This SKS was manufactured at Tula in 1954 and is chambered in 7.62x39mm. It is all
matching, with the numbers applied by electro-pencil during Soviet arsenal
refurbishment rather than carried as original factory markings. The electro-pencil
marking on the bottom of the magazine is faint. The integral folding bayonet is intact
and carries a matching electro-penciled number. The rifle appears to be unfired since
that refurbishment, with no brass residue or carbon fouling present on the bolt or in
the barrel. Mechanical condition is excellent, and it retains its original sling and
cleaning kit.
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. It replaced the SVT-40 as the standard-issue Soviet rifle
until the select-fire AK-47 superseded it a short time later, after which it continued
to serve through the Cold War with border guards, internal forces and reserve units.
Soviet production was centered on Factory No. 536, the Tula Arms Factory, with
secondary manufacture at the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant between 1952 and 1955, and ended
in the Soviet Union by 1956 after roughly two and a half million had been built there.
Early Soviet carbines carried a cruciform spike-type folding bayonet, replaced by the
folding blade pattern around 1950. Counting all variants and foreign production, more
than 15 million were made.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Tula
Country of origin: Soviet Union
Year: 1954
Model: SKS
Caliber: 7.62x39mm
Matching: All matching, electro-penciled during arsenal refurbishment
Bayonet: Integral folding bayonet intact, matching electro-penciled number
Markings: Electro-pencil marking on magazine floorplate is faint
Bore: No carbon fouling present
Features: Arsenal refurbished
Included: Original sling and cleaning kit
Mechanical condition: Excellent
$939
