GB listings for July, 2015 - Russian

[running-man]

A very healthy 43 Russians this month, $283.55 low, $1025.00 high, $571.10 avg.

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

-RM

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

490013389   1953 Russian Tula SKS with Bayonet   8   $505.00    1953   Tula   Light Refurbished   Fair   Uncertain   This listing is a freaking embarrassment.  Starting off with the "We don't ship to CA" angle doesn't endear you to me.  Then using dark fuzzy photos with the Cyrillic prefix of the S/N removed everywhere is just downright stupid.  You're selling the gun, it will no longer be in your possession; you care about people seeing the original Russian (non-official) S/N why exactly?  Saddest thing is that there is a distinct refurb looking mark on the receiver that more then likely has a date associated with it that has been obliterated by Mr. Photoshop's heavy handed bungling.  Lastly, do we need 4 shots of the bayonet of this gun?  Honestly, why do I even try?

491566290   Russian SKS SKS-45 NEW In Box Tula 1953 C&R Nice!   18   $1,025.00    1953   Tula   As-Issued   Good   ДM446   Yes I get that it has a box.  Yes I get that the stock looks pristine. Yes this gun, like almost every other Russian SKS-45 you'll see offered on GB, is "unfired". Yes I get that it's likely a great gun, but there is simply not enough info in the description *or* in the photos to determine if this is a really good deal or if someone got taken for a ride on this one.  This was a steep price to pay for a gun that's not necessarily the most uncommon year variant out there. 

491636178    Russian Tula SKS 7.62X39 LIKE NEW   2   $455.00    Uncertain   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   AK1999_?   Letter gun, but I can't tell which letter.  Piss poor presentation.  Listen guys, we only need one good photo at a certain angle.  Taking ten different low resolution photos of the exact same features of the gun really doesn't give a whole bunch of information.  With letter guns, it's darn important to know WHICH LETTER IT IS.

491810464   Russian SKS 1953 Tula 7.62x39mm   10   $421.00    1953   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   ЛK4085   While this one won't win any beauty contests, it's an honest Tula in well used condition.  Perfect shooter here.

492005649   Russian SKS 1954r CDI SWAN VT Nice No CC Fees   4   $456.00    Uncertain   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   AM8938   Likely a letter gun, but again, the horstrashy-ness of the auction means we can't tell.  Terrible presentation, they show the CDI S/N but not the original Russian applied one that is not the official AFT S/N?  C'mon man!

492053437    Russian Tula Unissued SKS   6   $650.00    1951   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   УP633   $600 start, $650 BIN and 5 bids in between.  I can't say this gun is über expensive, but it's not a steal either.

492061241   1954 Russian SKS 7.62x39 M45 NonRefurb Tula   1   $550.00    1954   Tula   Uncertain   Fair   Uncertain   Horsetrash, horsetrash, horsetrash.  But thanks for showing great detail of the stag stamp on the sling.  Maybe that kind of detail on the rifle would have helped people determine whether this was indeed As-Issued like you claimed.  You'd be surprised that people would not be inclined to ask "Is this gun all matching" so much if you'd just show the damn pictures of all the components....

492186104   1951 Tula Russian SKS great condition laminated   17   $706.00    1951   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   KГ2012   Bidding war between two guys on this one.  It's a nice looking carbine, but I don't think it rates as 7 Benjamins nice.

492278191   RUSSIAN SKS-45 7.62 x 39 Rifle bayonett KBI TULA   1   $699.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   BH3167   Bigtime reach on this one.  I almost considered giving this one a 'Fair' rating.

492594646   Russian SKS 7.62X39 w/ ARCHANGEL STOCK   16   $283.55    Uncertain   Uncertain   Bubba   Fair   Uncertain   Good gravy, this one looks like it was run over by a Mack truck!  Embarrassing to do this to a Russian.

492633909   Russian 1954R 7.62x39 SKS Mint No Reserve   25   $855.00    1954   Izhevsk   Heavy Refurbished   Good   B399_P   25 bidders for a heavy refurb Izhevsk and a final sale price of 8 1/2 Benjamins?!  I've seen it all now!

492993353   Russian SKS 7.62 x 39 semi-automatic rifle AK-47   26   $750.00    1954   Tula   Bubba   Good   ГT266   26 bids for this monstrosity?!  You've gotta be kidding me.

493063484    Russian Star Military SKS unissued conditiom   1   $600.00    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   MP1135   Still wondering why this one sold so high.  Nothing really special here, and the NHM import stamping is second worse only surpassed by the CDI "CCCP" ridiculousness.

493081531   1953 Soviet Russian SKS 7.62x39mm Rifle SVT40 AK47   1   $489.95    Uncertain   Uncertain   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   Uncertain   Nothing much to see here.  "All matching except for one part"  That's kinda like being "Almost pregnant" or "Almost dead".

493610206    Russian Tula SKS 1950R   2   $450.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   Uncertain   Horsetrashy 4 photo auction.  I guess it's a '50, but even that is suspect at this point.

493612541   SKS Russian SKS-45 7.62x39 762 39   11   $405.00    1950   Tula   Bubba   Fair   KB5290   Having a 20 round Chinese star magazine on a Russian SKS is about as sacrilegious as you can get.

493660832    Russian SKS 7.62x39 Very Nice 1951R NR 5 Days ONLY   12   $436.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ГH902   Pretty decent looking light refurb here.  I'm not a fan of the stock color, but this wasn't a bad deal at all.

493793467   Russian SKS Early Import $.01 No Reserve!   24   $507.00    1957   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   AT4390_И   Sorry Cochese, just because the bolt is shiny, that doesn't 'indicate that this is not a rebuilt gun.'  The square rebuild mark on the receiver cover is a pretty good indicator that yes it was rebuilt.  Still a nice gun, surprised it didn't go higher.

493818989   RUSSIAN MILITARY SKS SEMI AUTO RIFLE-TULA 1952 EXCELLENT CONDITION-ALL MATCHING NUMBERS   36   $830.00    1952   Tula   As-Issued   Good   MO370   I'll say this upfront: This gun gives me the heebie-jeebies!  The trigger group and magazine *really* look like they are BBQ painted to me.  White in the S/N's and the top of the receiver cover give me pause.  Probably ok, but man something just doesn't sit right with me on this one.

493861517   1957 Russian SKS   1   $400.00    1957   Tula   Uncertain   Good   TM5143_И   This is kind of a sad listing.  Guy passes away, son liquidates a collection that obviously meant something to him, being of Hungarian descent with impunity.  Could have gone for 2 more Benjamins had the photos been a bit better I bet.  May even be an As-Issued gun.

494076825   Russian SKS Tula 1950 All Matching # C.D.I. Import   1   $715.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   TK2228   Transitional style bolt on this one and a very blonde looking laminate replacement stock.  $715 is a reach.

494161497   1954 Russian SKS in Unissued Condition   4   $900.00    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Very Good   HT2152   This is exactly the type of gun that flies in the face of people who want to say their gun is "Unissued", "Unrefurbished", and "Unfired".  *Way* too many subtleties and discrepancies to even begin to claim *any* of those three terms.  Doing so shows ignorance, pompousness, and conceitedness, not SKS knowledge. 

494376307   .01/NR RUSSIAN SKS 7.62X39 MATCHING NO CC FEE! SEE MORE QUALITY ITEMS AT DFW SHOOTING SPORTS!   13   $402.03    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   PГ3045   Black BBQ refurb in a laminate stock.  Very reasonable price on this one.

494384903    Russian SKS None re-work "1956"   1   $499.99    1956   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   KO7322_Д   I almost gave this one an 'As-Issued', but upon re-reading the listing I noticed "Everything matches except for the magazine."  I'll give them a pass I guess, but damn, if something doesn't match, it would really help me to begin to trust you if you wouldn't try and hide something as significant as that in a single line of text within a great big listing.  Heck, put up a huge photo showing the mismatch.  The rest of the gun is great.  Sellers who intentionally hide crap like this give GB a bad name.

494559549    Russian SKS,Tula,1955,7.62x39   15   $685.00    1955   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   PП712   Pretty interesting '55 here.  Replacement stock and diver down stamp on both the stock and receiver cover.  Not too many '55's out there, so this one maybe wasn't a reach at this price.

494564251   Non-refurbished Soviet Russian TULA SKS 7.62x39mm   10   $475.00    1954   Tula   As-Issued   Fair   OK8507   Not the greatest of lookers, but I'd guess it to be an honest As-Issued '54 Tula here.  The stock has seen much better days.  I suspect the seller wanted to minimized people's view of the wood, but in doing so he put up a horsetrashy auction and lost out on a couple hundred Benjamins.  Oh well, can't win.

494592784   Russian SKS 1951 laminate matching numbers   13   $605.00    1951   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ЛP1822   Pretty steep for a heavy refurb.  Decent enough looking gun, again, horrid NHM import stamp.

494600883    SAFE QUEEN star arrow RUSSIAN RUSSIA SKS 1952r   1   $500.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ГH902   Dark photos make it a bit difficult to determine what this gun is all about.  Obviously a CAI import, though I'm surprised that the seller can't find any text anywhere on this gun beyond the S/N….

494928043   Russian SKS 7.62X39   1   $400.00    Uncertain   Uncertain   Uncertain   Fair   Uncertain   One word: horsetrash.

495168711   Un-Issued Russian SKS-45 SKS45 Tula 1952 7.62x39 All matching Numbers NOT REFURBISHED C&R Ok No Rsv   35   $905.00    1952   Tula   Light Refurbished   Very Good   ЗA435   Beautiful gun with a beautiful replacement stock.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around what makes this gun: a) "Un-issued", and b) "Unfired".  Seriously, it's a light refurb.  They refurbed it for a reason.  I guess that reason could be "Because it rotted out from sitting so long unissued and unfired in a crate in storage".  I think it more plausible that it was used though, don't you?

495481122   Russian 1950 SKS Tula   1   $475.00    1950   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   ШГ1058   Heavy BBQ refurb on this one.  Not a great looker, but a solid gun nonetheless.  Certain transitional '50 features, but it was late in the transition.

495602107    Russian SKS Dated 1954   1   $501.00    1954   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   HИ4301   Definitely not the best looker.  Heavy BBQ paint on the receiver cover and the bolt carrier (and likely the bolt too).

495639772   Russian SKS original box accessories no cc fees   6   $359.00    1953   Izhevsk   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   TЛ263   Supposedly a 1953 Izhevsk.  I have my doubts, and apparently others did to as this one fell well below 4 Benjamins

495673719   RUSSIAN SKS-45 CARBINE 7.62x39 IZHEVSK 1954   28   $1,000.00    1954   Izhevsk   Heavy Refurbished   Good   E2896_И   Pretty pricey specimen right here for what it is.  Heavy refurb with a Tula stock that has flaking finish.  I don't think this is a $1000 gun, but the 28 bidders who drove this to $1000 beg to differ. 

495947596    Russian SKS 1952R 7.62x39mm   4   $581.99    1952   Tula   As-Issued   Good   MH28   Really nice looking gun here with a low numerical digit S/N.  I dislike the color of the finish, personally, but sometimes you just have to take what they give you.  Very good price for a nice looking '52.

496073396    Russian SKS with Bayonet 1952 matching numbers   3   $574.87    1951   Tula   As-Issued   Good   ЗГ794   Not the best listing, but the gun itself looks legit to me.  The muzzle pic shows black all the way across.  I've never understood some collectors wanting to use the bluing/lack of bluing across the muzzle to prove/disprove *anything* about the refurb status of the gun itself.  Absolutely doesn't jive with the observations I've made over the past 3 years, but damn that data! The SKS gods have spoken, so let it be written, so let it be done (and someone play 'one little piggy, two little piggy' on these toes!)

496185579   Russian SKS Tula 1952 Matching NO X's or Line out   1   $535.00    1952   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   ЛM3483   Laminated stock sold this gun.  If it would have had a blued receiver cover and bright bolt carrier, it would have gone for more.

496203613   Russian SKS-45 7.62x39 W/Bayonet LAYAWAY!   1   $540.00    Uncertain   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   ДB1691   I'm not a hug fan of this carbine, but someone liked it enough to drop the $540 on it. I can see the Tula star in a side picture of the receiver cover, but no idea what the date might say (or whether it's even accurate, remember, receiver covers are some of the most easily swapped and scrubbed parts on these carbines!)

496453525   1950 Russian SKS Rig - Tula - Matching - K.B.I.   9   $635.00    1950   Tula   Bubba   Good   CЯ374   6+ Benjamins for this one?  No indication that the original receiver cover comes with it so it gets the Bubba tag.  Even w/o the Bubba tag, this is a heavy refurb and will never be anything better than a heavy refurb.

496659757    Russian SKS Tula Arsenal 7.62x39 Excellent Conditi   2   $500.00    1955   Tula   Light Refurbished   Good   OB1872   Nice little carbine here with a replacement stock in a '55 cover.  I had a refurbed Ex-Ex-DDR OB prefixed gun with a '54 receiver cover way back when.

497053940   Russian SKS Tula Star Read Before Bidding!   6   $300.00    1953   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   Uncertain   Black BBQ refurb, seen quite a bit of action it seems.

497059704   Russian SKS Tula Star Read Before Bidding!   8   $300.00    1953   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Fair   Uncertain   Peeling shellac, large diver down arsenal refurb stamp on the receiver cover.  Yup this one's been there, done that.

497688016    Russian SKS Laminated Stock Very Good Condition   6   $695.00    1954   Tula   Heavy Refurbished   Good   Uncertain   This one is most certainly a reach.  Heavy refurb '54.  These are a dime a dozen.

[Dannyboy53]

Nearly twice the number from June. I love these listings running-man...thank you for your time and effort.

[Loose}{Cannon]

493861517   1957 Russian SKS   1   $400.00    1957   Tula   Uncertain   Good   TM5143_И   This is kind of a sad listing.  Guy passes away, son liquidates a collection that obviously meant something to him, being of Hungarian descent with impunity.  Could have gone for 2 more Benjamins had the photos been a bit better I bet.  May even be an As-Issued gun.

Look again.   Birch on 57 with xxxxx

[running-man]

Look again.   Birch on 57 with xxxxx

Ha!  That's what I get for finishing these up at 11:00 PM local time. Good catch LC!