Yugo SKS's

[comeandtakeit]

I'm guessing that the drawback to not having a chrome lined barrel is corrosion/wear and tear. If the Yugo SKS's don't have the chrome lined barrels, is there any way to maintain them so they last?

[TPW]

Don't shoot corrosive ammo, and just keep it clean. I doubt you'll shoot the barrell out in your lifetime. If I'm wrong, they are cheap enough to buy. My local gun store has the Yugo's without the grenade launcher still in grease for $175.00

[BlenderWizard]

You know, I asked myself the same question a while back, and then came to a realization: for every current production US made rifle with a chrome lined barrel you show me, I will show you 3 that aren't lined. Many, if not most, rifles aren't lined. Like, TPW said, don't shoot corrosive garbage and clean it like it was anything else, and you should be fine. I've never been able to find corrosive ammo, and I've looked for some reason.

[slaphappy]

Well, black powder rifles are not chrome lined, and you have to worry about corrosion with them. Yugo surplus ammo is corrosive, and I'm sure more than a few yugo sks rifles fired it. You just can't be lazy with the cleaning.

[TPW]

Why bother shooting corrosive ammo in the first place. Is it really that much cheaper than Wolf which is not corrosive. For $89.00 I can buy a case of 1,000 rounds of Wolf 7.62 x 39. How much corrosive ammo does $89.00 buy?

[slaphappy]

You can make that same argument for a gun with a chrome lined barrel too. I agree, non corrosive makes a lot more sense (although, my Yugo surplus is really HOT ammo, and I like it.). My point was, I don't think whether the gun has a chrome lined barrel is THAT important when shooting any ammo. I clean my chrome lined SAR-1 like it's raw steel after firing corrosive ammo anyway.

[comeandtakeit]

Thanks for all of your input. I think after weighing all of the aspects of the SKS vs the AK, my next rifle purchase will have to be an AK. The AK has got real detachable mags (that work), plus there's more of a chance of finding an AK with a chrome lined barrel, although I hear they are harder to find than they used to be.