SKS or AK-47 or M1Garand

I can’t believe I’m about to say this but AK47

Garand is expensive to buy, keep in ammo, etc

An M1a or FAL would be a better comparison to the others as an older “battle” rifle

SKS is like an even more peasant-y version of an AK :D

The AK: due to ammo choice, detachable mags (versus 8rd Garand clips), Extremely common etc
 
at .20 cents a round for steel-cased ammo, the AK is the cheapest .30 caliber to shoot factory ammo with, hands-down. However we no longer have the option of getting good AKs for the same price as a Garand.

Therefore I grudgingly say a CMP service-grade M1 Garand at $7xx shipped to your door is what I would choose at this price. At less than $500, it would be the SKS if you can find a good Chinese one.
 
The M1 Garand was the best WW1 Rifle ever made. Shame it was used in WW2. :D

Garands are cool, but with their price tag, I find it hard to justify owning one. In most cases you'll pay twice the cost of a decent new rifle for a well worn garand with non-matching parts.

I'd go with an AK, out of those three. I like all three guns, but I think from an economics standpoint, its the winner, and they're very easy to work on.
 
Patton never saw an AK. Plus he was needing to prop up the morale of troops who had no choice but to field Garands.

It's about time we retire that saying. It would be like saying the flintlock musket is the best gun ever, since George Washington said so. ;)



If the garand were still a great battle implement, it would still be in use somewhere, in at least a specialty role (like 1911s or M1As). Or in countries where the surplus market could have armed an army or militia. But they are not. They are relics of a certain age.


Nothing wrong with that. That is why they have an allure.

I've got to go along with this:

Still being used in the middle east, Afghanistan, and the Philippines amongst other places. Certainly not in the hands of first world soldiers but still firing shots in anger.

Until the early 1980s it served as the main arm for some USAR units and the M1D was used in Germany by the 3ID sniper teams when I was there 78-81.

If you want to make noise and litter the landscape with fired steel cases and bimetal bullets, get an AK. If you wish to become a rifleman, master the M1 rifle.
 
My question is what is the intent? Build collection? Primary arm for fighting?

If collection is the answer, M1 all day long. They arent making them any more unlike AKs...

Now if you say you want a collector AK then you have a slightly different argument too.. lol
 
Over the years, I have had a few of each, and my preference is the Garand. If I was going have to carry one into a modern conflict, I would probably want the AK, if for no other reason than weight and magazine capacity. If my goal was to get a reliable mil-surp semi-auto at the cheapest price, I would get the SKS. But what I have found is that when I am picking out stuff to take to the range that day, I almost always ignore the AK's and the SKS's and grab a Garand. They are just so much fun to shoot. The only downside is that when you pull out a Garand at the range, folks have a tendency to come over and want to talk to you about it.
 
Everybody needs at least one SKS & a sardine can or 2 fulla ammo.

Can't speak to the Garand, as I've never even shot one. Love the idea, but too $$$ for me, for what would be a toy/curiosity. Never gelled with the AK, but love my SKS. Reloads with stripper clips are easy, it's as accurate as I can shoot commie iron sights & fun to shoot. Good, dependable, SHTF type gun, to boot.

If I think I'ma hafta run & gun, the ARs are coming out, but that's just me.
 
I’d say to much personal preference ... I’ve had all 3. I still have my Garand because I love it. I still have the SKS because it’s trade value hasn’t made it to the level where I’ll leverage it. I let my last AK go in an Odumba year’s trade for a sweet trade to a guy who “just had to have an AK” because they “were gonna be banned” ... and I really don’t miss it. Guess that means to me I’d go Garand but that’s just me but I sure wouldn’t let a decent deal on a gook AK slip by either.
 
Another vote for the Garand, not because it's the most practical but because nothing else generates the same thrill to shoot for me. My dad was an infantry soldier in WW2-- maybe that is part of it. I don't shoot it as much as I used to, but still take it out to DPRC once in a while. It helps that I reload and have a lot of components hoarded.
 
I've owned all three. As a collector the M1 Garand every time, unless of course there's an attachment of you carrying one of the others in harms way.

CD
 
You've looked at all three. Have you shot any of them? And what do you want to do with the one you buy - shoot it or stare at it?

Very biased here, but I vote AK. If you're buying a gun to shoot and have narrowed it down to these three, an SKS will let you invest in more ammo (and no need to worry about mags either), but there's just something incomparable about shooting an AK. I've owned, shot, bought, sold, and horse traded a lot of different types of guns, but something about the AK just stuck with me the first time I fired one and again when I first owned one, and it's the only gun that has multiplied and multiplied and multiplied in my safe. Garands have a legendary history, but so does the Kalashnikov ... and its story is vastly more widespread and continues to add new chapters every day.

Also, if it falls off the shooting bench I don't fall over in grief.
 
The Garand is the easy choice for those wishing to reach out a considerable distance accurately. The other two are for close quarters. The Garand can be used for close quarters but the others will never suffice at longer distances.
 
I have looked at all three and can only afford one. Which one would you choose and why?

M1 Garand, because:
there is an elegance to the design that overlays an extraordinarily functional tool;
my Dad carried one in WWII;
I qualified on one a couple of decades later;
it saw action in some of the most desperate fighting of WWII and Korea and acquitted itself well when it needed to;
because it's a true battle rifle, highly accurate, and powerful;
and most of all, because I just love them (in case I haven't made that clear ;) ).
 
30-06 blacktips turn cover into concealment right fast.

For cheap get a unmolested sks. Most detachable mag setups are garbage. Stripper clips are fast to load when you learn them.

For a decent ak that doesn't break the bank the wasr 10 is a good buy. They kick around the 700 range new.

The garand is still,the coolest though
 
M1 Garand would be my choice. Classic rifle and very accurate. The .30-06 Springfield (7.62x63mm) and 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridges do some nice damage in my opinion.
 
Match the tool to the purpose. All three have different purposes.
I just can’t pay 700 for an AK; I know the current “ market factors”, but I just can’t.
SKS are great truck guns, but I’m not paying over 350.
The AK and SKS are ballistically equal to a 30-30, good brush guns and handy to carry all day.
The M1 is a true Main Battle Rifle with a real rifle cartridge, but has been updated with M14/M1A (same action/same cartridge,sights, etc...), so its become a Classic with a higher price tag. It will put the rounds exactly where you aim it, if you do your part. Just learn to watch your thumbs...
If I had to pick from only rifles on your list, it’d be the M1. But, before I spent the kinda money you’re talking about, I’d re-examine the purpose for the tool.
 
Last edited:
They had a few dozen Garands for sale at the CMP Eastern Games this weekend. About 15 of them were service grade Winchesters (half with G.I. wood and half with CMP black walnut), and they had a bunch of Winchester special grades. They also had 3 or 4 service grade 6 million serial number Springfields and 4 or 5 Springfield field grade specials. They also had a box of Garand drill rifles and a box of 1903 drill rifles. It was surprising to me that most all of the Garands they brought were Winchesters.
IMG_20190426_155529.jpg

IMG_20190426_155633.jpg
 
They had a few dozen Garands for sale at the CMP Eastern Games this weekend. About 15 of them were service grade Winchesters (half with G.I. wood and half with CMP black walnut), and they had a bunch of Winchester special grades. They also had 3 or 4 service grade 6 million serial number Springfields and 4 or 5 Springfield field grade specials. They also had a box of Garand drill rifles and a box of 1903 drill rifles. It was surprising to me that most all of the Garands they brought were Winchesters.
View attachment 122284

View attachment 122285
When was this? I was there on Saturday and all they had were specials and a few Winchesters in CMP wood. I left without getting one.
 
When was this? I was there on Saturday and all they had were specials and a few Winchesters in CMP wood. I left without getting one.

They had the competitor only sale on Friday at 1pm. WRAs with GI wood were available for probably an hour before they were all gone. There was one with a mildly figured stock that had the matching serial number stamped under the buttstock. I grabbed one that was a 1.23 mil serial number that was lead-dipped with a light colored birch stock set with lightly figured hand guards:

IMG_20190426_212524.jpg

IMG_20190429_214911.jpg

IMG_20190429_215222.jpg
 
I also picked up a 1944 dated canvas sling and a complete cleaning kit with the oil bottle, bore brush, grease pot, gas plug tool and the ratcheting chamber brush. They brought some cool stuff. There were also a number of non-competitors digging through the stuff, but they were not allowed to buy anything without a wristband.

IMG_20190429_220225.jpg
 
Ga Rand 1st choice, for fun and for investment.

If you just want to shoot for fun, get an AK if you are smallish is size because of the short length of pull.
If you are a big boy (around or tall) go with the SKS. it may be a peasant rifle but it will damn sure do the job.
 
Garand is the nicest of the bunch. Fun to shoot but for most people is kind of a novelty gun at this point.

SKS is a fun gun to shoot, but it’s not gonna impress anyone when you pull it out of the safe to show it off. Effectively it’s kinda like a 10 round, 7,62x39 Garand.

AK is probably gonna get to to on more trips to the range. Many options to customize it, fun to shoot and a good choice for a defensive rifle.
 
It was surprising to me that most all of the Garands they brought were Winchesters.

That is particularly surprising to me as well, since I have been waiting for over a year for the Winchesters to show back up on the web site. I want a WRA service grade for my collection and I knew there had to be some to show up from the Philippines. Sounds like they are holding them for special sales. What was the price on them?
 
Old guys buy Garands. They like to look at the markings on them and think about WW2. Your list is so odd it doesn't make sense. SKS's suck. They used to be $89 bucks at Roses. If you ever have to run around with one and try to speed reload when other people have AK's you will quickly realize you should have bought the AK. The AK is the most practical of the three. But if i had to pick one, i would pick the Garand, because 30'06 is a manly cartridge and it will kill anything on this continent and you can hold it while you watch WW2 movies. Plus,
when it empty it makes a pleasant sound to let you know its time to reload. SKS just goes click..
 
Dang you could afford a few of the commie guns then.
You’re talking $300, $700 or $1200 lol

That is exactly the question I have in my mind. It is saying "I can buy a Veryon, a Porsche 911, or a Ford Focus. Which one should I buy?" They are all cars but at different price levels.

Match the tool to the purpose. All three have different purposes.
I just can’t pay 700 for an AK; I know the current “ market factors”, but I just can’t.
SKS are great truck guns, but I’m not paying over 350.
The AK and SKS are ballistically equal to a 30-30, good brush guns and handy to carry all day.
The M1 is a true Main Battle Rifle with a real rifle cartridge, but has been updated with M14/M1A (same action/same cartridge,sights, etc...), so its become a Classic with a higher price tag. It will put the rounds exactly where you aim it, if you do your part. Just learn to watch your thumbs...
If I had to pick from only rifles on your list, it’d be the M1. But, before I spent the kinda money you’re talking about, I’d re-examine the purpose for the tool.

There are those who would say a SKS for more than $70 or a Garand for more than $100 is highway robbery.
 
That is particularly surprising to me as well, since I have been waiting for over a year for the Winchesters to show back up on the web site. I want a WRA service grade for my collection and I knew there had to be some to show up from the Philippines. Sounds like they are holding them for special sales. What was the price on them?

The service grades were $950. They also had some WRA specials in both 30-06 and .308 for $1250. Most of the service grades had GI wood. The specials all had new CMP walnut. This was the price list for most everything they brought.

price list.jpg
 
You really didn't say what you wanted it for. The sks and the ak are rifles that are not really all that accurate.I My ak will shoot in a pie plate group at 100 yards my garand will shoot into 2or 3 inches.I have all three plus I have a M1A.For long precision shots the garand and M1A will be so much better than the 7.62x39 . Aks and sks rifles can't come close to the tried and true USA battle rifles. Sure it cost more to feed the 308 and 30-06 but they are worth the price. If you want cheap range plinking toys get the ak or did. No doubt I would choose the garand.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom