Looks pretty good for a Frankengun.How does it shoot?
I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, I need to do a bit of work on the bolt...it needs a bit of headspace relief, it locks fine...but there is absolutely zero jiggle at all. It's also painted black, which might even be enough relief once I strip it off. It has an interesting diamond 'stamp' in the paint, or lack of paint where it is, I gotta photograph that first. It's also been snowing/melting/raining/snowing/melting...the road up the mountain to the shooting spot is a bit impassable. I may have to wait for spring.
This whole thing was unplanned, I found a BIN trigger group for around $50 shipped, and I just couldn't help myself but to call up Sarco to get started. The barreled receiver received was in about the same condition as GG's last batch....it pretty much used up what was left of my Frontier Big45 pad! Ultimately I stripped it to the white because the micropitting was so deep, it was flash rusting. Even after rebluing, it still looks like it's filthy. Initially, I put it in a Russian stock, but haven't had luck finding a matching handguard...and the cheese grater wasn't doing it for me. Then I opted for the Yugo...the extra LOP from the buttpad really helps me use irons better, as my bifocal contacts
don't do what they ought. GG happened to have a laminate HG that matches whatever color I picked to stain it some 8 years ago...a bit of shellac helped match them nicely. My Canadian contact happened to have what he called a 50 bolt/carrier set...I have since found the same prefix on an unmolested 49 cover. I also picked up the op rod/spring, gas piston, and recoil spring from him. The bayonet I have had sitting around for years...it's quite pitted as well, and looks like it belongs with the rest of the metal....aside from the pristine tube and cover.... The cover seems to be late Chinese, perhaps off a commercial gun...the font is kinda tiny and unusual. That would not fit on ANY of my SKSs...I bought it for one, and then got frustrated and tried it on all of them. It pops on almost perfectly on this. Same with the 20 round mag...I was so irritated with never getting it to work properly in anything, I was about to sell it to recoup all these new parts
in part but the thing drops in just like a factory mag on this...whereas it bound up in everything else I tried it in.
Ultimately, it became a mission for building a gun that suits my needs, I dig the beefier stock and gaining the ability to use irons again. I might continue to bastardize it if I can locate an early takedown pin...as I have a spare 49 cover that would make it even more confusing. Until then I will continue to look into potential covers from the nations GM listed.
I probably will end up stripping the bluing from the cover and tube to get them to match the almost parkerized look the rest has now. The mag and trigger match the gun nicely as they are kinda matte. It's also nice to be able to use a Yugo sling...although it's off for the time being to allow the shellac to cure longer.
It's kinda fun not knowing what the heck you are gonna get from Sarco. Had this been a pinned spiker barreled receiver, this would have been a totally different end result. I have so many unused bubba parts I had planned to possibly incorporate....instead I ended up with a semi traditional rat rod.