Hey.... I have an SKS I’ve owned for about 25 years. Mine shoots really good.
It’s not the tool; it’s the operator.
So do mine, all 3. But I don't have a scope mounted on a loose fitting dust cover, which is probably what this looser had.
Another question: I've heard people saying that he fired 50 to 100 rounds. Was he using stripper clips or did he have removable mags?
If one of you actually has one of these and is counting on it, do not put on a scope. The scope mounts on a piece that is not barrel or action but a piece that moves every time it is fired. Much, much more accurate without a scope.
I think you were lucky drawing a good one. Back in the late '80s a gun shop near me had a sale on Chinese SKSs. They kept a barrel of them out on the floor and let them go for $60 a pop, complete with bayonet. I would look them over carefully and choose the best one I could find. Still, I wound up buying four of them before I got one that could shoot straight. Some of the others were astonishingly inaccurate. The one I kept is a good rifle and very well balanced. I doubt that many people have the time or opportunity to search for a good one as I did, so there are probably a lot of duds out there.