https://youtu.be/N5_8IXtPNCo
I'm curious to find if the serial ranges reveal which dating theory was used to determine serial # cutoff. And if any non-26 arsenals pop up.
...starting at...
$419.99
I realize they're "old, surplus rifles" and he "begrudgingly has to sort through all those "old, cosmoline-covered surplus rifles", but does he have to treat them like firewood while, at the same time, tells us how "nice" they are? pullhair1 pullhair1 pullhair1 I'm beginning to wonder just how much of the dings, dents, and scratches were actually from "field use"! :)) bat1
The Import Stamp looks to be a bit bigger, more prominent, on the side of the barrel, if I'm seeing it right? (@ abt. 12:26, is one shot of it.)
firstchoice
Him banging those carbines together is like nails on a chalk board to me FC. Terrible excuse of handling IMO...
Yeah, I think it's a new importer. Same forward location as the TGI stamps, but those stamps were more under the barrel at the bayo. These also have a really long company+city+state line. I swear I see a "...ELES" NY or maybe NV, WV, or KY at the end of them...
(http://www.sks-files.com/Pictures/Chinese/misc/import2.jpg)
(http://www.sks-files.com/Pictures/Chinese/misc/import3.jpg)
This mark is also totally different than the recent Bosinian imports that PW Arms brought in where they etched into the receiver...
Damn..... if it don't look like Foxtrot Skaneateles, NY think1 If you squint just right after being at work for 14 hours and 6 pots of coffee..thats kinda what it looks like. thumb1
The Googlebox and some imagination goes a long ways. :) thankyou1
Yup...they are still around..there were some Mosins mid-late last year J&G/Classic had that were Foxtrot marked I heard.....forgot about imported from Germany or ??. I never saw the import stamp..
They don't seem to be using Auburn NY like before, maybe they are 2 separate entities now, import side and retail side.
FOXTROT LIMA ENTERPRISES LLC
4022 MILL ROAD SKANEATELES NY, 13152 UNITED STATES
https://www.ffldealernetwork.com/skaneateles/north-atlantic/foxtrot-lima-enterprises-llc
https://www.importgenius.com/importers/foxtrot-lima-enterprises-llc
https://panjiva.com/Foxtrot-Lima-Enterprises-Llc/46796517
Damn GM, you're good! thumb1
I kept discounting Foxtrot Lima because the import stamp was on the receivers (horrid looking at that) and they were from Auburn NY, not ...eles, NY. It appears both may have changed for this batch. Nice! thumb1
Quote from: Boris Badinov on March 18, 2019, 07:43:18 PM
https://youtu.be/N5_8IXtPNCo
I'm curious to find if the serial ranges reveal which dating theory was used to determine serial # cutoff. And if any non-26 arsenals pop up.
I would guess that most likely it was the old CAI/Kehaya method of 1956 + millions digit that CAI spent some time convincing the ATF to accept years ago.
However, I don't think we'll be able to answer that question, even when the reported SNs start rolling in. Assume they were selected and imported in 2018, that means 13 million or lower by the SKS Files scheme, or 12 million and lower by the 1956 + millions place scheme. On the other hand, maybe they were shipped in 2019, then it's 14 million or lower by the SKS Files, or 13 million and lower by the old scheme.
Auburn NY is only 7 miles down the road from Skaneateles. Similar deal to Century in both St Albans and Georgia VT.
I'd bet my LB yugo that Foxtrot is what it's going to turn out to be.... thumb1
At least 'someone' is sourcing them and getting them here, I just dont think they are $450 worthy.
They will drop in price if early demand isn't selling these things out like hotcakes. I suspect we may see $300-$350 carbines as soon as there is some real retail competition.
Not sure there will be any competition because Foxtrot is a small outfit and these are likely ALL they imported.
There's bound to be thousands of them there though. One can only hope tgi, io, or cai goes in and imports them en masse. Foxtrot did the hard work. Now that there is a precident it's so much easier.
Quote from: Greasemonkey on March 19, 2019, 12:39:15 PM
Damn..... if it don't look like Foxtrot Skaneateles, NY think1 If you squint just right after being at work for 14 hours and 6 pots of coffee..thats kinda what it looks like. thumb1
The Googlebox and some imagination goes a long ways. :) thankyou1
Yup...they are still around..there were some Mosins mid-late last year J&G/Classic had that were Foxtrot marked I heard.....forgot about imported from Germany or ??. I never saw the import stamp..
They don't seem to be using Auburn NY like before, maybe they are 2 separate entities now, import side and retail side.
FOXTROT LIMA ENTERPRISES LLC
4022 MILL ROAD SKANEATELES NY, 13152 UNITED STATES
https://www.ffldealernetwork.com/skaneateles/north-atlantic/foxtrot-lima-enterprises-llc
https://www.importgenius.com/importers/foxtrot-lima-enterprises-llc
https://panjiva.com/Foxtrot-Lima-Enterprises-Llc/46796517
...and the prize for best milsurp importer name goes to...Foxtrot Lima, slang for F***ing Lunatic! Perhaps a comment on the amount of red tape involved in getting into and maintaining such a business.
Quote from: running-man on March 19, 2019, 03:36:58 PM
There's bound to be thousands of them there though. One can only hope tgi, io, or cai goes in and imports them en masse. Foxtrot did the hard work. Now that there is a precident it's so much easier.
One can hope... It's been 2 years since I purchased an SKS, not that I need another, Be nice to have another vendor that has them.. cause, well... the Baby Gap man ain't getting my $$$
Quote from: running-man on March 19, 2019, 03:36:58 PM
There's bound to be thousands of them there though. One can only hope tgi, io, or cai goes in and imports them en masse. Foxtrot did the hard work. Now that there is a precident it's so much easier.
Gunboards member, SteveK, is former buyer for Century. Last year, he stated that there were many, many thousands of Chinese SKS carbines still residing in caves and bunkers in Albania. And importers were just waiting for retail market prices to rise, in order to make profit margins feasible.
Seems he was correct.
I think they will sell at $420. Look at the $300-plus Mosin Nagants
Oh. And it's exciting to see multiple crates.
Quote from: martin08 on March 19, 2019, 10:30:31 PM
Quote from: running-man on March 19, 2019, 03:36:58 PM
There's bound to be thousands of them there though. One can only hope tgi, io, or cai goes in and imports them en masse. Foxtrot did the hard work. Now that there is a precident it's so much easier.
Gunboards member, SteveK, is former buyer for Century. Last year, he stated that there were many, many thousands of Chinese SKS carbines still residing in caves and bunkers in Albania. And importers were just waiting for retail market prices to rise, in order to make profit margins feasible.
Seems he was correct.
I think they will sell at $420. Look at the $300-plus Mosin Nagants
I really hope that this is the case....this shipment arrived at a moment that my house doesn't find convenient. I missed out last time too. Hopefully this is the first trickle of a minor flood and once things settle I can get a desperately needed cosmoline experience...it's been a spell.
I look forward to see what the average condition is once they clean up...they look remarkably nice compared to the last time around. Hopefully that top layer is they only one affected by Ben's handling techniques. :)
It would be nice if some parts come along with these too. Prices on some things have gotten out of hand, a little influx might help...otherwise, once the gunsmith specials come up...expect $150 trigger groups to become the norm.
Quote from: martin08 on March 19, 2019, 10:30:31 PM
Gunboards member, SteveK, is former buyer for Century. Last year, he stated that there were many, many thousands of Chinese SKS carbines still residing in caves and bunkers in Albania. And importers were just waiting for retail market prices to rise, in order to make profit margins feasible.
Seems he was correct.
martin08, do you recall if SteveK mentioned anything about arsenal stamps other that /26\ in the Albanian stockpiles?
There was some speculation last year that Tirana had turned over the remaining sks caches for destruction as part of an attempt to create closer ties with western Europe in hopes of one day joining the E.U.
Apparently, this may not have been the case.
Quote from: Boris Badinov on March 20, 2019, 09:31:41 AM
martin08, do you recall if SteveK mentioned anything about arsenal stamps other that /26\ in the Albanian stockpiles?
I can't seem to find the topic where he described the sheer numbers and types of guns. But here is a good description of the storage conditions in the caves. With pics of an entrance!
https://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?1034642-Any-Sks%92s-coming-in-country-soon (https://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?1034642-Any-Sks%92s-coming-in-country-soon)
would like to get one. but,do i want to pay $500+ (shipping, lgs fees, etc) for an unknown condition sks? its killing me. pullhair1
I would love to do this just to mess with them...because I want a hand select for a stamped trigger late /26\...can I just request one with an original stock/stamped trigger...no Albaneselishments please for the $40? There could be some real interesting /26\s in this batch.
My question is...do I really need a furnace...yet? It's been warming up. chuckles1 banghead1
One interesting thing SteveK says in the link martin08 shared above (thanks for finding it btw):
"most were Factory 26 which is a good thing, in this case, since Import Branch uses the year of manufacture based on the formula in our book "The SKS Carbine" "
Which seems to leave open the possibility that non-26 arsenals may have been mixed in.
I really hope some non-26 triangle stamps show up...
I think the non-/26\ guns he saw were mainly ghosts and Russian sneaks.
I wouldn't hold your breath to find a /666\ or other arsenal from this batch, it's certainly possible, but if the importer is indeed still using "the SKS Carbine" millions dating system, then non-/26\s would not be datable (as we hear ad-nauseam on every SKS site out there).
Meh.
You're probably right.
Bring on the premie 15th and 16th year guns, then.
I've often wondered if the start of Albanian made carbines might have signaled the end of Chinese military aid. But that 15th year gun seems to answer that question.
Maybe we"ll get a better idea of production totals for the 1970-71.
From a member on another forum.
"Honestly, my sks is pretty rough lol. Looked good with the cosmoline on it but once I got that off it was pretty rough underneath. A good but of rust around the rear sight base and inside the receiver. My stock is a replacement that was not properly fit to the gun, and has multiple light cracks around the buttplate and sling swivel, sling swivel is missing a screw and was fixed by hammering a nail into it and then bending the head to retain it, lots of stuff
Oh and when I went to disassemble it the stock actually covered about half of the takedown lever and a long sliver at the top chipped off when I pulled the lever out.
All the numbers seem to match, however, which is surprising. I'm gonna be looking for another wood stock before too long.
Besides the ****ty stock it's a decent rifle. That said, I feel like I got one in the bottom 25%. YMMV"
Still no 15th year guns over the 20k production threshold that I have seen.