A Very Rare and Exceptional Beauty: non-refurbished, clearly unfired 1953 Izhevsk SKS

The Kurgan said:
I bought if off of CGN'er "Flamingchicken"
Ever since he posted photos of his improbable find last year, I was always very jealous of him (and I'm not the envious sort)... I waited for the off chance he might sell it as I knew he was uncomfortable holding this collector item. I jumped on it and paid more than double what most people pay for a comparable non-refurb... but I had to have it. :)
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Very nice .. lucky guy.. :)
 
Nelson84 said:
I guess not much then. :(
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Currently, '53 Izhevsk refurbs don't bring that much more than any other refurb, but over time, they will increase in value. You need to sit on it, and because it's a refurb, you can shoot it and enjoy it as much as you want. For me, personally, it's not about monetary value... that doesn't mean sh*t... I have spent 20x to 30x more on rifles and in some cases, ended up with real lemons. Case in point: I recently purchased a Kel-Tec sub2000 for $1100 + shipping (The PO put every bell and whistle on it)... turns out the lands were gouged to sh*t, the safety engaged every 2nd to 4th shot (not good), the reflex sight batteries were dead and difficult to find, and it still experienced frequent FTEs after 600 rounds (so much for break-in!)... it's currently on route to BC for repair work!... and because I'm the second owner, I'm out-of-pocket for the repairs! I have never had anything wrong with any SKS I've owned: unissued, as-issued, non-refurbished, refurbished, previously enjoyed, used, whatever. I have nothing but praise for a solid, proven design! They may be inexpensive, but they are among the few good deals still left in the shooting world. BTW, blued bayonets on an SKS look sweet. I once owned a 1952 Tula with a gorgeous deeply blued bayonet. I wish I had not sold it!

In terms of rarity, blued bayonets are EXTREMELY rare on a refurb!

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tg07lq said:
I'm looking to pick up an SKS in the next couple days, I read the sticky but am left with some questions.
What is the ideal SKS to be looking for? I.e is Tula better than Izhevsk? are the newer ones better than old? I'll be buying to shoot but would still like to get a nice rifle.
Right now I've been looking on westrifle.com, any other good spots to look? or a link to something on westrifle or otherwise that makes for a good buy? Im trying to learn the ins and outs of buying the SKS but find myself just a tad impatient I guess you could say. As the days get shorter (and subsequently my range time) I'm looking for something sooner rather than later.
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If it were ME buying my first SKS, I would choose a model AFTER 1952, when they started with the chrome-lined barrels (some late '51s have them, mine does not), also, after I think '53, the safety became spring-loaded (much more satisfying to click on/off, at least my '55 is), also there were several changes to the shape of the gas block, going from square/90 degrees in early '49s, to a 45 degree angle in I think '52, and ending in a parabolic/curved shape in '54/'55.

Also, as pointed out, improvements were made to the bayo cuts enabling my '55 to be deployed easily with a flick of the wrist whilst crawling from living room to kitchen etc, whilst my '51 takes a LOT more effort - all because of these little angled cuts shown in another post here.

Yeah, the gold coloured bayo...rumours abound, from a blemish caused by storage in cosmoline....all the way to MY favourite, the gold bayos were electroplated that colour for ceremonial or guard duty etc...no-one knows for sure.

So, for ME, personally, I prefer my '55...but I love my '51 as well, so there ya go: bet ya can't own just one!

;-)
 
The Kurgan said:
Currently, '53 Izhevsk refurbs don't bring that much more than any other refurb, but over time, they will increase in value. You need to sit on it, and because it's a refurb, you can shoot it and enjoy it as much as you want. For me, personally, it's not about monetary value... that doesn't mean sh*t... I have spent 20x to 30x more on rifles and in some cases, ended up with real lemons. Case in point: I recently purchased a Kel-Tec sub2000 for $1100 + shipping (The PO put every bell and whistle on it)... turns out the lands were gouged to sh*t, the safety engaged every 2nd to 4th shot (not good), the reflex sight batteries were dead and difficult to find, and it still experienced frequent FTEs after 600 rounds (so much for break-in!)... it's currently on route to BC for repair work!... and because I'm the second owner, I'm out-of-pocket for the repairs! I have never had anything wrong with any SKS I've owned: unissued, as-issued, non-refurbished, refurbished, previously enjoyed, used, whatever. I have nothing but praise for a solid, proven design! They may be inexpensive, but they are among the few good deals still left in the shooting world. BTW, blued bayonets on an SKS look sweet. I once owned a 1952 Tula with a gorgeous deeply blued bayonet. I wish I had not sold it!

In terms of rarity, blued bayonets are EXTREMELY rare on a refurb!

5192600680_4b80c2cd6c_b.jpg

5207476177_cc55010b0e_b.jpg
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You payed $1100 for a sub 2000?

That's way more than retail! I just bought one a few months ago from the calgary shooting center new for nowhere near that. Ouch
 
There was over $500 worth of barely used accessories (many impossible to find). Most of which I sold. So, subtract that from the total and I basically paid retail... but the rifle only had "100" rounds down the barrel. If the rifle didn't have every known gremlin, it would have been a good deal. Lesson learned, and take note: only buy from trusted, respected CGN members! That was my first gamble on an "unknown quantity" and I got burned.

BTW, I spend the time responding to your inane questions/comments, and you zero in on my Kel-Tec purchase?
 
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The Kurgan said:
Currently, '53 Izhevsk refurbs don't bring that much more than any other refurb, but over time, they will increase in value. You need to sit on it, and because it's a refurb, you can shoot it and enjoy it as much as you want. For me, personally, it's not about monetary value... that doesn't mean sh*t... I have spent 20x to 30x more on rifles and in some cases, ended up with real lemons. Case in point: I recently purchased a Kel-Tec sub2000 for $1100 + shipping (The PO put every bell and whistle on it)... turns out the lands were gouged to sh*t, the safety engaged every 2nd to 4th shot (not good), the reflex sight batteries were dead and difficult to find, and it still experienced frequent FTEs after 600 rounds (so much for break-in!)... it's currently on route to BC for repair work!... and because I'm the second owner, I'm out-of-pocket for the repairs! I have never had anything wrong with any SKS I've owned: unissued, as-issued, non-refurbished, refurbished, previously enjoyed, used, whatever. I have nothing but praise for a solid, proven design! They may be inexpensive, but they are among the few good deals still left in the shooting world. BTW, blued bayonets on an SKS look sweet. I once owned a 1952 Tula with a gorgeous deeply blued bayonet. I wish I had not sold it!

In terms of rarity, blued bayonets are EXTREMELY rare on a refurb!


I have a 1955 Tula refurb, all matching with a blued bayonet. Bought it five years ago from Lever, it is Franken pinned and shoots very accurately. How rare do you think blued bayos really are?
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blued, not painted, are very rare... in the SKS registry, which contains over 2350 responses, and only a few dozen are noted as having blued bayonets... and of those, I'm sure a few are likely painted.
 
The Kurgan said:
blued, not painted, are very rare... in the SKS registry, which contains over 2350 responses, and only a few dozen are noted as having blued bayonets... and of those, I'm sure a few are likely painted.
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OK... I now officially retract my "very rare" statement... dayam... there's quite a few available in recent shipments.
 
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