Need Info Help on Vietnam Bringback SKS

[AirithArms]

Greetings and I apologize in advance if I get something wrong with posting/info since im new to the forum.  I have looked over most of the published stuff on the Chinese sks guide and still couldnt figure out some information. This being my first SKS i have ever owned, I am not familiar with some smaller details with these guns. I was going to fill out the forum survey but was not sure on certain things.

I had picked up this Chinese SKS from a local family who's father passed away. From what they claimed, the sks was a bring-back from Vietnam when the original owner served (I believe made around 1967-1968, SN:12335663). I sadly could not find any paperwork or documents to support it being a war trophy, however I bought a ton of other surplus clothing and gear that all dates from Vietnam that the original owner used. The gun did come in pretty good condition, no rust, no cosmoline and supposedly was used a decent amount by the original owner to defend his property from coyotes.

As I was trying to research about this gun and find more information I came across some small problems and inconsistencies. There was a couple things that maybe threw me off in terms of its construction and markings that were off from other sks's of the same year. It would be great is some of you that are sks experts could possibly chime in on information or answers to different things involving this gun I found interesting. I've have attached Images of the gun along with a link to the images if the forum images don't work. https://imgur.com/a/7p8Pue9












































































Probably one of the biggest problems I have had with identifying this gun is that the arsenal triangle stamp seems to have not been properly done. As shown in the picture, only a faint outline of the triangle is visible, I am not sure if anyone can make a guess as to what it is supposed to be? I did not see a marking on the guide for just a triangle. Perhaps this came from a lesser used factory which is why i feel like i found so many things that put me off.

The bolt carrier on these seems to be chrome on top. I couldn't find other Chinese sks's like this from around the same time with a chrome carrier. I am also not sure if this is even the original carrier. All of the other carriers I saw were more of a matte finish whether that was how it was from the factory or from wear, I do not know.

The stock on this one seemed a little off to me, primarily the color being incredibly dark, even taking pictures with my bright photo lights, some areas appeared almost black. In person the stock looks way darker.  I could only find one or two that were darker but not to this degree.  I did include a picture of the serial number on the stock but can not read it. I am not sure if this was stained or from cosmoline/dirt but the color seems to go all the way through the stock while I was repairing a crack on this. I am unsure if a certain factory used different wood or a type of finish. The wood also is incredibly soft/weak, getting scratches and dents even from my finger nail. I believe the finish on this was added afterwards as it looks and feels like some type of glossy wax, but it would be interesting to hear someone else's take on whether refinishing it to original spec is worth it. I have to fix/refinish the areas effected by the crack repair.

I attached pictures of the sling that came with this gun, was not sure if it was original to the gun since it did not match anything on the sks guide's accessories list. I do not believe it is original due to the DOT marks on the snap buttons.

Thanks for reading through and giving any info, ultimately I am going to finish this stock repair and clean it up somewhat while still keeping it original. I am still hunting for bringback paperwork on this one and working with the original owner's family, it would be neat to get some type of confirmation on where it was originally gotten from.

[Boris Badinov]

The rifle is a 12th year carbine from factory /26\. Other arsenals were in production in 1967, but none produced that high a quantity of rifles (300k)

The barreled action has seen a lot of post manufacture work-- buffing wheel, some type of glossy paint.

While the serial range and arsenal are in line with known vietnam brinbacks, some attributes make it difficult to make a determination on its possible VN provenance.
The heavily worn arsenal stamp and metal refinish introduce the possibility that a previous import stamp could have been removed. The indexing number on the receiver (15) is also heavily worn, while the matching number on the barrel is still very crisp. As well, the carrier is  so shiny that it looks almost to be chrome plated. IMHO, this rifle has had a healthy dose of the buffing wheel

The mismatched magazine is another hurdle. While mismatched parts are not uncommon on VN bringbacks, a mismatched magazine may also be an indication of a Canadian  (ahem)"import"-- Canadian mags are modified to accept only five rounds, and a mismatched 10rd magazine might be an indication that the Cannuck-mod original has been replaced.



That said, this could still be a VN bring back. More info on the previous owner's service history and accompanying era-specific surplus items might shed some more light.

[running-man]

That said, this could still be a VN bring back. More info on the previous owner's service history and accompanying era-specific surplus items might shed some more light.

I agree with Boris.  It certainly could be a bring back (I think it's pretty likely that is is to be honest.)  All the inconsistencies you've found are caused by two things:

1) This gun is a hodgepodge of parts.  In my estimation none are original to the carbine.  I don't see a single S/N that matches in all these photos which is pretty amazing.  Usually you see at least one or two that match (carrier and bolt for example.)  The stock is not original to the gun, but it has a rudimentary cut for the inverted takedown lever that this year 12 carbine has.  Year 12 corresponds to 1967 based on the SKS-Files dating scheme, BTW. 

2) Many of the 'odd' looking features that are throwing you off were brought about by attempts of the previous owner to stabilize/restore it.  The black paint on all the parts is most certainly something done stateside as it encompasses areas of old pitting and is flaking off in many places.  It was also applied thick enough to completely fill in the interior of the light /26\ arsenal marking rendering it unreadable as well as portions of the RSL numerals.  Similarly, the very liberal finish on the stock (the crossbolt is liberally covered in something very yellow, I had to make a second look to make sure those parts were not made of brass!) was certainly applied long after much of the initial damage to the stock occurred.  It being so soft could easily be from rot as a result of a humid environment...like Vietnam.  Of course going to the extreme other end, this entire carbine could be a frankengun put together from parts by someone stateside who made up a story and buffed off the import stamp.  I really lean towards it being genuine, especially since you purchased it from the vet's family, but at this point all you have is a gun and a story.  It's not worth terribly much in its current condition I'm afraid; I'd estimate it fetching towards the low end of typical Bubba'd carbine.  Papers would add another couple hundred...maybe, but the current condition is a killer I'm afraid.  There are many other potential VN bringbacks out there that have not been 'restored' to this level that would be much more desirable to your avg. collector.

Welcome to the boards!

[Bacarnal]

Welcome aboard from Kentucky!!  I've nothing to add since boris and RM are far more knowledgeable than I.  I will say, once you've gotten bit by the SKS bug, it's hard to stop.  Can't wait to see what you get next

[AirithArms]

Thank you Boris and Running-man for the insight on this.

The bolt carrier being buffed to a polished finish didn't cross my mind but makes sense. This gun might have been a sentimental trophy that caused the original owner to do refinishing but not bubba it with aftermarket stuff. 

Some parts that seemed brass on the stock are steel but had oil or lacquer over it that yellowed over the years.

The black paint/finish was something also that threw me off but i didn't have another chinese sks to compare in person to. I checked thickness and finish of the metal around where a possible import stamp mark might have been and nothing seemed off. On top of this I tried scratching off some of the black paint around the serial number and arsenal stamp but there was no signs of the rest of the stamp underneath. The original owner might have buffed off a few mils of metal in that area.

I finished the cracked stock repair a few weeks ago and currently contemplating if i want to strip and refinish the wood to original config.

Its a cool gun with a little bit of history that hopefully I will find more evidence of it being a bring back.

Thank you for the feed back as gun design and production is something that I research and currently work in and any bit of information helps a ton.

[running-man]

It is highly reasonable that if there is not much of a /26\ stamp under the paint the previous owner may have buffed out some corrosion from this area of the receiver and that is why the mark looks like it does.  I guess it also could have been a light or damaged stamp from the factory, but typically you can at least read the numeral whereas with this one nothing's really visible apart from the triangle so I think that is pretty unlikely. 

I got your entry into the Chinese survey with the photos.  Thanks!  I will enter it into the database.