Intro - 0:00 Unboxing/overview - 0:42 Disassembly - 5:20 Tools used - 15:48 Leather care - 19:08 Wood care - 24:20 Metal care - 30:38 Books/giveaway - 37:52 Final thoughts - 42:03

@iamgermane

2 ай бұрын

I bought a Yugo and it had to have been refurbished. Metal was full of Cosmo line but the stock was recent wood with no varnish! I got splinters on my hands. Was that usual 20 years ago? Paid $275 for it.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

20 years ago, it was pretty common. Seems like you got a nice deal back then. I dislike most of the modern varnish. Thanks for watching!@@iamgermane

@iamgermane

2 ай бұрын

@@MidwesternFC Varnish is better than raw wood, which is what I got with my Yugo! I got a Russian SKS with matching numbers in 1993 for $100 :)

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Very nice. I never liked the feel of varnish though. Its always too slippery for me. @@iamgermane

I work at the US commerce Department and SKS are being priced by the importers at 20$ per unit on importation costs. So let that sink on how much price gouging is going on, there's absolutely no shortage of SKS's rifles coming into the US, I've seen hundreds of thousands the last 4 years being imported into US. Those rifles should be the same cost they were back in 1994.

@beelow84

Ай бұрын

if they valued them higher, would it cost more to get them here?

@arthurmead5341

Ай бұрын

Importers never lie on the form?

You are correct. For what you paid, it shouldn't have had that much rust. They are banking on you not sending it back because it can be a pain.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Just a little rich for me but it will find a good home. Thanks for watching!

I have 1967 Chinese Type 56. It was a gift from my dad and it shoots like a laser beam.

@donwyoming1936

2 ай бұрын

Got a 1965 /26\ myself

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Thanks awesome!

A sks with no cosmoline, that's a first ! I can only agree with you, the 59-66 is the best looking sks, that barrel looks so cool. Sufrace rust can look scary but in your case it was not a problem at all (you did not even need to boil it !). A very nice find, sks values will rise

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Agreed. It's mostly the time I have to put into each one, especially when it could have been avoided. Thanks as always my friend!

I bought my first Yugoslavian SKS in 1990s for $75

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

I missed those days sadly as I had other interests at the time. Too bad. Thanks for watching!

Brother I totally understand the price point on what you are talking about. I got my Yugo SKS many yrs ago, I was in a gandermountian selling one of my old S&W .38 revolvers and spotted some SKS behind the counter. Looked & picked the one I wanted and for the price back than was fantastic $249.00 So I gotcha. But I will say. You did a beautiful job on cleaning and restoring that beautiful piece of history, really enjoyed you walk thru video. Very clear spoken. Always enjoy your videos. I know you said you were giving away that extra book Bother I could surely use that. I have some literature or SKS but I don't have That ONE.! thank you for sharing yourself and your endeavors. Please keep you wondering videos coming. God Bless you my friend ❤

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Thank YOU my brother! I really appreciate your thoughts and comments. I missed the days of the good deals for surplus stuff unfortunately, but good pickup for you at Gander! Thanks as always for watching and take care.

@dinadaughtry8993

Ай бұрын

Remember when you could get a Russian SKS for under a hundred dollars and a Chinese SKS was around 80 dollars had both but my favorite shooter was a Chinese SKS Sporter that took AK magazines and had the wood thumb hole stock

@MidwesternFC

Ай бұрын

@@dinadaughtry8993 Those were the days.

Love this video. What a nice surprise to see SKS’s back on the market. I purchased my first, an unissued Yugo, from Classic Firearms years ago. Although my favorite are the two Chinese SKS’s I purchased through Atlantic a few years back. They have lots of character!

@MidwesternFC

Ай бұрын

It is nice to see them back on the market. I love the ones with character more than safe queens anyway. Thanks for watching!

That's is awesome thanks for the vid and how to clean a sks keep up the great videos

@MidwesternFC

9 күн бұрын

Of course! I'm glad you found some parts helpful. It wasn't very dirty so pretty simple but check out my Chinese SKS video if you want to see more cosmoline! Take care.

🇦🇺😎👍If I lived in the US I would be an avid collector of the SKS… Beautiful rifles with such a rich history

I cannot stress enough how great Pecards Leather Dressing is! And thank you for bringing up Big 45 Frontier! Just the other day I was trying to remember what that was called. I used some on the bore of my old 91/30 and it did wonders! Also when I bring up reference books I always try to mention what edition it is. That way if someone wants to get one they can try to get the newest edition that probably has updated information. I can’t believe how much the price of these 59/66s have gone up. Great review as always.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Great point about the book edition! I'll keep that in mind for the next one. Thanks for watching and for the quality comments.

Really cool video. I learned a lot. Thanks for being honest with how you feel about the price. The entire time I was watching I was thinking ‘ouch, thats a lot of money for an SKS’.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching JD. You always have helpful insights that are more than welcome.

That looks so much better than the one I bought from them last year. I think mine was drug behind a tank for a month or so. I do love my SKS's even the beat up ones. Would love the book.😅

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

The book is great be sure and check it out. I have to say that I like the worn pieces much better than the safe queens. Thanks for watching!

Honestly the rifle looks way better than most recent exports and I agree, they should not had pre-cleaned the cosmoline. For the rust I suggest using 0000 steel wool and clp of your preference, since its super fine it wont hurt the bluing, I used it on an attic sleeper arisaka and turned out super nice, its my shooter now.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Its amazing what 0000 can do. Glad to hear you got a good one back and running again! Thanks for watching.

🇦🇺😎👍I’d love to own an SKS but like most things down here they’re illegal

Give it an oil bath and rubdown the rust should disappear. Beautiful sks.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

I did and it came out pretty well. Nice one. Thanks for watching.

Interesting. Subscribed.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Thank you. Much appreciated.

Came out looking pretty nice.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Sure did. Thanks for watching.

Nice.

I bought the same rifle from them. I’m still fixing it up. I’ve had it for two months piece by piece I have been fixing it. The rifle would not and could not fire correctly. They sell overpriced, broken guns but it’s a great learning experience. The sks fires like a dream now the sks is a pretty good rifle once it’s fixed and working lol. Good lucky everyone

@dartfamily1113

2 ай бұрын

There was zero Cosmina on my rifle. My piston was rusted and frozen and my magazine was broken. So the rifle cannot hold back correctly. Once I changed out three parts rifle was kicking ass.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

I agree about the learning experience but its an expensive lesson. I think there are more inexpensive items out there to work on. Best of luck and glad you got it up and running.

i remember the days when a sks was going for 80 buck$ its was the pore mans deer rifle with the Chinese norinco the yugos with the Russian and Romanian sks's being the vary best i still love these guns over there cheapness there heavy but accurate and reliable and easy to take apart or mod for cleaning only issue i have with the sks is the small magazine capacity from 5 rounds to 10 rounds capacity and on the rare occasion you can find a 20 round north Korean internal factory mag or on the even rarer accession you can find a ak 47 mod paratrooper sks that can feed ak 47 mags the sks is defiantly one of my favorite ionic rifles from the cold war sovit times best funky rifles that were ever made this video makes me wish i never sold my sks right a long with my mosin negant

@finaloption...

2 ай бұрын

My $100 Norinco (less bayonet) has filled the freezer for 40yrs now off the same tin can of 154 grn that came with it. (no deer bayoneted) . 😁

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

I ALWAYS regret the things I sell. Its inevitable but thats life and we move on. I do love the oddity-cold war stuff too. Lots of fun. I really missed out on the glory days of surplus. Thanks for watching!

I got one of these as well. Mine was in great condition.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it. I know they sold out pretty quickly. Thanks for watching.

🇦🇺😎👍Perhaps the gun is someone’s personal gun and not out of the create where it would have been covered in cosmoline ?

Would Love the SKS Book 😀😊❤️

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching. I'll do the drawing this week.

Just a thought on a previous video. Did u get head space checked on the M1 when u replaced the bolt?

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Yes! I sent the BM59 out to be headspaced when the barrel was attached. JRA did a great job.

I would definitely send that thing back.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

I sure thought about it. It will find a good home where someone will enjoy it. Thanks for watching.

Frankly I don't know what you're complaining about. That's an almost pristine SKS with minor easily dealt with surface rust and one small ding in an otherwise perfect stock for 750. I've not seen one in years that at that price which is not sporterised or otherwise a wreck. If you already have a bunch then sure you don't need one again for that price but the days of $199.99 SKS's are long gone, along with all other Milsurps for that matter. So if you dont' have one of these and you really want one, you're gonna pay. Nothing you can do about it. Prices are never going to come down and that means new collectors get to either shell out the bucks, which I agree sucks, but that's what it is, or take up some other hobby.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

its true, they aren't making any more and Im glad to have what I do. Clearly there is a demand for them as they sell out almost right away. Thanks for watching.

Cleaned up very nicely but I have to agree, that price is much too steep. Mineral spirits are my go-to for large amounts of cosmoline as well… but odorless mineral spirits are anything but odorless.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

So very true. I do like that they can be reused. Thanks for watching!

They sent you a Trog!

They had yugos for $500 and they just sold out yesterday I regret it so much

@MidwesternFC

Ай бұрын

I saw some of those, missing a few parts but loked good. Keep your eyes open, they just might pop up again :-)

How did you know the barrel was a replacement? Did the number not match?

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Correct. The barrel had a number separate from the serial number. Along with the arsenal markings it was refurbished at some point. The barrel number is at the 6 o'clock position, under the stock.

I have a Hungarian AK-63F rifle that has that exact same little sticker on the buttstock. The rifle came from Iraq, so it's possible this rifle was also in some use there as well. Might also explain the lack of cosmoline, possibly due to the dry environment? I could see a lot of cosmoline melting off over the years in a warm, dry storage location. Not sure.

@jwertel2

2 ай бұрын

Note, wikipedia does list Iraq as a former user of the M59/66

@donwyoming1936

2 ай бұрын

An Iraqi rifle would likely have a rack number painted onto the stock in Farsi. You're unlikely to see all that rust & pitting off a Middle Eastern rifle. Chances are, it came out of Eastern Europe, as they so often do. It would have been cleaned of cosmoline by whoever used it in the Balkans. Probably confiscated or found after the war.

@jwertel2

2 ай бұрын

​@@donwyoming1936 I think you're right. The dry environment would only prohibit rust. I wonder why they have the same little white sticker though? I was guessing somethign to do with the importer but it seems to have Farsi characters on it as well. Or this SKS already had surface rust before it made it to some middle eastern country. My ak-63F does have a rack number painted on the stock. It looks like "V3".

Wow not ok would so be sending that back

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

I probably should have but it came out pretty well. Thanks for watching.

Surplus is hit or miss I bought one of these, and it had 1 thing in the stock and was packed Bixby full of cosmoline. It is a hard pill to swallow when these things used to be pretty much A dime-a-dozen. If you had bought it on gunbroker, you would have paid much more.

@MidwesternFC

Ай бұрын

Very true. We know its a gamble going in so really no one to blame but myself. Thanks for watching!

IMO , that is a lot of money for a perfect condition SKS .

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Agreed. It will find a good home soon. Thanks for watching.

Let us hope Atlantic Firearms goes Chapter 11. $750 😅.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Its a crazy number, but the keep selling out so I can blame them.

@scottdunn2178

2 ай бұрын

@@MidwesternFC That's the problem... people need to put their foot down and stop paying these prices.

if thats 800 dollars from them i wouldnt buy from them , no pre inspection

That is disappointing, mine looks like new at a similiar price 4 years ago

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

You never know what you will get so its always a gamble. It will find a good home soon. Thanks for the comments!

Dried out sling, olive oil is your friend.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tip. I knew a bunch of guys who used it for their Carcanos back when. Take care.

A used battle rifle with a few dents and surface rust?...OH NO, the sky is falling. Nothing wrong with Atlantic Firearms Co. They are awesome. If you are looking for a trophy or NIB you are going to pay up for it. Otherwise, enjoy the nostalgia behind the rifle you are purchasing. Use 000 steel wool and oil; use cold blue, and clean up your rifle. Enjoy the trench art. Stop pretending that $700 is the end of the world for a battle worn rifle. For $1,000 at our local Sportsman's Warehouse they looked like they were dragged behind a pick-up truck and people were happy to have them.

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Its not the 'damage' that concerns me its the damage plus the price point. I personally love the well worn guns vs safe queens so I'll be keeping the older one and trading this one.

Unless a Yugo SKS is in new condition, I would never buy it. Those non-chrome bores did not hold up in the Balkans war. Importers found themselves with thousands of sewer pipe bores they sold cheap as "Shooter Grade".

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

Very true. I'm lucky that this one has a great bore. I'll group it this week and see how she holds up.

No SKS with more than 125$ Not to me anyway

How disappointing to get it in that condition at that price...

@MidwesternFC

Ай бұрын

Agreed. Thanks for watching.

Too expensive

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

I agree.

No sks is worth it these days

@MidwesternFC

2 ай бұрын

I'll have to agree. I got a real nice type 56 for 500 not long ago and I'm happy it.