Were 11 mil Vietnam guns?

[Bob_The_Student]

I have a recent pickup its an 11 mil and I can't find import mark. I'm still hunting for one. I'm not 100% yet but I do not see one, barrel and receiver appear to be negative.

[Boris Badinov]

Yes.

From what I've seen, 11th year guns are the most common serial range among Vietnam bringback Type56's.( I Have one myself- w/o documents.)

Which would appear to be doubly corroborated by the insanely high production totals for that year of 500,000+ rifles and the destruction of the #1 facility in North Vietnam in 1965-- apparently by American bombing.

[running-man]

Bob,

Check under the barrel where the bayonet resides when closed.  Lots of old marks like that.  Some new ones too, recent TGI imports have those and they are sometimes ridiculously tough to find.

Also, check on the receiver cover surface for signs of etching that may have worn away.  There were early imports in the mid-80's from Century & Fed Ord that got marked long before BATF issued a ruling that import marking components and not, frames, receiver, or barrels was common.  Also look under the receiver cover within the receiver channel.  I have a single photo (somewher, I can't fund it at the moment) of a mark on the top of the receiver under the receiver cover.  That's a bigtime no-no anymore as the import stamp has to be visible w/o disassembling the firearm.

[Phosphorus32]

If you don't turn up any vestiges of import marks from RM's pictorial list, then it's entirely reasonable that a 1966 Type 56 would be one of the numerous Vietnam bringbacks without surviving documents.

[Boris Badinov]

Bob-

Is the bolt carrier dark in color-- either blued or heavily patinaed?

Can you post photos?

[Bob_The_Student]

Gents, I also cleaned this one up before I got high on acetone this morning. I will post photos here by the evening.

[pcke2000]

Gents, I also cleaned this one up before I got high on acetone this morning. I will post photos here by the evening.

Are you sure it's acetone, not ethanol (alcohol )? Lol

[Bob_The_Student]

OK so I gave her the 5x over and there is NO IMPORT MARK! IF this is a bringback it was gently used and taken care of although if you look it does have some interesting patina although I don't think I'm qualified to decide how it got there. Some of you are though.

Here are consolidated photos tell me what you think.


















**SORRY forgot photo of receiver serial**

[Greasemonkey]

Gents, I also cleaned this one up before I got high on acetone this morning. I will post photos here by the evening.

Watch huffing that stuff... It make your babies be born naked..

Gents, I also cleaned this one up before I got high on acetone this morning. I will post photos here by the evening.

Are you sure it's acetone, not ethanol (alcohol )? Lol

Here in my parts.... Ethanol, the more pure the better... is fer drinking, not cleaning and not gas.. 

[Bacarnal]

I think the one my buddy has is an 11 mil gun with no imports, nominally a bring back.  The one I've posted here before is a 7 mil blade.  I think that both are the more common ones, with a smattering of different years thrown in, but that's a SWAG  .
Nice one, Bob!! .

[Phosphorus32]

I like it a lot Bob! Signs of honest use on the trigger guard, brown patina on the magazine, gas tube, bolt handle. Really nice condition overall. 

[BMont]

Sweet rifle man.  Nice grab. 

[Boris Badinov]

It appears to hit all the right marks.for a non-papered bring back.The only odd thing, as far as I can tell is that it didnt come with a story. Usually non-import Type56's have a story.

IIRC, it has been discussed that forgetting to apply an import stamp is a pretty big NoNo for importers and for that reason such oversights are extremely rare-- if even a possibility at all.

Given the high incedence of 11mil bringbacks, IMHO this is most likely a VN bringback.

👍🏼

[Bob_The_Student]

Boris, no story because I bought it from an auction. They obviously overlooked the no import mark. I will try and call them and see if I can get any info on seller or see if I can give my number to them and get more info.

[Marcus]

I collecting SKS rifles in 1970, when any you saw were Vietnam bring-back "war trophies". 

According to the original owners, the guys who brought them back, I got them from,  some were taken from a dead Communist, some were found in arms caches,  and some were bought or traded for from another  soldier.  Whatever the story as to how the guy selling it to me got it,  I saw no reason to doubt any of them.  People were pretty open and honest about  things like that back then.

Capture papers were an unheard-of  rarity, in fact of all the ones I acquired in the 1970 to early 1980's period, NONE had papers.   

Many guys said they lost them or threw them away when they got home,  others said they never had papers on the guns,  they just brought them back and nobody questioned them, they stashed them on their vehicles or ships, or they dismounted the action from the stock and stuck them in a duffel bag.  Being as short as they are and as easily demountable,  SKS rifles didn't require the "duffel bag cuts" we see on some WW2 bring-back Mausers and such.

As American involvement in the  Vietnam War wound down and everybody was coming home, there was more interest in just processing guys  and sending them on once they reached American soil than in searching through their stuff.

[Bob_The_Student]

I called the auction company and the previous owner didn't want to talk with me. They told auction company they bought it from a collector and that they may have remembered it not having an import mark but couldn't remember. They thought it may be a bringback but wasn't sure. No info to definitively say yeah or nay but some believe it likely is. I believe it likely is as well. I didn't pay for a bringback so I'm good either way. I only found the no import mark when I fully disassembled to clean it.

[lowell66dart]

Nice score. I'm still working on a bringback with no papers but it does have a story. It sure doesn't look like yours.