Romanian Stock Wood

[jmaurer]

What wood did the Romanians use? I've got one that I'll be posting in the near future that appears to be stocked in European walnut, and I'm fairly certain that it is the original stock (matching to the gun, and the gun is all matching). Compared to other rifles I've seen, the wood is a lighter "blond" hue. It's an early AA prefix (1957), and I think it is a bringback from Vietnam. Does anyone have images of those scarce papered Romanian bringbacks?

[Boris Badinov]

Beech is the standard for Romanian stocks. 

[jmaurer]

Thanks Boris! Beech is what I thought too. I've just picked this one up, and while inspecting for storage condition I noticed the apparent lack of inspection marks behind the rear of the receiver (near the small of the stock - once I post images it will be apparent why they may NOT be there), and the possible type of wood. I was concentrating on other aspects of the rifle, but I may have overlooked some of the little "flecks" in the grain that are usually visible with beech. That's the reason I ended the first post the way I did: is it possible that some very early Romanian SKS rifles were stocked in something other than beech? I would think a papered bringback would be good for calibration in that regard.

[Greasemonkey]

Some lack the flecks.. but still beech. also some the marks could have worn or faded away with time, especially if the finish is gone. At one time, I believe there were some blond stocks floating around, that looked very Yugo'ish, almost a yellowish tint. RM might have some photos of when he tracked prices, like they were made to finish off incomplete rifles or refurbed, something along those lines.

This one doesn't appear as beech, and looks like you describe as walnut, also the finish has worn away.


Some have marks, some have possibly faded over time and use. And the fish scaling wood grain is also stronger in some than others.

[jmaurer]

Thanks, Greasemonkey! That puts me more at ease over the stock. I've just finished the photo shoot, but I've got to hit the road shortly for a few hours, so I'll post the spread as soon as I can - maybe the next couple of days.

[echo1]

Shouldn't it have letters and numbers? PAX

[jmaurer]

Pax, the one I'll be posting does have a matching letter/number serial on the buttstock, and it's worn enough to be authentic to the rifle. I looked again before putting it away, and I'd be hard pressed to say it was beech! Once I get the photos up, I'll look forward to everyone's opinion on the matter.

[Greasemonkey]

Not all stocks will have a serial prefix, some have the serial done like their M44 Mosin such as the top example... Given stocks with serial prefixes exist and stocks without the prefix exist, it's really hard to say.. There's no known marks or stamps I know of to judge a refurb/field swap like Russians.

Romania being a poorer nation during those years in comparison to Russia or China probably, and I emphasize... probably.....  just mixed and matched to get functional weapons during repairs and repaired only what was needed, or they were mixed by troops in the field. For instance, I have a Romanian with a Yugoslavian bolt... it would be easy to say it was done state side, but it came from the importer, out of the box like that... granted the importer could have done it... there's a big part of me that says it probably came this way.    It's really all a best guess.