Chinese type 56 imports at Classic

[running-man]

Justin. The gun I got from Classic in this batch differs from yours very little in condition (mine might be slightly better, but not by much).  The stock is cracked all the way through and I simply haven’t had the inclination to pull the Albanian nails out of it to even see whether it’s salvageable or not. It’s sat in the shipping box ever since I got it, tore it down and took photos for the board. My desire to *do* something with it simply hasn’t manifesteed itself yet.  I find it funny that we are in similar boats.

I have parted with exactly 2 firearms in my 20 years of collecting: Ugly Betty, my first Yugo M59/66 with nary a matching number anywhere, and a wicked nice ‘54 Tula that I sometimes regret trading for another gun. This Classic gun however, I’m seriously thinking of flipping it, getting at least what I paid out of it, and considering the matter over & done. Having that inclination is very unusual for me. Maybe we just cut our losses and try again somewhere else? 

[ffjoey]

Mine is finally shipping today. I hope it’s reasonably close to the condition of the one I bought last month. Sorry to hear you guys got less than great examples.

[Bubbazinetti]

As long as you understand that they are gunsmith specials that need work and not collector grade heirlooms.

[ffjoey]

I already have a couple, mine were actually in pretty decent shape. Will see how this one turns out.

[Justin Hell]

Well, heck.... at 6:21PM tonight, Sunday...Father's Day no less....
Classic did two things, gave me $90 credit for my purchase....AND  bumped the price up to $349, while it does still say they are on sale for $329 on the banner at the top of the page....try to add one. 

[Shoot The Refurbs]

Well, heck.... at 6:21PM tonight, Sunday...Father's Day no less....
Classic did two things, gave me $90 credit for my purchase....AND  bumped the price up to $349, while it does still say they are on sale for $329 on the banner at the top of the page....try to add one. 

They did the same thing when they went from 319-329, the banner gets updated last it seems. 
I feel at this point after shipping, taxes, ffl, etc you can find better condition chinese SKS's elsewhere for less. LGS, pawn, GB, etc.
https://gyazo.com/d8e9114e38848448e6a4e0054c21e26e
(Sorry for the link, but i just wanted the picture to crop part of my screen and not show my personal info.)
A hand select, numbers matching rifle will set me back over 460$ before I get to my FFL. If the condition of these was pristine in the cosmoline, I could see myself paying it maybe, but the majority of what i've seen could be fit into the old cracked stock special category. Just my .02

-STR

[Justin Hell]

I think I will skip any embellishments this time and just hope for the best....with the credit, I should get away after shipping and ffl, at around $315ish.  (we don't do tax in Montana, and folks can't charge us tax either.) 

I doubt I could find one locally for less, and it's a credit I have to use at Classic anyway.  I had considered a Romanian Tokarev, but while awaiting the credit...of course, they sold out. Nothing else really appeals to me.

I may hold off for a few days to see if they put them on sale again, or if they have cracked stock specials.

I might be pushing my luck, mine didn't come with free Albanian nails to hold it together.  It doesn't seem quite as bad as that...if they are getting to the bottom of the bucket, the next one could be worse. 

[ffjoey]

I will be picking my newest one up from my FFL Wednesday. I got a really nice one the first time around. I’m starting to get the feeling I might not be as lucky this time. Some of the most recent reviews on the Classic site reference rust and pitting.

[Justin Hell]

I will be picking my newest one up from my FFL Wednesday. I got a really nice one the first time around. I’m starting to get the feeling I might not be as lucky this time. Some of the most recent reviews on the Classic site reference rust and pitting.

I am still on the fence a little....when you get yours, could you give a quick mention about it's condition? Pics aren't necessary...I just am curious about broken stocks, broken stocks nailed together, or anything that can give you tetanus.   I think I will bite again if it's not too terrible....but the bottom of the barrel may be at hand.  Hopefully, they just jumped the price because the stock on hand is too nice and not enough folks paid for hand select, so they are building it into the price?  If all turns out the same again...I do have one more inverted take down sock to use if needed.

I did restock and borrow another gas tube, and took mine out shooting today. It functioned just ducky with the new firing pin...the gas tube is a  bit loose, but it did sound a tad 'broken in' beyond that....I think the recoil spring might be a bit weak.   It was weird though...I haven't ever had an SKS that had such tight groups, not on the target..but on the ground. The ejected shells I am used to hunting all over the place for practically stacked like cord wood. Two types of ammo, two locations....both had a about 18 inches square that had 5-6 cases....the others in both locations were only a few feet directly in front of me.  Usually shooting sessions for me are five minutes shooting to 20 minutes trying to clean up after myself...so, I have that going for me. 

[ffjoey]

I definitely will report on what I get. I’m hoping it’s at least similar to the two my brother and I got last month, but they were probably nicer than many already got. We will see tomorrow, I will definitely let you know.

[Matchka]

JH, "... but the bottom of the barrel may be at hand." With all of this Covid-19 motivated buying going on (and at crazy, need I say insane prices?); 2020 just might possibly be the beginning of the end for sub-$400 deals. 'Gunsmith specials', aka "mutts", are basically the new-normal for a $300-399.99 SKS.

[Justin Hell]

JH, "... but the bottom of the barrel may be at hand." With all of this Covid-19 motivated buying going on (and at crazy, need I say insane prices?); 2020 just might possibly be the beginning of the end for sub-$400 deals. 'Gunsmith specials', aka "mutts", are basically the new-normal for a $300-399.99 SKS.

I am so sick of the term 'new normal' but you are likely right.
I think this will be my last SKS for awhile...I just need to get back to a round number again.  I missed out on the 2012 wave of imports and regretted it.  I will likely just hope for sweetheart deals from locals and pawn shops....ordering sight unseen is a bit unnerving.

But, what the heck am I gonna do with the other 3/4 gallon of mineral spirits anyway?   

[ffjoey]

JH, "... but the bottom of the barrel may be at hand." With all of this Covid-19 motivated buying going on (and at crazy, need I say insane prices?); 2020 just might possibly be the beginning of the end for sub-$400 deals. 'Gunsmith specials', aka "mutts", are basically the new-normal for a $300-399.99 SKS.

I agree, I’m thinking we are getting to the end of the road for the most part of the SKS imports.

[running-man]

We say that all the time and then a new importer pops up and more come in.  Once of these days it truly will be the last one and they will have dried up permanently, but there are still larges caches in Africa waiting to be imported.  One only has to look to the recent Mauser, VZ52, and M1 Carbine bonanza from Ethiopia to see that there are still milsurp C&R firearms that are waiting to be bought and brought to the states.   

[ffjoey]

We say that all the time and then a new importer pops up and more come in.  Once of these days it truly will be the last one and they will have dried up permanently, but there are still larges caches in Africa waiting to be imported.  One only has to look to the recent Mauser, VZ52, and M1 Carbine bonanza from Ethiopia to see that there are still milsurp C&R firearms that are waiting to be bought and brought to the states.   

Maybe, but I remember when the $99 AK parts kits were pouring in, seemed like an endless supply, until it wasn’t. I hope importers stay on their toes and keep bringing good stuff in but there is a finite number of these things and once it’s over it’s over. Generally, with no prior warning.

[Bob_The_Student]

 

[Larry D.]

But, what the heck am I gonna do with the other 3/4 gallon of mineral spirits anyway?   

Come on, now.
You know dang well you're gonna need it within the next few months (weeks) when your resolve weakens and you snatch another one.......
 

[Justin Hell]

But, what the heck am I gonna do with the other 3/4 gallon of mineral spirits anyway?   

Come on, now.
You know dang well you're gonna need it within the next few months (weeks) when your resolve weakens and you snatch another one.......
 

On the way to pick up the last one, I bought a gallon...forgetting that I still had the better part of a quart left from a T53 I picked up years ago....I barely had to dip into the gallon. I haven't had much cosmo cleanup since 1999....a wee bit on the internals of the Cherry's Yugo, but otherwise...I have been generally picking up tacticooled bubbas locally, or getting barreled receivers and building my own.  A big portion of the quart went into cleaning up a bunch of Albanian (Chinese, really) cleaning kits from the 2012 import time frame.   

By the way guys....if you are looking for a cleaning kit for your Classics that are in about the same condition as your gun....hit me up.

meanwhile, I am sitting here....debit card in hand, with two SKSs in the cart, one zero upcharge....one hand select upcharge. After getting the credit that took nearly a month, I wonder if I should splurge for the HS mostly due to getting the credit and perhaps ticking them off about it.  We had already opted for it to be ordered in the wife's name...both in hoping that they might treat a girl nicer, and because since both of our ID's are technically illegal as issued with our PO Box and zero street address...she can use our car title as additional proof...as I didn't want my name on official paperwork for a bleeding Subaru. 

I am also on the fence over the paltry $4 upcharge for insurance.  To this very day if you check the tracking # for my last one, it is STILL pending delivery.  Fed Ex delivered it to the wrong gun shop, my gun shop figured it out...and got it themselves. Fed Ex has no business shipping firearms it seems....yet, they do.  Apparently, they also don't bother calling to admit they lost a package, nor do they do anything about it.

[ffjoey]

I had Fed Ex deliver an AK74 to a dry cleaner one day instead of the FFL. It was missing for about 6 hours. After 3 hours of getting nowhere with FedEx on the phone I contacted the ATF. Finally found the rifle myself just going door to door. Sorry, I know that was a bit off topic.

[Justin Hell]

I had Fed Ex deliver an AK74 to a dry cleaner one day instead of the FFL. It was missing for about 6 hours. After 3 hours of getting nowhere with FedEx on the phone I contacted the ATF. Finally found the rifle myself just going door to door. Sorry, I know that was a bit off topic.

Off topic or not, what the heck did the dry cleaner say? 
Did you ever confront FedEx about it?  I wanted to, but since the ATF knows better....I am kinda glad I haven't.