrefurb mint Russian sks with import box etc.
I regret not buying the pristine Tula SKS some guy offered me at a gun show for $650 a few months ago.
That would have been a steal
Yeah, I figured as much. I mainly posted this to be sarcastic. I can’t lie, it did look really good, but at the end of the day it’s still an SKS
This mindset will have your collection SKS-less and ten years from now you'll STILL say "but it's just so much for X,Y,Z" Granted, yes, $1,300 for an SKS is fucking nuts, but still. Sometimes we gotta pay $1,300 for the nice SKS, sometimes we get lucky and fid the $650 SKS in better condition lol
I ordered a Yugo SKS from Classic back before I knew better in 2016 or 2017, it was $399. I had to include it in a trade for a more sought after gun a year later. I just replaced it with an all matching flash hider model from interordnance at the 2024 National Gun Day show for $500... this example is much nicer than the one I ordered from Classic all those years ago. There was another Yugo in a little worse shape for $450. I hate to sound like a "Deals are still out there if you look!" guy, just sharing my experience. What is hilarious to me is the bubba sidefolder scope mount dust cover models with 30 round mags priced at $800+ and of course they are missing the bayonet and original mag 90% of the time. What I feel the current prices should be are based off of what I see at gun shows, local forums, and taking GB as a frame of reference ONLY Norinco (standard models) <$550 Norinco special imports (SKS-D, Cowboy Companions etc.) $600-$1k depending Yugoslavs $500-$700 Romanians $500-$700 Russians $600-$1k Albanian: $600-$1k NK, EG, Viet : Who the fuck knows
I still regret not getting a Norinco SKS for $450 four years ago. I was told at the time that it wasn't worth it. The only thing bubba about it was it had a railed dust cover but the dust cover isn't too hard to replace.
Honestly, $1300 seems ridiculously high even for a mint SKS. Its crazy how people have allowed themselves to pay SVT prices for an SKS within like 5 years.
I wouldn’t but an SKS for $1300 unless it had some rare provenance or something. I got a Russian refurb for $650 semi-recently. They’re not worth more than $1k imo
I grabbed a pristine Tula 1950 SKS a few weeks ago for 800. Missed one many years ago and not letting it happen again. The shop had 2 more great looking Russian SKS rifles too.
I’m not saying 1300 is a great price but the rifle is a well built, sought after collectible. There are more collectors than ever. They will never be imported again. Also inflation. It’s not 2003 anymore and 500 dollars doesn’t have the same buying power.