This Chinese Type 56 SKS is chambered in 7.62×39 and carries the DP长 factory prefix ahead of serial 122011xx, identifying it as made in Changchun, China. The receiver is also marked "MFG BY NORINCO 7.62×39 SPORTER" with the B-West, Tucson, AZ import mark. The trigger group, bolt and dust cover match the receiver, while the stock carries a different number along with a 光明 (4) stamp, likely a rack number. It is fitted with an un-numbered Chinese 20-round internal magazine marked with a star. The bore is a mirror and the rifle is mechanically excellent. The dark red-brown stock shows edge chips and scratches, and the receiver cover is worn to grey. It retains its folding blade bayonet and comes complete with cleaning kit and sling.
The SKS was designed by Sergei Simonov and entered Soviet service in 1949, with Soviet production at Tula from 1949 to 1958 and at Izhevsk in 1953 and 1954. China built the rifle as the Type 56 carbine from 1956, and more than nine million had been made by the 1980s. Chinese receivers were made of carbon steel rather than the Soviet chrome-nickel alloy. Beginning in 1988, surplus and newly manufactured Chinese carbines were imported into the United States in large numbers, and rifles marked SPORTER under the Norinco name were made for that commercial trade. The standard SKS is a gas-operated semi-automatic fed from a fixed ten-round magazine loaded from stripper clips, with a folding bayonet hinged beneath the barrel; this rifle has been fitted with a 20-round magazine in its place.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Norinco
Factory: Changchun (DP长 prefix)
Importer: B-West, Tucson, AZ
Country of origin: China
Model: Type 56 SKS (marked Sporter)
Action: Gas-operated semi-automatic
Caliber: 7.62×39
Serial: 122011xx
Matching: Trigger group, bolt and dust cover match the receiver; stock carries a different number
Magazine: Un-numbered Chinese 20-round internal magazine, star marked
Stock: Dark red-brown wood with edge chips and scratches; 光明 (4) stamp, likely a rack number
Finish: Blued, receiver cover worn to grey
Bore: Mirror bore
Sights: Hooded front sight, tangent rear sight
Features: Folding blade bayonet
Included: Cleaning kit, sling
Mechanical condition: Mechanically excellent
