Chinese SKS with a backstory

[Bongo Lewi]

This SKS was given to me a few years ago by a family friend who brought it back from Vietnam around 1969. He stuck it in a closet and never shot it. Or anything else, saying he had heard enough gunfire to last a lifetime. My two oldest brothers are Vietnam vets so I respected his point of view. I knew this guy since I was a young kid. He treated me like I was his little brother. Bob was a different person when he came back. I'll just say he had a tough life afterward and leave it at that.

I usually stopped in to see him while visiting family. He had no other family. His health was failing. I always tried to give him a few bucks to buy food or whatever and he would always refuse. The last time I visited, as I was leaving, out of nowhere he asked me to take care of this rifle. I didn't know why or what "taking care of it" meant. I asked if he wanted me to sell it for him and he said no. So I took it and left.

He described it only as a battlefield pickup. Obviously, there was a story behind that but he didn't share any details.

I've done some restorations on old guns before. Black stains appear in the wood close to the steel when these rifles get wet. Iron oxide bleeds into the wood. Typical of Vietnam-era weapons. High humidity and lots of rain. I've been to Vietnam a few times. Under very different circumstances than Bob or my brothers. I decided to keep it original and shootable. I replaced the recoil spring and a few others. Also, some screws that were buggered badly. Other than cleaning and rust removal, no cosmetic fixes. The stock has a lot of scars but no cracks.

The rifle was not in terrible shape but hadn't been oiled or cleaned for at least 50 years. The bore was serviceable, the bolt and breech still had carbon on it. There was a fair amount of surface rust and some dried mud inside the gas tube cover. No Cosmolene anywhere to be found, further supporting the story Bob picked it up off the ground.

The bits of cloth on the bench… scraps of fabric from a shirt or other clothing. Torn into strips to be used as cleaning patches. I found them stuffed into the butt cavity. I presumed the VC that carried this rifle used what he had to keep it running. I put them all back in when I was done working on it. When done, I took it to my range and it ran fine. But I haven't shot it since.

Not long after my visit, Bob's landlord called, informing me he passed away. He had put my name down for "nearest relative" on his lease. I never got to show the gun to him and I don't think he cared. It occurred to me that he knew he was nearing the end and this was a chapter in his life he wanted to close. It's hard to know what's in a man's head. I just did what he asked. I may be the only person in the world who remembers this guy or ever thinks about him. That's a sad thing. It also reminds me to be grateful for the blessings I've received, good fortune, luck, or whatever you want to call it.

 

[Bobster]

Back in the 90s I had an FFL and one of my purchases was a "new" Chinese SKS packed in cosmoline. I think it was around $100 at the time from a distributor. It took several hours to clean it including the bolt and gas tube but nothing gets you more intimate with a gun than a total teardown. I was fortunate to find someone selling a paper "manual" that helped quite a bit after I received it in the mail. There was no running to the computer and watching a video or downloading a pdf.

Once cleaned, it looked as if it had never been issued and was a creampuff. I probably ran about 100rds through it. I needed money for school and wasn't using it so I sold it for $200. One of many firearms I wished I still had. About 10yrs ago, a larger gun store had a barrel of soviet SKSs in "shootable" condition but all beat to hell for $299 each. Now there are people trying to get $800 for them...

 

[Bongo Lewi]

It's a good rifle. A simple design like most Soviet firearms. Keeping mine is more of a sentimental thing. It was a gift. I'd give it to somebody deserving rather than sell it.

"Sporterizing" military rifles has never appealed to me, although a lot of people like the SKS for that purpose. At least when they were cheaper.

My father had an Arisaka with the mum intact and the right numbers matching. He got it from a Marine who was at Tarawa, Iwo Jima, etc. He traded cigarettes for it when they were on the way back to Pearl Harbor after the Japanese surrender. All he knew was the Marine said he "took it off a dead Jap" (his words not mine). It was definitely used but in good condition. I was livid when my old man sold that gun without telling me. He sold it to a local gun shop for 300 bucks. He got taken.

 

[no4mk1t]

The way I look at it, it's not like the SKS, especially the Chinese versions are particularly collectable. Maybe the Bulgys and Romanians, and certainly any Russian made variants, but the Chinese ones were imported in the millions.
I can safely say the mods I made to mine, made the rifle much more shooter friendly from the ergos standpoint and lightened it by a pound. Certainly things every rifleman looks at in a rifle. The sights are the biggest improvement IMHO. My only lament is that there isn't a way to put a nice trigger on it. If there was, I think then it would be recognized as more of a "Rifleman's Rifle", a phrase I initially used kind of tongue-in-cheek when I wrote the original thread and used that in the title.
As it stands right now, all the tings I did to the rifle are reversible, if one day these turn into the next 57 Chevy and climb significantly in value, I can always change it back.

I do know that one of my shooting buds that bought one back in the 90's and later sold it for all the above reasons was pleasantly surprised when I handed him mine after it was finished. He said..."Damn, I wish I hadn't sold mine now".
I think that says it all.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

The way I look at it, it's not like the SKS, especially the Chinese versions are particularly collectable. Maybe the Bulgys and Romanians, and certainly any Russian made variants, but the Chinese ones were imported in the millions.
I can safely say the mods I made to mine, made the rifle much more shooter friendly from the ergos standpoint and lightened it by a pound. Certainly things every rifleman looks at in a rifle. The sights are the biggest improvement IMHO. My only lament is that there isn't a way to put a nice trigger on it. If there was, I think then it would be recognized as more of a "Rifleman's Rifle", a phrase I initially used kind of tongue-in-cheek when I wrote the original thread and used that in the title.
As it stands right now, all the tings I did to the rifle are reversible, if one day these turn into the next 57 Chevy and climb significantly in value, I can always change it back.

I do know that one of my shooting buds that bought one back in the 90's and later sold it for all the above reasons was pleasantly surprised when I handed him mine after it was finished. He said..."Damn, I wish I hadn't sold mine now".
I think that says it all.

Agree. What's collectible and the associated prices always ebb and flow. The same goes for cars, art, antiques, etc. You did a nice job on that rifle. Ever considered shortening the barrel?

The same goes for the Mosin Nagant. They were practically giving them away a few years ago. Ever since that movie about Russian snipers in WWII, their prices have skyrocketed.

 

[NavyVet83]

wow... My next door neighbor is a old vietnam vet. he has shared many a story with me, in grave detail actually, but hasn't given me any weapons. lol

 

[Bongo Lewi]

wow... My next door neighbor is a old vietnam vet. he has shared many a story with me, in grave detail actually, but hasn't given me any weapons. lol

I've thought about this a lot and have no answers. The best I came up with is he knew he was checking out. He had very little. Bob knew I was into firearms and this was probably the only gift he had to give. Something to remember him by. But I don't know for sure. I also don't know why he kept that gun for all those years. I never knew he had it.

I do know nobody gave a shit about him. He came back from Vietnam broken and everyone abandoned him; friends, family, and the government. He wasn't violent or anything like that. Quite the opposite. A recluse. I was just some neighborhood kid who lived a block away. He came to think of me as next of kin. That's sad beyond words. He deserved better. All veterans do. Especially combat vets.

 

[no4mk1t]

Agree. What's collectible and the associated prices always ebb and flow. The same goes for cars, art, antiques, etc. You did a nice job on that rifle. Ever considered shortening the barrel?

The same goes for the Mosin Nagant. They were practically giving them away a few years ago. Ever since that movie about Russian snipers in WWII, their prices have skyrocketed.

Cutting the barrel to 16" was in the plan. As mentioned in the thread on that rifle, the gunsmith's wife had a stroke, then assisted living, then Covid hit. And on top of all that, he had to move out of his shop building and move the machinery to his house. Last time I spoke to him, he was going to call me when he was ready to take work in again. Still waiting.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Cutting the barrel to 16" was in the plan. As mentioned in the thread on that rifle, the gunsmith's wife had a stroke, then assisted living, then Covid hit. And on top of all that, he had to move out of his shop building and move the machinery to his house. Last time I spoke to him, he was going to call me when he was ready to take work in again. Still waiting.

It's easy to cut a barrel. The trick is crowning it. That requires more skill than a hacksaw and of course requires the right tool.

I whacked four inches off an inexpensive Rossi 22 WMR semi-auto. I put the gun in a vice and cut it with a hacksaw. I don't have a crown die, so until I do (which may be never) I ground it smooth and hit it with some sandpaper and emory cloth. Nice and flat. As far as I can tell, shortening it had no measurable effect on accuracy. I don't shoot varmints, including coyotes. I would if I had chickens or other livestock they were preying on. My one exception is we have nutrias. Invasive, non-native species who get no mercy. Sort of like a big black muskrat with orange teeth.

The reason I shortened the barrel was to be able to grab and swing it more easily from my ATV. I take it with me when riding around my property.

 

[NavyVet83]

I have nutria in the canal in front of my house and living in the banks of the pond behind my house. Seems like, no matter how many I kill, with a couple months, I usually see more. My Stevens 55 .22LR dispatches them effectively and quietly

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I see 'em, I shoot em. They breed like rats. Because they are rats. Big-ass orange-toothed rats.

I like the 22 WMR because it hits twice as hard and shoots flatter. Nutria are pretty clever and I have had better luck shooting them at longer distances. They remind me of hogs. Fast and very aware of what's going on around them. But unlike hogs, I rarely see more than one at a time.

I wish the 22 WMR was cheaper, but I love it for varmints. Unless you are a rabbit, squirrel or possum eater. It really tears them up inside.