[GunRing] SKS Russian Semi-Automatic Rifle Keychain

 Description: 

A downsized replica of the SKS (Russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова, romanized: Samozaryadny Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945, self-loading carbine of (the) Simonov system, 1945) is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov in 1945.

The SKS was first produced in the Soviet Union but was later widely exported and manufactured by various nations. Its distinguishing characteristics include a permanently attached folding bayonet and a hinged, fixed magazine. As the SKS lacked select-fire capability and its magazine was limited to ten rounds, it was rendered obsolete in the Soviet Armed Forces by the introduction of the AK-47 in the 1950s. Nevertheless, SKS carbines continued to see service with the Soviet Border Troops, Internal Troops, and second-line and reserve army units for decades.

The SKS was manufactured at Tula Arsenal from 1949 to 1958, and at the Izhevsk Arsenal from 1953 to 1954, resulting in a total Soviet production of about 2.7 million. Throughout the Cold War, millions of additional SKS carbines and their derivatives were also manufactured under license in the People's Republic of China, as well as a number of countries allied with the Eastern Bloc. The SKS was exported in vast quantities and found favour with insurgent forces around the world as a light, handy weapon which was adequate for guerrilla warfare despite its conventional limitations.

Beginning in 1988, millions have also been sold on the civilian market in North America, where they remain popular as hunting and sporting rifles.

The Soviet Union utilized a number of semi-automatic as well as select-fire rifles during World War II, namely the AVS-36, SVT-38, and the SVT-40. However, the primary service rifle of the Red Army remained the bolt-action Mosin-Nagant, which fired the powerful but heavy 7.62×54mmR round. Even prior to the war, the Red Army had recognized that these weapons were obsolete and initiated a program to modernize its existing small arms, although this was interrupted by the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

Among the military development programs the Soviet Union had monitored in other countries were the Finnish, Swiss, and German developments in intermediate rifle cartridges. These had limited range and muzzle velocity compared to the 7.62x54mmR and other contemporary rifle rounds such as the 7.92×57mm Mauser and the .30-06 Springfield, but also possessed numerous advantages: they were cheaper to manufacture, permitted easier weapons handling due to their much-reduced recoil and muzzle blast, and enabled infantry to carry more due to their small size and light weight. They could also be fired from shorter and lighter rifles.

The Red Army's interest in an intermediate cartridge was piqued when stocks of 7.92×33mm Kurz ammunition were captured from the Wehrmacht, and by the end of 1943, Soviet technicians had developed a similar cartridge based closely on the German design, the 7.62x39mm M43. Early trials showed that the new round had the penetrative capacity to pierce three panels of plywood, each of 2.25 cm thickness, at a six hundred meter range. Red Army officials believed this was more than enough power to wound or kill a soldier at typical battlefield range. Limited production of the new ammunition type commenced in 1944.

Carry a legendary piece of history with you!

Gun Keychains

Our gun keychains are awesome little collectables, downsized replicas of real life guns that fit right onto your keys, backpack or whatever they'll clip onto! They're made of die cast zinc alloy, then usually, colored. An excellent gift or accessory for yourself, collect them all!