List of Commercial Chinese Importers

[running-man]

I'm not sure if this is a commercial sks or not I'm guessing it is but looks like the importer is Maco I didn't see it on either import list....maybe I'm blind.

I believe this one is N.A. CO Ridgefield, NJ  Certainly a different stamp with the all caps than what I've got. 

Hard to say what config this N.A gun originally came in, they built them to order at times so it could be almost anything!  Look like a 12 year prefix, but I can't make out the triangle arsenal stamp.  That's a shame because the early non /26\ triangle guns like this are few and far between.

[sss]

Hi RM, here is a pic from my scrubbed SKS.  Import mark under barrel between FSB and GB.  Reads: SAMCO MIA FL / SKS 7.62x39 CHINA

[running-man]

Nice!  Thanks, I had the mark catalogued, but not the location. 

[Greasemonkey]

Off a NR SKS...

Located on right side, same ONT. CA. as C.S.I., it's electro-penciled, not stamped.

I have found 2 names, no idea which is correct for S.S.I.: Sino Sports Incorporated and Safari Sports Incorporated.

[Power Surge]

Off a NR SKS...

Located on right side, same ONT. CA. as C.S.I., it's electro-penciled, not stamped.

I have found 2 names, no idea which is correct for S.S.I.: Sino Sports Incorporated and Safari Sports Incorporated.

Did you find anything on those company names? Anything linked to China Sports?

For others reading this...as per my private convo with GM, this is what I found on the NRs from the commercial database...

ALL NRs with 93xxx serials, have C.S.I. ONT CA  on the LEFT side of the receiver, stamped in the same section as the model and made in china stamping.

Starting with the 94xxx serial guns, the early ones are marked with S.S.I. ONT CA on the RIGHT side of the receiver. Later serial 94xxx NRs go back to the C.S.I. ONT CA stamp, but still it the same right side spot as the S.S.I. guns. The S.S.I. stamps are rough, like a dot matrix or machine EP. The C.S.I. stampings on 94s go back to the crisp stamping like on the 93s.

NO 94s are import stamped on the left side. And some 94s have NO import stamping that I can see in the available pics.

They still all came through China Sports, as far as I can tell. My best guess is that whoever was doing the import markings on the first batch of 94s over in china mistakenly put SSI in stead of CSI. Either that, or China Sports had another legal name they used.

[Greasemonkey]

No... Havent had much time do to work    But Im going to dig when I have time. Those names I found in a discussion on Norinco 1911 handguns.

But, its funny how more importers showing up in pairs. What business advantage or why the need for the 2 operations at one location. Was it for tax purpose, if one is shut down due to regulations or shady practices, the other carries on.
Just a few off the top of my head.
IDE and CJA in Southfield Mich.
C&A and DIG in Va Beach Va
CSI and SSI in Ont. Ca
And maybe a few others that I need to connect the dots on, when I have time.

[Greasemonkey]

They still all came through China Sports, as far as I can tell. My best guess is that whoever was doing the import markings on the first batch of 94s over in china mistakenly put SSI in stead of CSI. Either that, or China Sports had another legal name they used.

Seems the S.S.I mark is.... Safari Supply Inc.  I found real no mention of Sino Sports with the exception of someone trying to guess what S.S.I. was...
Found a little more digging in the Chinese section of a 1911 forum, there is some on and off again discussion on importers as well. C.S.I and S.S.I. must have had quite a market on 1911 handguns in the day. I've run across one or two spots that say C.S.I. got some bad press and they changed the name, but have yet to truly verify as the S.S.I. name wasn't used long, maybe a year or so if that, and there is not a whole lot of info available.. There have been Norinco 1911s found with the right side of the frame stamped S.S.I. Safari Supply Inc. ONT CA and then on the left side of the frame C.S.I. China Sports Inc. ONT CA., these seem to have been deemed transitional pieces by Chinese 1911 collectors. So I would take it, they were operating from the same physical address. Then also, it seems just before the Chinese imports were cut off, the C.S.I. name popped back up briefly again in 1911s, much like PS describes on the NR.

[running-man]

Duh, I just had a major case of brain fart.

Check out #45 in the Military Import stamp thread: http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0

Then follow that to:
https://www.bizapedia.com/people/randy-men.html

and follow that to:
https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/CBS/SearchResults?SearchType=NUMBER&SearchCriteria=C1712584&SearchSubType=Exact

I had forgotten I went down that rabbit hole previously.  1992 until dissolution in 1996 at the latest is what I've found. 

[Power Surge]

Duh, I just had a major case of brain fart.

Check out #45 in the Military Import stamp thread: http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0

Then follow that to:
https://www.bizapedia.com/people/randy-men.html

and follow that to:
https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/CBS/SearchResults?SearchType=NUMBER&SearchCriteria=C1712584&SearchSubType=Exact

I had forgotten I went down that rabbit hole previously.  1992 until dissolution in 1996 at the latest is what I've found. 

That's really interesting. At least we solved the SSI question. But that raises other questions now.

File date for SSI was 9/92. Yet we see CSI stamps for all 93 model NRs, then SSI stamps starting 94, and back to CSI stamps.

So did CSI end when SSI began? I really wish the documents showed end dates as well.

Also interesting, SSI was dissolved, but CSI was surrendered. And all Randy's companies were Cali jurisdiction, but CSI was Texas jurisdiction.

Good stuff.

[running-man]

It could also be that CSI and SSI were in business simultaneously.  Perhaps SSI personnel took some of the import burden off CSI or it was decided to funnel the hardware through SSI for tax (or other) reasons.  Lots of different scenarios there.  I suspect that when one company went under, the rest of them followed involuntarily.

[Power Surge]

It could also be that CSI and SSI were in business simultaneously.  Perhaps SSI personnel took some of the import burden off CSI or it was decided to funnel the hardware through SSI for tax (or other) reasons.  Lots of different scenarios there.  I suspect that when one company went under, the rest of them followed involuntarily.

Yes...I didn't mean one ended and the other began. I assumed there was some overlap. Looking at the business info, it shows CSI as a Foreign Corp, and SSI as a Domestic Corp. I am sure there was some legal business reasoning behind the two names. Just interesting the last bunch of NRs went back to CSI stamps.

[shotout]

I got this, but not sure what it is, but 21 million serial number ending in B. I see this is the same importer as your 101 listing under military importers. The arsenal stamp is missing some sides and stuff, but it looks like 6626. Also the rifle is marked Norinco. The three type 56 characters do not have much detail.

[Loose}{Cannon]

We call it /?6\

[Loose}{Cannon]

Real good example of how little chunks of the stamp can be missing/broken.   

[deploREBEL]

Late on the comment but MADE IN CHINA OR BY NORINCO was not visible , was not labeled.even the factory Oval 974 is scrubbed. Either the parts needed replaced or the parts were scrambled after the job was done. Why replace good parts with good parts.
 What kind of trouble might these 57's been sent to?

[Phosphorus32]

Late on the comment but MADE IN CHINA OR BY NORINCO was not visible , was not labeled.even the factory Oval 974 is scrubbed. Either the parts needed replaced or the parts were scrambled after the job was done. Why replace good parts with good parts.
 What kind of trouble might these 57's been sent to?

The first recorded (974) was made in 1967, 12th year of production, 1.2 million. I take it your (974) was actually only partially scrubbed, otherwise you wouldn’t know it was a (974). They were often scrubbed when they were converted to some type of commercial variant.