My SKS happens to be Chinese made, so I know from first-hand experience that they make an excellent version of this gun. I've read that Russian and Yugo are also great too. The Yugo doesn't have a "chrome-lined" barrel... I could be mistaken about this. Crome-lined barrels are good for corrosion resistance, but if you clean your barrel's bore after shooting, it doesn't really matter. My preference for this type of gun though is a "chrome-lined" barrel. Do a search for 'SKS' and its related forums to find out all the info you probably ever wanted to know. Last time I bought ammo (7.62x39), it cost under $4 for a box of 20 rounds ('Wolf' brand); I bought 400 rounds for about $75! They also make hollow-point bullets (hunting) that sell for the same price. BTW, I went to a local indoor rifle range the other day with my SKS and wasn't allowed to shoot... why? -Because my bullets were steel-core 'full metal jacket' and supposedly there rifle-range backstop can't contain them. At first I was a little disappointed, but then I thought, "Yea... this gun is bad-ass!"