I had one years ago (90-91) that I paid 180 dollars for. I think it was a norinco? It was ok. Fun and fairly cheap to shoot. It was not real accurate, but wasn't horrible either. I killed a few jack rabbits with it under 100 yards.

Some are better than others. I think it is sort of a crap shoot when you buy them. I also owned a siaga sporter not to long ago. That thing was a complete POS. It functioned alright, but you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from inside the barn!

SKS in .223 or .308? All of them I have seen are 7.62x39. Simular in ballistics to a 30-30, with the 30-30 being the better round.

I think for around the same money you could get a H&R handi rifle or lever gun that would work better. SKS and AK's were designed to injure people at close to medium ranges and that is pretty much it. They function pretty reliably, but are not known to be the most accurate weapons. I have met some peole that had pretty accurate samples of each though.

Now the siaga's you can get in 7.62x39, 308, 223, .410, 20 and 12 gauges. The triggers are HORRID though.

My opinions any way.

I could point you to a few boards that cater to these weapons if you want.

If you have the money an AR variant is much better from what I understand.

Paul