My M59 from Dan's

[John Galt]

I got one with the worn gas tube   Gas piston and bolt are look brand new.  Two serials on the stock and neither one matches the receiver.  Bluing is nice with a few scratches.  Bolt carrier has been scrubbed of numbers and ep'ed.  Here are some pics.

John Galt

[MEBears]

Nice I'm a little surprised these all seemed to be reblued but not the gas tubes. I'd guess they didn't want to deal with the handguards. Too bad these don't have books like the others with their history.

[Phosphorus32]

Too bad about the stock SN but the wood and the bluing on everything else looks nice 

Is the inside of the gas tube in good shape, despite the worn bluing on the exterior? 

[Loose}{Cannon]

I can't help but wonder how the tube got that amount of bluing loss prior to arriving on that  rifle.   Im sure with a little bluing it will look a whole lot better! 

[running-man]

Im sure with a little bluing it will look a whole lot better!

I was thinking the same thing. A little cold blue on that gas tube will go quite a long way I bet! 

Minus the tube I t's still a decent looker. Bluing looks amazing on the rest of the metal. Not Russian salt mines new, but it's certainly ready to go again.

You happy with it JG?

[John Galt]

Phos, the inside of the gas tube looks good.  It was full of cosmo and a brand new rod!  The bore is as bright as my chicoms! 

running-man,  I am happy with it, although I was saying to myself "I hope I don't get the "chrome" gas tube one"!  Oh well, It is still nice. 

It came with a canvas sling that I believe is more suited to the 66a1 I have so I may look for a leather sling.  I will re blue the tube and the cleaning rod and see how it grows on me!  The bolt and gas piston are so nice and clean that I don't want to shoot it....but I don't know how long I can hold off

John Galt

[Dannyboy53]

John that's definitely a looker! The gas tube looks like maybe an attempt in the past to strip the bluing as opposed to wear.
Congratulations to ya!

[Greasemonkey]

Me, I'd leave it as is....it's unique looking like that....if it were a "Smithsonian"  grade, I might, but it's not.  Blueing it would make it simply look like all the other M59s, and not many guys can say, "yup, it came this way, straight outta of the crate"

[John Galt]

Danny, I just looked at my M59 (again) and I have to agree.  The gas tube does look to have been worked over to remove the bluing.  There are very distinct and even lines of bluing remaining close to the wooden hand guard.  Also, the bluing on the tube near the rear sight leaf displays the same pattern.  It would be very difficult to wear the bluing off of the tube so close to the rsl. 

Some new guy at the refurb facility probably got his a$$ chewed for messing up the gas tubes!

[Loose}{Cannon]

Nah...  I'm convinced by looking at the wear patterns in some of these that they once stood guard somewhere in Slovenia.

They seem to like the shiny gastube look. 

[John Galt]

L-C, that guy's stock looks sanded!  Check out the finger groove and the safety cutout.  I kinda like his chrome bayonet, magazine, and recoil pad!  I wonder if anyone that got the m59/66's got sanded stocks?

I could bring my gas tube into work and analyze it with my "special" gun to see if there is any chrome or nickel remaining.  There doesn't look to be any.  Maybe they were just highly polished?

[Loose}{Cannon]

Could have been a lower level of guard.  Like at a military base where it saw less public view.  In other words, it could easily be an attempt to fancy it up a bit like the ones used at more important locations. 

[Greasemonkey]

Could have been a lower level of guard.  Like at a military base where it saw less public view.  In other words, it could easily be an attempt to fancy it up a bit like the ones used at more important locations.

Maybe the guy who did blueing was off the day it was assembled, or UPS hadn't delivered the blueing solution on it's morning delivery. Could have been just a factory botched blueing job, oil on the metal.  "Fancy it up"       I can see it now, lil Johnnys gotta shiny part, I wanna shiny part  buff buff....

[John Galt]

I just looked a little closer at my M59.  Actually, I took a closer look at the gas tube and investigated the lack of bluing.  The gas tube is ep'ed and doesn't match the serial but does match the barrel and receiver stampings.  Also, the piston is brand new with only a part number and BK ep'ed on it.  Maybe this rifle got the full arsenal re blue and afterward received some damage to the gas tube and piston and those parts needed to be switched out.  Maybe even the stock took some damage and that is why, despite having 2 different numbers, doesn't match the serial.  Just a thought.