I went to the Medina gun show yesterday and purchased a Yugoslavian SKS. It is a pre-ban 1969 model with an attached bayonet and grenade launcher. It shoots 7.62x39 mm ammunition.

There are certain people out there, (like Kim) who will chastise me for buying a communist rifle, but it is hard to beat the bargain. If the U.S. Government was willing to import Yugo cars during the cold war, I don't have a problem buying their rifles.

A model like this will set you back a whopping $129 + tax. Cheap Russian ammo that it was made to shoot is only 7.5 cents per round, or $75 per 1000 rounds. After sweeping out the barrel a few times*, I loaded it up and test fired it. It is surprisingly accurate, and I was able to hit a 12" round metal target 9 times out of 10 at 100 yards.

The buddies I went shooting with had quite a cache of firearms. We took turns shooting different arms, which included an AR-15, fully auto M-16, .44 Magnum, .454 Pistol, and various other rifles and pistols. Needless to say, my shoulder is a bit sore this morning.

* It is always recommended that you completely clean your arms prior to shooting. After my test firing, I completely disassembled the firearm, and cleaned every part. The stock was also very oily, so I stripped it with a de-greaser and re-oiled it with a furniture oil. Remember, firearms like this have been in storage for 30+ years, and are commonly packed in heavy grease.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention, I used to own a Chinese model in college, but I sold it for beer money.