Buy the Gun, Not the Story...

[jmaurer]

That's what I was always told. But what if there's no story, and the gun might have something to tell? That may be what this rifle represents. The seller had absolutely no claims about the gun's history, but I think it may be one of the very few Romanian SKS rifles that made it's way to the States from the Vietnam War. Why do I think so?
1. No import marks.
2. Tape residue on the stock from (possible) shipping manifest or capture paperwork (or both).
3. All matching numbers.
4. "Jungle" patina.
5. Obvious shrapnel damage.
6. Cleaning rod with wear and weathering consistent with the rifle.
7. Possible Romanian cleaning kit in the buttstock trap (I'd really like to hear opinions on this - I imagine the "01" and "02" correspond with some manual's depiction/instruction regarding cleaning procedures).

With all that being said, here we go. There's going to be a lot of photos!















































































































































































































A few more to come!

[jmaurer]

And the remaining photos:

[echo1]

Could be a Croatian or Serbian vet as well, very nice photo shoot, the rifle looks great, PAX

[jmaurer]

Thanks, Echo1! I never thought about a Balkan connection; when I first saw the rifle, all I could focus on was the tape gunk on the buttstock, which is why I'm thinking Vietnam. I'd be interested in examples of Romanians with Croat or Serb connections, for sure!

[Boris Badinov]

I've never seen a bringback from the Balkans. Without exception (at least none that i've seen) the non-import Romanian M56s in the US are all Vientnam capture rifles.

This one checks all the boxes for Vietnam.  I think the knurling on the charging handle identifies the carrier as early Chinese manufacture.

Extremely nice catch!

[echo1]

Really no telling it's provenance, it could even be Ugandan or Syrian. The SKS has been everywhere. With my Nam rig, I bought the story, the rifle was dirt. Mine was a craigslist pickup. Made contact before the ad was pulled. A fella was helping the vet's widow off the SKS, she just wanted it gone. When I picked it up at a trailer park in Empire, Kali, all the widow said was: "He brought it back from over there". A C note and I'm outta there. Looks the part, no import stamp, right serial range, matching except bolt carrier (common for field pick ups). PAX

[jmaurer]

I think the knurling on the charging handle identifies the carrier as early Chinese manufacture.

Boris, thanks! Do you think the carrier (and bolt) was replaced in service by the Vietnamese (if indeed it came from Vietnam) and numbered to match? I was guessing that it could be one that went through refurbishment in Romania with the electropenciled numbers and repaired stock handled there, and was then considered substandard and therefore suitable for aid to their communist "brethren". No way to know for sure, of course, but I'd be interested in seeing a non-import Romanian that may have similar signs of a rebuild, no matter where it came from.

[jmaurer]

I forgot to reference my earlier post about the rifle's stock regarding the type of wood:

https://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=7511.0

Is it beech, or walnut?

[Phosphorus32]

BCG: four parts are all well electropenciled, very interesting. 1957 AA is certainly one of the earliest Romanians.

I like the look and Vietnam bring-backs are the only source I’ve ever heard of for a non-import-marked Romanian. I’d be elated to have that SKS 

The stock doesn’t have any ray fleck (fish scale) that is typically seen in beechwood.

[running-man]

That's a nice one jmaurer!  At the right price, seeing what I see in your photos, I too would have told the seller:






In my mind, I see no reason that gun is not a VN bringback like this one was:




Stock on this documented one is very much like yours:


Your stock is quite amazing in fact.  Very interesting that is has an original stock, with factory repairs, non-typical wood grain presentation, and the shrapnel damage is the cherry on top.   

[jmaurer]

Thank you, Running-man! In some ways the lack of a story associated with the rifle made it more appealing, and the forced matching numbers with the stock repair which I've never seen on any Romanian import really piqued my interest. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen any Romanian SKS with electropencilled bolt group. All I've ever come across personally is the standard Century-marked imports with mismatched parts and the rare matching rifle here and there, so this one has found a home at last!

[Boris Badinov]

I think the knurling on the charging handle identifies the carrier as early Chinese manufacture.

Boris, thanks! Do you think the carrier (and bolt) was replaced in service by the Vietnamese (if indeed it came from Vietnam) and numbered to match? I was guessing that it could be one that went through refurbishment in Romania with the electropenciled numbers and repaired stock handled there, and was then considered substandard and therefore suitable for aid to their communist "brethren". No way to know for sure, of course, but I'd be interested in seeing a non-import Romanian that may have similar signs of a rebuild, no matter where it came from.

I take that back. I don't know where the carrier came from. The stamps on the underside look soviet, but the knurling on the handle I don't recognize.

[jmaurer]

Same here. I tried to find images of Romanian carriers to compare knurling, machining, stripper clip guide, etc. for comparison, but I'm still searching. That's part of the fun!

[running-man]

The bottom view of jmauer's carrier shows a more typical, albeit worn, knurling pattern.  Either the carrier knurling was applied unevenly to top and bottom or corrosion has had its way with the top.

Just for grins, I looked for similar knurling styles.  I found zero instances of that knurling in all the Romanians I have on my hard drive. 

Did manage to find a few that were similar though:

Chinese /?1\, Year 23:


Chinese [0223], 70 prefix


Russian 1958 K suffix (maybe?? photo isn't great resolution):


No idea if change in pattern, worn dies, or improper application is the culprit though.