nah, it's not just the rifle. It was literally "What do we do with all this outdated military stuff?" "Albania!" I mean you can still find Type 62 tanks there (the only country in Europe that actually had them)
@@peerschulz2029 not always outdated stuff, China actually developed a helmet for export to albania which would later become the GK80, at a time when the PLA didn't really wear helmets all that much
Reposting the views of Chinese military fans: The original intention of designing this gun was that the conservative old general did not agree that the pistol-grip AK was a "rifle", and wanted to improve the firepower of the rifle while maintaining the ability to fight with bayonets. "Rifle and subgun in one（步冲合一）". Its design concept is not enough to be described as outdated, it should be a freak. It inherited the shortcomings of both sides. Some people joked that it was a bayonet with fully automatic firing function The retired veterans who shot it commented: The fully automatic firing rate is too fast and difficult to control
@@HanJia879 worse actually as they got entire production line of ak ready, while US army would have entire production line of FAL free from FN before taking m14 design, it still in offering and planning phase while PLA could just expand ak productions.
@nollrd thank you very much for the insights!! If you have more knowledge about the gun's design, history and performance, I think everyone would be really interested in hearing it 🎉
The design of the Type 81 was based on Factory 296's experience in improving the Type 63. Additionally, it was designed after reverse engineering the SVD in the same office, and its bolt mechanism is more similar to that of the SVD, although the camming lugs were not used as locking lugs.
@hammann7496 no offense but how tf do you have an anime waifu looking ass picture as your profile pic but you have intimate knowledge of the sks and its family of firearms? You're either high tier trolling or a very strange individual and either way it's quite contrary and rather amusing.
Some to add to your video and answering some of your questions, as a native Chinese speaker: Western intelligence often called this a Type 68 like you mentioned, and they thought there's a semiautomatic-only variant called the Type 63. Factory 376 was the codename for 先锋机械厂 (Pioneer Machine Works) in Hebei province, built as a part of the Third Front Movement to strategically disperse China's various factories and arsenals. The rifle you had was a year 1 production, so made in 1963. It's extremely rare as not many milled rifles were made. Total production of the milled and stamped guns were around 2 million, one source claimed 2,222,280 rifles. The later, stamped rifle you showed was made by Factory 296 (triangle 26 stamp) in 1973, as the serial starts with "11". They made the bulk of the stamped receiver Type 63s from 1969 to 1978 when the production was shut down and reverted to the Type 56 SKS. This final batch of the SKS also used the bakelite upper handguard nicknamed "French tickler" by collectors. SKS production ended in 1980 as the factory retooled again to make the newly designed Type 81, which is the successor to the 63. Mass production started in 1969 with the stamped rifles and a LOT of simplifications happened. The M25x1.5mm threaded barrel on the milled guns were changed to a press-fit and pinned by a 4mm pin. In practice some barrels came loose. The stamped receivers led to wandering zeros and decreased accuracy from the factory. When the bolt slams shut onto the milled trunnion, excessive stress was observed at the front of the receiver, the shear stress causing microfractures so they had to reduce the expected service life from 15k rounds to 10k. The BCG guiderails were shortened by 6mm when converted to the stamped design and reduced accuracy. By 1974 the military were so fed up they were literally chanting "give us the Type 56 SKS back" (还我五六半). The Type 63s did not fully phase out in the early 70s. In the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese conflict the lack of firepower became evident as the PLA doctrine at that time still did NOT adopt the concept of assault rifles: The Type 56 SMG (AK) were seen as SMGs and only 1-2 were issued per squad, while the mainline infantry still uses the Type 56 SKS. The Type 63 was the first rifle to combine these two with the "oneness between rifle and SMG" (步冲合一) philosophy. So in the '79 conflict, Type 63s in storage were slightly modified and reissued to frontline service. Main improvements include braided recoil springs, stronger firing pins, and a modified magazine catch so they can use AK mags, although AK mags in Type 63 aren't as sturdy as Type 63 mags in a Type 63 or AK mags in an AK. The numerous shortcomings of both the Type 63 and to a lesser degree, Type 56 AK in the 1979 conflict, prompted the development of the Type 81 rifle and its failed competitor, Type 82, which truly is a forgotten weapon. For starters, the Type 81 was truly an assault rifle with better accuracy, instead of a conventional rifle with a higher fire rate. The rear sight was covered instead of exposed like on the Type 56 to reduce glare caused by paint chipping, and the rotary dial selector was kept. But that's a video for another day.
That's the problem with 7.62x39 guns, you want to use ak mags because they're everywhere but you want to use a different magazine because of the last round bolt hold open
i wouldn’t say oversight so much as, they were trying to shift over to a new design for the primary infantry rifle. Having a bold hold open function helps with feeding stripper clips, which are cheaper to produce and easier to carry than detachable magazines, which is a logistical advantage in the long run. it sounded like they planned on phasing out the AK and SKS as both were seen as inadequate in some regard. whether that was the right decision… well hind sight is 20-20. at that point the PRC was a young nation with a burgeoning manufacturing industry so they were probably overly optimistic about their ability to supply weapons like this. they probability didn’t anticipate the manufacturing problems. it’s like the M-14. it was planned on replacing the Garand completely, it did not have mags that were interchangeable with any other weapons platofrms (like the BAR) and had manufacturing problems that led to its eventual abandoning
@@Moondog66602The AK was pretty poorly made despite what people say. It was outdated even when it went into production, it was just simple. The AK was originally using a 2 part receiver like the STG-44 and FAL, then they went to the outdated system of using a single receiver and a massive dust cover. There’s a reason Eastern European nations are swapping from, the basic operating system is good but the rifle is completely outdated. Russia hasn’t swapped away from it because it’s cheaper to keep them in service. An updated truly modernized AK would be similar to the PSA Jakl or the AK-521. The AK has charm and I love it but even I have to admit it’s nowhere near the level of the AR-15, it was a conscripts gun designed for a country that thought human wave tactics were good. The only innovative thing about it was its ammo which also quickly became outdated.
If you want easy access to a Type 81, there's a fair number in Canada, because it's not prohibited like the AK, and there's not an import ban of guns from China.
@@peacemakersfirearms114 Lol, they aren't "original military spec" in the US. US market Type 81s are gimped. They lost the rotary dial selector and was changed to a SKS flag safety, and the spigot grenade launcher was omitted. The heat shield and upper handguard were also changed in order to make it not look too 'evil' according to the Democrats. American Type 81 rifles and LMGs were made by two factories, Emei (Factory 296) made the rifles and XY (Factory 396) made the Norinco M313 (LMG). Guess who was making the rifles for Canada? You guessed it, Emei. Same factory, same tooling.
I saw one up close whenmy family moved to Mauritania in 2001, it belonged to the familiy we bought our house from and was in the bathroom next to the safe. Super cool enhanced sks.
The main reason this gun even exists is that Type 56 AK was never considered as a rifle but a SMG. Before Type-81, a rifle in PLA definition must have a traditional stock, which is essential for 'accurate shooting' based on the training and standard tactics. Type 56 AK has a pistol grip so it is designated as a SMG the whole time and the military wanted a 'real select-fire rifle' to fit in their combat protocol
Cultural revolution pretty much fked up the quality control of Type-63. Later in the Vietnam war, PLA had seen the all AK vs M16 things and finally decided to update their rifle. They actually started with Type-74 LMG which is pretty much the prototype for Type-81 and it was built and tested earlier than the border conflict in 1979.
The chinese PPSh has a traditional stock the same as the soviet ones. It was considered a rifle or a SMG? Eastern combat vehicles are in general pretty small and unconfortable inside, I imagine having AKs in them in place of something like a PPS-43 must suck.
Awesome job touching on the stamped receiver. My understanding is that the production simplifications that were approved during the cultural revolution are ultimately what sealed the Type 63's fate. In particular, the receiver going from a single piece forging to a thirteen(!) piece stamped design combined with the barrel being press fit and pinned into the new thin front trunnion, rather than screwed in as initially designed. Combined with revolutionary QC, the variance in the total production of rifles was so great they couldn't be saved.
We had a shipment of these imported to Australia in the early 90's or late 80's. Norinco figured they'd be fine to just tack weld the selector so it couldn't go to automatic. It didn't take long before people realised that a bit of Dremel time gave them a full functional machine gun. I'm pretty sure one showed up in a shooting in Queensland back in about 2017
@@BC-wj8fx China never could have SVD at that time, sino-soviet split happened in 61, SVD only just finished its beta version design at that time(rejected), only being accepted into service in 63. By the time China got a working SVD, it was in sino-vietnamese war in 79, China used captured SVD to design Type 85 later.
The other obvious advantage is that it is designed for automatic fire. Regular SKS can be "modified," of course, but it puts strain on the bolt, the fire rate is usually insane.
Look up SKS/D or the SKK which in Australia used to be a common hunting rifle. The SKK was the same as a SKS but used 30 round AK mags. The Maegun (Norinco Hunter), was based on the Kalashnikov design but without a pistol grip. I've also seen SKS with a fixed 20 round mag.
14:34 I like the Adjustable Gas Piston on the FNC1A1 !!! :) ... I joined the Canadian Army Cadets a year early at 11 years old. I LOVED carrying that giant rifle around, and shooting it at the range. I routinely got Best SHot when we went to the range with the C1A1's
I once read an article written by a professional Chinese firearm designer commenting on the Type 63, and there are actually quite a lot of interesting details about the gun: 1. The QD stock design caused major bedding issues. Indeed, similar designs had been used on various guns, including the M1 and the M14; however, the Type 63 had major QC issues (when you have a cultural turmoil going on in the country and your engineers are being purged that’s not surprising at all), that combined with the fact that QD stocks don’t have the most solid fitting with the receiver had some pretty catastrophic results 2. To increase the travel of the bolt in the receiver to reduce felt recoil without lengthening the receiver, the designers made the bolt quite stubby on the Type 63. This, combined with the aforementioned QC issue, lead to an insane amount of horizontal tilt of the bolt while the gun is operating (I forgot the exact numbers but it’s insane). Therefore, some patterns of Type 63 had super skinny charging handles to try to minimize that effect 3. Stock cracking isn’t something new to SKSs. Guess what happens when they make a stock that is the same size but has a wider receiver cutout in it. If you guessed it would crack a whole lot, you are very right. The Type 63 the author of the article got from the arsenal of NJUST (an affiliate of the PLA) was in very good condition except for a gigantic crack in the stock Overall, the author concluded that the Type 63 is basically a total failure. I personally think it’s quite similar to the M14 ( fudds trying their best) but worse due to the legendary “Chinese characteristics”😂😂😂
It's amazing how accurate the type 56 SKS is as you mentioned. I've fired at least a dozen different type 56's in various conditions and all were "minute of man" out to 250 yards.
Ahh yes, the great poly-pipe shortage of 1997. I believe most of the SKSs were handed in though, as the govt was offering several hundred dollars for a $100 gun :)
If the legend were correct, you'd think they'd be showing up all over the place as all those middle age guys from the suburbs who owned SKKs circa 1997 start dropping off the perch 30 years later and their standard 1/4 acre house blocks start getting demolished and dug up for town houses. That said, the occasional slightly rusted semi auto rifle pops up on usedguns from time to time.
I love how Ian, while talking about a very rare (in the US at least) gun casually pulls out a *second* one just to point out it’s stamped vs. milled receiver, off handedly points out that’s it’s full of cosmoline, and puts it aside. 😮
The holy grail would be any German A Korobov rifle. That man made out of this world designs. The Soviets said he was too radical for them. Crazy designs.
From the late 80's (until 1996 when our semi auto gun restrictions came into effect), Norinco made a semi auto version of this rifle and imported them 'en masse' into Australia. They were colloquially named 'SKK' and perhaps as many as 100,000 were sold here. All came with the 30 round mag and same bayonet. Every young buck that had a license owned one and Chinese ammo was dirt cheap. The guns sold for AU$280-$350 and so were the cheapest centerfire semi auto available here at the time.
Obstructions in the barrel is my universal disassembly tool. Which is only funny if you're never had a rifle explode on you. I haven't, but i know people who've had it happen. I've personally seen more than one split barrel.
There are two routes for a AK/SKS hybrid: We have the Czech made Vz 58, well crafted and doing everything to not be an AK to spite the Russians but looking close enough they won't take it away from them. Then we have the china type 63, while still well made, is taking a "copying the work, but making two or three changes to not get caught by the teacher" Approach. Both can't take AK mags. Hmmm... now I'm getting the image of the type 63 being the Chinese half brother of the VZ 58, it'd be funny to see someone duel wield these at the same time
@@alanmcnew5376 most don't sadly, you need a higher class of licence to possess. There is just tons left over from before 1996, funnily enough it keeps prices on them very low cos most people can't own them.
The Type 63 really is a strange gun, essentially the love-child of the Type 56 and the SKS only to turn out to be a failure in testing effectively making it the Chinese counterpart of the M14. Thanks for showing us this neat-looking if bizarre gun Ian.
The semi-automatic version of these guns were everywhere here in Oz during the late 80s and early 90s. I once bought one for $50, but it was the base rifle, one magazine and 6 stripper clips. I later bought one for $100 that came with 3 magazines and 2 boxes of steel-core ammunition. Things like drum magazines and other accessories were even sold at Kmart.
Absolutely love your channel, your thoroughness, your clear annunciation and diction, and your well-researched content. Thank you, Ian. From another Ian.
I didn’t know that there were a million of these produced. I heard that they were relatively rare to find, thank you for posting this informative ( as always) video, Ian!
I have an SKS that accepts all AK magazines except drum types. It has no provisions for a bayonet and the stock is of commercial quality. I paid $200 for it which was an outrageous price for an SKS at the time. It's a good shooter, accurate and 100% reliable.
I use that weapon in Vietnam 🇻🇳 captured from a north Vietnamese prisoner.. but i let him go back in 1967 thru 1971. I now live in Vietnam 🇻🇳...nice video?.
Oh, I've been waiting for a video on the Type 63 for a while, it's a really unique little piece of Cold War history. I hope we'll get the Type 81 soon!
When you have two designs that each have their own faults and you combine them in an attempt to mitigate those faults, you are just asking to end up with a product that exhibits the faults from both of the original designs...
The design is successful and during the trial test , it meets all requirement and fulfil what PLA wants. What failed is in production and also this went service during a very difficult time of cultural revolution which severely disrupt the production quality. Many subsequently factory did not follow the requirement guideline in producing it but emphasize in cost cutting as China is short of funds..
It's like the m14's commie brother. Both rifles are from an old era and their countries tried to "modernize" them by having a detachable magazine and full auto feature. Both of them failed and were quickly abandoned by the armed forces and only found use in export to satellite states.
I have fired around 4000bullets with this gun, i can tell you a few things that Ian forgot. 1) This gun has 6 grooves on it's barrel different from every other of it's caliber (they usually have 4) Which makes this gun way more accurate. 2) has a longer barrel which makes it more accurate and the bullet drop is (depending on ammo) after 600m 3) it can fire wayyyy more bullets per minute than the ak, like the difference is huge. Personaly my fav gun.
When the Type-63/68 ended up in Albania (early 'late 60s early '70s) it was a prety 'new' rifle, intended to arm PA's heavy artillery crews, dislocated in remote areas. It was much appreciated for the double ammo capacity over the SKS and, yes, the precision of fire....
These were EXTREMELY common in Australia before the 1996 ban, we called them SKKs to distinguish them from SKS'. Sold with two mags and 1000? rounds for $350 approx. How to convert an SKK, SKS or AK to full auto was taught at Army reserve officer night school in the late 1980's.
I've done some digging around and from best I can tell, the rifle was in service from between 1963-1978, (Obviously according to Ian, trials were from the early 1960s until 1968 when the rifle entered adoption), and if you know your Chinese history, you'll also know that around this time when the rifle was in production, the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was also going on at around the same time which caused development and production issues which was definitely a factor in why production guns had all of their shortcomings.
People's army of Vietnam loved to capture the type 63 during the Sino Vietnamese war of 1979, thousands were captured from dead PLA troops and reinserted into Vietnamese usage.
@@zhaopeiyu No no, that's one batch, these were specifically captured from PLA troops in 1979, either dead or captured, of course not in huge numbers unlike the type 56 AK and SKS and such.
I love the variety of the places that you film. One day you’ll be at a government armory with guns all over the walls behind you very well lit rooms with nice tables, and today it’s cardboard walls lol
Interesting piece of gear. Last time i was at the Cu Chi Tunnels "adventure park" out to the west of Saigon, there was a Type 63 available for the tourists to shoot (at one US Dollar per round). Quite a few other goodies also available for the tourists to fire on the 25 metre range. Wasn't there a "70" series between these and the Type 81. Basically, the guts of a 63 / 68 "modernized" with a pistol gripped, AKM-style body, side-folding butt and the front sight "integrated" with the gas block? Very short sight radius. They came to notice when they turned up in the nasty little civil war in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s.. The Type 81 series was the "bridging" product until China unveiled their 5.8mm cartridge in an entirely new firearm package as the PLA troops rolled into Hong Kong in the late 1990s.
At one time, some SKSs that used AK magazines were imported into the US. I used to have one. As far as I could tell, however, it was a regular SKS action with a modified magazine well.
I picked up a replacement 5-round magazine. Fits flush, great for carrying while hunting. Even split a 10-roujnd clip into two 5-rounders, for a quick reload.
This has always been a top 10 dream gun of mine! Would have made waaaaay more sense to have made it take standard AK mags imo. Thanks for the video and the knowledge Ian!
Yes, I did enjoy your presentation of the Type-63. I’ve been curious about it for a decade. I own both SKS and Type-81 rifles, but these are a gun that seems to have slipped thru the cracks on so many levels. Any chance you will a chance to test fire it??
Here in Australia 🇦🇺, 300,000 SKS and "SKK" (30rd mag) were brought into the country from China in late 80s. They went pretty cheap, SKK + wooden case of 1,000rds for $395 - 495 I think 🤔 Both rifles were semi-automatic, SKK 30rd mag had an odd design (or modified for import) a partial fitted magazine.
These are super cool. Unless I'm mistaken, I'm guessing you could cut that notch into a standard AK mag, in which case for private use that'd make these excellent shooters.
Ian, while you’re still at RA, please do a video on the Krag Petterson rifle! Jonathan Ferguson confirmed there is one in their inventory. It’s so hard to find anything on it.
Always wondered if there was any economic incentive to do so. Lile was it somehow cheaper or easier or faster to make? Or were they just following 1947-1949 soviet doctrinal approach of "SKS is a rifle, AK is SMG"? I know that PRC viewed AK as SMG, but not idea if they were keen on supplementing it with "rifle" too. A pity that Simonov had never updated AVS-36 with improvements he came up with for SKS and PTRS, it would have been cool to see soviet battle rifle in 7,62x54R that WASN'T WWII surplus.
The latter was correct tho, and PLA really emphasized the marksman shooting aspect, like the US, and the AK was deemed not accurate enough for their taste
as in the movie "the rundown" with the rock, Rosario Dawson has the weapon with a stovepipe in the canoe scene, and one of one of my favorite movie back music scenes ever!
Really cool video! Looking at this rifle through a 21st century lens, I just think early 20th century technology. From the gas piston system, to the auto sear, this rifle just appears like something some guy created in a small machine shop. Several of my friends have SKSs, but I don’t. In the 90s, they were a novel thing to get, typically for about $100. At the time, I bought a pre-ban Romanian AK, so I didn’t regard the SKS enough to get one as well. I found out that the AK wasn’t as accurate (or appreciably more reliable) than the M-16 I had in the Army, but I did not know that the SKS was more accurate. Now, 35 or so years later, I have an extensive gun collection; however, prices for an SKS are considerably higher, so it’s unlikely for me to buy one. It is an interesting rifle though.
"What do we do with all the crappy rifles?"
"Albania!"
Even build them a crappy machine gun just to fit the outdated crappy surplus ammo .
nah, it's not just the rifle. It was literally "What do we do with all this outdated military stuff?" "Albania!" I mean you can still find Type 62 tanks there (the only country in Europe that actually had them)
@@peerschulz2029 not always outdated stuff, China actually developed a helmet for export to albania which would later become the GK80, at a time when the PLA didn't really wear helmets all that much
What? I thought you said Elbonia!
Elbonia?
Reposting the views of Chinese military fans:
The original intention of designing this gun was that the conservative old general did not agree that the pistol-grip AK was a "rifle", and wanted to improve the firepower of the rifle while maintaining the ability to fight with bayonets. "Rifle and subgun in one（步冲合一）". Its design concept is not enough to be described as outdated, it should be a freak. It inherited the shortcomings of both sides.
Some people joked that it was a bayonet with fully automatic firing function
The retired veterans who shot it commented: The fully automatic firing rate is too fast and difficult to control
So basically the same idea as the M14...
@@HanJia879 worse actually as they got entire production line of ak ready, while US army would have entire production line of FAL free from FN before taking m14 design, it still in offering and planning phase while PLA could just expand ak productions.
Thanks for this additional report. 👍🏼
@nollrd thank you very much for the insights!! If you have more knowledge about the gun's design, history and performance, I think everyone would be really interested in hearing it 🎉
@@jalpat2272 Yeah they didn't realize that AK was already a "rifle and subgun in one" rifle
Type 63 rifle: AK/sks hybrid
Type 81 rifle: ak/sks hybrid but the ak has more dominant gene
The design of the Type 81 was based on Factory 296's experience in improving the Type 63. Additionally, it was designed after reverse engineering the SVD in the same office, and its bolt mechanism is more similar to that of the SVD, although the camming lugs were not used as locking lugs.
Allele
QBZ 191 still has some SKS gene left in the bolt.
@hammann7496 no offense but how tf do you have an anime waifu looking ass picture as your profile pic but you have intimate knowledge of the sks and its family of firearms? You're either high tier trolling or a very strange individual and either way it's quite contrary and rather amusing.
More like the Type 63 is an AK in the form of an SKS, while the Type 81 is an SKS in the form of the AK.
You can guess which was better.
Some to add to your video and answering some of your questions, as a native Chinese speaker:
Western intelligence often called this a Type 68 like you mentioned, and they thought there's a semiautomatic-only variant called the Type 63.
Factory 376 was the codename for 先锋机械厂 (Pioneer Machine Works) in Hebei province, built as a part of the Third Front Movement to strategically disperse China's various factories and arsenals. The rifle you had was a year 1 production, so made in 1963. It's extremely rare as not many milled rifles were made. Total production of the milled and stamped guns were around 2 million, one source claimed 2,222,280 rifles.
The later, stamped rifle you showed was made by Factory 296 (triangle 26 stamp) in 1973, as the serial starts with "11". They made the bulk of the stamped receiver Type 63s from 1969 to 1978 when the production was shut down and reverted to the Type 56 SKS. This final batch of the SKS also used the bakelite upper handguard nicknamed "French tickler" by collectors. SKS production ended in 1980 as the factory retooled again to make the newly designed Type 81, which is the successor to the 63.
Mass production started in 1969 with the stamped rifles and a LOT of simplifications happened. The M25x1.5mm threaded barrel on the milled guns were changed to a press-fit and pinned by a 4mm pin. In practice some barrels came loose. The stamped receivers led to wandering zeros and decreased accuracy from the factory. When the bolt slams shut onto the milled trunnion, excessive stress was observed at the front of the receiver, the shear stress causing microfractures so they had to reduce the expected service life from 15k rounds to 10k. The BCG guiderails were shortened by 6mm when converted to the stamped design and reduced accuracy. By 1974 the military were so fed up they were literally chanting "give us the Type 56 SKS back" (还我五六半).
The Type 63s did not fully phase out in the early 70s. In the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese conflict the lack of firepower became evident as the PLA doctrine at that time still did NOT adopt the concept of assault rifles: The Type 56 SMG (AK) were seen as SMGs and only 1-2 were issued per squad, while the mainline infantry still uses the Type 56 SKS. The Type 63 was the first rifle to combine these two with the "oneness between rifle and SMG" (步冲合一) philosophy. So in the '79 conflict, Type 63s in storage were slightly modified and reissued to frontline service. Main improvements include braided recoil springs, stronger firing pins, and a modified magazine catch so they can use AK mags, although AK mags in Type 63 aren't as sturdy as Type 63 mags in a Type 63 or AK mags in an AK.
The numerous shortcomings of both the Type 63 and to a lesser degree, Type 56 AK in the 1979 conflict, prompted the development of the Type 81 rifle and its failed competitor, Type 82, which truly is a forgotten weapon. For starters, the Type 81 was truly an assault rifle with better accuracy, instead of a conventional rifle with a higher fire rate. The rear sight was covered instead of exposed like on the Type 56 to reduce glare caused by paint chipping, and the rotary dial selector was kept. But that's a video for another day.
Awesome insight, much appreciated!
You sure about Type 63s still being used in the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese conflict? I thought they went completely out of service pretty soon
@@bravo_cj Like I said, they were pressed into the 1979 conflict again after minor revisions. Tons of Chinese documents and photographs on this.
@@fungusamongus69420 I see, thank you
Holy shit they went to Vietnam with a crappy rifle just like the Americans
"A metric... cubic meter of cosmoline." Admit it Ian, you were going to say "metric shitton" but you caught yourself.
Not making the mags interchangeable for the sake of a bolt hold open seems like a huge logistical oversight
That's the problem with 7.62x39 guns, you want to use ak mags because they're everywhere but you want to use a different magazine because of the last round bolt hold open
The real oversight is not making the ak have a hold open in the first place. I love the ak, but that's the number one biggest missing feature.
i wouldn’t say oversight so much as, they were trying to shift over to a new design for the primary infantry rifle. Having a bold hold open function helps with feeding stripper clips, which are cheaper to produce and easier to carry than detachable magazines, which is a logistical advantage in the long run. it sounded like they planned on phasing out the AK and SKS as both were seen as inadequate in some regard.
whether that was the right decision… well hind sight is 20-20. at that point the PRC was a young nation with a burgeoning manufacturing industry so they were probably overly optimistic about their ability to supply weapons like this. they probability didn’t anticipate the manufacturing problems.
it’s like the M-14. it was planned on replacing the Garand completely, it did not have mags that were interchangeable with any other weapons platofrms (like the BAR) and had manufacturing problems that led to its eventual abandoning
Old legacy ak takes type63/type81 mags, and ak mag can be easily modified to be used by type63/type81
@@Moondog66602The AK was pretty poorly made despite what people say. It was outdated even when it went into production, it was just simple. The AK was originally using a 2 part receiver like the STG-44 and FAL, then they went to the outdated system of using a single receiver and a massive dust cover.
There’s a reason Eastern European nations are swapping from, the basic operating system is good but the rifle is completely outdated. Russia hasn’t swapped away from it because it’s cheaper to keep them in service. An updated truly modernized AK would be similar to the PSA Jakl or the AK-521.
The AK has charm and I love it but even I have to admit it’s nowhere near the level of the AR-15, it was a conscripts gun designed for a country that thought human wave tactics were good. The only innovative thing about it was its ammo which also quickly became outdated.
If you want easy access to a Type 81, there's a fair number in Canada, because it's not prohibited like the AK, and there's not an import ban of guns from China.
I saw someone get an SKS-D or something that was a Norinco SKS that took al mags from the factory
The Canadian Type 81 is nowhere near the quality original military spec 81s we got here in the US.
@@peacemakersfirearms114 Lol, they aren't "original military spec" in the US. US market Type 81s are gimped. They lost the rotary dial selector and was changed to a SKS flag safety, and the spigot grenade launcher was omitted. The heat shield and upper handguard were also changed in order to make it not look too 'evil' according to the Democrats.
American Type 81 rifles and LMGs were made by two factories, Emei (Factory 296) made the rifles and XY (Factory 396) made the Norinco M313 (LMG). Guess who was making the rifles for Canada? You guessed it, Emei. Same factory, same tooling.
I read that all semis are outlawed
@@jess500texasFalse.
Ever since you mentioned the Type 63 on the Type 81 LMG semi auto variant for the US market I've been waiting for this video. Thanks a lot Ian!
I saw one up close whenmy family moved to Mauritania in 2001, it belonged to the familiy we bought our house from and was in the bathroom next to the safe.
Super cool enhanced sks.
I love it when I find ChiCom or Soviet small arms in the bathroom of a new house when I move in.
The main reason this gun even exists is that Type 56 AK was never considered as a rifle but a SMG. Before Type-81, a rifle in PLA definition must have a traditional stock, which is essential for 'accurate shooting' based on the training and standard tactics. Type 56 AK has a pistol grip so it is designated as a SMG the whole time and the military wanted a 'real select-fire rifle' to fit in their combat protocol
Cultural revolution pretty much fked up the quality control of Type-63. Later in the Vietnam war, PLA had seen the all AK vs M16 things and finally decided to update their rifle. They actually started with Type-74 LMG which is pretty much the prototype for Type-81 and it was built and tested earlier than the border conflict in 1979.
Will be, but
Which was something that led to the M14 being favored over the FAL by the US Army ordinance. Fudds like what they are familiar with?
Note to self:
*Do not make QC inspectors wear dunce caps*
The chinese PPSh has a traditional stock the same as the soviet ones. It was considered a rifle or a SMG? Eastern combat vehicles are in general pretty small and unconfortable inside, I imagine having AKs in them in place of something like a PPS-43 must suck.
Awesome job touching on the stamped receiver. My understanding is that the production simplifications that were approved during the cultural revolution are ultimately what sealed the Type 63's fate. In particular, the receiver going from a single piece forging to a thirteen(!) piece stamped design combined with the barrel being press fit and pinned into the new thin front trunnion, rather than screwed in as initially designed. Combined with revolutionary QC, the variance in the total production of rifles was so great they couldn't be saved.
A perfect weapon for the Elbonian Navy. Especially when coupled with the 30 round AK magazine; 1 magazine available for every two rifles.
We had a shipment of these imported to Australia in the early 90's or late 80's. Norinco figured they'd be fine to just tack weld the selector so it couldn't go to automatic. It didn't take long before people realised that a bit of Dremel time gave them a full functional machine gun. I'm pretty sure one showed up in a shooting in Queensland back in about 2017
The concept of combining a short-stroke piston with a rotating bolt and detachable magazine was ahead of its time.
Was it? SVD just off the top of my head. China would have been familiar with it.
@@BC-wj8fx China never could have SVD at that time, sino-soviet split happened in 61, SVD only just finished its beta version design at that time(rejected), only being accepted into service in 63.
By the time China got a working SVD, it was in sino-vietnamese war in 79, China used captured SVD to design Type 85 later.
An SKS with a detachable mag, IMHO, just looks great. Doesn't beat the OG SKS design, but it's a good-looking rifle in its own right.
it's like something you would see a Bubba or CoD Gunsmith would make
Apparently the Chinese prefer SKS over AKs. The Type 81 rifle demonstrated this, with the short-stroke piston action of that rifle.
The other obvious advantage is that it is designed for automatic fire. Regular SKS can be "modified," of course, but it puts strain on the bolt, the fire rate is usually insane.
Look up SKS/D or the SKK which in Australia used to be a common hunting rifle. The SKK was the same as a SKS but used 30 round AK mags. The Maegun (Norinco Hunter), was based on the Kalashnikov design but without a pistol grip. I've also seen SKS with a fixed 20 round mag.
@@Matt-md5ytIts the SKS variant which appears in Insurgency Sandstorm
I can't believe you got access to not one but MULTIPLE versions of the type 63
Always loved the look of this gun! The combination of AK and SKS elements are very cool!
I like how the universal disassembly tool is just a pen
A real universal disassembly tool is a cartridge. A pen is an acceptable substitute.
@@brucestarr4438opened this comment to make exactly that point
I've been waiting for this video for years, absolutely made my morning.
"Yo my SKS is more Full-Auto than yours"
@@Jexxairsoft a Chinese SKS Hybrid Rifle with a magazine
The fuller auto SKS
@@azimisyauqieabdulwahab9401Yeah we know we literally watched the video
@@ThomasVvV just sharpen the firing pin and there you go
Stuck firing pin:
"What did you just say?"
Don't let tactical bubba see this. It'll be fitted with promag plastic furniture and a BSA red dot before you can blink.
Back when they were dime a dozen
Not today kiddo
14:34 I like the Adjustable Gas Piston on the FNC1A1 !!! :) ...
I joined the Canadian Army Cadets a year early at 11 years old. I LOVED carrying that giant rifle around, and shooting it at the range. I routinely got Best SHot when we went to the range with the C1A1's
14:26 "I've been firing my rifle, but now it's not cycling! Welp, time to burn my fingerprints off."
Exactly my thoughts
Like seriously what is the point? If you have the time to change that gas setting you might as well just clean the gun so you don’t need it!
I have been looking forward to a video on this gun for so long.
up until the buy-back happened in Australia (QLD), you could buy a SKS semi and a large box of ammo for $150.00 (AUS)...but no more.
I once read an article written by a professional Chinese firearm designer commenting on the Type 63, and there are actually quite a lot of interesting details about the gun:
1. The QD stock design caused major bedding issues. Indeed, similar designs had been used on various guns, including the M1 and the M14; however, the Type 63 had major QC issues (when you have a cultural turmoil going on in the country and your engineers are being purged that’s not surprising at all), that combined with the fact that QD stocks don’t have the most solid fitting with the receiver had some pretty catastrophic results
2. To increase the travel of the bolt in the receiver to reduce felt recoil without lengthening the receiver, the designers made the bolt quite stubby on the Type 63. This, combined with the aforementioned QC issue, lead to an insane amount of horizontal tilt of the bolt while the gun is operating (I forgot the exact numbers but it’s insane). Therefore, some patterns of Type 63 had super skinny charging handles to try to minimize that effect
3. Stock cracking isn’t something new to SKSs. Guess what happens when they make a stock that is the same size but has a wider receiver cutout in it. If you guessed it would crack a whole lot, you are very right. The Type 63 the author of the article got from the arsenal of NJUST (an affiliate of the PLA) was in very good condition except for a gigantic crack in the stock
Overall, the author concluded that the Type 63 is basically a total failure. I personally think it’s quite similar to the M14 ( fudds trying their best) but worse due to the legendary “Chinese characteristics”😂😂😂
sweet love the Type weapons. thanks for covering one
It's amazing how accurate the type 56 SKS is as you mentioned. I've fired at least a dozen different type 56's in various conditions and all were "minute of man" out to 250 yards.
Ah the skk, legend has it that thousands of these are still buried in backyards all across Australia
Ahh yes, the great poly-pipe shortage of 1997. I believe most of the SKSs were handed in though, as the govt was offering several hundred dollars for a $100 gun :)
If the legend were correct, you'd think they'd be showing up all over the place as all those middle age guys from the suburbs who owned SKKs circa 1997 start dropping off the perch 30 years later and their standard 1/4 acre house blocks start getting demolished and dug up for town houses.
That said, the occasional slightly rusted semi auto rifle pops up on usedguns from time to time.
The SKK is just an SKS with detachable mags. This is a rotating bolt gun. Different rifle
I love how Ian, while talking about a very rare (in the US at least) gun casually pulls out a *second* one just to point out it’s stamped vs. milled receiver, off handedly points out that’s it’s full of cosmoline, and puts it aside. 😮
One of elements of Holy Grail of Forgotten Weapons for sure
The holy grail would be any German A Korobov rifle. That man made out of this world designs. The Soviets said he was too radical for them. Crazy designs.
And here goes Ian, making me want to buy another rifle I ain’t got the money for, XD
From the late 80's (until 1996 when our semi auto gun restrictions came into effect), Norinco made a semi auto version of this rifle and imported them 'en masse' into Australia. They were colloquially named 'SKK' and perhaps as many as 100,000 were sold here. All came with the 30 round mag and same bayonet. Every young buck that had a license owned one and Chinese ammo was dirt cheap. The guns sold for AU$280-$350 and so were the cheapest centerfire semi auto available here at the time.
No, that's a SKS with a detachable magazine, completely different to the Type 63.
"Universal Disassembly Tool" 🤣🤣🤣 cracks me every time!!!
Obstructions in the barrel is my universal disassembly tool. Which is only funny if you're never had a rifle explode on you. I haven't, but i know people who've had it happen. I've personally seen more than one split barrel.
There are two routes for a AK/SKS hybrid:
We have the Czech made Vz 58, well crafted and doing everything to not be an AK to spite the Russians but looking close enough they won't take it away from them.
Then we have the china type 63, while still well made, is taking a "copying the work, but making two or three changes to not get caught by the teacher" Approach.
Both can't take AK mags.
Hmmm... now I'm getting the image of the type 63 being the Chinese half brother of the VZ 58, it'd be funny to see someone duel wield these at the same time
In Australia/NZ SKS pattern rifles that take AK mags are very common and generally called SKK's. 90% of SKS rifles are chinese origin.
Nice. I’m glad you guys still get to have those.
@@alanmcnew5376 most don't sadly, you need a higher class of licence to possess. There is just tons left over from before 1996, funnily enough it keeps prices on them very low cos most people can't own them.
@@blujthewombat and those that can have them, don't bother with shitty sks's. Ditto with M1 Carbines.
But m1 carbine is better.@SnoopReddogg
Finally,always hope Ian could have reviews on type 63
The Type 63 really is a strange gun, essentially the love-child of the Type 56 and the SKS only to turn out to be a failure in testing effectively making it the Chinese counterpart of the M14. Thanks for showing us this neat-looking if bizarre gun Ian.
I guess early test subject for DEI experiment...
I’ve been waiting years for you to covered this!
The semi-automatic version of these guns were everywhere here in Oz during the late 80s and early 90s. I once bought one for $50, but it was the base rifle, one magazine and 6 stripper clips. I later bought one for $100 that came with 3 magazines and 2 boxes of steel-core ammunition. Things like drum magazines and other accessories were even sold at Kmart.
Absolutely love your channel, your thoroughness, your clear annunciation and diction, and your well-researched content. Thank you, Ian. From another Ian.
What a time to be awake on a day off.
Hey Ian, new merch idea: Forgotten Weapons-branded Universal Disassembly Tool!! 😂
"The AK had enough firepower but wasn't suitably accurate."
History of the AK in a nutshell
Accurate for their tastes.
I didn’t know that there were a million of these produced. I heard that they were relatively rare to find, thank you for posting this informative ( as always) video, Ian!
Been waiting for a long time for this video
I have an SKS that accepts all AK magazines except drum types. It has no provisions for a bayonet and the stock is of commercial quality. I paid $200 for it which was an outrageous price for an SKS at the time. It's a good shooter, accurate and 100% reliable.
I use that weapon in Vietnam 🇻🇳 captured from a north Vietnamese prisoner.. but i let him go back in 1967 thru 1971. I now live in Vietnam 🇻🇳...nice video?.
When you have the biggest army in the world but you focus on weird hybrid rifles instead of making cheap stamped AKs.
A typically brilliant video Ian. Watching it here on my balcony in Crete sipping a beer. Top entertainment in the heat of the day.
Oh, I've been waiting for a video on the Type 63 for a while, it's a really unique little piece of Cold War history. I hope we'll get the Type 81 soon!
He actually did a video on the Type 81 lmg a while back
When you have two designs that each have their own faults and you combine them in an attempt to mitigate those faults, you are just asking to end up with a product that exhibits the faults from both of the original designs...
The design is successful and during the trial test , it meets all requirement and fulfil what PLA wants. What failed is in production and also this went service during a very difficult time of cultural revolution which severely disrupt the production quality. Many subsequently factory did not follow the requirement guideline in producing it but emphasize in cost cutting as China is short of funds..
You must be sane! But we're talking about the military here. 😊
@@zenden9 "Cultural" and literal genocide you mean...
It's like the m14's commie brother. Both rifles are from an old era and their countries tried to "modernize" them by having a detachable magazine and full auto feature. Both of them failed and were quickly abandoned by the armed forces and only found use in export to satellite states.
7:05 "So I have a universal disassembly tool here"
grabs ballpoint pen
I have fired around 4000bullets with this gun, i can tell you a few things that Ian forgot.
1) This gun has 6 grooves on it's barrel different from every other of it's caliber (they usually have 4)
Which makes this gun way more accurate.
2) has a longer barrel which makes it more accurate and the bullet drop is (depending on ammo) after 600m
3) it can fire wayyyy more bullets per minute than the ak, like the difference is huge.
Personaly my fav gun.
When the Type-63/68 ended up in Albania (early 'late 60s early '70s) it was a prety 'new' rifle, intended to arm PA's heavy artillery crews, dislocated in remote areas. It was much appreciated for the double ammo capacity over the SKS and, yes, the precision of fire....
Interesting to see the developments on this rifle going forward into the Type 81
Had a friend in college that had one, I thought it was pretty cool. I only had my $150 Russky SKS (and still do).
Now that's an impressive internal design, thanks for the presentation Ian
These were EXTREMELY common in Australia before the 1996 ban, we called them SKKs to distinguish them from SKS'. Sold with two mags and 1000? rounds for $350 approx. How to convert an SKK, SKS or AK to full auto was taught at Army reserve officer night school in the late 1980's.
How far Australia has fallen. 😭
I was waiting for this video! Thank you, Ian!
I've done some digging around and from best I can tell, the rifle was in service from between 1963-1978, (Obviously according to Ian, trials were from the early 1960s until 1968 when the rifle entered adoption), and if you know your Chinese history, you'll also know that around this time when the rifle was in production, the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was also going on at around the same time which caused development and production issues which was definitely a factor in why production guns had all of their shortcomings.
If only there was a channel dedicated to the history of the Type 53: the Ak and SKS in Chinese service.....
Thank you Ian. Loved it.
Finally a well detailed English guide to this quasi-mysterious rifle. Top job Ian
I saw a picture of an Albanian holding a type 63 and I was wondering what gun he had.
Yeah they adopted them and type 56 aks until they made their own licensed copy
@@kawaiiarchive357 it was partly because Albania and Hoxha sided with Mao against Khrushchev in the Sino Soviet split.
The thought of an SKS that takes regular AK magazines makes me salivate. I wish we could just get something like that even as a new-production rifle.
People's army of Vietnam loved to capture the type 63 during the Sino Vietnamese war of 1979, thousands were captured from dead PLA troops and reinserted into Vietnamese usage.
You mean they were donated to North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War.
@@zhaopeiyu No no, that's one batch, these were specifically captured from PLA troops in 1979, either dead or captured, of course not in huge numbers unlike the type 56 AK and SKS and such.
Funny because the PLA troops complained about them and prefer capturing Vietnamese AKs.
@@fungusamongus69420 PAVN captured whatever they could get their hands on but they loved the type 63 because of same ammo and full auto capabilities.
I like to think that Vietnam's spirit animal is the honey badger.
I’ve been waiting so long for a video on this.
Very informative video. Thanks for bringing it to the viewers.
The M14 we have at home
Or the other way around. 😁
You you seen the M305A rifle on this channel? It's... interesting.
@kutter_ttl6786 Yeah it's certainly something
I love the variety of the places that you film. One day you’ll be at a government armory with guns all over the walls behind you very well lit rooms with nice tables, and today it’s cardboard walls lol
I've been waiting for this one thank you
When Ian says he's excited to show us something you know it's gonna be a good time
would've gotten only high scores on temu for a mysterious reason
YES FINALLY after all of these years we finally get to see what this gun is like on the inside
I bought CODBOCW exclusively for t63 and qbz. Didn't win much but It was fun.
Interesting piece of gear.
Last time i was at the Cu Chi Tunnels "adventure park" out to the west of Saigon, there was a Type 63 available for the tourists to shoot (at one US Dollar per round). Quite a few other goodies also available for the tourists to fire on the 25 metre range.
Wasn't there a "70" series between these and the Type 81. Basically, the guts of a 63 / 68 "modernized" with a pistol gripped, AKM-style body, side-folding butt and the front sight "integrated" with the gas block? Very short sight radius.
They came to notice when they turned up in the nasty little civil war in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s..
The Type 81 series was the "bridging" product until China unveiled their 5.8mm cartridge in an entirely new firearm package as the PLA troops rolled into Hong Kong in the late 1990s.
Type 63 mag looks very similar to a type 81 mag. I recently purchased a type 81m underfolder. It's so much fun and very similar in concept.
At one time, some SKSs that used AK magazines were imported into the US. I used to have one. As far as I could tell, however, it was a regular SKS action with a modified magazine well.
I picked up a replacement 5-round magazine. Fits flush, great for carrying while hunting. Even split a 10-roujnd clip into two 5-rounders, for a quick reload.
That was either an SKS-D or an SKS-M . Rather than having a specific magazine, they used AK mags by default.
It’s not at all a Type 63. It’s just an SKS-M or D, made for the US commercial market.
@@HustleMuscleGhias I don't trust promag as a general rule. Surplus or Magpul for me.
@@Dominic1962 Yes, I know. I was just pointing out that such a thing had been made and sold.
Looks like a good design. Indeed combining the best parts of each rifle. Well good rifle design is only as good as your ability to produce it.
Looking forward to the Type 81 video
very interesting. you really see the evolution of the design with this
This has always been a top 10 dream gun of mine! Would have made waaaaay more sense to have made it take standard AK mags imo. Thanks for the video and the knowledge Ian!
Yes, I did enjoy your presentation of the Type-63. I’ve been curious about it for a decade. I own both SKS and Type-81 rifles, but these are a gun that seems to have slipped thru the cracks on so many levels.
Any chance you will a chance to test fire it??
Always love the aesthetic of a rifle gripped automatic rifle.
Didn't know this existed! Thanks.
Here in Australia 🇦🇺, 300,000 SKS and "SKK" (30rd mag) were brought into the country from China in late 80s.
They went pretty cheap, SKK + wooden case of 1,000rds for $395 - 495 I think 🤔
Both rifles were semi-automatic, SKK 30rd mag had an odd design (or modified for import) a partial fitted magazine.
You can see a lot of features from this were reused on the later type 81.
These are super cool. Unless I'm mistaken, I'm guessing you could cut that notch into a standard AK mag, in which case for private use that'd make these excellent shooters.
Thanks!
Pretty cool gun Ian!.
Ian, while you’re still at RA, please do a video on the Krag Petterson rifle! Jonathan Ferguson confirmed there is one in their inventory. It’s so hard to find anything on it.
Interesting. So much SKS.
I was in the US Navy from 1986-1992 and we still used M-14 when standing watches looking for swimmers approaching the ship.
Always wondered if there was any economic incentive to do so. Lile was it somehow cheaper or easier or faster to make?
Or were they just following 1947-1949 soviet doctrinal approach of "SKS is a rifle, AK is SMG"? I know that PRC viewed AK as SMG, but not idea if they were keen on supplementing it with "rifle" too.
A pity that Simonov had never updated AVS-36 with improvements he came up with for SKS and PTRS, it would have been cool to see soviet battle rifle in 7,62x54R that WASN'T WWII surplus.
The latter was correct tho, and PLA really emphasized the marksman shooting aspect, like the US, and the AK was deemed not accurate enough for their taste
They were following the rifle + SMG doctrine.
SKS-D from Norinco was nicely made. 30 rnd AK mags
as in the movie "the rundown" with the rock, Rosario Dawson has the weapon with a stovepipe in the canoe scene, and one of one of my favorite movie back music scenes ever!
Good video, thank you
Ah yes the Chinese love-affair with the SKS, the one that isn't working for them but they can't let go of
Really cool video! Looking at this rifle through a 21st century lens, I just think early 20th century technology. From the gas piston system, to the auto sear, this rifle just appears like something some guy created in a small machine shop. Several of my friends have SKSs, but I don’t. In the 90s, they were a novel thing to get, typically for about $100. At the time, I bought a pre-ban Romanian AK, so I didn’t regard the SKS enough to get one as well. I found out that the AK wasn’t as accurate (or appreciably more reliable) than the M-16 I had in the Army, but I did not know that the SKS was more accurate. Now, 35 or so years later, I have an extensive gun collection; however, prices for an SKS are considerably higher, so it’s unlikely for me to buy one. It is an interesting rifle though.