Paratrooper value

[AK shooter]

I have this paratrooper sks with the blade bayonet and was wondering what the value might be. I have looked for one for sale with no luck. I has box, sling and oil bottle. I fired about 10 rds through it and I believe that's all it's been fired.

[Justin Hell]

It is odd that an 11m /26\ even after paratrooper conversion would have a blade.  Blades stopped mid 9m in 'reality'...

All of it's other features appear correct for the 11m, does it have a U bayonet cut in the stock ferrule or a sharp V?

[Power Surge]

Paratroopers are hard to value. The reason why, is because most people don't even know what they are, and buy into the fake hype about them.

In reality, they are just surplus military rifles, that have had the barrel cut down and sometimes refurbished. There is really no added value to them, over what the basic gun is. There's not collectiblity as a specific model.

So it really comes down to condition and if it's all matching. Basically, look at it as if you're looking at the original rifle. Anything that is not correct or has been replaced, drops the value.

This is how an SKS collector/enthusiast would look at it. Now factor in the uneducated buyers, and you've got standard paratroopers selling on Gunbroker for $600-$700.

[AK shooter]

It is odd that an 11m /26\ even after paratrooper conversion would have a blade.  Blades stopped mid 9m in 'reality'...

All of it's other features appear correct for the 11m, does it have a U bayonet cut in the stock ferrule or a sharp V?

It has the sharp V.

[AK shooter]

Paratroopers are hard to value. The reason why, is because most people don't even know what they are, and buy into the fake hype about them.

In reality, they are just surplus military rifles, that have had the barrel cut down and sometimes refurbished. There is really no added value to them, over what the basic gun is. There's not collectiblity as a specific model.

So it really comes down to condition and if it's all matching. Basically, look at it as if you're looking at the original rifle. Anything that is not correct or has been replaced, drops the value.

This is how an SKS collector/enthusiast would look at it. Now factor in the uneducated buyers, and you've got standard paratroopers selling on Gunbroker for $600-$700.

I was thinking in the $550 range. Thanks for the info.

[Justin Hell]

I initially was going to say based on recent market...probably $5-600...depending on your area's SKS population.  Are you planning on selling it or just getting a value assessment?

It is interesting that was converted to a blade, at least they did the stock ferrule too.  It certainly should be a spike. That is a bit of a head scratcher, as I would think if they were doing a rebuild at the time the conversion was done, they hadn't been using blades for decades. You would think they wouldn't have ferrules with the V notch....or blade bayonets for that matter, assuming refurb was done with parts on hand and not newly manufactured ones.  I had read that the when the supply of blade bayonets received during the Russian set up of China ran out, they developed the spikes. perhaps not?

I had been under the impression they were shortened using pre-existing surplus, maybe that wasn't the case?

You have a pretty sweet para there regardless...the odd nature of it having a blade adds to the neato factor at least for me.

[AK shooter]

[Justin Hell]

Interesting to see the obvious extension of the bayonet cut on what I am assuming is an unserialed replacement blade stock. 

The wonkiness of the serial kind of has me wondering what may have been done to it at refurbishment/conversion...It shows all the signs of being a 11m /26\ except the bayonet it should have. 

The receiver seems scrubby to me, but the crisp nature of the factory stamp makes me wonder if complete barreled actions with all metal were mothballed, and then stocked much later on once the 80s-90s import dumped so many here for so cheap. The last five digits seem to have happened at the same time, the first two seem independent of the second ONE...that seems independent with an exclamation point. 

It doesn't seem to fit what a real 11m /26\ should be...and makes me wonder if it was arbitrarily prefixed with serials that don't fit the well proven dating system. On a receiver made who knows when.

I like this gun.  Out of curiosity...what importer stamp is on this?

[Greasemonkey]

Is it me or is the bayonet groove cut a little deep....ain't that the stock reinforcement pin exposed at the bottom of the groove.

[Power Surge]

Is it me or is the bayonet groove cut a little deep....ain't that the stock reinforcement pin exposed at the bottom of the groove.

That's correct....  when they do the para conversions, they cut the groove inboard more. When it's a blade para, it exposes the pin. 

[Phosphorus32]

Is the para blade bayonet shortened, like the para spike bayonet is?

[Justin Hell]

Is the para blade bayonet shortened, like the para spike bayonet is?

Yes, they are shortened to within an inch or less of the blood groove...kind of weird looking, but neat considering bayonet warfare is probably now as legal as bump stocks in Florida.

[AK shooter]

Interesting to see the obvious extension of the bayonet cut on what I am assuming is an unserialed replacement blade stock. 

The wonkiness of the serial kind of has me wondering what may have been done to it at refurbishment/conversion...It shows all the signs of being a 11m /26\ except the bayonet it should have. 

The receiver seems scrubby to me, but the crisp nature of the factory stamp makes me wonder if complete barreled actions with all metal were mothballed, and then stocked much later on once the 80s-90s import dumped so many here for so cheap. The last five digits seem to have happened at the same time, the first two seem independent of the second ONE...that seems independent with an exclamation point. 

It doesn't seem to fit what a real 11m /26\ should be...and makes me wonder if it was arbitrarily prefixed with serials that don't fit the well proven dating system. On a receiver made who knows when.

I like this gun.  Out of curiosity...what importer stamp is on this?

[Power Surge]

K-sports was very well known to recondition their para conversions. They pretty much redid the entire rifle (very beautifully I might add). It was very common for them to change a rifle from a blade to a spike and vica versa, for whatever reason.

[AK shooter]

Thanks for all of the informatuon.