A few of our projects

[vermontcnc]

As with most firearms enthusiasts I believe that it only takes one SKS acquisition to make you want as many more as you can afford. They are fun to shoot and the accessories available make them highly customizable if that is of interest to the owner. My wife and I got our first SKS about 10 years ago on a trade and I have been on the hunt for more ever since. At gun shows that is one of the few items on my list to buy. Although I am not a purist by any means I still love the SKS platform and enjoy all that it has to offer. The following posts are a few of the projects we have taken in over the years. I say "projects" because as a machinist and gun nut I can't leave anything alone so there is no such thing as a "completed" rifle in our household. They are usually just on a break until their next overhaul. I intend on having better pics eventually but you will get the idea.

[vermontcnc]

This is the first SKS we got in a trade. I swapped a Remington 870 20ga for it even. I wish I had that shotgun back now but I am still glad I got the SKS as it has sent me down a fun path of discovery. At the time of the trade it was an unfired Norinco still in cosmoline. Bubba hit me hard and I began ordering parts and adding and making items until I ended up with what you see in the pics.

The mod list is as follows:
-Tapco Intrafuse furniture
-Tapco rubber butt plate
-Aim sports Bi-pod
-Walther tactical flashlight
-Tapco 20 round detachable mags
-GEM prototype mag coupler kit
-Tapco mag release extension
-Tapco operating rod
-Tapco gas piston
-Buffer Technologies recoil buffer
-GEM drop free bolt mod
-GEM smoothed and polished bolt
-GEM custom machined muzzle brake
-Tasco useless red scope

It was fun to shoot and helped us to start to refine the things we liked and what we didn't like about SKS mods. I recently traded this rifle for a new condition Norinco thumbhole Sporter (AK mags FINALLY! . Even though this one is gone it will always be remembered.

[vermontcnc]

Technically our second SKS this one has been, and continues to be, the longest project we have worked on. It was a low round count Norinco that at the time I thought was a Paratrooper but ended up not being. I got such a great buy I purchased it from a cell phone pic sight unseen. I still got a great rifle and began what I labeled as my Zombie rifle. If the Zombie apocalypse ever does happen this will be the rifle I will be mowing down the undead with (if I ever get it finished).

Current mods:
-Timbersmith black camo thumbhole stock
-Tapco operating rod
-Tapco gas piston
-Tapco mag release extension
-GEM drop free bolt mod (unnecessary now that I decided to keep the box mag)
-GEM smoothed and polished bolt

In process mods
-Titanium barrel sleeve. (see pic below) This item will be pinned into position where the front sight was and free float on the back side for the YHM flip up front sight to mount onto. The front end will be machined with external threads for a custom muzzle brake to mount onto. Eventually.
-Rear dovetail sight mount. This rifle cam through with the "West Coast" rail mounted on the left side of the receiver. Despite days worth of research there is not a proper mount available for this rail for some reason. I have engineered a blueprint and am building a mating dovetail rail to fit. From the rail the rear sight mount will follow the contour of the dust cover as close and tight as possible to not be obtrusive or silly looking. From there a dual aperture peep sight will be installed. At this time that will be the last part I can decide since I need to take the measurements from the front sight to the barrel centerline first to determine the height of the rear sight and that has yet to be completed.

[vermontcnc]

Our first Ak was the product of another trade. I swapped out a stainless .45 Win Mag pistol even for a low round count Norinco Mak 90. It was at the time in it's original box with all factory accessories. I still have some plans for this beast but it is technically "done" for now.

Mods are as follows:
-Tapco adjustable Stock
-Tapco rubber butt pad
-Tapco quad rail forend. Not really a quad setup but it does what I want it to.
-Command arms contoured pistol grip
-Magpul angled fore grip
-Magpul MS3 single point sling
-Tapco gas piston
-GEM smoothed and polished bolt
-Walther tactical flashlight
-Tapco 30 mags
-GEM dual mag coupler (not pictured)

[vermontcnc]

Our most recent acquisition is this Norinco thumbhole Sporter SKS. It was a low round count rifle in the box with all original accessories. This was the rifle I got in trade for the first SKS we ever had. I only traded because this baby takes AK mags and since half of one of my safes is full of AK mags that made this an easy decision. It came with all factory furniture but was bubba'd up hard when we got it. I have toned it down a bit and have future plans for it as well. As it sits now I will call it in process. I just have not had the time to address the things I want to on this so it is what it is for now.

Current mods are as follows:
-Tapco Intrafuse furniture
-Tapco rubber butt pad
-Magpul angled fore grip
-Magpul MS3 single point sling
-GEM single point sling mount kit
-Tapco 30 round mags
-Tapco gas piston
-Tapco operating rod

There's still a lot I want to do with this but I have not decided on specifics yet. That and time are the big hold up. I will post better pics as the mods progress.