Thumbing through some ‘ban-era’ Norinco SKS rifles (VIDEO)

Tim with the Military Arms Channel has a blast from the past as he covers a batch of now-classic 7.62x39mm rifles by way of China.

China’s state-owned North Industries Group Corporation, commonly just abbreviated as Norinco, was started in 1980 with the purpose to export various items the government had stacked deep– ranging from riot equipment and small arms to radar systems and armored vehicles– for hard foreign cash. That’s when waves of cheap (but not cheaply made) Chinese firearms started washing up here in the states, led by the humble Type 56 SKS in a number of variants. To some perspective on just how many “$99 SKSs” came in, over the half-decade from the late 1980s until 1993 when the ban hammer started coming down on Norinco, something like one-third of all rifles that were imported into the U.S. from overseas came from China.

This this, Tim covers a number of these Chicom SKSs including the basic models, and a post-ban model that lost its bayonet but picked up a downright awkward thumbhole stock. He also shows off an NR variant “sporting rifle” SKS which has a Monte Carlo stock and takes a detachable AK series mag, which is downright cool.

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