SKS History
During World War II the Russians adopted the 7.62x39 cartridge. Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov designed the SKS-45 to fire this cartridge. SKS stands for Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova or self-loading sarbine, Simonov's System. This gun is extremely easy to tear down and is a reliable field weapon. In 1947 M.T. Kalashnikova created the AK-47 which also fired the 7.62x39 cartridge. The Chinese began to manufacture the SKS Type 56 which gets much of its design from the AK-47. The Chinese bagan to manufacture many of these rifles during their Civil War and we now have many decendents of this rifle. The SKS is still used today by some forces. It has become popular as a hunting rifle and sought after by collectors.