This Tula SKS was manufactured in 1954 and is chambered in 7.62x39mm. It is all matching, with the numbers applied during arsenal refurbishment rather than carried as original factory markings. The folding blade bayonet is present, and the cleaning kit is in the buttstock. Overall condition is excellent, the bore is mirror bright with sharp rifling, and the rifle is mechanically excellent.
The SKS was designed by Sergei Simonov and adopted by the Soviet Army in 1949 as the Samozaryadny Karabin Simonova, or Simonov self-loading carbine, chambered for the 7.62x39mm M1943 cartridge. Soviet production was centered on Factory No. 536, the Tula Arms Factory, which built SKS carbines from 1949 to early 1956, with a short secondary run at Izhevsk beginning in 1953. Tula rifles are identified by an arrow within a star stamped on the top of the dust cover above the year of production. Early Soviet carbines carried a cruciform spike-type folding bayonet, replaced by the folding blade pattern around 1950. Many Russian SKS carbines were factory refurbished before being imported, work that commonly left non-original details such as a blued bolt or bayonet where these parts were originally finished in the white. Counting all variants and national production, more than 15 million SKS carbines were built.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Tula
Country of origin: Soviet Union
Year: 1954
Model: SKS
Caliber: 7.62x39mm
Matching: All numbers matching, applied during arsenal refurbishment
Bayonet: Folding blade bayonet present
Condition: Excellent
Bore: Mirror
Rifling: Sharp
Included: Cleaning kit in buttstock
Mechanical condition: Excellent
