SKS with dull matte bolt??? Photos added !!!

boltonscouter

boltonscouter

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So ............ recently recvd a '51 Tula SKS from another CGN'r. It was advertised as unissued/no refurb metal in a refurb stock. All #'s matching. When it arrived I was surprised to find it did not have a shiny silver or painted black bolt but instead a dull matte finished bolt & carrier. All in all the rifle appears as described but not being an expert I'm not sure if this was misrepresented or not. I can't find any details on this in CGN so it must be odd. Is this refurb?? Last shot is her dressed up in her new Tapco stock. :D I think the matte silver looks tactical but just not conviced it is as issued??? The shiny bolt & carrier are from my Norinco.
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I was wondering the same thing, many friends of mine have sks' and every one of them has a different colored bolt and carrier. They seem to vary from shiny silver to matte, and shiny black to matte. Sorry I couldn't help, would like to know as well.
 
That gray looking bolt looks like the black ones that were stripped of the paint. But the black bolt ones also had painted top covers and barrels. So that makes it definately weird. As more and more Russian SKSs surface,just like with the Chi-Coms,more and more variations are seen. Nothing is prevebably cast in stone with either type it seems.
 
bolton: unissued carrier are bright steel.

your situation will be a common occurance in the future , buyers expecting a true unissued will be disappointed bcos unissued are rare but yet from what i read on red rilfes , almost everybody seams to have one.

i have bot over 20 from 5 dealers and have yet to get one , of the 5 dealers 3 dealers advertised them as "unissued" so was i disappointed ? not really cos i knew the odds were slim.

so in my situation , i know what i know and then resell them as unissued would be wrong but that may not be true for others who honestly thought they received an unissued and in turn sold them as such.
 
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I appreciate everyones input. So I gather the answer is it has been refurbished, oh well, it's still sweet and we'll see how she shoots. I suspect the theory of a black bolt stripped to the bare metal may be on the right track??? Some additional details are .... it has the ugly frankenpinned mag that the paint was badly retouched up and the serial # moved to the side of the mag........I have noticed a few other little oddities such as the 3 digit serial # has uneven spacing between the first two digits. Is this common? It's done that way in more than one spot! Also the receiver cover although not appearing painted, does not exhibit the apparently classic two tone finish I have read about. It is a solid colour and the arsenal star & date on the cover is filled in with a yellowish paint to highlight it. Not sure if these are normal either but.... My son has already named her Natasha so I suppose there's nothing left to do but go blast the snot out of her and enjoy! :D :ar15:As far as buffing it on a wheel, I think I'll pass as it doesn't offend me that much and with all the little cracks & crevices it might be tough to do an even job. At least right now it all looks consistent. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has a similar finished bolt & carrier too. Just to see if this is a one of a kind or if it is a new emering trend in bolt finish?
 
The price on this rifle was $258 shipping included which I don't think is out of line. It's simply that (without naming names) I thought I was buying off a CGN'r that was very knowledgeable about SKS's. His sales history, current listings and feedback all led me to believe it would be as advertised. I think he has handled enough of them to have known the difference but so long as it functions properly & safely I'm sure we'll have tons of fun with it. Here's a pic of the top cover I was talking about!

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From what I can see there are no refurb marks on any of the metal. The stock is a refurb and was sold as such, no problem. What about the coloured in Tula and year markings & no two tone bluing?

As an aside, I haven't gone back to the seller complaining, I understand buyer beware & I understand maybe I should have asked a few more questions before the purchase & I understand do your homework. I have been reading as much as I can and already owned the Norinco. Live & learn! My point is not to complain but to see what's what. To educate myself and maybe help some others along the way. The metal work on the '51 Tula is actually quite nice & minty overall (aside from the mag ....... not the sellers fault) and there are no obvious signs of wear or firing. VERY clean. It was VERY well packed and shipped smoothly so this all started as surprise and curiosity over the bolt & carrier finish. The actual listing stated "silver bolt & carrier" so I assumed it was bright silver not matte as I had never heard of such a thing. It is indeed silver! The rifle itself was bought to be a rock solid shooter for my son so hopefully that's what we got. We're hoping to get out in the next few weeks to put her through the paces:D
 
Don't worry about it if you plan to shoot it. Enjoy it. Leaving things as they are, but not shooting them is like owning a classic sports car and not speeding in it. Ever. Please don't do that, it hurts me inside. I'm not saying speed, or bubba classic guns, just use them. That's how it should be.
 
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