Mystery SKS - No really!!!

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bnzmauser

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Okay - I found this SKS at the Lloydminster Gun Show just a few weeks ago. What struck me is that it had two crylic letter prior to the serial number but no Tula/Izzy marking on the action cover. The rifle did come in a laminate stock - so maybe a 1955-58 rifle - but no Tula Star on the left of the receiver either...

When I picked it up it was drilled and tapped for a commercial mount - but $140 later and thanks to a friend and some elbow grease the rifle was mine and the four tapped holes were sealed/re-blued to match they rest of the rifle - I could have done a little better on the finishing but my first attempt.

I checked out Yoopers site and showed the rifle to Martin (Corwin Arms) at the show and he wondered if it was a Bulgarian SKS. The painted symbols on the stock are similar to an Egyptian SKS - but really the rifle doesn't follow one steady SKS rule.

The stock is laminate - so 1955 post production = Yes - but no markings on the stock but two stock repairs - drill rifle? Or heavy use?

For a 1955 post rifle - it doesn't have the Tula Star on the left of the receiver and no letter series after the serial number either???

No Chinese markings, only Crylic two letter prefix and regular 'lucky charm' mystery proof marks. But no Izzy or Tula stampings/proofs on any of the parts and the gas tube isn't electo-penciled either?

Only one star and it doesn't look like a Tula star under the wood - looks more like a 'lucky charm' marking.

There is the '2' on the right side of the receiver - what does it mean? And the front site has a proof mark but no 'accuracy rating: 1,2,3 - if that is what those actually mean'.

The rifle appears all matching - except the mag box - which one crylic letter out - and it looks like it was maybe re-matched at the arsenal level - but the font is the same.

Thoughts????

Pic Heavy:










 
I wonder if those scope mount holes were drilled right where the Tula star would be?

Looks to me like it's a standard SKS with some kind of rack number/letter painted on the stock. Could this be an Egyptian SKS that somehow made its way to Canada (maybe from a CAF peacekeeper who served in the area)? The two stock repairs suggest heavy use, just by looking at the rest of the stock. Is there a serial number on the buttstock and does it match the receiver serial number?
 
shredder said:
I wonder if those scope mount holes were drilled right where the Tula star would be?
Looks to me like it's a standard SKS with some kind of rack number/letter painted on the stock. Could this be an Egyptian SKS that somehow made its way to Canada (maybe from a CAF peacekeeper who served in the area)? The two stock repairs suggest heavy use, just by looking at the rest of the stock. Is there a serial number on the buttstock and does it match the receiver serial number?
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This could be the case. i have seen some refurbs that have a blank dust cover with no stamps that likely were replaced during the refurbishment and never restamped, laminate stock could just be a refurb stock.
 
No remnant of a Tula star prior to welding and the tap hole would be smaller than a Tula star.

Doesn't have a crylic letter post serial number which rules it out as a 56-58.

Could be a transition 55?

I thought it could be sino soviet - but quite different than examples on the net.

Stock unmarked.

The receiver cover/stock could be replacements - but then again no maker marks on any other parts like the trigger guard or front site - which you would expect on a Tula or Izzy - no maker mark on the bolt components either???

Still a really neat, unrefurb minus the work done. I think it looks better closed in than with the tap holes.

Came out of the rural Sask or AB - seller was selling on behalf of a rancher friend - it was quite cruddy must have taken a good cleaning prior to work.

I saw it at the Lloyd show after purchase.
 
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Yes - the Mag is marked BV versus BB like the rest of the rifle - but the following numbers match the serial of the rest of the rifle.

Nice to know the rack number painted on the stock and that it saw service in Syria or Egypt - probably Egypt as many other surplus rifles were sold out of Egypt - not quite as many out of Syria saw import to Canada.

I guess the question is where did Egypt get the rifle? I know that multiple Eastern Bloc countries provided weapons to Egypt.

Right now I am leaning towards a 'sanitized' Hungarian or Russian Soviet (Tula) SKS?

We know that other 'sanitized' rifles made it to Asia - but again this rifle does match the patterns on those rifles either....
 
deagle2008 said:
That white paint is either arabic or farsi but it says 37, most of the time its the rifle number at a base
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Betting this is from a batch imported about 15-20 years ago, first Russian SKS I ever encountered, almost unknown before that in this country. Very rough shape. Essentially Battlefield pickups, my thought was that they came from one of the Middle East hot spots. Have one similar, mismatched numbers with a bayonet that someone took a file to.
 
The stock has a repair on the heel thus is a refurbished SKS. Likely used a late receiver cover from a parts bin and matched to rifle. I have seen a few with different/later year receiver covers matched to SKS's that were clearly early guns. So all bets are off when it comes to refurbed guns. They used whatever parts were available to refurb some of the SKS's. Probably saw issue in the Middle East somewhere but not really a mystery.
 
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