GB listings for February, 2016 - Russian

[running-man]

We had 54 Russians change hands this month. 

Lowest Sale Price: $297.00
Avg. Sale Price: $546.07
Highest Sale Price: $899.00
Tula Avg. Price: $556.77
Izhevsk Avg. Price: $530.00
As-Issued Avg. Price: $728.57

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

538742607   RUSSIA SKS 7.62X39 RIFLE   1   $530.00    1950   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ПP3067   Terrible presentation on this one, don't show much of anything that's worth showing.

538968181   C&R Russian 1954 Tula Arsenal SKS, No Reserve All Matching, Non Rearsenaled, Unissued, SVT, AK   13   $780.00    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   ГЛ8764   Very nice as-issued '54 here.  This one sold for $556 last March from a different buyer.  Much better presentation on this auction netted another $230, nice!

539029357   Original Russian SKS 7.62x39 w/ Bayonet   1   $525.00    Uncertain   Tula   Bubba   Good   ЛB548   Too bad about that swapped receiver cover.  That magazine also appears to be pinned in the Canadian style too..

539083511   Russian Tula 1951 SKS 7.62X39   15   $600.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ИH1911   I actually like this gun very much.  The red joints in the laminate make it pop with the BBQ finish.

539205921   USED CAI RUSSIAN SKS w/SCOPE, BI-POD & BAYONET   1   $400.00    1953   Tula   Bubba   Fair   ЗK2043   

539289619   SKS-Russian, matching, clean   3   $450.00    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   MH3036   

539630521   Russian SKS 7.62x39mm Tula 1952 Matching   23   $760.00    1952   Tula   As-Issued   Good   CГ2491   I think the only thing that prevented this one from going higher was the general condition of the gun.  Better condition (or even some photo taken in better light) may have pushed $1k.

539657158   C&R Russian SKS 1954 Tula Arsenal, No Reserve Late 80's Import - Never Fired CAI ST ALR VT   5   $451.00    1954   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   BH3888   I don't know about the 'never fired' part, but it's a nice enough gun.

539659896   C&R Russian SKS 1954 Tula Arsenal, No Reserve Late 80's Import - All Matching, CAI ST ALR VT   5   $427.00    1954   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   BИ2081   Not a bad looker here.  Photos are a bit dark though.

539707520   Russian SKS 1954 Tula Arsenal unissued 7.62x39   10   $570.00    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Good   ИM5997   Anything more than that receiver cover scope mount would have earned this one Bubba status.  Would have been a shame too as this one has an absolutely gorgeous stock that looks as-issued to me.

539760698   Very Nice Rare Unfired Russian SKS #'s matching   11   $540.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ИП3488   "Pictures do this beauty no justice!"  This is such a true statement!  These photos are horrible.  He got way too artistic and used nothing but fancy camera angles for his GB auction.  That equals Horsetrash.

539888248   RUSSIAN MILITARY SKS SEMI AUTO RIFLE-EXCELLENT TULA 1955-ALL MATCHING NUMBERS   19   $505.00    1955   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   CM5771   Not a bad flyer on an uncommon year.

540030090   Matching Tula Russian SKS 1952 Unrefurbished NICE   15   $551.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   MЛ2282   Herein lies the folly of trying to make a ridiculous claim like 'unrefurbished'.  C'mon man.

540122468   SKS - 7.62x39 MADE IN RUSSIA   10   $470.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Fair   Uncertain   Horsetrash.

540635590   Russian SKS   14   $530.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Good   Uncertain   Horsetrash.

540687546   Soviet Russian SKS Tula Rifle Serial#20 C&R Penny   18   $656.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Very Good   ЛЮ20   Pretty nice gun here.

540740648   Izhevsk SKS 1953 SKS-45 Russian   7   $655.00    1953   Izhevsk   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ИM1655   Not near as pricey as Izhevsks have been in previous months.  Maybe they are coming down a bit?

540823525   Russian 1954R SKS 20" 7.62x39 Tula SN-79 NR   20   $485.01    1954   Izhevsk   Bubba   Fair   П79_П   Honest to goodness '54 Izhevsk here.  Good hole filler in someone's collection, but it'll never be anything more than a temp replacement in this condition, esp. w/o the magazine

540991081   Beautiful 1951 Russian SKS Tula Factory 762x39   13   $534.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   OЮ4830   Not a bad gun for the price I guess.  Not great either though.

541208558   Russian SKS Tula 7.62x39 1950 Matching   15   $530.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   CM875   I like these mid transitional '50s that aren't quite early transitional guns, but aren't the same vanilla cookie cutter guns from '51-'54 either.

541318643   RUSSIAN SKS   2   $440.00    Uncertain   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   BO2800   How do you not include a top view of a the receiver cover in a Russian SKS auction!?

541325236   Russian SKS 1950R, Tula, C:AI 7.62x39   1   $475.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ЮЮ1076   Really cool ЮЮ prefix on this one.

541359137   Russian SKS, all matching, excellent condition   16   $570.00    1952   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   MB2267   This one was the steal of the month right here.  Poor auction photos in bad lighting didn't do it justice I think.  I bet this one is drop dead gorgeous with all the proper stamp and cartouches in proper light.

541563102   Russian SKS Rifle Tula 1953 7.62x39mm   1   $550.00    1953   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   BO4114   

541696585   russian sks tula 55/56   9   $346.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Fair   KB3860   Adding a Hellfire trigger system on an Russian SKS, now I've seen everything!

541715719   Russian SKS 1951   1   $450.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   OC4604   

541721002   Russian SKS 7.62 1952   6   $460.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   Uncertain   Horsetrash.

541850699   Russian Military SKS SEMI AUTO RIFLE BOX Excellent TULA 1954 ALL MATCHING NUMBERS   5   $590.00    1954   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   HП2908   I detest this stock and how different it is from the handguard, but the 5 bids says someone liked it enough to shell out 6 Benjamins.

542077353   Russian SKS 1950 2nd Year Tula With Sling 7.62x39   8   $550.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   УK3912   Decent enough late '50 Tula here.

542089050   Russian SKS 7.62x39 Very Nice Finish Like New   2   $504.00    1957   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   УO4831_И   Not a bad price for this gun in this condition.

542179398   Russia sks-45   4   $475.00    1950   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ЗЮ2884   

542224210   Russian SKS rifle Russian SKS ak47 akm   8   $499.99    Uncertain   Tula   Bubba   Fair   Uncertain   Some flavor of post '56 letter gun.  I'll stick my regular "Does this banana mag make me look fat" comment here too.

542469262   Tula Russian SKS UN-REFURBED $99 Start NO RESERVE   33   $871.00    1957   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   BP5608_И   "After more research, and help from one of my esteemed colleagues, I've discovered this is a 1957 "Letter Series" SKS. Only made in '56 thru '58, these are among the rarest SKS in existence (would only be rarer if it was a Laminate Stock from factory "Letter Series") and it is in amazing condition...Long story short, this is one of the most badass SKS rifles on the planet. Thanks Tom!"  It's a nice gun but let's not get too carried away here...

542548970   VERY NICE ALL MATCHING 1950 RUSSIAN SKS   1   $540.00    Uncertain   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   ЛЮ732   Early Tula here.

542593889   Russian SKS Tula 1954 Nice 7.62x39 C&R   1   $575.00    1954   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   AH1671   I dig the box more than I do the rifle.

542673963   Russian 1951 SKS Great Condition!   1   $899.00    1951   Tula   As-Issued   Good   MB2720   Nice enough gun, though the stock finish is a bit of a mess for this kind of price.

542707548   SKS Russian 7.62x39MM Item-S170   15   $297.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Uncertain   Uncertain   Who in their right mind thinks doing this to a Russian SKS is a good idea?!

542819180   Russian SKS 1952 **NO RESERVE**   2   $450.00    1952   Tula   Bubba   Good   CK2178   

542877858   Russian SKS Tula 1953 very nice condition match #s   1   $449.99    1953   Izhevsk   Heavy Refurbished   Good   PK362   Somebody absolutely stole this Izhevsk...

542979076   KBI Russian SKS-45 1953r 7.62x39   15   $366.00    1953   Tula   Bubba   Fair   Uncertain   

543128493   Mint Matching Soviet-Russian SKS Carbine Box&Acces   10   $670.00    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ГT3237   Box or no box, that is one heavy refurb...

543275161   russian sks all matching excellent condition   6   $525.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Uncertain   Uncertain   

543545252   Russian sks 1952 dated   2   $500.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ЗM1672   Decent enough looker.  Don't see that blank magazine very often, I wonder if it's a Chinese replacement?

543546546   Russian Tula SKS 7.62x39 LAYAWAY   1   $569.00    1954   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   AO2054   Horsetrash.

543559137   Russian SKS C&R dated 1952 Like new   1   $600.00    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   Uncertain   Horsetrash.

543575597   Russian SKS Matching numbers Excellent   2   $449.00    Uncertain   Tula   Bubba   Good   ПЛ2078   Once drilled and tapped, always a bubba.

543620365   Russian SKS 7.62x39 - UnFired   5   $640.00    1951   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   PA2165   Not the best photos.

543620588   Russian SKS 7.62x39mm AS-New/UnFired   1   $600.00    1953   Tula   Uncertain   Good   Uncertain   Again, not the best photos.

543622638   Russian SKS 1954 TULA Super Fine Condition   16   $705.00    1954   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ГH6514   Stock is nice even though it's a replacement.  Looks like lots of bidders wanted this one.

543729012   Russia Tula SKS 1951r matching # 7.62x39 No Res   1   $650.00    1951   Tula   As-Issued   Good   KЮ4643   Not the nicest example out there, but it looks legit to me.  Nice BIN snag of a fairly decent gun at well below market prices.

543761714   Russsian SKS 1951 Tula   3   $383.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   PШ879   Heavy heavy furb.  I suspect this is actually a '52 Tula based on the bayo lug ears.

543768533   Russian SKS Tula 7.62x39 1954 Matching Unissued   31   $765.00    1954   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ИB8195   Man, that's quite a price for a common furb '54.

543793268   Russian SKS 7.62x39 No Reserve   20   $475.00    1954   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ЗE8189   W/O the paint on the receiver cover, this could have been a light furb.

544024320   Russian SKS Tula 1953 - All Matching - Great Cond   3   $650.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   BM3300   Decent light furb.  Not sure the $$ matches the gun, but it's not a total dog.

[Blicero]

Alright let's see what kind of con jobs and auction fevers and "reenactor grade" guns got slung for barrels of cash this month...

538968181
That's going to be a tough one to beat in terms of sex appeal. It doesn't look like nonrefurb prices have budged a cent in two years am I wrong about that? Also strikes me as odd that only 3 people deemed that rifle worthy of a bid over 6 bills.

539083511
Man...I just can't do bbq. It's one thing to destroy captured notzee junk with some awful refinish but they're bastardizing their own creations! Terrible. And only $180 separated this monstrosity from that first nonrefurb. The chasm between those two examples is leviathan, far more than what $180 represents. Just MHsnobbyO obviously.

539630521
That's a sweet 52. Stock condition is meh but the coloration is gorgeous. I'd be happy to pay that winning price.

539707520 
Crappy pictures and throwing bubba crap into said crappy pictures helped keep this one affordable. That's a great buy if it's as righteous as it looks. It doesn't look to be any kind of permahumped.

539760698
Pictures do this beauty no justice!
Yeah your photos are total cowplop and so is your SKS. I think somebody had a surplus of cold blue to dispose of.

539888248
Hey a 55 makes an appearance, and on the dreary drab Eisel blanket of misery no less! Sweet rifle, nice price!

540740648 
BBQ Izhevsk in replacement stock sells for $650+ and you say they're coming down a bit? Holy cow I obviously haven't been paying attention. I just figured there was a 10% upcharge for the pretty snow pictures.

540030090
Oof...yeah that stock marking is no bueno if you want to play the "unrefurbished" card. Still sold for refurb money.

542469262
OK settle down, spaz. If you hadn't run out of room verbally fellating the SKS I suppose the next line would've had to do something with Khrushchev (damn it took me 3 tries to spell that right) or gulags.

541359137
No way am I going to find a sexier gun for a better price in the rest of this report. Not happening. Wowser.

543768533
"quite a price" is one way to put it.

542877858 
Stolen? Naw man it's just a refinished Iz that's missing parts. Buy original, buy condition 


Nice work Joe! It's fun to see how you apply your own voice to these reports. I think listening to the ever jaded me & LC for so long has rubbed off on you though.

[running-man]

539888248
Hey a 55 makes an appearance, and on the dreary drab Eisel blanket of misery no less! Sweet rifle, nice price!



541359137
No way am I going to find a sexier gun for a better price in the rest of this report. Not happening. Wowser.


542877858 
Stolen? Naw man it's just a refinished Iz that's missing parts. Buy original, buy condition 

I think you're right on the jaded part.  When I first started these last March, I'd have gushing, glowing things to say about all sorts of people and their firearms.  Anymore, I'm bombarded with unissued, unrefurbished, unfired!   

I agree with you that 541359137 is the best gun for the price this month.  It's a really nice looker for certain! 

I don't agree that 542877858 wasn't one heck of buy though.  There are like 3 or 4 '53 Izhevsks that I've ever seen in as-issued condition.  Anymore you've gotta take what you can get because it'll be 4 months before another one pops up again and I guarantee you it'll run $300 more than this one did. 

I never even noticed that sreisel had one for sale.  I'm surprised it went as cheaply as it did... 

[Blicero]

About that Izhevsk, I had deleted "At first I wanted to argue with you about your stolen comment but..." and continue on a laudatory diatribe about how rock & roll any Izhevsk is and that was a righteous price. Then I looked at the rifle again. I don't even care if it's refurb or non. At least give me an Iz stock, or quit using that BBQ! Or at least put a dang magazine in the thing! Something that doesn't scream out complete and total strip, rework, parts swap, refinish, restamp, and reassembly if you want me to call it a steal. That's not asking too much is it, for something like an Izhevsk?

It's like what you'd said about the other Izhevsk...it's just a placeholder. Filler. Signifying deficiency and incomplete joy in ownership. I've had plenty of placeholders and fillers, and I regret them all. How can something be a steal when you know you'll be hoping to upgrade it before it even shows up in the mail?

I don't know. Some guns speak to you. Some don't. It was definitely a better than good price for someone who wants a Russian SKS. Being a 53 definitely helps its cause too.

*please, members, do not take my bitter and snobbish tone seriously. I actually have a fondness for any and all Russians in military configuration, and think they should all be bought and owned for whatever the market dictates. I know that might be hard to see from my posts. I just enjoy giving RM a hard time and want to challenge any sense of mediocrity or lackluster-ness he may bring to the collecting realm.