Yep!
That indeed is what they are....whilst brainstorming for ideas on what on earth could be done to make an ATI Drag queen a little less homely...I added some bling. I did retain the rust and patina on the inside of them though...as to keep my flip flopper nature intact.
I tried FDE with only partial mods that most others do...cropping those silly 'ears' around the gas system....but not entirely...I decided to leave the dreaded hump, as when I clean mine...I am thorough....I don't mind actually doing the whole thing right...taking it apart fully isn't a big deal to me. FDE it turns out, doesn't float my boat...so that essentially turned into sanding sealer...filling in the voids from the crappy injection molding job these are notorious for... Then I went to a gloss black, which worked until scratches and flakes began to expose the FDE underneath that I had hoped the 'bonding' agents in the paint would erase forever.
Somewhere along the lines I started removing material...a lot of it. I shortened that two zip code long stock down considerably from the butt end, removing the bottom section that always rubbed my nerve damage in my arm in a not so funny funny bone fashion. I also in the process of removing the pitting and molding flaws...ended up shaping out the pressure points in the grip...and shaving off a lot of the thickness overall on the stock. It is still thick enough to beat someone to death with without breaking it...but now feels less like holding a 4x4, and the overall length is one inch longer than a standard stock.
It is still goofy...just not as bad. I am happy with the accidental perfect eye relief for me... Using irons on this makes my eyes seem 20 years younger for some reason on this particular gun. She also can wear any type of SKS bayonet. Currently she sports a polished chrome Russian, with a chrome plated handle (which I got for cheaper than the normal one I was shopping for) but she has been seen sporting a Yugo blade and stock until recently...
This was my first SKS, purchased in the late 90s... numbers matching but missing the original stock. It had the CE folder and original hand guard when I got it. The hand guard died during the pin removal learning curve...and the folder turned into an ATI strikeforce on ATI's dime when the folding mechanism cracked. We have spent some good years together...and shared many firsts... My first op rod unscheduled liftoff across the living room
, my first sight leaf replacement
, first hand guard removal tragedy
, my first (and last) 50 round duckbill that she came with
...the list goes on...
Thanks for the effort on the word regarding the little metal thingys donated by the Mosins...I always think I am going to wear out my keyboard with spellchecker underlining how I have yet again misspelt it every time I attempt to type it. BTW, at least I used post war refurb (insert E word here)s...I would have rather had the pre war versions with the screws, but I both opted for laziness and probably would have used them improperly on a proper yet refurbed Mosin I have collecting dust.
What I have so far kind of looks like the CE folder and ATI drag molds got drunk on a Friday night and this was the result. I have probably far exceeded the money I should have spent on a Choate drag stock in the first place but I have been having fun with a $10 stock I hated before leaving the pawn shop I bought it at. A lot of what it looks like were accidents being covered up...blade nicks from dangerously using improper tools on a most awkard piece to work on 'n such... Given what I have learned about the material I could probably bang one of these out in a day with the experiences and mistakes....and not having to go nuts trying to fix the oopsies. It will never be pretty...just like a real drag queen never really should be.