1948 Year Russian SKS Receiver Cover

[pcke2000]

Just received it. Bought off the bay. It's a very rare and interesting piece. Unfortunately it's de-militarized. But I had never seen such a receiver cover in person or for sale since I started collecting Russian SKS.

I would have missed it and thought it's fake, if I had not seen two other examples online.

It is not covered by typical refurb BBQ paint. I did use a bit chalk powders trying to show the interesting markings.

[Justin Hell]

so...flippin...rad
 

[Greatguns]

You definitely get top prize for show and tell this month, LOL.

Very nice indeed PC

[Bob_The_Student]

What GG said!

[Phosphorus32]

Fascinating! Great historical piece!

[JorgeSKS]

Without much effort one could make that useable again.  Unless of course you bought it purely as a conversation piece. Which is neat all in itself.  Very nice good find.

[Shoot The Refurbs]

Absolutely incredible. functionless sure, but damn worth what you paid just as a historical piece.
It's finding little unknown or unseen pieces of the puzzle like this that make it all exciting. 

[Larry D.]

Most cool, indeed.

[BMont]

Wow.. first one Ive seen.  Where is the rifle to go with it? 

[Boris Badinov]

The CKC-45 and УЧ (teaching/educational/training) designation on the cover are very interesting.

Does the serial number suggest that at least 4440 were made in 1948?

[Shoot The Refurbs]

Wow.. first one Ive seen.  Where is the rifle to go with it? 

  if only.

Someone should start a sticky on pre 49' sks's to be honest there's just not a lot of information about them, and as P32 pointed out elsewhere (and BB too as I was typing this) with the SN ranges there seems to have been a pretty decent amount of at least 48's produced which makes sense as they were getting ready to begin full production later into the next year.

Seeing more things like this is what intrigues me with communist milsurps more than our own, the secrecy their production is shrouded in goes deep.

[Justin Hell]

With that recent CIA document barely discovering the SKS many years later...WAY later, like after production was wrapping up and the Chinese were getting set up to make us bazillions more, and the photo I just bought from Russia earlier this year showing cadets marching en masse with spiker SKSs in 1958...it makes me wonder a LOT about what we, and history in general don't know about.  Considering it was apparently adopted in 45, why on earth would it take so long...even dragging to 48, much less 49 to get the hell on with production?

We only recently learned about how much their space program covered up....perhaps the CKC-45 killed more Russians than the pox? 

It wouldn't surprise me if what we recognize as the first SKSs were actually refurbs from failed attempts from the few years between 45-8/9, possibly causing the huge amount of variations in the 49-50 guns. It's likely there is far less documentation on small arms uncovered since the fall of the USSR vs. 'important' stuff like their space program, which we now know was riddled with crashes, explosions on the pad, political placement and exploitation of cosmonauts, them vanishing from official photos and not to mention...deaths.

Just a thought or ten...

[Boris Badinov]

The cut in the cover would be ideal for a cut-away carbine made explicitly for teaching purposes. It makes it possible to remove the cover without need for the lever.

[Boris Badinov]

...and the photo I just bought from Russia earlier this year showing cadets marching en masse with spiker SKSs in 1958

Interesting.
Which thread is this photo in?

[Justin Hell]

...and the photo I just bought from Russia earlier this year showing cadets marching en masse with spiker SKSs in 1958

Interesting.
Which thread is this photo in?

I haven't posted it yet...I tried to post a link to see if anyone found interest in it in the Chatterbox...and ultimately ended up buying it for a lark right as the Covid thing was breaking.... it took several months to get here.  I need to get my kid to scan it, she is the only one with a scanner, and Windows. My Linux machines can see the stupid thing...but not utilize it.  eBay actually removed the entire auction from view before it even got here...I didn't save the scan from the seller. I also didn't save her translation of the text written on the back....but I should be able to google translate it. I will have to get on that scanning mission.

[Justin Hell]

The cut in the cover would be ideal for a cut-away carbine made explicitly for teaching purposes. It makes it possible to remove the cover without need for the lever.

When he first posted the link before the much better in-hand photos showed up, and you could see how wide the demil gouge is, I wondered if it was a way to get those covers to work on later guns at refurb. 

[running-man]

The CKC-45 and УЧ (teaching/educational/training) designation on the cover are very interesting.

Does the serial number suggest that at least 4440 were made in 1948?

I don't believe that S/N is original to the cover.  Doesn't follow the single line format that all the '49s had.  I would have assumed that '48s would have had the same format as well but I guess you never know.

I'm wondering whether the top of the cover was scrubbed a bit as well.  We have numerous examples of tops scrubbed to 'blank' condition even though you can still see the areas with arsenal stamps and years in the right light.  This one didn't get wiped to that extent, but it certainly was refurbed, so if that's the case I'd assume a new S/N was applied at the very least. 

[Greatguns]

Something I just noticed, the 4 in the 1948 is a different font than the 4s on the back.

[Phosphorus32]

The CKC-45 and УЧ (teaching/educational/training) designation on the cover are very interesting.

Does the serial number suggest that at least 4440 were made in 1948?

I don't believe that S/N is original to the cover.  Doesn't follow the single line format that all the '49s had.  I would have assumed that '48s would have had the same format as well but I guess you never know.

I'm wondering whether the top of the cover was scrubbed a bit as well.  We have numerous examples of tops scrubbed to 'blank' condition even though you can still see the areas with arsenal stamps and years in the right light.  This one didn't get wiped to that extent, but it certainly was refurbed, so if that's the case I'd assume a new S/N was applied at the very least.

Hear, hear! Agreed

[Larry D.]

I also didn't save her translation of the text written on the back....but I should be able to google translate it. I will have to get on that scanning mission.

I seem to remember that someone here has access to a native speaker.
Sometimes the online translations are a bit quirky.