GB listings for March, 2016 - Russian

[running-man]

(Apologies this one is so late this month.  Income taxes kicked my butt this year!)

We had 43 Russians change hands this month. 

Lowest Sale Price: $305.00
Avg. Sale Price: $630.45
Highest Sale Price: $920.00
Tula Avg. Price: $630.98
Izhevsk Avg. Price: $722.00
As-Issued Avg. Price: $782.88

Please let me know any feedback (good or bad) to these.

If you have an objection or observation to add to anything I've listed, by all means call it out.  Let's look at it long and hard (I only look at each listing for a minute or two at most) and maybe everyone can learn a thing or two! 

-RM



Item Link   Description   # Bids   Final Price   Year   Arsenal   Arsenal Condition   Current Condition   S/N   RM's Notes

547382343   1951 Russian Tula SKS All matching,ak   14   $580.00    1951   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   OB3845   I wonder who scrawled that "TK" into the stock.  You almost never see Russians with trench art.  Could easily have been done stateside...

548656406   1952 Mint Matching Soviet Russian Tula SKS Carbine   2   $649.95    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   MИ842   I typically don't care for the heavy furbs in an amber laminate stock, but this one isn't too bad at all with the nice reddish glue lines of the laminate in there.

547218880   1953 Russian SKS - New Old Stock- IN BOX!   26   $800.00    1953   Tula   Bubba   Good   HB2949   $800?!  For this monstrosity?!  C'mon bubba, did you have to ruin that stock so badly?!  Seriously?  $800?!  Shows what I know.

546503660   1953 Tula SKS -As Issued- All number matching   1   $699.00    1953   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   HT3950   Amazing to me that this one went so low.  Equally amazing is that the seller sold it at a loss after buying it for $975 on 5/5/15!!  Man, you gotta use the buy/sell/trade forums here for stuff like this!

548678601   1954 Russian SKS 7.62x39 with Bayonet Matching #'s   1   $675.00    1954   Izhevsk   Light Refurbished   Good   ГE802   I'm either getting better at this, or I'm really lucky.  8 photos into this one I thought to myself: "Man this sure looks like a '54 Izhevsk."  Lo and behold, it is.  Nice one at that, though the replacement stock is a ding.  I'm not certain if I think the seller just took bad photos, or if they were intentionally trying to hide the stocks refurbished-ness. Either way, it was easy to miss.

545649684   C&R Russian 1951 Tula Arsenal SKS, No Reserve All Matching, Non Rearsenaled, Unissued, SVT, AK   11   $765.00    1951   Tula   As-Issued   Good   BK6256   Awesome '51 Tula example here.  I'd have been proud to have this one in my collection!

546853929   CAI Russian SKS-45 Sporting Rifle 7.62x39 NIB   1   $599.50    1958   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   TИ7391_K   I don't know about the 'unfired' portion, but the gun itself isn't all that bad.  Really dark photos may have limited the upside, but all the accessories and the box sure helped.

546404474   5636 Russian SKS KBI 7.62X39 W box SKS-45   7   $500.00    1953   Tula   Bubba   Good   ИO920   Not sure I'd pay 5 Benjamins for a bubba shooter, even if it is a Russian.  There are far too many sub $300 early Chinese out there that are more tempting than this one.

546444747   IZZY SKS NON MATCHING   1   $500.00    Uncertain   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   HM1273   When in doubt, ALWAYS verify oddballs like this gun on a discussion forum where other collectors can give it a second or third lookover.  This is NOT an Izhevsk.  There is nothing Izhevsk about this gun beyond the mismatching receiver cover and magazine.  The early receiver is a huge red flag that should serve to warn you to stay away from paying Izhevsk money for this gun.

544617906   RUSSIA SKS 7.62 Rifle w/scope & bayonet   20   $305.00    Uncertain   Tula   Bubba   Good   ИC1247   Early Tula that's been bubbafied.  Couple that with semi-horsetrashy photos and you have a Russian SKS-45 that barely breaks $300.

545167987   Russian Model SKS 7.62X39 Cal. Rifle   8   $650.00    1951   Tula   Uncertain   Good   Uncertain   Not a great listing, but it was probably a nice one.

547275693   Russian SKS (1954) Curio-Relic. 7,62x39   9   $466.01    Uncertain   Uncertain   Uncertain   Uncertain   Uncertain   H-O-R-S-E-T-R-A-S-H!!!

545644265   Russian SKS (Tula) Mid 50's build Pictures ADDED!   3   $676.00    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   KA276   What can I say?  I'm still not a fan of these amber and black guns. 

545229181   Russian SKS 1953 C&R Matching Numbers Beautiful!   1   $500.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ФИ577   I really like the look of this one despite the laminate stock.  It's a nice looking carbine.  A bit of unfortunate bluing wear on the magazine from a klutzy owner notwithstanding.

545503178   Russian SKS 1955 TULA KBI Import 7.62X39 Rifle   1   $605.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Uncertain   Uncertain   H-O-R-S-E-T-R-A-S-H!!!

547593151   Russian SKS 7.62x39   7   $750.00    1957   Tula   As-Issued   Good   УP5778_И   Absolute beauty here! How this gun goes for $750 and others in lesser shape go for $800 is beyond me. Stock is a bit rough, keeping it from a VG rating, but it's an honest to goodness '57 in the original stock.  Can't really ask for much more than that.

548050333   Russian SKS 7.62x39 1950 Tula   1   $600.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   TЛ2765   Decent enough '50 here.  I'd pay the extra $150 and get the letter И above though.

547897115   Russian SKS 7.62x39 1954R Matching #s No Reserve   14   $495.00    1954   Tula   Bubba   Fair   ГT8020   This one has definitely seen its share of use.  Too bad about the magazine.

544976847   Russian SKS 7.62x39 Semi-Auto Rifle With Bayonet   1   $499.00    1957   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   BM6078_И   Another gun that's seen a hard life.  Not my favorite gun, but a solid shooter nonetheless.

548811938   Russian SKS 7.62x39 UNFIRED w/Folding Bayonet   21   $575.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   ИK946   Interesting gun here.  If we take the receiver cover and  rear takedown lever at face value, this one appears to be one of the very late transitional '50's with a 45° gas block and a machine stamped receiver cover top.

546714912   Russian SKS all matching   1   $700.00    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Good   AB1484   This is how not to start off the sale of your as-issued '54 on Gunbroker: "For sale is a Russian re arsenaled SKS."  Do'h!

547723813   Russian SKS all matching Tula Rebuild   1   $510.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   HC812   Black bayos look pretty nice on heavy refurbs like this one.

547044590   Russian SKS Izhmash 1954 non-referb, excellent   13   $901.00    1954   Izhevsk   As-Issued   Good   HP795   I'm giving this one an 'as-issued' with many reservations.  It could easily be the real deal in a blonde stock as those are '53-'54 Izhevsk period correct.  The stock on this one gives me the heebie jeebies though.  Why is the arrow in the cartouche obliterated like that?  Why is the cartouche and year filled in with a very dark color, but the S/N not?  The crossbolt stamps are too lightly stamped for my liking too, especially the diamond Я to the right of the right crossbolt.  The finish wear just doesn't jive with some of the things I'm seeing.

547960931   RUSSIAN SKS MATCHING   1   $477.77    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Uncertain   ЗГ2648   Wow, this is a really bad listing.  Note to self: turn on at least one light when taking indoor photos at night.  I'll be the first to admit I don't take great photos, but man, these are horrid.  Why do we need to see two fuzzy shots of the partial magazine anyway?!

545271103   Russian SKS Numbers Matching Tula Great Conditon   6   $500.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Fair   BH4200   I'm surprised this one broke $480.

547843048   RUSSIAN SKS SEMI AUTO RIFLE-TULA 1954-ALL MATCHING   21   $670.00    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Good   ИK6221   Buttplate and second strike on the right side of the stock make me a bit nervous, but @ $670 it's nice enough with that stock even if it is a light furb.

544689805   Russian SKS Tula 1952   6   $525.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   BO366   I had never seen a TK stamp on a cleaning kit before.  Pretty neat!

545640359   Russian SKS tula 1953r Unfired Mint nt AK-47 AKM   15   $705.00    1953   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   KЛ5425   That's a pretty premium for a box...

545154514   Russian SKS Tula 1954 Unissued C&R-OK   16   $855.95    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Good   ИЛ2636   Not a big fan of photo shopped photos in my GB listings at all..  Seller needs to read up a bit on his Tulas!  1954 was not the last year with Tula star stamped receiver covers!

544959309   Russian SKS Tula 7.62x39 1952 Matching Unissued   39   $920.00    1952   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   MЛ4038   This is indeed a nice one.  Is it 9 Benjamins nice?  I guess the market dictates yes...

545885109   Russian SKS Tula 7.62x39 1953 Matching *Nice   12   $504.11    1953   Tula   Bubba   Good   AT4644   "This is a real Russian rifle not a Chinese copy."  Because those Chinese guns are all crap right?

545492672   Russian SKS Tula 7.62x39 1954r Matching   11   $590.00    1954   Izhevsk   Bubba   Good   И122_X   Sad to see this one get bubbafied.  Interesting that the seller lists it as a '52 Tula in the description.  And yes, I can pretty much guarantee him that it's been shot.

546233504   Russian SKS Unissued Laminated Stock   6   $700.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Very Good   BO4586   "This is an unissued Russian SKS that was manufactured at the Tula Arsenal in 1953. The rifle was overhauled sometime in Soviet military service and put into storage. It has remained unfired since then, and was imported by KBI back in the early 1990's."  OK let's dissect what's wrong with that description?!  Unissued yet overhauled, dang I hate it when unissued guns need to be hauled out of storage to be overhauled.  I suspect that it must be time to drag out M1 Garand S/N 81 (http://ww3.rediscov.com/spring/VFPCGI.exe?IDCFile=/spring/DETAILS.IDC,SPECIFIC=10015,DATABASE=51952688,) and S/N 86 (http://ww3.rediscov.com/spring/VFPCGI.exe?IDCFile=/spring/DETAILS.IDC,SPECIFIC=12080,DATABASE=51952688,) and fix them all up nice and pretty like this one!  And how does anyone know it has remained unfired since refurbishment?!  Does this seller have detailed information of the entire life of the gun from the time it got crated up, through import & boxing, and all the sales up until he got his hands on it?!  C'mon man!

544377350   Russian SKS W/bayonet all matching numbers Nice   15   $581.01    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   УP2822   Pretty decent little gun, but almost 6 Benjamins seems a bit high to me, especially when you consider the rear sling swivel is gone.  The stock is pretty nice I will admit..

548058469   RUSSIAN TULA ARSENAL 1953 DATED SKS NON-REWORK   34   $700.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   AH3831   Nice gun, but that darn "unissued" term popping up on a refurb like this is just ridiculous.

545882124   Russian Tula SKS 1953 Matching w/box Nice One! NR!   16   $615.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ЛK1065   Decent gun.  I don't love this stock, but the gun itself is ok.

544422922   Russian Tula SKS 1954 #s Match Laminated Exc Cond.   12   $705.00    1954   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   KП7606   I don't know that I'd go so far as to say "99%" finish.  That RSL looks like crap compared to the BBQ paint slathered over everything else...

548135963   Russian Tula SKS 1954 with laminated stock   11   $630.00    1954   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Uncertain   Uncertain   H-O-R-S-E-T-R-A-S-H!!!

547334860   Russian Tula SKS 7.62x39 Rifle "NICE"   9   $570.95    1951   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   Uncertain   Not a great set of photos, but the rifle looks pretty good.  Has some style of hex arsenal stamp on the stock.

545472257   Russian Tula SKS All-Matching 7.62x39mm   11   $785.00    1956   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   TP1444_Д   There are very few guns I'd put as high as Boomer's old BM5559_И.  This is one of them though.  Nicest gun of the month right here!

546933090   Tula Arms Rifle Russian 1950R SKS 7.62x39 Nice!   1   $599.99    1950   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   CO1270   I like the look of this stock very much!  The stamp on the receiver cover is a *very* unusual refurb stamp (for an SKS).  Only ever seen a few of those long empty rectangles.

549209201   Tula Russian 1951 SKS LIKE NEW 7.62x39 RARE   2   $699.00    1951   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   BЛ4488   Sad story, but beautiful gun, even in that laminate stock.

546310326   Very Pretty Russian SKS All Matching 7.62x39 AK47   1   $775.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   AT2157   Not a bad looker, but $775?  Wow, I need to put my '50 refurb up for sale!