The flood of recent SKS carbines has caused quite a stir in the collecting and general shooting community. From what I heard/read, these were rifles imported from Albania and can be sold as C&R. I'm not sure on why the status is as it is, something to do with dates from storage maybe?
One thing I do know is that some dealers are passing these off as Russian SKS models without knowing what they are. Yes some have come in that are all Russian and there are a few Sino Soviets thrown in here and there as well. I had a dealer at the Wilmington show argue with me that they were all considered Russian rifles because the receivers were Russian and he proceeded to tell me how Russian sold the technology to China along with some parts, etc. etc. I gotta be honest it kind of made me want to re-enact the Good Will Hunting - Wicked Smart Harvard bar scene.
One thing I can't stand is to see dealers sell a product that they have limited knowledge on or deliberately mislead buyers with false information. Unfortunately this happens all the time in the surplus market.
Now I'm not an expert on the SKS by any means. After collecting them for many years I've gathered a good amount of knowledge and know something about production and the rifle's history. My understanding is that when China acquired the machinery and knowledge to start producing them in the mid to late 50's, Russia sent over a bunch of parts and rifles. That's why some of the first Chinese produced rifles were built on Russian receivers and made with a mix of Chinese and Russian parts. Blade bayonet models were produced for a while before the spiked bayonet ones were introduced. Just because an SKS has a blade bayonet, Russian receiver cover, and possibly Russian stock, does not mean its 100% Russian. Determining manufacturer and date can often be found using the serial number on the receiver. Info on that can be found in the stickies at Sksboards.com
Hopefully martin08 will be along shortly to elaborate on these.
One thing I do know is that some dealers are passing these off as Russian SKS models without knowing what they are. Yes some have come in that are all Russian and there are a few Sino Soviets thrown in here and there as well. I had a dealer at the Wilmington show argue with me that they were all considered Russian rifles because the receivers were Russian and he proceeded to tell me how Russian sold the technology to China along with some parts, etc. etc. I gotta be honest it kind of made me want to re-enact the Good Will Hunting - Wicked Smart Harvard bar scene.
One thing I can't stand is to see dealers sell a product that they have limited knowledge on or deliberately mislead buyers with false information. Unfortunately this happens all the time in the surplus market.
Now I'm not an expert on the SKS by any means. After collecting them for many years I've gathered a good amount of knowledge and know something about production and the rifle's history. My understanding is that when China acquired the machinery and knowledge to start producing them in the mid to late 50's, Russia sent over a bunch of parts and rifles. That's why some of the first Chinese produced rifles were built on Russian receivers and made with a mix of Chinese and Russian parts. Blade bayonet models were produced for a while before the spiked bayonet ones were introduced. Just because an SKS has a blade bayonet, Russian receiver cover, and possibly Russian stock, does not mean its 100% Russian. Determining manufacturer and date can often be found using the serial number on the receiver. Info on that can be found in the stickies at Sksboards.com
Hopefully martin08 will be along shortly to elaborate on these.