This one snuck by us! SGW
California/Arizona
Archive for the ‘Testimonials’ Category
74-10 Ray
Saturday, May 21st, 2011James S.
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011I was one of the customers that believed in your dream to build this amazing stock. I paid for my stock almost a year before I actually received it and was very patient during the set backs and so forth. Anyway i really wanted to thank you again and also wanted to share my picture of my SKS I painted it with a desert camouflage design and it turned out perfect I just had to send you guys a picture of it. I am always very proud to show off your bullpup stock to my family friends and at the range.
FL
Ed R.
Friday, April 29th, 2011
I called you after a friend and I were able to get your Stock on my rather balky Chinese SKS Carbine about 4 weeks ago.. We had to do a bit of fitting, but after about two hours, and it was together.. I couldn’t get any of the SKS magazines, on hand, to work.. You suggested TAPCO. I purchased a few, and after another balky start, they all worked.. Today was the first time I was able to try it out.. Loved it, like most Bullpups, rather heavy until you get it into shooting position, and then it seems almost weightless.
Put 40 rounds through it a lot faster than I had planned.. Had slapped a cheap red dot right on the rail (needs a riser), but pretty much right on target… Thought the noise might be serious, but was so excited to try it out, forgot to put on my muffs.. Although it was a bit loud, my ears only buzzed for a few… Glad my fears weren’t realized, especially with my right ear very near the ejection port.. Think the little cover on top of the receiver, helped deflect the blast.. With the muffs it was about the same as shooting a regular stocked SKS, or less.. Easy to shoot, with about an 8# trigger pull. I had been a bit concerned about how the cable trigger pull mechanism was going to work.. Not one hangup, or burp…
Thanks again for making an old SKS a fun rifle to shoot again, for minimal investment..
Keeping me informed as to the trials and tribulations of small company bringing a new product to market, helped pass the year long wait.. I felt like I was tuning in to the SG Works Reality Show every few weeks, that was reality.. Almost everything that could go wrong, seemed to.. You’re not the first to tell pretty much the same story, but you told it well, kept your wits, and pulled it off…
I do have one more question. I was cleaning it up tonight and realized there is no provision for attaching a sling on the rear of he the new stock. Any suggestions??
Hope you sell a bunch of them, not a better aftermarket SKS stock out there, for anywhere near the investment, if at all..
West Virginia
Dave
Friday, April 29th, 2011Further to phone conversation earlier 4.28.11 here is my endorsement of this excellent product.
The “SKSS”
I found on Gun Broker a gunsmith local to me “RP’s Firearms Repair” in Lavon TX who is specializing in building the SKSS (What do ya call this thang?) and I went over to see what he was doing. WOW…I was so impressed, I immediately got Robert to build me one…his way
He took my Chinese T56 screw in barrel, removed the barrel, cut it down to 16 1/2″ (where the barrel is heavier material), recrowned the muzzle,threaded the end to 1/2x28tpi (so it can take bored out AR accessories), opened the gas port for better reliability, milled the bolt bottom so mags can be detached with the bolt closed, used a Duracoat finish…and other tweaks with his assembly knowledge (getting all the adjustments right and test firing to make sure) and this is the result. Robert claims he has done accuracy tests and found this barrel mod to be the most accurate.
I topped it off with a NCStar 3/4″ throw lever riser and a BEC (Cabella’s) 3-9×28 IR scope. The riser I had to mill .030″ from it to fit the SGW weaver base (width) and have since found out all I needed to do was glue a piece of credit card into the NCStar riser…doh!
Okay WOW factor comes in when firing it, with a ATI trigger job (following DVD instruction) and the advantage of the SGW trigger assy., I got a trigger pretty close to how I like it, and not how the Chinese do. Groups are very good, the gun is like a glove, so comfortable to shoot, I shoot this both eyes open as it has 4 1/2″ eye relief, and I can quickly find my POA.
I chose this system after considering others:
Bushmaster bullpup .223 (Bush disaster…the Dear’s best friend), reliability a issue, accuracy not renowned , limited to .223
AK47 2 versions from Norinco, 1 is the all metal early import which sells for $1500+ , expensive, poor balance, stamped tin receiver which contributes to wandering zero, poor trigger not much can be done to improve it, most for sale have had 100 rounds or less fed through them because they are junk. 2nd type made with hideous plastic stock and again though in the $650 range, not much better than junk.
Valmet bullpup .308…try finding one!, and under $2000
Kel-tech bullpup .308 interesting design, ejects through a tube out the front, Watch Youtube for the Slo-Mo film of the cutaway firing…imagine a jam, they do happen and usually when you need it to be reliable, not on a relaxed sighting in day at the range. To unjam it is a fieldstrip and what else? datached case rim? dirt? and then the price $1200
Mini 14 & 30 in a Muzzlelite bullpup kit…bad gun in a junk stock with a trigger only a Gorilla could love…accuracy? you’ll have a tighter group with a shotgun!.
Weird caliber bullpups= expensive ammo!, I want a good commonly available low recoil rifle round, and easily/cheaply available magazines.
So then there is a light at the end of the tunnel, The SKSS ( I Like this name so this is what I call mine).
Here’s a tip, start off by buying the book or going online to sites such as http://surplusrifle.com/sks/index.asp and armed with information, select a suitable candidate for conversion with fore knowledge so you have a excellent result. I chose to use a Chinese T56 with all milled parts, chrome lined screw in barrel (because I wanted the short barrel conversion). The later pinned barrel commercial Norinco’s in the standard length, Cowboy carbines and paratroopers are cheap knockoff’s with stamped parts, but to their credit many shorties are converted to use AK Mags, but they are known to be not as good as the earlier military T56. The duck bill mag versions can be converted to a Tapco system which makes the mags more like AK mags, and the modification can be easily reversed, and the T56′s can be converted to use AK mags, but this is a lot of machining, and a nightmare not recommended to reverse it.
So let’s look at this standard platform.
It uses fixed 10 & 20 round mags, detachable Tapco 20 round mags, with a bit of fitting 75 & 100 round drum mags, remember that it can be reloaded with stripper clips as quickly as changing a mag (this is fitted with a quick mag release feature), and bulk wise you can carry more full stripper clips than mags AK or duck bill.
If it has a malfunction due to ammo quality, just a quick rack of the bolt holding the gun sideways usually clears it, panic over!
It field strips easily, with modern methods, a bore snake and a couple drops of oil, and it’s back to business
The Shernick trigger link uses advantage gained by a different leverage point to lighten the trigger pull, with a trigger job, on the standard as supplied SKS trigger group, it can easily be classed as a good trigger, though it’ll never be as good as a set trigger.
No gas blows around your nose area when it’s fired, that’s not pleasant having to breathe that constantly, muzzle blast is low, and with (as fitted on mine )a Bored out AR muzzle break, muzzle flip is negligible. With the 1/2x28tpi threads a silencer may be fitted.
The Shernick stock is not only a thing of beauty, it is ergonomically very good. It points naturally from a arm pit hold (careful not to place your arm over the ejection port) from a tactical harness shoulders quickly and naturally. Aiming without sights like a shotgun across the top of the weaver rail, I could hit 1 square foot targets set at 20 meters easily.
This has a long weaver rail on which can be mounted a wide range of optics just as available for AR flat tops. Due to length of peoples necks, there are risers available in 1/2″, 3/4″, 1″, and 1 1/2″ rise. Lengths such as the full length riser from http://www.yhm.net/store/rails.html or you can use one (or two if you want a long riser like the YHM) of the cheaper 5″ long risers from other manufacturers. This is important that you fit the 3-9 optics to fit you like a glove for quick natural aim and eye relief, and comfort, that when the gun goes to your shoulder with both eyes open you see picture in picture with a cross hair in the center, without jamming your cheek into the stock and craning your neck at some cramped weird angle!
If you are using a 1x optic system you would see a red dot on the target, both eyes open.
The range of ammo for the SKS, well what is the 7.62×39 round? developed by the USSR from the .44 Kurtz German WW2 round, necked to .312″ to take the .303 bullet…yes the versatile .303!
The ammo is average $5/20rnds, it comes as FMJ, SP, HP, in throw away steel cases.
For reloading, brass is readily available, and LEE dies are excellent and affordable. It uses a small amount of powder compared to other .30 cals., so 1 lb of powder goes a long way!
Bullets can be cold water quenched cast from wheel weights, or may be purchased as FMJ, Armor piercing, Incendiary/tracer, exploding, soft point, hollow point and in different grain weights, also this round may be sabot’d(I have not done this only read about this) to .22 & .17 cal., though I would rely on these fed singly. There is also a pistol powder load for subsonic ammo.
This gun is great to show beginners how to shoot, as by just flipping up the loading hatch, single round by single round may be fed, the bolt holding open after each fired shot.
The best being kept for last is the price of this incredible platform, for me it was $500 + a provided SKS, which I had a extra/spare all milled T56 that I got for about $200.
As I mentioned earlier I had a gunsmith who is specializing in these conversions build mine, with a bunch of modifications, and it was ready in 1 week!
Robert from RP’s thpere@infostations.com builds a amazing SKSS!
I have shot mine, and I know where my money went. I have always liked the SKS, now I have a new respect for it because of this new incarnation. I wonder if there is a Russian in the Kremlin with one of these jumping up and down in a rage that they sold all their SK’s at junk arsenal clearance price…when all they had to do was redesign it to the awesome gun the SKSS is.
Shernick took a while, but got this right, I can find one thing to criticize, that being the little wire and clip which holds the takedown pin, it could get hung up…but that’s the only thing about this system I can pick at. WOW factor at the range, when this comes out of the box is absolute! AR’s get cleared and put down as their handlers abandon them to come and drool over the SKSS, carry it around the gun show and you are pestered enough that if you got paid $1/time you would leave with a weeks pay!
I conclude (speaking for myself) that this version is excellent. The long awaited SK for this millennium. I recommend it.
The losers
Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote this product, by either SGW or RP’s Firearms repair, or to malign products made by other manufacturers. These are my opinions based on experience(s) I have had with guns either that I owned or were leant to me for trial purpose, and opinions I have repeated from friends who shared their experiences with me. I share my opinions and experience with this product because I am suitably impressed and feel that such a good US product should receive the honest review it deserves.
Dave from Texas, satisfied customer/owner.
Andrew H. 4-22-11
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
SG Crew,
First off, a big thanks for the stock kit that finally arrived. Got everything adjusted and pieced together and the fit and finish is excellent. I still need to tear it all down and do some fine tuning just to satisfy my obsession for good assembly, but the kit itself is fantastic. All faults so far have been with the Chinese receiver I am using. My only issue has been with the trigger adjustment, which seems to not go fully into battery on every pull. I sometimes have to nudge the trigger forward to get the trigger inside the stock to reset. I did loosen the adjustment screw, but it is backed out as far as it can go and there is still some very slight preloading on the original trigger. I want to install a turnbuckle for the adjustment, but was wondering what recommendations you have to resolve the issue. As far as I can tell, my receiver is as far back in the stock as possible, though it is very, very difficult to tell as it is so dark in that groove back there. I could be wrong and need to remove more from the front of the kit in order to move the receiver back, but want to run it by you all before I do additional Dremel work. The other option I considered was installing a slightly heavier trigger return spring, but I don’t want to really increase the weight of the trigger. Aside from that, the kit has amazing balance and a great feel. Target acquisition is super fast with my Holosight, and mag changes are a breeze with the extended release lever. Attached a couple of bad cell phone photos for your viewing pleasure; I hope to do a video review in the near future.
Thank you,
Andrew H.
AZ
Hello,This has happened to 4 other Chinese SKS’s. We will send you an Extra Length Trigger Wire.
Thanks!
SGW
Omar G. 4-16-11
Saturday, April 16th, 2011Well folks I haven’t the words to describe what you are giving the American People……this will be equated with what John Garand did for our boys in WWII. God Bless you and may all of your further enterprises be as successful as this one. Truly this is a top contender for CQB rifles. Thank you.
Omar G.
AZ
Richard S.
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011April 5, 2011
Freakin’ wonderful piece of work. I can’t wait until I get to the range. I rcv’d the box yesterday, and today is my birthday. Thanks for the present!
Nothing mentioned below can detract from the obvious time, thought, and engineering that went into this stock. Owner adjustments are inevitable for a rifle manufactured in so many different places and, in China, likely by prison labor. You should see the welds on my Norinco. Oy! Top marks to the fine folks at SGW. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication!
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SGW materials assessment: GOLLY! This is really nice stuff. Well engineered, well worth the 11 month wait. :^)
Installation time: 2 hours (extended because of crappy Norinco workmanship)
Tools needed: Allen wrenches, small screwdrivers (as probes, not for screws), a small rubber tapping mallet (handy, not required), C clamp (maybe), and Dremel Motor Tool in hot standby (see below).
BEFORE you start assembly
Watch the 2 part installation video twice. Once when you get your tracking number, and then the day before you plan on doing the work. The written instructions are fine, but you aren’t the person who wrote them, who already knows how to do the installation.
I won’t rehash what everyone else has written, I’ll just cover my issues.
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Fitting the Stock Retainer Guide
- This *was not* a simple minor filing adjustment as mentioned in the video. I do not hold SGW responsible for the crappy workmanship of the Norinco beater (that shoots really straight) I chose for the project. It just required a lot of grinding with the Dremel to make it fit.
- Pull the trigger as far out of the stock as you can and tape it to the stock during fitting. It flopped around a lot and got in my way repeatedly until I taped it down.
- Have a Sharpie marker on hand. Once you grind/file off the black finish on the metal part, a Sharpie can be used to tag the places you need to touch up. Black on silver is very visible. Rinse, lather, repeat. Take your time, be patient. I have a nice tight fit.
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Reinstalling the Trigger Assembly
- The flat platform that the rear tang sits on was just a hair too high for my trigger assembly to click into place. I roughed it up ever so slightly with the Dremel, and then cleaned that up with a flat file (which fit perfectly in the slot). All is well, and a nice fit.
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Upper Hand Guard
-The instructions recommend a C clamp if need be to get the holes to align. I needed that. I hope that after firing it will align without the use of a C clamp, or I will have to make adjustments with the Dremel. I don’t want to stress the plastic for any length of time.
- One design gotcha you will have to take into consideration. I shoot ComBlock surplus ammo. Corrosive, doncha know. This means I have to remove the gas tube for cleaning after every shoot. The upper handguard will have to be removed to access the gas tube for cleaning (8 screws). I REALLY don’t want to use a C clamp every time I work on/clean the rifle. That would be bad for the overall life of the stock.
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Front Tri-Rail Mount
- The written instructions are accurate…but not as easy as laying out the parts and using deductive reasoning.
- 2 cap screw were missing from the parts bag, but nothing I can’t replace with a quick trip to the hardware store. Until then, the side 2 rails will have to wait.
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Trigger Buffing
- The trigger is a grouping of 3 stamped parts. My wife found it to be a little rough to the touch, and the tip sharp. I will be buffing it out a little with the Dremel.
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Extended Magazine Release Lever
- My wife found it to be a little sharp. I am going to experiment with wrapping the tab with electrical tape, rubber, or shrink tube.
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Richard in WA
WA
4-11-11
Polishing and Range Report
Polishing
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Trigger
I used a half-round file to knock down the stamped edges and face of the trigger, then 220 grit sandpaper for smoothing, and finished with emery cloth. Much smoother to the touch. I’ll blue it and the other bits I want refinished it when I get a chance.
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Pistol grip at magazine notch
The molding was a little knife-edgy around the magazine notch. When picking up the piece or resetting the grip in my hand, it was a little less comfy than I would liked. A few seconds with 220 sandpaper and emery cloth rounded off the edges.
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Upper hand guard tightness
The forward hand guard originally required a C clamp to align the screw holes for the rifle I chose. Much pressure needed to assemble. This would be bad for the over lifetime of the plastic parts, a PITA to breakdown for cleaning the gas tube, and clamping would be impossible with optics in place.
My handy Dremel tool, with a half inch or so diameter sanding drum, removed the VERY small amount of wood (yes, there are 2 wood parts in the stock) that took the pressure off the hand guard while still giving a tight fit.
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Range report
How can I put this to maintain my dignity, and not have folks think I’m a shill for SWG?
How about this? OH MY FREAKIN’ GOD I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!
4x tactical style IR scope. Benched the piece to get proper scope placement and get the bore laser zeroed on the target. Tightened all the screws and…
Bullseye, bullseye bullseye. My wife picked it up and put her first round through the absolute center of her target. Woo freakin’ Hoo
And if that’s not cool enough, the little brass deflector flappy door made a cute little pile of brass on the bench. No bending over to clean up the casings. :^)
The piece looks great. It turned a lot of heads at the range. Everyone came over to look at it, and all but started drooling when I offered them a mag with 10 rounds.
I decided to hold off building out the second stock until the first one was range tested and to see if it fit my wife as well. Looks like I start building unit 2 very soon.
It was well worth the 11 month wait.
Richard in WA
Dave C.
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011Just wanted to say thanks for a great upgrade to this old SKS. It was a long wait but well worthwhile. My compliments on an excellent bullpup stock. By far a better value and much better design than anything else out there for the SKS. I have several really cool long guns: Saiga 12 shotgun with forward trigger group modification and AK furniture, Romanian AK WASR 10 with Tapco furniture, 870 Remington with Knoxx stock and 20 inch barrel with 8 shot magazine extension, old Savage 12 guage autoloader modified to the limit with fabricated pistol grip synthetic stock and 20 inch barrel and 8 shot magazine, GSG 522 22 lr carbine with collapsible stock, surplus H&K rear sight and sling and fabricated fiber optic front sight. Of all those I believe your stock kit has put my SKS at the top of the list. When people see it their response is , ” what the Hell is it?”. Mission accomplished! Thanks again
Missouri
AJ R.
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
This is a Norinco Chinese SKS, non-paratrooper model.
My kit arrived Saturday afternoon, and I had it installed by Saturday evening. The assembly was rather straightforward, between the directions and having watched the assembly vid when it was first posted I had a good grip on what was required.
Since I don’t recall seeing anyone state that they installed on a modified Norinco, my details on the install process:
- The previous owner had replaced the factory rear site with a ring, which still required removal. No big surprise there.
- There’s likely to be some blue tape on the rear of the lower, holding in the Trigger Return Spring. Do yourself a favour and leave this in place until you’re ready to put the rear butt plates on.
- The stock retainer required some filing to fit. I’ve got about the snuggest fit you can image at this point. I used a Dremel on low speed and a surgeon’s care to get it just right (marking the metal, trying to insert, seeing where the markings rubbed off, and taking down material only on that area). I put about half an hour into this, but it beds in so tight it’s like a factory fit.
- The two rear barrel supports did need to be removed and replaced with the .075 shim. There are two screws that back them up, and one that threads in to hold them. Rather than removing all three, I removed only the set screw, left the two on the side, and carefully removed the trigger linkage wire to get them out. Simple and quick. The set screw is hard to get to, a ball-end Allen wrench works great here, once you have it loose.
- There was a *little* play vertically on the rear end, where the trigger group rear end protrudes down. Maybe 1-2 millimeters at most. I could not locate an area where I could have filed to adequately address this and didn’t want to get too hodge-podge on it and risk weakening any of the internal supports. Once the trigger group is snapped in, there’s no problem here.
- Getting the trigger linkage behind the trigger is a little tricky. PRO-TIP: Squeeze the trigger and it’ll create sufficient room to get it by. You may also want to compress it while getting the pivot bolt in place.
- The upper hand guard’s heat barrier needed some filing, also. However! I am using a Tapco gas tube. This tube comes with its own rail, which I have removed, but their tube is *thick* walled, nothing at all like the factory gas tube, the OD is at least as thick as my middle finger. A stock gas tube, or similar, will not likely to do this.
- The upper handguard seated perfectly but the screw holes on the right were high just a *little*. We’re talking less than a millimeter (no exageration). No amount of squeezing or anything would seat it further (the tolerances on this kit are *amazing*! No slop anywhere!). Two or three very, very, *very* light passed with a micro rattrail addresses this. Finesse is key here!
That’s it! This was an easy installation, and I was happy to address each of the above. I know how it fits, I know it fits well. Arguably better than other aftermarket stocks (generic polymer and an imitation Dragunov) which all seem to have some minor amount of slop or play in them.
General thoughts and observations:
- Overall length, stem to stern with no muzzle brake, is 30.5 inches.
- It would be nice if the safety bar allowed for a little less trigger place in the safe position. Just a nicety, not a major issue. I’m used to Glock’s trigger safety and am well in the habit of not getting my finger anywhere near the trigger until I need to.
- – Before you go bolting things together, snap on the grip halves and see how the trigger pivot pin fits in. You’ll recognize proper seating when you go for final assembly that way.
- The rear pin that holds the rear upper cover on is a *very* snug fit. Nothing wrong with that.
- The balance on this unit now is almost perfect, if anything it now leans a little towards the back. The SKS is a heavy unit, let’s not kid ourselves. Lightening it with a polymer stock was always a double-edged sword: It became lighter while balance was thrown way, way out front. It’s now almost perfect, possibly the best we can hope for. The muzzle brake I have (not the cheapest, but weighty) brings it almost entirely within level. Amazing!
- One previous feedback provider stated he as an engineer and was impressed with the work here. Not being a professional engineer, but knowing good stuff when I see it and having gotten my hands dirty in a widespread collection of projects over the years, I have to echo this sentiment. The internal structures and reinforcements in this kit are just *amazing*. It’s great to see this level of thought and craftsmanship still alive in America today.
This package is well more than worth the wait.
(For a comparison, included are two “before” pictures on different stocks, same background.)
Aj, California
Jimmy C.
Saturday, March 12th, 2011This is a side by side image before I took it apart and made the change. The barrel was that blue/gray color when I bought the SKS back around 1993 and it came with the green sporter stock. The black color is the stock color of the Sherni…c stock. I just bought the other items to match the texture and color. The rails that hold on the flash light and laser is really the same black color as the stock but it reflected in the photo. I did spray the black on the muzzle break and it was engine spray paint to handle heat…not that I need to since in CA you can’t auto fire! I watched the installation video on YouTube as I put it together and that made it real easy. I did have some problems because my SKS was put together tight so I had lots of trouble taking the front site off and also putting the trigger assembly on the new stock. I had some rubber clamps that made things MUCH easier when I needed to squeeze things. The Shernic stock is great quality and tough. They mention filing part of the Shernic stock down on some models because of different SKS designs. I had to file but it was easy if you do it little by little so you get a good tight fit. I can’t wait to go shoot it!
http://www.monstermangrip.com/uploads/Assault_Weapons_ID_FlowChart_V10C4.pdf
