Sell the SKS and get a PSL?

[Bruenor]

So I'm thinking of selling my SKS and buying a PSL. I own a couple of Nagants and love the 7.62X54R round. Having a semi-auto rifle chambered in that would be awesome, and a friend of mine saw in Shotgun News an ad for PSLs, without scopes, for $450 before shipping and transfer. I'm really considering this, but thought I'd ask a couple of questions first.

1) Does anyone have a PSL? If so, what are your thoughts on them?

2) With the going market, what do you think I could get for my SKS in a private sale?

Edited to add: I would need to sell the SKS to help finance the cost of buying the PSL, so having both really isn't an option.

 

[snorko]

country of origin, condition and current set-up?

 

[Bruenor]

country of origin, condition and current set-up?

If the question is about the SKS, it's a YUGO in good condition. Has all original hardware. It looks like the one on sale here.

 

[jblomenberg16]

I think that you could probably expect to get around $250 for your SKS. I've seen a lot at shows and online in the $300 range but they don't seem to be moving. Just a few years ago most SKS's, even in pristine condition could be had for $200 or less. Prices have inflated, but I think are going to come back to the $200 to $250 range now that the market is a bit flooded. Still a good deal though, especially in original condition.


As far as PSL's, I've heard mixed reviews. A semi auto 7.62x54r is a lot of firepower to have at your disposal, and the ammo price is still pretty reasonable. The other upside are really sexy looks. Those are probably one of the best looking rifles IMHO.


The downside is that many of the less expensive one's on the US market seem to be somewhat lacking in the accuracy dept. I'm not sure why, but I've read several reviews saying that they are a huckava lot of fun to shoot, but don't seem to really perform up to the accuracy expectations of a platform that fills a designated marksman or even sniper rifle duty in actual military use.


I think you woud enjoy it, and find that accuracy is probably about on par with your Yugo SKS. Ammo commonization is nice, and you also get to move to a rifle with a detacheable magazine, which many consider the major downfall of the SKS platform (D and M varients excluded).

I've thought long and hard about it myself, and considered getting rid of my SKS and 3000+ round stash of 7.62x39. But I haven't been able to really come up with a major practical improvement that the PSL offers for my particular needs.

 

[Bruenor]

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/members/jblomenberg16.htmljblomenberg16, those were some good thoughts, pretty much on par with what I was thinking. From reviews that I had read, the accuracy issue did make me pause, but it's my guess as well that I could get at least as good of accuracy out of the PSL as I do out of my SKS, with the benefit of a larger round. That, plus having a common ammo with my Nagants and the detachable magazine, are the things that are making me consider this switch.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Glad I could help.

And of course looking forward to the pics of your new PSL, once you get it of course.

 

[rex soldier]

here's a site that might help .
Dragunov dot net - Dragunov and PSL Sniper Rifle Information

if i known that psl where that cheap i proablly would have bought one in stead of a siaga .308.

 

[38special]

Norinco SKS's are quite a bit more desirable right now. $250 would be generous for a Yugo - I think you'd have a hard time getting more than $225. I say this from the perspective of someone who sold a Yugo in the last 2 months.

 

[bigdaddy1427]

I have both, and they are a lot of fun to shoot. I would say go with the PSL! They are probably only 2 to 3 inch guns at 100 yards, but you are not getting any better than that with the SKS.
The only thing with the PSL is that you should keep the bullet selection under 150 grains. They say that the heavier bullet loads beat up the action.

 

[Bruenor]

My friend is getting me more info on the PSL. For $450 it comes without a scope, but I'm a big fan of iron sights anyway. Add shipping and a transfer fee ($10 from a friend of his), and I'm looking at the PSL for around $500.

If I decide to do this, keep an eye on the classified section of the board for my SKS for sale.

 

[clayman 762]

Depending on the condition and the country that is was made you could get anywhere from $200 to $400.

 

[sporter]

Get the PSL. Literally a blast to shoot and acceptable accuracy.

 

[sp3worker]

Had one a while ago. It would do about 3"-4" groups from the bench at 100yds with Wolf light ball. Not terrible, but not what I'd call good either. They are kinda uncomfortable for me to shoot, the stock is too short for me. The one I had didn't run 100% either. I'd say it would fail to feed about every 1 in 6-7 rounds, this was through 5 different mags. I guess $450 is an ok price, I think I paid $600 for mine with the scope and $10 per mag. Honestly, I probably wouldn't buy one again, unless I got an absolutly smokin' deal on it. Not sure what you've got in your arsenal, but I'd recomend putting the money towards a standard AK before buying a PSL.

 

[Bruenor]

I'm really not interested in an AK. My friend has one, so I can shoot it when I want. I'd like to get out of the 7.62x39 round completely, focusing on the 54R round, which the PSL would do for me. For the price of the SKS and the ammo that I have for it, I can get the PSL AND have some left over to go towards a FoF class that I'm looking at.

I'm pretty short, so the stock probably will work well for me.

 

[bigdaddy1427]

I have put maybe 300 rounds through my PSL, and have never had any type of malfunction, with two different mags.
Also, I was doing some handloads, but it wasn't really that much better. There is a pretty limited selection of .310-.311 bullets out there.
The one down side, if you do reload, is that it does eject the brass quite a distance, and it hits the case mouth pretty hard.

 

[PTinbound]

If you get a PSL let us know how it works for you. I've been hankering for one for quite some time now to complement my Mosins, and the ammo is so cheap relatively. Of course, I'm also starting to get the AR bug but that would mean a whole new caliber and I'm an AR ignoramus. Does anyone know what kind of groups to expect from an average AR and how would that compare to the PSL? 3" groups at 100 yards would be fine.

 

[bigdaddy1427]

An average AR should shoot groups about half the size of a PSL. With the right load, any AR should shoot at least 1 1/2 inch groups.

 

[Bruenor]

If I can get a 3" group at 100 yards with the PSL, then I'd be pretty happy.

PTinbound, if I do get it, I'll put a post up with pictures and my review.