Official SKS Manual

Rating:
Summary: Great history, terrific break down and assembly information.
Review: This is a translated manual for russian soldiers about the SKS weapon. It has interesting firing information like leading calculations for firing at planes and parachutists (which I believe is against the Geneva convention) and not generally helpful in modern America but interesting. Shooting distances, wind targeting, information about various types of ammunition available, and a really nice history of the designer. It is a must for any SKS owner.

Rating:
Summary: Not for the shooter.
Review: This is probably a good book for collectors - history, statistical data, military application (how to shoot what, how an officer has to inspect the weapon, etc.,) Mostly things that are not relevant to today's sports shooting. It's probably because this manual is direct translation of a Russian field manual, which was issued (only in theory, most soldiers have never seen it) as a SUPPLEMENT to training. It was not meant as a stand-alone "teach yourself" type of book. Yes, there are disassembly and cleaning chapters, but any free information I've found on the web was better and more detailed with better illustration.

Just last night I had to disassemble my new SKS and remove storage grease, lube and re-assemble. I found this manual LEAST helpful out of all information sources I had.

Rating:
Summary: The must-have book for the serious SKS owner
Review: What better way to learn about a rifle than from the people who designed it? It contains everything you need to know about the SKS, including detailed instructions for breakdown and cleaning. It also contains military information that is fairly useless to the modern American reader (how to shoot at different kinds of targets), but that is interesting nevertheless.