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 It replaced the SVT-40 as the standard-issue Soviet rifle until the select-fire AK-47 superseded it a short time later, after which it continued to serve through the Cold War with border guards, internal forces and reserve units.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
