Good deal or not?

Hey guys thought I would come here for some opinions. I have been trying to sell my Mathews SQ2 bow, I want to switch to a left handed bow. So I listed it for sale on some of the Facebook sale sites and what not. I also had said I was up for trades as well. I have the bow listed for $375, fully set up. I got a offer today from a guy that asked if I wanted to trade for a SKS, 7.62×39. Looks to be in good shape. He is willing to throw in the red dot scope and a box of ammo for it. I have no idea what these guns are worth, if it would be a good deal or not? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Like I said I have no idea ANYTHING about these guns.

Thanks Wyatt

Probably not a good deal, IMO. Unless you really want an SKS, but even then proceed with caution.

SKS is a generic term for a type of rifle, but like an AK or an AR, they can (and have) been made by anyone. And with vastly varying levels of quality.

So this SKS is made by whom? Chinese? Yugoslavian? Albanian? Russian? North Korean? No real way of knowing without seeing it in person. It could be a surplus rifle as well, so the barrel could be shot out.

This is what makes the value of an SKS hard to establish with a solid range. So much depends on the relative quality of the rifle as determined by where it was made.

Way too many things could be wrong IMO.

Grouse

how can I tell where it was made? I don’t really need a sks but if it is legal to hunt with it would be nice to have a extra deer rifle when my daughter and sons start hunting (within the next 2 years)

It would be vastly better to sell your bow and use the proceeds to buy a good used bolt action deer rifle.

An SKS would be about the most useless youth deer hunting rifle I can imagine. Heavy, loud, under-performing, and awkward.

The chief attribute of the SKS was that they were a CHEAP semi auto. They were cheap to make in mass quantities, which made them attractive to third world and Eastern Bloc armies. They were not made with accuracy in mind.

Grouse

Thank you grouse!!! I appreciate your input. I messaged him thank you but no thank you.

fish4fish888 wrote:

Thank you grouse!!! I appreciate your input. I messaged him thank you but no thank you.

Good choice. They are not very good rifles. I have a decent one but it doesn’t shoot very accurate in my opinion. Fun to shoot but I wouldn’t use it hunting.

Fisherpaul wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fish4fish888 wrote:</div>
Thank you grouse!!! I appreciate your input. I messaged him thank you but no thank you.

Good choice. They are not very good rifles. I have a decent one but it doesn’t shoot very accurate in my opinion. Fun to shoot but I wouldn’t use it hunting.

There are just SO many good rifles in the budget price category these days, it’s hard to justify messing around with Albanian surplus junk and trying to make it shoot well. The cost benefit just isn’t there with this crap.

I’ve seen guys at the club try really hard to make a silk SKS out of a sow’s ear. Accuracy seems to be maily dependent on who made the rifle and how crapped out it was before it hit the surplus market. The “good ones”, to be honest, are still pretty crappy when compared to a variety of $300 offerings from Walmart.

Many of us were raised on tales of the great sporterized rifle deals that there out there in the 1950s and 60s. Genuine Mauser actions by the case, still in factory grease, for $7 each, etc, etc. Well, the difference was that that stuff was quality. The surplus stuff out there now is mainly Eastern Bloc and Chinese junk.

Grouse