...rifles may soon be a commodity that are almost impossible to get from a dealer. Heck they are already scarce, with some dealers raising prices markedly, and others still holding old prices with only a few to sell. The news from the dealers is that there is a back order of them that are supposed to arrive sometime soon, and after that the SKS market will likely dry up.
Sadly for me, this news coincides with some extra expenses I have had lately (no begging being done). Yesterday I got hit for just over six hundred bucks for a car repair, I also bought some ammo in the last couple of weeks running into the hundreds of dollars (I certainly cannot bemoan the good deal I got, saving about $3 - $4 per box), and there have been some other larger than expected bills. Still though, I am thinking of trying to scrape together enough to buy an SKS before they go the way of the Buffalo, not gone forever, but very scarce. I was thinking of selling a rifle I have, in order to finance the purchase, but I think I would regret that later on, as I most always do when I sell a gun in a situation where I need the money. Instead, I think I'll brown bag lunch for awhile, cash in my change at the bank, and empty all of my pockets. If I get lucky, I'll be able to find enough for one of the Yugo SKS rifles over the next couple of days. If I do, I'll shop around on Monday, and maybe order one of them. Yes SKS rifles are a good enough deal to buy one even when low on funds.
The one thing about this that has me reluctant to say right out that I will order one for certain, is that the quality offered is VG/EXC, and I really wanted an EXC/NEW condition SKS. There can be quite a difference in one that is labelled as VG to one that is either EXC or like NEW. I know that from experience with buying three of them before. I kept the best and sold the other two. No way I can afford to do that now, I can only buy one, and am hoping it will be in at least EXC condition. I'll speak to the dealer on Monday. As luck would have it, good luck this time, my C&R license is still current, it expires in July. So, I can use it for this purchase. Hopefully I can fax it or email them a signed copy, I think BATFE allows that now.
If I do buy this rifle, I can tell you I will not shoot it much because chances are I will let my son use it almost exclusively. Then when he turns 18, I may give it to him as a gift (I have to check the legality of that, I think it is still legal even here in NY). He loves shooting my other SKS at the range, so I am pretty sure he would like one for himself.
The Yugo SKS is a good rifle. Very reliable from what I can tell with mine, and from what I have heard from others. of course there can be problems with rifles as old as these that come from military surplus, so that is why I advise buying one in at least EXC condition. If you do want one, now maybe the time to make the purchase, as my bet is that prices will be rising sharply. Of course, if some of the countries with these rifles in surplus ever decide to let more of them go, the market may again be flooded with them, but I sort of tend to doubt that is going to happen. The more of them they sell, the scarcer they get; there are only so many in the arsenals.
The 7.62x39 ammunition for the SKS has recently risen steeply in price too, so that is another concern. I have about 800 rounds or so in my stock, and that will last at least for a short while as shooting sessions go. I think the ammo cost went up, like many other things, due to gasoline prices (ammo is heavy to ship), and I think it went up because of the demand for that particular caliber in Afghanistan and Iraq. So I have heard anyhow. If I do buy another SKS, maybe I can talk my son into forking over some cash for me to buy some ammo for it. He is good like that.
Oh well, that's it for now. Remember be careful out there when you shoot. Remember the rules of firearms safety. Just in case you have forgotten any of them, you can go to the NRA's gun safety page to check up on them again.
Safe shooting,
Glenn B
