I think I saw a complete rifle on GB a couple of years ago with one of these, but the images were too indistinct to tell. Was this a method to give life to a corroded gas tube? From Apex Gun Parts (and unfortunately, out of stock):
(https://i.ibb.co/ftnP0Gm/IMG-0701.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hHZt81p)
Need a pic or a link. Otherwise we don't really know what you are referring to.
Greatguns, sorry it's not showing up. I can see it when I open the post, but I haven't looked at the thread with a conventional laptop-may be mobile device hitch. I'll try to fix it, but in the meantime, here's the link:
https://www.apexgunparts.com/sks-gas-tube-w-extension-and-hg-gd.html
Edit: just checked the original post with a different connection and computer; looks OK with the image present as posted. Dunno...
Yeah, don't know what it was, but I can see it now. Looks like it started out life as an M59 gas tube and was modified to work with an M59/66.
Never seen one with a sleeve like that before. It could possibly just be an arsenal repair where the end of the tube got worn out so they cut it back and installed the sleeve.
Ah, that may well be the case. The auction I remembered was for a 59/66A1, and you could just make out the difference in the color of the steel. I thought this modification could be corrosion-related since I've got a hard-used M59 with advanced pitting in the area of the "extension" from poor maintenance. I was never able to get clearer images from the seller, but I'm guessing this may be what was on the rifle.
Looks like an SKSS or Sporter shortened tube...which except for a very limited run of guns were useless as 'parts'...that had an extension added to use with 59/66 SKSs.
Notice the electro penciled and stamped serials....and the location of the vent holes.
Never looked beyond the first pic :-[ Looks a little short to me, but why would Yugoslavia have obtained Chinese SKS-S gas tubes. Unless you're thinking more Albania getting stuff from the Chinese back when they got the actual Chinese rifles. I suppose that's very possible. Albanian makeshift repair??
From the Apex photos, the numbers [both Serial and electropencil batch (?) numbers] appear to me to be Yugoslavian, and a crude side-by-side with other photos doesn't look like the vent holes are substantially out-of-place from an unmodified 59/66 variant gas tube. I wish I'd seen these earlier and picked one up just from an academic standpoint. I guess that's the reason these Apex parts piqued my interest: were any complete rifles imported with these gas tubes, and is that what I remember from a long-past auction?
Interesting. I’d like to have one just to study it. The numbers in the third photo show that the example photographed is from an M59/66-A1. A clever but ugly means of salvaging non-functioning corroded gas tubes. I wonder if it was a product of the Civil Wars when the countries (not Serbia) were cut off from Zastava and needed to salvage their own finite number of weapons.
Could be some of the stuff left over from the run of stuff that came in with all the Bosnian TRB refurbs. They did funky things to M59/66s and calling them M59s, why not do funky things to a gas tube. Some commie recycling at it's best, lop off the gas erroded part, attach a new piece, call it good enough for government work. chuckles1 and it worked, they sold out. rofl2
Could be.
There were some weird M59's that popped up a while back with in the white gas tubes:
(https://i.ibb.co/VTdNq4C/C40937-left-front.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/C0ptqc7/C34123-left-whole.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/NYK7Gf5/C34770-left-whole.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/pPfbsk7/C38650-left-whole.jpg)
But I don't remember seeing these franken-tubes out there. Maybe they were and I just missed them. Neat idea, esp. for salvaging an otherwise unusable tube.