ive been thinking about an SKS lately also. Glad you found a good one. As for me, theres so many different manufacturers and things out there, I have no idea what to look for or how much i should be paying. Any advice?
Sorry...long reply but pretty broad question and an overwhelming amount of info about SKS’s available but here is a starting point and others can add more info and/or their experiences. Rather than regurgitating a bunch of stuff that already exists, I've just pulled some stuff readily available from the web and made a few general comments. Below is some general tips when buying a military surplus firearm. Often you have to buy from the mainland and/or online, so you don't have the luxury of inspecting the firearm. In that case get a lot of pics and make sure all of your questions and concerns are answered, and make sure you feel comfortable with the seller, even better if you know the person. Collector graded firearms are available from a few different firearm sources and they will state the graded condition, which will give you a pretty good idea of what you're getting upfront. They will also provide authenticity documentation when its delivered,
1st. The "WOOD" its all about the look and condition of the wood. I first check for cracks in the handguard, on the rear of the stock were the bolt is and check if the rear of the butt area has been spliced too. Some stocks have had arsenal repairs done with the cracks and splices. Some are plugged too, and thats ok too if its done right and still looks good and its solid. Its all about the wood and having a good solid stock matters and it adds to the condition and price of the gun too. Its going to have normal stock wear and some "History Marks"(dings/dents) and its ok. Some of these gun stocks have been rearsenaled to like new condition too. There can be sanding marks on them from the rearsenal refinish too.
2nd. The BORE I look at the bore with a small penlite. I look for pitting since most of these have used corrosive ammo there is a lot of pitted bores out there from improper cleaning. I look at the rifling too and check it from the breech to the muzzle to see if its even. It can be worn at the muzzle from cleaning rods, this is why some are counterbored to remove that last part of the rifling that is worn out. Counterboring restores the rifle barrel to being accurate again. I don't let a counterbored barrel scare me away from buying it, if the rest of the rifling looks good with no pitting. Even some bores that are slightly pitted can still shoot great and be accurate too.
3rd. The "BOLT" I check the feel of the bolt to the receiver to see if its loose when its locked in place.(full battery). You have to make sure the bolt operates free too. Take a look at the front of the bolt and check it for wear on the lugs and bolt face. You can take the bolt apart and checkout the firing pin.
4th. The "NUMBERS" game!! This is very important if your purpose for buying the firearm is collecting and not so important if your intent is for other purposes. Most of the military gun parts are all numbered to the receiver so its "MATCHING" to the same gun. If the Bolt, Trigger Guard, Butt Plate, Barrel bands, Cleaning Rod and Rear Site numbers match thats a plus too. Some of the stocks and handguards are numbered to the guns receiver too. The numbers on the wood can be on the inside if not on the outside. If all the metal numbers match and the wood is numbered and its the same number too its an "ALL MATCHING" gun, thats about as good as it gets. With some guns having all matching numbers is rare. If the gun doesn't have all matching numbers doesn't mean its not a excellent gun and great shooter but it's value from a collector prospective is significantly less desirable. If the bolt doesn't match the receiver doesn't mean its not ok to shoot. The headspace must be checked wether the bolt number matches or not before you shoot it to make sure its safe to shoot. I have some guns that the bolts have no numbers so they were replaced at the time of the rearsenal with new bolts that were never numbered to the gun.
5th. FINISH All I can say about the finish on the metal on surplus military guns is that some are "BLUED" and some are "PARKERIZED" while some are a "PAINTED" finish. Of course the quality of finish is important when determining the overall condition and price. Look for usual stuff...pits, rust, corrosion, etc. EXAMPLE: The British Enfields and the FN49's have a painted finish.
The Russian SKS by most accounts is the best SKS and from my experience, I conclude that also. They're built like tanks (solid and fairly heavy)...highly reliable, well built and excellent quality. All considered, the SKS is still fairly inexpensive to buy and a fair amount of good quality SKS’s are still available, but that may change too. Great for whatever your interest may be…collecting, hunting, competition, target shooting, etc, and a real fun rifle to shoot..
I’ve never owned an Albanian SKS but friends of mine that own or have owned them say they are of good quality and good quality Albanian SKS’s are becoming more difficult to come by.
The Chinese Norinco SKS’s are somewhat hit and miss with quality because their is a vast amount that were produced and they are becoming increasing more difficult to pick up a good quality one in the US. Condition and originality play a big role on price for any Norinco Type 56. The ones I’ve owned were extremely good quality and I have no complaints with them but if you go this way, make sure you check the rifle out good. Recently sold my Chinese Type 56 Paratrooper SKS, with detachable mag to a forum member. The one comment on detachable mags is get the steel ones if you want to use them or just go with 10-round stripper clips. The commercial Chinese Poly Tech Hunter SKS is a high quality SKS but are pretty scarce to come by and not to many were manufactured. I believe approximately 1000.
No experience with the Yugo’s but I would say they are less desirable than the above three from everything I’ve heard from people real familiar with SKS rifles and the Yugo. There are other countries as well but I don’t know enough about those to provide any useful insight.
Bottom line...all in all they are good rifles and fairly inexpensive, very minimal risk if you do a little research and I don't think you will regret buying one. I would go with a Russian SKS as #1 and a good quality Norinco as my second choice, although I wouldn't balk at a Albanian SKS if you can find a good one. Hopefully this helps you out.
Couple great starting point references that have so much info and just about everything you would ever want to know about SKS’s.
Yooper John (I’ve dealt with him personally and he is one of the leading SKS experts and extremely knowledgeable):
http://www.yooperj.com/SKS.htmSurplus Rifle:
http://www.surplusrifle.com/sks/index.aspSurvivor’s SKS Boards (I’m a long-time member and an overwhelming amount of info and also for each specific country):
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/Couple pretty good videos (Russian SKS and Norinco SKS):
Russian SKS (Hickok45, over one million views)
Chinese Norinco SKS
Edit: Added the Chinese Poly Tech SKS