A friend of mine bought one along with that case of ammo deal. Today I took it apart and de-greased it for him. I wanted to see what the rifle looked like.
I have a Chinese SKS I bought 30 years ago when they were $99. I have used this as one of my two "shooter" SKS rifles. It has been 100% relaible and slightly more accurate than my Russian refurb.
It was greased, but not heavily. Some paper towels, some brake cleaner and some hot water got it all out and off.
The new Marstar rifle is from factory 26, if i read the code correctly.
The serial number is 1,500,000 range, whereas my old shooter is about 3,000,000. I think my shooter is from an early batch of Norinco commercial rifles, whereas this rifles is one of the last military ones.
I see two three differences in the two rifles:
1) The military has the swing swivel on the side of the butt, whereas the commercial has it on the bottom.
2) The military lacks the 3 Chinese characters between the factory code triangle and the serial number.
3) The military wood seems to be a little denser and better. It even has a some nice grain figure to it. Finish appears to be a light varnish or shellac.
The rifle is mint condition. Metal work is nicely polished and blued on the outside. Machining has a few rough spots, but the bolt feels good.
The trigger is outstanding. Very little creep. Best of all my SKS rifles. Lets go at 3.25 pounds. I don't know if this is typical or just a good example.
As I write this, I realize that if I consider inflation, $179 for this rifle is a better deal than the $99 for the Norinco, 30 years ago. I think i will buy one for myself.
I have a Chinese SKS I bought 30 years ago when they were $99. I have used this as one of my two "shooter" SKS rifles. It has been 100% relaible and slightly more accurate than my Russian refurb.
It was greased, but not heavily. Some paper towels, some brake cleaner and some hot water got it all out and off.
The new Marstar rifle is from factory 26, if i read the code correctly.
The serial number is 1,500,000 range, whereas my old shooter is about 3,000,000. I think my shooter is from an early batch of Norinco commercial rifles, whereas this rifles is one of the last military ones.
I see two three differences in the two rifles:
1) The military has the swing swivel on the side of the butt, whereas the commercial has it on the bottom.
2) The military lacks the 3 Chinese characters between the factory code triangle and the serial number.
3) The military wood seems to be a little denser and better. It even has a some nice grain figure to it. Finish appears to be a light varnish or shellac.
The rifle is mint condition. Metal work is nicely polished and blued on the outside. Machining has a few rough spots, but the bolt feels good.
The trigger is outstanding. Very little creep. Best of all my SKS rifles. Lets go at 3.25 pounds. I don't know if this is typical or just a good example.
As I write this, I realize that if I consider inflation, $179 for this rifle is a better deal than the $99 for the Norinco, 30 years ago. I think i will buy one for myself.
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