Sporterizing Yugo 59/66 SKS Rifle

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:00:00 -0400

I have recently purchased a Yugo 59/66 SKS rifle. I have decided that I would like to refit this rifle with some modern parts, which are readily available at shows and online. The problem with this is that ATF regulations state that you cannot disassemble and re-assemble this rifle legally unless you re-assemble it with less than 10 imported parts (it has 14 or 17, this is debatable). That means you need to buy US made parts so that the total number of imported parts is 10 or less when you re-assemble it.

There are a lot of pages out there that help explain this to some degree, but nearly all of them have to do with the Norinco (Chinese) variant of the rifle. The Yugo version, which I have, is much more 'interesting' in that it has night sights and a grenade launcher.

It has become a ridiculous process to figure out what the exact part list is for a Yugo 59/66 SKS.

The most definitive information I have found is below. I am quoting this source.

Just how many of these parts are in an SKS Carbine?

Here are the relevant parts in an SKS Carbine:

1. Receiver
2. Barrel
3. Bolt
4. Bolt carrier
5. Gas piston
6. Trigger housing
7. Trigger
8. Hammer
9. Sear
10. Disconnector (see below)
11. Stock
12. Handguard
13. Magazine body
14. Follower

Note: This list has been confirmed by ATF.

How many imported parts can be replaced in an SKS Carbine?

Using commercially available parts, you can replace the following parts:

1)   Replace the stock with aftermarket US-made version.

2)   Replace the handguard with aftermarket US-made version.

3)   Replace the gas piston with a US-made version from Tapco (#SKS6602), SKSMan or SKSParts (#SKS-034).

4)   Replace the magazine with a 100% US-made magazine, including the magazine body, follower and floorplate. (Replaces two imported parts.)

5)   On Yugoslavian Type 59/66 Carbines: Remove the grenade launcher and replace it with a US-made muzzle break (foreign muzzle attachments are counted). See the FAQ’s on removing the Yugoslavian Type M59/66 grenade launcher for more info.

On a typical SKS Carbine, you will need to replace four parts. On Yugoslavian Type 59/66 Rifle, you will need to replace five parts.

These US-made parts are sometimes known as “compliance parts”, since they are used to ensure that the resulting rifle is “compliant” with Title 18 USC § 922(r).

So, if any of you out there have REAL PROVEN RELIABLE information to add to this, please let me know. If it is just opinion, and you don't have any credible proven source to back it up, I probably won't back up your info. I'm only doing this for sanity sake so that there can be at least one useful page that has all the facts about this rifle.

Andrew Schwabe's Blog - Military Surplus

Sporterizing Yugo 59/66 SKS Rifle