Name: Arjana; Ethnicity: Albanian; Age: 45

[Phosphorus32]

Bumped into this tired and somewhat mistreated old girl at the gun show last weekend and felt it was my duty to give her a good home and some tlc.  Yup, I'm just that compassionate  and altruistic

Actually I went to the show with a Yugoslavian M24/47 Mauser that I'd recently picked up based on some poor auction photos and found it had been sanded (near perfect bore and bluing though).  I was just looking to recover my total costs with shipping and maybe $20 for my trouble.  I traded that rifle and $200 for this 56-1, so I have $430 into this SKS.

Anyhow, the SKS is a mismatched refurb that was shot a few hundred times, discarded in the mud, then dipped in Cosmoline to create a dirty greasy mess.  I couldn't leave it that way so I stripped it and cleaned it.  The bolt and bolt carrier match each other, the gas tube and piston match each other, and the rest of the components match the receiver...so in GunBroker terminology: ALL-MATCHING except...    The "assembly numbers" on the barrel (12) and receiver (14) are different and the witness marks are not aligned (deceptively close), so the barrel has been replaced. The bore is very good as expected for a chrome-lining.

Here's my customary pictorial onslaught!    Hey, I've got a reputation to maintain 

P.S. I now have 13 Simonov's in my collection and this is actually my first spiked bayonet SKS. Isn't that black wicked?! 

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SERIAL NUMBERS

[martin08]

I would have left the mud and grease.   

Congrats.

[Phosphorus32]

Congrats.

Thanks! My first Albanian, so I'm tickled.

I would have left the mud and grease.   

Yes, for some reason I'm not surprised to hear that  I didn't find any hair, bugs, leaves or other macroscopic biological matter in This Old SKS 

I did leave the two little bits of rag in the buttstock and preserved the bit of cloth I found under the handguard in a labeled ziploc bag 

[Loose}{Cannon]

Labeled ziploc...   Bwahahahahahahaha.    Classic.

I like it man.   .       Was it a deal of the century? 

[Phosphorus32]

Ha-ha! No deal of the century but at $430 I'd call it a reasonable price in the current market for a good condition mixmaster. 

She shoots very well.  I didn't shoot for groups at distance but had some fun. Shot a half dozen at 25 yds just to sight it in and it was tight and accurate. Trigger is typical SKS, not gritty, a bit of creep. Cycles like a dream.

[running-man]

Jon,

I know there are lots of guys that will poo-poo this one because she's not the prettiest one in the safe. I think it's one heck of a gun for your first Alby though. She was born to shoot, and it appears she does that exceptionally well. You don't have to worry about getting a ding in the stock or a scratch on the metal, no treating her with kid gloves. Reminds me quite a bit of my mixmaster Alby truck gun:







Mine's nothing much to look at, and there's some serious pitting under the wood, but she shoots really well, is as reliable as they come, and is the one I'll pick to toss in the back seat of the truck when there's a job for an SKS.

Prices on these things have ratcheted up in the past few months when it seems nobody was looking. You can't find them on GB sub $500 anymore it seems, regardless of condition. Nice pickup there!

[Phosphorus32]

Thanks RM! Well said 

I like the pristine all-matching examples as much as the next guy, but I also have a soft spot for these well-used rifles with a lot of character.

[firstchoice]

I like it! Something about the "been there, done that" rifle makes me wonder about the history it experienced. And then, I'm not sure I want to know, either.

Any consensus on the wood used in these years of Albys? My '69 has the same little white swirls in the grain as your '70. I like the grain on them. Just not sure what type of wood it is.

Good catch Phos! I missed this past gun show, but I'm going to catch the next one. Starting to rekindle the "bug" again.

firstchoice

[Loose}{Cannon]

Albania used Beech....  But I have noticed the 1970 timeframe saw a change in finish. 

[Dannyboy53]

Very nice Jon, I really like the "character" lent to those that have been around!

[Phosphorus32]

Thanks a lot firstchoice and Danny.  She's definitely been there, done that, been there don't want to go back (a little Brian Eno and John Cale reference)