Oddball Gas Tube

[jmaurer]

I think I saw a complete rifle on GB a couple of years ago with one of these, but the images were too indistinct to tell. Was this a method to give life to a corroded gas tube? From Apex Gun Parts (and unfortunately, out of stock):

[Greatguns]

Need a pic or a link. Otherwise we don't really know what you are referring to.

[jmaurer]

Greatguns, sorry it's not showing up. I can see it when I open the post, but I haven't looked at the thread with a conventional laptop-may be mobile device hitch. I'll try to fix it, but in the meantime, here's the link:

https://www.apexgunparts.com/sks-gas-tube-w-extension-and-hg-gd.html

Edit: just checked the original post with a different connection and computer; looks OK with the image present as posted. Dunno...

[Greatguns]

Yeah, don't know what it was, but I can see it now. Looks like it started out life as an M59 gas tube and was modified to work with an M59/66.

Never seen one with a sleeve like that before. It could possibly just be an arsenal repair where the end of the tube got worn out so they cut it back and installed the sleeve.

[jmaurer]

Ah, that may well be the case. The auction I remembered was for a 59/66A1, and you could just make out the difference in the color of the steel. I thought this modification could be corrosion-related since I've got a hard-used M59 with advanced pitting in the area of the "extension" from poor maintenance. I was never able to get clearer images from the seller, but I'm guessing this may be what was on the rifle.

[Justin Hell]

Looks like an SKSS or Sporter shortened tube...which except for a very limited run of guns were useless as 'parts'...that had an extension added to use with 59/66 SKSs.

Notice the electro penciled and stamped serials....and the location of the vent holes.

[Greatguns]

Never looked beyond the first pic    Looks a little short to me, but why would Yugoslavia have obtained Chinese SKS-S gas tubes. Unless you're thinking more Albania getting stuff from the Chinese back when they got the actual Chinese rifles. I suppose that's very possible. Albanian makeshift repair??

[jmaurer]

From the Apex photos, the numbers [both Serial and electropencil batch (?) numbers] appear to me to be Yugoslavian, and a crude side-by-side with other photos doesn't look like the vent holes are substantially out-of-place from an unmodified 59/66 variant gas tube. I wish I'd seen these earlier and picked one up just from an academic standpoint. I guess that's the reason these Apex parts piqued my interest: were any complete rifles imported with these gas tubes, and is that what I remember from a long-past auction?

[Phosphorus32]

Interesting. I’d like to have one just to study it. The numbers in the third photo show that the example photographed is from an M59/66-A1. A clever but ugly means of salvaging non-functioning corroded gas tubes. I wonder if it was a product of the Civil Wars when the countries (not Serbia) were cut off from Zastava and needed to salvage their own finite number of weapons.

[Greasemonkey]

Could be some of the stuff left over from the run of stuff that came in with all the Bosnian TRB refurbs. They did funky things to M59/66s and calling them M59s, why not do funky things to a gas tube. Some commie recycling at it's best, lop off the gas erroded part, attach a new piece, call it good enough for government work.  and it worked, they sold out. 

[running-man]

Could be.

There were some weird M59's that popped up a while back with in the white gas tubes:





But I don't remember seeing these franken-tubes out there.  Maybe they were and I just missed them.  Neat idea, esp. for salvaging an otherwise unusable tube.