MTAA,
That's a great question that I've been wondering about myself. Sorry I don't have an answer for you. I also live in California and am in the market for another SKS (I have a Russian in near-perfect shape and a Chinese 16" paratrooper). I'd like to get another Russian or maybe a Romanian as a "fun-gun" that I can knock around (that's what I got the Russian for, but then I fell in love with it before I even shot it and now I don't want to get it scratched up). Since we can no longer get ARs, FALs, AKs, etc. here, I would think that SKSs would be for sale everywhere. But they aren't, and when you do find them, the prices are high. I'm tempted to order a Romanian from AIM Surplus or one of the other vendors, but I'd really like to be able to look it over first. Why aren't there piles of SKSs at the California gun shows and stores? I think $150-$200 SKSs (depending on condition) would sell fast here.
Doug