SKS Page
Yugoslavian M59/66 SKS Battle Rifle
My Yugo M59/66 review
I purchased the rifle in August of 2005. I had never
paid much attention to the SKS rifles but decided to give them a look.
The Yugoslavian M59/66 series of rifles were the ones on the hot import list
here lately so I read up on them and decided for the money I should go ahead
and get one. Mine was ordered through one of the many vendors who offer these.
It was one of the $150 excellent grade rifles and I do feel it was very well
worth it.
As received the rifle was covered in a light coating of
cosmoline. Most wiped off of the metal and stock but the cosmoline had been on
there for quite some time and soaked into the stock deeply. I had read where
some use a dishwasher to clean the stocks so I decided to try it out at home.
Used the pots and pans cycle and used lot's of soap inside and outside of
the soap container. I ran mine through twice as there was still a cosmoline
smell and a little oil still showing. A second run through removed 99% of the
cosmoline and the original oil finish. I sanded on the wood to smooth back
the grain and knock off some of the sharp edges
the factory stock has. I then applied (3) coats of Birchwood Casey's True Oil
finish and sanded between the coats with steel wool. Final coat was left to
dry and then a slight steel wool sanding to give the finish a satin look.
Now the grain is filled, the stock now looks more like the original color when
produced, and no more oily mess to hold.
Before and after stock pictures
The Yugoslavian version of the SKS rifle is one that is very
desireable as all of the parts used in it's construction are solid metal
milled parts, not stampings like most versions of the rifle. This makes the
rifle somewhat heavier weight wise
but also adds a great deal of strength to the design. Another feature not
found on any other SKS is the 22mm NATO grenade launcher. When the rifle was
being produced the country was not really in the Soviet Bloc alliance and was
considering NATO ties. Perhaps this is the reason for the NATO sized rifle
grenade launcher. My M59/66 A2 version has the flip up night sights and the
flip up grenade launcher sight. Of course a blade bayonet folds under the
barrel and keeps the cleaning rod snug in it's channel.
Chicom Chest Pouch Modification
Shooting the Yugo M59/66
My first shots were at a 100 yard target with a 2" bullseye.
The first 10 rounds made a 4-5" group with (2) of the (10) going into the
bullseye. Second set of 10 rounds did the same thing. Sights are on if I do my
part!
