1949 SKS - ЮE 1217

[jstin2]

Here is another example of an early 1949. It has parallel cleaning rod nubs, no rivet in the magazine and all #1's on serial number are sans serif. Bolt and carrier have matching 157. Push rod has been ground down on 2 sides. Why? No markings on the front sight. The stock has been sanded and it appears that sanding was heavier on the right side. Star and year are visible and the S/N has been stamped over. If you look close, the 7 has been stamped and it is clear and the rest of the S/N has darkness under the stamp. Does this mean that the new stamps went over the original stamps and it matches. Also if you look close at the 2, it almost looks like it might have been a 0(similar to the bolt and carrier mistake). Cleaning rod channel in stock has only been drilled for rod. And yes, it is a Westrifle sell, as the magazine would indicate. Here is the album for your viewing. Enjoy.

https://ibb.co/album/TrGDy5

[jstin2]

I removed the butt plate to see if there were any markings. I found something very interesting - the trapdoor. It was something that I have not seen before. I have used my early 50 for comparison.

[jstin2]

I noticed on the previous reply that the picture of the stock had a hole behind where the trap door was attached. I looked closer and it looks like a plug was put in place where the regular opening should be.

[Cz315]

Very interesting!

[running-man]

That is pretty wild. That trapdoor change certainly went from complicated and hard to install to an easy drop in install. 

[jstin2]

I checked with Greg's SKS(post - an early 1949 SKS - S/N - ОП 1957) and his rifle had an ordinary trap door and his front sight had no markings. I just remembered that his stock was not original to the rifle.




my man gif

[jstin2]

I have been in contact with Sean - Post - An interesting 1949 SKS,  S/N ВГ 764. His, I consider one of the earliest build in 49, due to its features. I asked for pictures of his front sight and the trap door. Very interesting results.

[jstin2]

One other thing to mention is that the op rod had been modified on early 49's. The first one that I saw was on Sean's 49. I found the same on my 49. I checked my other 49 and it is round. The first 2 are Sean's and the last 2 are mine. Both are stamped with a 2.

[jstin2]

Out of curiosity I took a close up picture of the marking on the op rod.

[Boris Badinov]

Out of curiosity I took a close up picture of the marking on the push rod.

Very odd. The right facing Latin style R has no analog in Cyrillic alphabet. In cyrillic there is the left facing, "Я" which functions a vowel-- 'ya'

Is it an early design, or is this op rod a recent manufacture from a western maker?

[pcke2000]

Very odd. The right facing Latin style R has no analog in Cyrillic alphabet. In cyrillic there is the left facing, "Я" which functions a vowel-- 'ya'

Is it an early design, or is this op rod a recent manufacture from a western maker?
[/quote]

It's an OTK stamp

[jstin2]

I googled O.T.K. as I did not know what it meant. Here is what I found. Copy and paste.
What does "O.T.K." mean? The short answer is that "OTK" means that the item was manufactured to military specifications in the former Soviet Union or another Warsaw Pact nation, but there's more to it. In Russian, and coincidentally in Czech, OTK is like American MIL-STD.
Another copy and paste. - There is always a number with the OTK, and that is controller's ID/department number.

I  cropped the picture, not sure how it will show up.

[Cz315]

Yep, ОТК is basically a kind of QC stamp

[pcke2000]

I googled O.T.K. as I did not know what it meant. Here is what I found. Copy and paste.
What does "O.T.K." mean? The short answer is that "OTK" means that the item was manufactured to military specifications in the former Soviet Union or another Warsaw Pact nation, but there's more to it. In Russian, and coincidentally in Czech, OTK is like American MIL-STD.
I  cropped the picture, not sure how it will show up.

Quality inspection mark. However, different factories over different time periods may have unique shapes and styles.

[Boris Badinov]

Ahhh.

Now i see.  Thanks!

[jstin2]

When I googled OTK, I read that not all parts had an inspection mark and not tested, but they all had a number stamped on it. This may be why mine had a mark and Sean's doesn't.
Copy and paste- these departments were inserted in most industrial companies of the Soviet Union to test and check production. There is always a number with the OTK, and that is controller's ID/department number.
Copy and paste- If an item bears the stamps, it has met minimum quality standards. Not every item that leaves the factory will be stamped, and not every factory will have a OTK controller embedded.

[pcke2000]

When I googled OTK, I read that not all parts had an inspection mark and not tested, but they all had a number stamped on it. This may be why mine had a mark and Sean's doesn't.
Copy and paste- these departments were inserted in most industrial companies of the Soviet Union to test and check production. There is always a number with the OTK, and that is controller's ID/department number.
Copy and paste- If an item bears the stamps, it has met minimum quality standards. Not every item that leaves the factory will be stamped, and not every factory will have a OTK controller embedded.

That's the google answer. Unfortunately it just gives you a very rough idea. Actual situation could be much more complicated. As I mentioned before, on Soviet small arms, e.g., SKS, TT, SVT. Each factory in certain period of time had unique shape/style OTK stamps.

Whether, where and how OTK was stamped was controlled by production bulletins.

[pcke2000]

When I googled OTK, I read that not all parts had an inspection mark and not tested, but they all had a number stamped on it. This may be why mine had a mark and Sean's doesn't.
Copy and paste- these departments were inserted in most industrial companies of the Soviet Union to test and check production. There is always a number with the OTK, and that is controller's ID/department number.
Copy and paste- If an item bears the stamps, it has met minimum quality standards. Not every item that leaves the factory will be stamped, and not every factory will have a OTK controller embedded.

Sean's had an OTK mark too

[jstin2]

pcke2000 - You are right about the OTK mark. Here is Sean's op rod.

[jstin2]

With the early style trapdoor showing that this stock is an early build, I found one other interesting stamp on it. I know that the stock has been sanded and refinished because the original star, date, s/n and inspection marks are faint.