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SKS Carbines => Unaltered SKS Rifles => Russian SKS => Topic started by: sagesbrush on September 16, 2018, 11:35:03 AM

Title: Russian SKS 1955
Post by: sagesbrush on September 16, 2018, 11:35:03 AM
I'm looking at a Russian Tula SKS dated 1955 that appears to be a non-arsenal rework. The only thing is the stock. It has the matching serial number stamped on it, but no Tula star or date. Did they stop stamping the date/Tula star on these late production guns or is the stock a replacement?

(https://preview.ibb.co/k0RZnK/sks_stock.jpg) (https://ibb.co/cYvige)
Title: Re: Russian SKS 1955
Post by: Phosphorus32 on September 16, 2018, 01:27:22 PM
I would think a replacement but Running Man has looked at billions of pictures of Russians so I would await his word on the missing Tula symbol on a true 1955. Is it missing the small cartouches around the crossbolt?

Do the fonts on the serialized parts match the fonts on the receiver serial number?
Title: Re: Russian SKS 1955
Post by: sagesbrush on September 16, 2018, 05:34:50 PM
The fonts appear to match. Only one faint symbol by the cross bolt.
Title: Re: Russian SKS 1955
Post by: running-man on September 17, 2018, 01:51:25 PM
I would think a replacement but Running Man has looked at billions of pictures of Russians so I would await his word on the missing Tula symbol on a true 1955.
Hey now, let's not conflate numbers.  It's way, way less than that!  Only about 5k or so Russian SKS photos that I've got saved! :))



I've generally assumed that they did away with the stock cartouche sometime in late '55s.  The stocks are too uniform and from too varied of sources/importers to be such a consistent refurb.

It's clear that the by the time they were producing letter Д guns, the stock cartouche was definitely gone (well unless you buy a Westrifle imported Canadian gun, they have 'original' cartouches all the way through 1958!  :P)

Other examples of CM prefixed '55s:

(https://image.ibb.co/jb5kxK/CM4126_stock.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://image.ibb.co/kVCyHK/CM5359_stock.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://preview.ibb.co/fNPOjz/CM5430_stock.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jrjOjz)
(https://image.ibb.co/c3Lw4z/CM5630_stock.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
Title: Re: Russian SKS 1955
Post by: running-man on September 17, 2018, 01:57:21 PM
They did use crossbolt stamps through '58, so that's one interesting note on the stock by the OP.  Hard to say that it's not a refurb with them sanded out, but then again we know so little about the purpose of the crossbolt stamps that nobody can say with 100% certainty. 

Some CM prefix crossbolt stamps:

(https://image.ibb.co/cJkFWe/CM5359_left_crossbolt.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://preview.ibb.co/nxEncK/CM5430_left_crossbolt.jpg) (https://ibb.co/g2HUre)
Title: Re: Russian SKS 1955
Post by: sagesbrush on September 18, 2018, 09:02:45 PM
Thanks for all the information.
Title: Re: Russian SKS 1955
Post by: running-man on September 18, 2018, 10:46:12 PM
No problem!  If you do decide to buy it I'd love to see some detailed pics. Not many '55's in the database.  thumb1