Russian Sks?

[Boris]

Picked up a Russian Sks today. Info on rifle was: C373N.    NHM CO SAC CA.   7.62x39. SKS.  Russia. N3228. Can anyone translate this info?
Thanks Bruce

[MEBears]

That sounds like an Izhevsk serial number. Does it have an arrow in a triangle in a circle on the receiver cover?

[Boris]

Yes it does. Nice red stock also. Refurb for sure with grain black paint.

[running-man]

Bears is spot on with this one.  It's going to be a '54 Izhevsk based on the S/N.  I have its older brother in the registry already:




NHM is the importer and stands for New Helvetia Mercantile out of Sacramento, California.  Run by by "fast" Eddie Faust, the same guy that ran IAIE (Inter-American Import-Export) as well as IA Co, Pacific International, and Old Sacramento Armory.  See item #66 in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers thread for detailed info. 

The N number is the importer assigned S/N and should be used as the 'real' S/N for all ATF tracking purposes.  The N series is the last series I have seen from NHM, they originally assigned 99XXXXX numbers to guns with the stamps on the left side of the receiver.  At some point, they changed to engravings on the right side of the gun but continued utilizing the 99XXXXX format.  Later on it appears they changed to a pin stamp (dot matrix) marking on the left side of the receiver (often obliterating Tula stars on 56-58 models) with an M or an N prefix and a four digit numeral.

Sounds like a nice one, would love to see photos of her Bruce! 

[Boris]

I can e mail you pics but not till tomorrow.

[Boris]

Got pics but not able to post them. Duuuuuh

[running-man]

Shoot them my way, I'll put them up for you: running-man @ sks-files.com

[running-man]

Not a bad looker at all Bruce! 

[Filroy77]

Good score on the Izzy. I keep looking but ....

[Boris]

Thanks for posting pics R-M.
Bruce

[Loose}{Cannon]

Very clean...  Nice Carbine!

Plan on shooting it much, or mainly just for the collection?

[Boris]

I shoot everything I own. Just waiting for warm days and reno's to our range.

[Dannyboy53]

Very nice carbine, good find!

[BARNAUL]

Yes,very nice carbine....only have one very light refurb. letter gun in box with all accessories... that is unshot....EVERYTHING  else  gets its TRIGGER9s0 pulled on a regular basis   lol... The joys of being retired..

[CARBINE]

Nice snag, that one is one to hold on too...

[Boris]

Any approx guess on value? Need to purchase new car
Thanks  Bruce

[running-man]

Conservatively, not worth less than $500.  If you hit the right mix of buyers on Gunbroker, it could easily go $850+  If all the moons and stars perfectly align and you get a bidding war, I've seen obviously refurbed Izhevsks go north of $1k 

[Boris]

I would be interested in trading the Izzy for a Saiga 308 in nice condition.

[pcke2000]

is the trigger group original (or period correct)?

[Boris]

I could email you pics. bricker@maine.rr.com.     It is original