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SKS Legality

black_adder2
Is an after-market collapsable stock legal on a Norinco SKS (Federal level)?

Is a detached mag conversion legal?

Is a fixed mag over 10 round (aftermarket) mag legal?

All questions relate to a Norinco carbine (16.1" BBL) serial number 14101XXX.
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9 comments

Date Votes
  • black_adder2
    Also, are SKS' with fixed stocks and fixed 10 round mags still legal in CA, without the grenade launcher (so excluding Yugo 59/66)?
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  • mark christian
    quote:Originally posted by black_adder2
    Also, are SKS' with fixed stocks and fixed 10 round mags still legal in CA, without the grenade launcher (so excluding Yugo 59/66)?

    Yes, no issues there at all with legality.
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  • rsnyder55
    Big 5 carries them occassionally.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by black_adder2
    Is an after-market collapsable stock legal on a Norinco SKS (Federal level)?

    Is a detached mag conversion legal?

    Is a fixed mag over 10 round (aftermarket) mag legal?

    EDIT:
    Earlier, I wrote "yes yes and yes", which is true, but that answer is misleadingly oversimplified.

    I believe its *possible* to legally put these things on your SKS (as well as other "evil" features), but you'd also have to include enough OTHER American-made parts on your gun so that it would no longer qualify as an import under the 922R restriction on "non-sporting" foreign imports.

    Obviously, your SKS can't have both a fixed AND detachable magazine on it at the same time.

    A fairly comprehensive answer with discussion can be found here, and note just how complicated this issue is:

    http://www.victorinc.com/SKS-FAQ.html#_Toc167103927

    Note that the rules for C&R (eg Yugo) SKS rifles and Chinese SKS rifles may be a bit different.

    Also note that the various laws and rulings covering this area are confusing, vague (deliberately so, I suspect), poorly enforced, and in some cases contradictory.

    If I understand this correctly, the BATFE has determined that certain features *might* make a gun "non-sporting", but not exactly how many or in what combination.

    In general, I'd say the following:

    SKS rifles work pretty well as they are, and in fact, one of their biggest advantages is that in their stock configuration, they are NOT "assault weapons" under most the various asinine definitions of that term.

    Why mess with that? The various aftermarket SKS high-cap mags often don't work well, and IMO telescoping stocks (as opposed to folding ones) add nothing.

    Really, your best bet with an SKS is to leave it stock, get some cheap stripper clips, and learn to use them.

    Instead, if you want a gun that is effectively a Kalashnikov, then just buy one.

    Low-end AK's can be had for $450 right now. If you add up the costs of an SKS rifle, the aftermarket telescoping stock, and the high cap mags, you're already nearly there. Factor in your time, plus the other 922R parts, and it probably doesn't pay to do this conversion.
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  • black_adder2
    Thanks for the answers. The reason I ask is because I have been told putting a folding stock on a recent import Yugo SKS 59 or 59/66 makes it illegal?

    Why would that be so, but a Norinco be ok?
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  • ruger41
    I would implore you to read the CA law here http://www.ag.ca.gov/firearms/dwcl/12275.php

    If you read just this section I'm going to copy & paste at least to ME it looks like if you add a fixed 20 round mag and have a folding stock/collapseable then you've created an assault rifle under CA rules.

    12276.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 12276, "assault weapon" shall also mean any of the following:
    (1) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
    (A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
    (B) A thumbhole stock.
    (C) A folding or telescoping stock.
    (D) A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
    (E) A flash suppressor.
    (F) A forward pistol grip.
    (2) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
    (3) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length of less than 30 inches.


    that is just a small portion of the law. When I lived in CA I owned an SKS and they did sell detachable 20 round mags that you had to convert-but it was illegal to actually do it--also CA has loopholes that some folks have found because the guns usually have to be stated by brand name in the laws--again this may or may not have changed and it is up to YOU to make sure you don't get into hot water.
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  • nmyers
    Same thing; you can add the same items to a Yugo SKS.

    What you can't do is add them to an AK-47. There is a ban on assembling a non-sporting shotgun or semiautomatic rifle from imported parts if the resulting gun is not legal to import.

    Neal
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  • TWalker
    The assault weapon ban that expired did not change the federal law that regulates modifications to SKS carbines. That law is 922r and it restricts what modifications may legally be done to imported semi- auto rifles. You may legally add a detachable magazine to a SKS only if you remove the bayonet and bayonet lug. Only one "evil" feature is allowed. The "evil bayonet and lug" is one feature and it has to go before adding another evil feature such as a pistol grip, folding stock, or detachable magazine. If you add enough US made parts to the SKS to make it have no more than 10 foreign parts, you can do pretty much whatever you want to it, as it will no longer be an imported weapon. That isn't practical, however. I know there are lots of SKS carbines out there that are not legal with folding stocks,flash hiders, bayonets, and detachable mags. The law makes it illegal to do the conversions if you exceed the one evil feature without adding the required number of US parts. If you are found to possess one of these illegal conversions, it may be confiscated but you probably won't be charged unless they can prove you did the conversion. This is federal law. I have no idea about California law but it is probably similar or maybe even more restrictive. I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice, just my opinion and interpretation of the Federal law 922r. Call or write ATF if you absolutely, positively, need to know what's legal. Even then, you might get two different opinions if you talk to two different agents.
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  • dfletcher
    quote:Originally posted by black_adder2
    Is an after-market collapsable stock legal on a Norinco SKS (Federal level)?

    Is a detached mag conversion legal?

    Is a fixed mag over 10 round (aftermarket) mag legal?

    All questions relate to a Norinco carbine (16.1" BBL) serial number 14101XXX.


    A fixed magazine of greater than 10 rounds on a centerfire semi auto rifle (as posted elsewhere) creates an AW, so no - in CA this would not be legal.

    A fixed mag (10 or less) SKS in CA is generally OK.

    Warped as it may sound, a detach hi cap mag on an M1 Carbine or a Ruger Mini 14 or an M1A is perfectly fine, but a fixed 11 round mag on any of those in CA is considered an AW.

    You may want to visit the Calguns web site for CA specific info.
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