GB listings for December, 2015 - Russian

[running-man]

A decent 42 SKS45s this time around.  $300.00 low, $914.99 high, $757.50 avg.

Please feel free to post up any feedback (good or bad) to any one these entries.

If you have an objection or observation to add to anything I've listed, by all means call it out.  Let's all look at it long and hard (I only look at each listing for a minute or two at most, I miss things all the time and as I continually try to remind people: we simply don't have all the answers, no matter how good we'd like to think we are) and maybe everyone can learn a thing or two including me! 

-RM

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



529238994   Romanian Type 56 SKS 7.62 x 39 Rifle Used   1   $580.00    1958   Bubba   Fair   Does this banana magazine make me look fat?



530270319   Norinco SKS Semi-Auto Rifle 7.62x39   24   $355.00    1960   As-Issued   Poor   What part of this gun is "Norinco" exactly?  I will say that it is God awful ugly.



531439249   Romanian SKS 7.62x39mm Matching In Box CAI 56   37   $670.00    1960   Refurbished   Good   That stock is iffy to me.  I can't give this one a pass, that number is stamped so poorly I can't help but think this is a replacement stock.  Maybe not, I've been wrong many times before, but for almost 7 Benjamins I want a pristine Romy, not an iffy one with 10 blurry photos and a box.



531464593   Romanian SKS Very Good Condition   9   $371.77    1958   Bubba   Good   Another one with what looks like a refinished stock.  These DE prefixes are interesting, the sub 2000 ones fall in '57 while the higher number ones like this 488x gun fall in '58.  I wonder if they transitioned the year during the run of this prefix.



531989159   Romanian SKS NOT Russian Yugo Chinese Albanian   1   $435.00    1960   Refurbished   Good   Nice gun here, looks like it still has a sheen of cosmo on the stock too.  Too bad about the mismatch stock, but it's not a bad deal at $435.



533013089   Romanian SKS rifle1960 type 56   1   $430.00    1960   Bubba   Good   Real shame about the stock on this one.  You can even see where the sander took off the top of the left crossbolt head.  Too bad.  Could have been a real home run gun here.  Ahh well, what can you do?

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

521861628   1954 r Russia SKS-45 KBI,INC   1   $550.00    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Good   HC448   Nice gun with an absolutely horrible presentation.  This could easily be a $700 gun if the listing wasn't horsetrashy.

525960745   Russian Tula SKS 1952 Matching Excellent No Res!   14   $655.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   MO1507   This is actually a pretty nice little carbine.  Seller may have embellished the description a bit, but I dig the MO prefix on the S/N.

526330675   Russian SKS 7.62x39   1   $399.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Fair   Uncertain   This bubba wont ever go back to stock w/o some major effort.

527100087   Russian Tula SKS Late Production Letter Gun   7   $600.00    1957   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   AT3485_И   Here's one replacement stock that retained the almost red color instead of going full-tilt blonde.  Nice gun.

527166806   CHINESE TYPE 56, SKS, 762x39, BLADE BAYONET, C&R   14   $455.00    1957   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   AO2820_И   This one almost slipped through as it was listed as a Chinese gun.  Decent looking letter suffix gun with a horizontal numbered replacement stock.

527246110   Tula 1954 Russian SKS   1   $650.00    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   AH2961   I think this one could have gone higher with some brighter photos.  As it is, quite a nice looker at a very reasonable price.

527518270   Russian SKS Tula (ALL MATCHING) (NO RESERVE)   3   $460.00    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   BЛ1582   I wonder if the AK rear sight ladder & slider came on the gun or if Bubba added it? On a Chinese gun I wouldn't hesitate to believe it was put there during refurb, but I've never seen a Russian out of the crate with one of these...

527626433   Russian Tula SKS 1952R UNFIRED!! #'s Matching NR   11   $675.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Light Refurbished   Good   Uncertain   "I laugh when I see listings like this:

""Russian Tula SKS 1952R unfired and numbers matching. Very rare to find a Russian Tula in this condition. Great for any collection!!! 63 year old rifle in NEW condition.

[Information added 12/3/2015 10:20:20 PM]

This is rearsenalled.""

Man going from ""unfired"" to ""rearsenalled"" in record time there!  Horsetrash listing..."

528104862   Russian SKS Rifle Tula 1954   18   $487.00    1954   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ЛA5800   For some reason, I just love nice round S/N's like this one.  The stamping just looks sharp and clean.  This seller was nice and honest too, calling out the mismatch gas tube.

528191653   RUSSIAN TULA SKS 7.62 X 39 1953r   2   $435.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ЛH3961   15 photos that really don't show all that much.  My opinion is this gun got a low price because of the presentation rather than anything really lacking in the gun itself.

528227923   Russian SKS - 1954 Tula, Numbers Match, Excellent!   1   $699.00    1954   Tula   Bubba   Very Good   ЛП5010   Heck of a reach for someone on this one in my opinion.  I know the wood stock looks pretty nice, but this gun is in a Tapco stock, with a Tapco handguard.  The chances of reusing the handguard rivet a third time are pretty remote.  The chances of buggering up the handguard ferrule on the other hand are pretty high.  If you're going to spend this kind of money, why not just buy an as-issued '54?

528232557   Russian SKS Tula Nice 7.62x39 (CAI) 1953   4   $395.00    1953   Tula   Bubba   Fair   ЛA1388   Missing bayo really hurt the allure of this one.  That and the bluing certainly leaves much to be desired.  Still, it's a genuine Russian SKS-45 and 4 Benjamins isn't bad at all.

528303778   RUSSIAN SKS - MATCHING NUMBERS   14   $391.00    Uncertain   Tula   Uncertain   Good   ПP3055   Kind of surprising this one went so low.  Auction isn't great, but it's not sub $400 bad.  Not really that bad a light refurb, heck it could even be an as-issued gun.  This is the kind of gun to take a flyer on.  At this price, even if it turns out to be a goat, you won't lose your money.

528348627   Russian Tula SKS Unissued | Unrefinished | 1954 True Collectors Piece | Never Issued or Refinished   8   $715.00    1954   Tula   Uncertain   Uncertain   ГT2475?   Horsetrash, Horsetrash, Horsetrash!!!  I sure as heck hope the buyer get additional detailed photos of this one!  This seller is PRECISELY the reason I detest the terms 'unfired', 'unissued', and 'unrefurbished'.  Like they (or *anyone*) is good enough to know every last detail of the 60 year life of a Russian SKS45.  The hubris is unbelievable!!!

528463676   SKS Russian manufacture, in excellent condition   2   $525.00    1950   Tula   Bubba   Fair   Uncertain   With all that camo, you can't even see the gun!!

528745514   Russian Tula SKS 1955 #s Match 7.62x39 Nice Bore   13   $670.00    1955   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   CM3039   Neat little '55 here.  Kind of high for a heavy 'furb, but sometimes you just need to fill a hole in the collection.

528825724   Russian SKS 7.62 x 39 All Matching Numbers   1   $601.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ЗE16   Neat serial number on this one.  Not sure it warrants 6 Benjamins though.

529062429   Russian Tula SKS (1950) 7.62x39   11   $575.00    1950   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ФЮ1177   That stock is simply not a pretty stock...

529213053   Russian SKS Tula 1951   2   $525.00    1951   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ИЮ1965   "Pretty clean gun here.  Kind of a horsetrashy presentation with only 3 photos, but this gun isn't a total dog.  One thing to note, seller says: ""I can end this auction any time I want even with bids.""  Uhm, actually Gunbroker says no, you can't do that.



""A seller can only end an auction early if:

a) there is not a bid on the item

b) the highest bid does not meet the Reserve Price (if applicable)"""

529258965   Russia SKS-45 KBI, Inc 7.62 x 39   1   $400.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Fair   ГP1453   Can't say much about this one.  Only other ГP prefix I have are 1949 guns.  This one is likely a '51.

529266539   Russian SKS Izhmash Izzy rifle 7.62x39 excellent   32   $655.00    Uncertain   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   HM1273   Ok, repeat after me guys: "An Izhevsk receiver cover does NOT make the gun Izhevsk made!!"  Before getting hot to trot on a gun and screaming "Take my money please" at a seller, step back and look at the features of the gun.  45 degree gas block, check.  Tall, early style receiver & RSB, check.  Square eared solid bayo lug, check.  No S/N visible on the receiver cover, check.  Mismatched but certainly an Izhevsk S/N'd magazine, check.  Hey wait a second, that S/N on the magazine looks familiar.  This gun is a '50 or '51 Tula that likely has a mismatching (Б481_Ф) receiver cover that looks exactly like this.  Obviously a flipped gun.  Guns like this take the newbie collectors for a ride all the time, be vigilant!

529669417   RUSSIAN - SKS - CAL. 7.62X39   1   $300.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Fair   Uncertain   Hard to even say with any amount of certainly that this one is indeed a Russian gun. 

529677251   C&R Russian 1951 Tula Arsenal SKS, No Reserve All Matching, Non Rearseled, Penny Start, NR, 7.62   20   $642.00    1951   Tula   As-Issued   Good   OB5367   This is a really nice '51 Tula.  Looks good to go to me!

529710702   Russian Tula SKS 1950 #s Match Laminated Exc Cond.   8   $707.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ШK37   Wow 7 Benjamins for a heavy furb '50.  Coincidentally, I have a light furb S/N ШK27 already in the database.

529711572   Russian SKS 49/56 7.62x39 semi auto rifle   1   $550.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ЮB2908   Not a big fan of this gun. 

529899488   Russian SKS 1952 7.62 x 39 New Condition   17   $480.00    1952   Tula   Bubba   Good   HP3912   Not sure how that bipod mounts (looks easily removable).  W/o it you have a nice heavy furb here.

530083692   Tula Russian SKS 7.62X39   21   $600.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Uncertain   Good   Uncertain   Two man bidding war on this one.  Not quite sure what they are seeing that I'm not though.  This is a decent refurb, but I'd have stopped long before $600.

530392935   Russian SKS 1952 all original & matching numbers   2   $695.00    1952   Tula   Bubba   Good   HK5502   Why does this one get a bubba rating?  Take a close look at photo 24.  That looks like a stamped Chinese trigger group if you ask me.  The next logical question is: Is a gun really "all matching" or "all original" when one of the parts clearly doesn't match?   I think the seller took a few too many liberties on this one.

530523753   russian sks 1952 minty w sling all matching   1   $599.99    1952   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   ЗM474   I'm calling this one an as-issued '52.  It may have had some work done to it, but hell if I can tell what.  Great discussion and much better photos from MEBears on this one here: http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2008.0  This was an excellent purchase.

530709049   Russian SKS 7.62x39 Like New In The Box ! 1950   9   $585.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ПM1589   Not a big fan of this gun at this price.

530782564   Russian SKS 1951 serial numbers match   3   $460.00    1951   Tula   Bubba   Good   AГ4563   Decent enough heavy refurb '51 here.  20 round magazine installed gives it a bubba rating, but that is the absolute easiest one to 'unbubba', esp. if the pictured original mag is original to the gun.

530934656   1953 Russian SKS-Tula   10   $590.00    1953   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   OB2163   Disappointing horsetrash auction here.  Really can't tell much about this one at all.

531013026   Russian Tula SKS 7.62x39mm   8   $550.00    1952   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   ЮK2370   Even with a semi-horsetrashy auction with only 4 photos, I would have been all over this one @ $550 had I been in the market for an as-issued '52.

531246274   Russian SKS 7.62X39 Matching 1954   1   $600.00    1954   Izhevsk   As-Issued   Very Good   BH947   Photos on this one scared a good many away.  More detailed photos show this was one heck of a steal: http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2057.0

531325630   Russian SKS Tula Nice 7.62x39 LOW RESERVE   4   $450.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Fair   Uncertain   Horsetrash.

531638842   SKS-45 Russian 7.62X39 LNIB   12   $655.02    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   HT3188   This one generated a fair number of bids.  Not a bad looker at all.

531954212   RARE 1951 RUSSIAN SKS LAMINATE STOCK MINTY!   16   $555.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ПH364   I'm surprised this one drew so many bids.  It's a nice gun, but nothing spectacular. 

532127608   Russian SKS 1953 Tula   1   $525.00    1953   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   ЛE4534   Not a big fan of this gun. 

532639724   Russian SKS 7.62x39 #'s Match not norinco chinese   1   $475.00    1956   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   HP4907_Д   Here's a '56 with what I'd say is a no date Tula receiver cover.  It'll be interesting to see if any as-issued HP prefixed guns turn up.

532755759   Russian Tula SKS 7.62x39 Matching serial   4   $530.00    1956   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   HM2900_Д   Here's a '56 letter Д gun with one of the darkest replacement laminate stocks I've ever seen.  Reserve must  have been $530 as this one failed to sell @ $525.

532809528   Russian SKS Izhevsk Arsenal 762X39 rifle 1954   28   $914.99    1954   Izhevsk   As-Issued   Very Good   П785_H   Another really nice Izhevsk. I'm pretty surprised that it didn't top $1k. Great color on that stock!

532901511   Russian SKS/7.62x39   3   $474.13    1956   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   TP7340_Д   "Undated, SKS, some people say this means late 1955's or 1956 MFG."  Actually SKS-files.com says this is a 1956 SKS because of the feature-set and the Д suffix.

[pcke2000]

532809528   Russian SKS Izhevsk Arsenal 762X39 rifle 1954   

half diamond (D0) mark on receiver cover, please see the 4th photo from top.

[MEBears]

I was surprised to see a '50 with the FU prefix 529062429. I have a '53 #FU162 so I guess the prefixes don't help identify the year.

[running-man]

532809528   Russian SKS Izhevsk Arsenal 762X39 rifle 1954   

half diamond (D0) mark on receiver cover, please see the 4th photo from top.

I certainly overlooked that one. I think I was so enamored with the stock that I glossed right over it. It's funny, over at the 'other' boards, you'd have five guys vehemently stating that that is just a scratch on the receiver cover with another few claiming that the D0 isn't a refurb mark after all!

I think we have seen enough D0s that seem as-issued except for that one little mark that we can say this one is very likely one of them. 

[Blicero]

Nice work Joe. I just dropped by to see if your numbers jived with the $700 asking price I have on a 54 Izhevsk. It looks like an easy pass. I'm not sure about SKSs but many other collectibles seem to be selling cheaply at the moment.