Also, on the author favoring the AK-47. I have a friend who tests firearms and is well published here in the states. He has convinced me that a Chinese SKS rates higher for versatility than the AK.
If you purchase detachable mags for your SKS (like I have done), take each one out and use it, to be sure it functions properly. Both of the thirty rounders I purchased (metal, never plastic) needed a bit of file tweaking to work properly every time. Youy load two thirty rounders up for stand-by and you’re good to go. I bought a paratrooper model years ago and have put two or three thousand rounds through it and it is just like the first time I took it out with the ‘after market’ polymer stock. The SKS is a tremendously durable and functional rifle. With well tuned detachable mags I would match it to any non-Soviet AK.