Taking the SKS apart was easy enough. I had done it several times with ease, and it is an easy rifle to re-assemble. Or so I thought. Once cleaned, I started reassembling the rifle with the new ATI stock. The receiver and the barrel seemed to fit snuggly in the stock, and was easy enough to get back together with the exception of the hand guard above the barrel of the rifle. It is riveted in place, and I could not pound out the rivet. I was going to drill it out until I found that that particular rivet is a “hard to find item,” and are considered rare. I decided to keep the stock hand guard on the rifle until I am able to locate a rivet or two to purchase and have a couple as spares. I have two SKSs so this makes sense for me, in my mind.
The reassembly issue that got me was re-inserting the trigger group. For the life of me, I thought I was doing something wrong, for roughly three hours… After assessing the situation in my frustrated state, I decided that I was going to have to grind down a small area where the rear of the trigger seats right around where the trigger guard spring would be… As it turns out, after about 10 minutes with the grinding attachment on the dremel tool, and trying to re-seat the trigger group a few times, magic happened and it snapped into place… Here are a few pictures for you to show the transformation from one look and feel to the other…

Reassembled with the ATI Dragonuv stock, less the black hand guard. You can see the wood through the slots in the stock. Click to see larger image.
Overall, I like the new look and feel of my SKS. The next step is to take it to the range and re-sight it in. My grouping seems to be a little to the right, so it is time to get out my sight tool and readjust it a bit. Had I not had trigger guard issues, this swap would have taken roughly 20 — 30 minutes had I not wanted to clean and oil the rifle.
When finished, I reattached my sling, which seems to be a little more ergonomic on this stock than the original stick as well. I’m looking forward to sighting her in soon…
Neat! Where was that SKS made? Looks brand new! Personally, I like the ‘classic’ look of the SKS, but I bet it will be an easier shooter with the new stock.
In NJ, I think its considered a thumbhole stock (big thumbhole!) and because the grip is technically behind and not below, its not considered a pistol-grip.
The previous owner maintained it pretty well. I actually purchased it online a couple years ago now. All the parts serial numbers match and I enjoy bringing it to the range…
Nice job. A pistol grip does give them a nice feel. I put a Monte Carlo stock on mine to replace the broken wood original and like it much better. The synthetic stocks are also much stronger than wood, even laminate. When I changed mine over, I also could not get the wood handguard off the gas tube w/o feeling like I was going to destroy it. I found a replacement gas tube with a ventilated metal handguard at a gun show, which works well (that was in the mid-90s, haven’t seen them in awhile). You can buy Tapco replacement handguards for around $50, which may be a better idea long-term if you ever want to put it back in the wood stock.
Thanks for the advise… I really didn’t want to destroy the hand guard. All numbers on the rifle match. I know that doesn’t mean too much because the Norinco’s are so common, but my OCD kicks in and won’t let me bastardize it something later that is not original…