SKS Confusion- Hopin' Someone Can Help

[JesperA]

I'm planning on picking up an SKS and I've been reading all the threads about them, but I am stilled confused and hope an SKS Expert can clear up a couple of questions.

What is the difference between the SKS's that Lever Arms is selling and the SKS's that P-D Enterprises & SIR are offering

I am assuming based on the threads that the Lever Arms SKS' are type 26 (Norinco manufacture) and the ones from P-D/SIR are chinese military surplus.

Are there any accuracy/reliability between the Lever SKS's and the P-D/SIR SKS's?

From reading the threads here is what I've concluded (and correct me if I'm wrong:

Type/Factory 26 = Norinco
Type/Factory 56 = Chinese military
Get one with a threaded barrel
Try the trigger and see what its like
Try to get one with all matching #'s/wood etc

Thanks Guys

-JesperA

 

[Stevo]

Type/Factory 26 = Norinco

This is not necessarily correct. My Factory 26 was built in the mid '60s with blade bayonet. NOT a Norinco.

 

[happydude]

The ones at Lever and P&D are the same, I believe. Lever used to have 'parts' guns that were norinco mish mashes of old parts to make new rifles. These had shorter barrels, not bayonet, and a rubber butt pad. SIR also carried these. The new ones have the standard barrel, a bayonet, and no butt pad. Not sure if they're military ones or not.

P&S carries SKS's which seem to be the military type, as did/does Milarm.

 

[poweredbybeer]

I am assuming based on the threads that the Lever Arms SKS' are type 26 (Norinco manufacture) and the ones from P-D/SIR are chinese military surplus.

Nope. I stopped by Lever about 2 weeks ago and had a look, I saw mixed part numbers on trigger groups/bolt carriers and recievers, various different factory codes (606, 306, 106 among others, IIRC) and pinned barrels. They're not Norinco's, that's for sure!

I just got an SKS from SIR (ordered it just over a week ago, they're speedy!!). It's a factory 26 unit, threaded barrel, with all matching part numbers. Far superior to the units that Lever is selling, IMHO (that being said, the SKS's from Lever will still function perfectly fine, if you just want a shooter/knockaround gun).

Type/Factory 26 = Norinco

Not exactly. I'm under the impression that factory #26 is simply the most prolific producer of military issued SKS's, during the high point of SKS production in China. The rifles produced by factory #26 were intended for the PLA. Norinco produced later model SKS's, including SKS-D's, Paratrooper models, and Hunter editions.

Type/Factory 56 = Chinese military

"Type 56" is the designation of the rifle, not necessarily the factory where it was produced. I don't think there is such a thing as factory #56, in fact

Get one with a threaded barrel

Yes. Not that pinned barrel models are bad, but they do seem to have barrel separation issues, whereas threaded models don't and never will.

Try the trigger and see what its like

Since this is not always possible and is, in point of fact, quite easily fixed, I wouldn't consider this a critical concern when buying an SKS.

Try to get one with all matching #'s/wood etc

Ideally yes, but once again, this is not always possible. Not that mixed part numbers are bad, I'm sure there are hundreds of Enfields and Nagants and SKS's out there with mixed part numbers that still function perfectly well, but it just feels nicer to have a gun with all the right parts attached to it, y'know?

 

[eos]

The Type 56 is the PLA nomenclature for the SKS built in China.
Military issue receivers will have the 3 Chinese characters for "56 type" on the left side of the receiver. Exceptions are those military carbines produced for export and marked "M21", the military export designation for the Type 56 carbine and those made in the first 2 years or so of production. Such early carbines will be marked with only the triangle 26 marking of the Jianshe Machinery Factory in Chongqing.

/26\ was the only factory producing the Type 56 carbine until the second wave of production commenced in the 1969/70 period. 26 then began production of the ultimately unsuccessful Type 63, which ceased production in the 1979/80 period after some 6 million were alleged to have been made. Factory 66 made quantities of Type 63 as well as much of the production of the Type 56 AK rifle ("submachine gun" in official PLA nomenclature) as well as the Type 56 LMG, Type 51/54 pistol etc.

It was decided to disperse small arms production for strategic reasons and to set up a series of machine factories in remote areas in the north and west of China which besides producing small arms also made tools, vehicles, etc.

I have not seen data for how small arms production was scheduled but it seems unlikely that all known SKS producing factories did so at the same time.

There are 3 basic derivations of the SKS design used by the PLA.

1) Type 1: identical in construction to the last wave of Tula produced SKS 45 i.e. threaded barrel, blade bayonet, all machined parts, blue finish with bright bolt carrier. Stocks in original finish will be the dark reddish shellac characteristic of the Soviet solid stock models.
2) Transitional Type 1A. Made by Factory 26 in the late 1966 period. As per Type 1 but with the spike bayonet. This pattern was also made at several second wave factories.
3) Transitional Type 1B. Threaded barrel but production improved using a stamped trigger mechanism. 1967
4) Type 2. Threaded barrel but using the stamped trigger guard and stamped 2 piece gas tube. Small modifications were also implemented such as reversing the tab on the receiver cover latch to the bottom of the latch and inletting the stock below it to facilitate grasping. This pattern remained standard until /26\ ceased production of the Type 56 in 1970 with the 14 million serial number series.
5) Type 3. Pinned barrel with squared front receiver. Stamped trigger guard and gas tube, spike bayonet.

The pressed/pinned barrel assembly was most likely developed by factory 0138 during experiments with the stamped receiver Type 56 carbine and adopted thereafter by the later second wave factories. There is some confusion regarding "stamped" receiver carbines. All the production models used by the PLA were milled. The stamped receiver carbine was produced by 0138 circa 1964 but not placed in full production. They occasionally show up here in Canada and the US. Milled receivers remained standard, presumably due to durability issues with the stamped receiver. A stamped receiver cover was also used on some 0138 carbines. Again, it was not adopted for standard production.

Refurb or original?

Original carbines will show matching numbers with all numbered parts exhibiting identical fonts. A different font will indicate a replacement part. Bolt carriers are bright as per Russian practice.
The carbine serial number will be EP'd on the bottom of the gas tube and on the rod portion of the piston. It will also be found EP'd on the extractor. These EP'd numbers are usually lost during refurb but may still be visible under careful examination. Bolt carriers after refurb are phosphated a light grey.

Wood should be dark/reddish as per Russian or have a dark, heavy varnish type finish on late production carbines. Blondish wood seen on many here is not mil spec finished and not of the same hardwood normally used during the initial build.

Mixed parts are common on refurbs ie use of stamped parts on early 26 carbines, renumbered parts etc.

 

[poweredbybeer]

^Jesus H. Christ, I kinda feel like editing my post, it just makes me look stupid!! lol

Eos is definetely the resident SKS expert, as you can see I've learned as much about SKS's from reading eos's posts as I have from reading through www.simonov.net, if not more!!