During the Balkan Wars, a great many oddball guns were built and used. One of them was a Bosnian conversion of the Yugoslav M59/66 SKS to have a select-fire trigger and to use modified detachable AK magazines. These are extremely rare today, as only a few of them (probably a dozen at most) came into the US with the bulk of Yugoslav SKS imports. The ones that did arrive came with regular trigger assemblies and regular 10-round fixed magazines (and are not legally considered machine guns by ATF).
Today we will take a look at two examples, and go over the discreet changes required to make the conversion (the magazine conversion, that is – I unfortunately don’t have a full auto trigger assembly to show you).
I would suspect that select-fire modification of the FCG is fairly simple given the habit of SKS’s to go FA without any modification.
Seen it happen a time or two. I think there was also a fairly notorious case where the BATF went after someone for a “fully automatic SKS”, claiming they modified it when the sad fact was, it was down to cheap manufacture and wear on the rifle. I forget which variety of SKS it was, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t one of the better-made variants.
The SKS is a scary rifle, from a legal standpoint. The serial number scheme on a lot of the Chinese variants led to a huge number of rifles with the same serial numbers being reported on a lot of documentation that really weren’t accurate… The importer marks and the factory date codes should have been included with the serial number records in the various registration systems, but they weren’t, which led to a bunch of problems for a bunch of people. I knew a Lieutenant whose military career was severely truncated because he tried registering the Chinese SKS he’d purchased as a teenager on base, while there was an identically serial-numbered SKS having the same serial number. My guess is that the original stolen weapon didn’t have the other data, like importer and date sequence from the factory, and he just got incredibly unlucky.
Something to look out for, if you’re an owner of an SKS. Make damn sure that you get all the identifying information correct, when you go to register or record your rifle somewhere.
I’m morally certain that that Lieutenant did not steal that rifle as a teenager, but there was no way of proving it, one way or another. The serial numbers matched, and that was good enough to get CID involved, followed by a bunch of legal trouble for him.
I once bought a machete off a local trader in Kenya. It had a razor sharp 5″ wide blade by say 3ft long of about 3mm thick flexible steel. It was not very heavy or rigid, but my word it was a very good tool it was so, so sharp… Really was a giant razor. Really cheap, big wooden grip riveted on.
Anyway “And I may have mentioned this before as a somewhat amusing anecdote in regards Chinese markings” it said on the box MADE FOR CHILDREN which I assumed was meant to read, not for children in English.
Given machete use in African conflicts, it did strike me as somewhat perturbing; if in an amusing way. I gave it to a Masai warrior who was about 7 ft tall, stick thin, but he wasn’t scared of lions etc – Who was very impressed with it.
He was armed prior with a number of clubs, which he could throw with great effect at amazing distances with real purchase behind them and accuracy. Sticks in essence with I think truck wheel sized nuts attached over the end.
Probably more relevant to another thread, but still…
S.G.Simonov did endeavour to create automaton for 7,62×39 competing with AKM, result was АС-95П see 1st image from top http://war-russia.info/index.php/nomenklatura-vooruzhenij/428-sukhoputnye-vojska/strelkovoe-oruzhie/strelkovoe-oruzhie-2/avtomaty-pistolety-pulemety-2/2699-7-62-mm-opytnye-avtomaty-simonova-as-95-96-as-103-104-as-106-107-1955-58gg
it has some features common with SKS, but also many difference: receiver was tiny, furniture contained less wood. It was found to have unacceptable high felt recoil, partly due to small weight (2,59 kg)
https://smallarmsreview.com/chinese-7-62x39mm-type-68-rifle/
This is very interesting !
Never heard about that chinese rifle
Back in 1980s here in Australia there were a lot of Chinese SKK rifles being sold very cheaply. They looked very much like this rifle. It was said at the time that they were being sold out of the back of trucks in country areas in bulk lots and there were thousands being bought. Many of these were handed in during the great gun buy-back following the Port Arthur massacre in the 1990s.
The SKK was a modified SKS with a 30-round AK magazine which was originally full auto, but converted to semiauto only, for the Australian market. I suppose replaced by the AK in the Chinese military.
It is also said that many of these are still held illegally around the country, having not been handed in as they should have been by law. The penalties for possessing one of these here now would be very severe.
What was the quality of these rifles ?
I member when the SKS rifles were imported (late 1980s-early 19090s) which would take “AK” magazines. I have a Russian and a Chinese. Both have threaded barrels and are milled completely. The Chinese version has about five serial numbers all over it, the Russian is all matching. They have standard ten round fixed magazines and fire superbly, and there were some Chinese fixed 20 round magazines also available at that time. I never bought them as (here in CA) that would have been illegal even then. The SKS can do “head shots” at 200 yards with an optic and yes,they are by no means a match rifle but suitable for defense. Mine are very well built and functional.
JX