parkerized Norinco underfolder

[saleen]

Back in 1989 I bought a used Norinco underfolder at a gun show. The rifle caught my eye because it actually looked more like a battlefield trophy with it's finish somewhat worn and dark oil-stained wood. Also unusual was the fact that the rifle had a parkerized finish. I questioned the seller, and he assured me that he was the original owner, and that it had come parkerized. In all the gun shows I have attended since, I have only come accross one other Norinco AKM which was parkerized, and it was NIB with a price tag that scared me from accross the table. I guess I was hoping that some of you AK connoisseurs could give me a hint as to when my rifle was imported. Description of rifle is as follows: 7.62x39, s.s. bolt/carrier assy, slant style muzzle compensator, ser.#1412xxx. There is a triangle with "66" inside, and the importer shows to be BCI. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Necron99]

The only parkerized Chinese AKs I've seen are ones that people have personally parkerized themselves. To the best of my knowledge all Chinese rifles(Norincos and Polytechs)brought into this country had blued finishes. This scares off some buyers, because it is not the originial finish, so dealers like to make up cockamani stories about how "only 500 were brought in this way" so therefore its worth more. Thats a bunch of horsesh*t. I personally couldn't care less, blueing is one of the cheapest and least protective finishes out there, and parkerized is definitely a step above. As long as the internals are in good condition I'm happy. I have serious doubts that the Norinco you saw was a truly NIB rifle (did you actually fieldstrip and check the internals). If it was NIB, someone sent it to a gunsmith and had the finish put on it. With the occasional waves of hysteria that hit the assault rifle markets, some of the dealers try to make up some BS stories to fleece the latest waves of sheep. Hope that helps.

Ditto, refinished rifle. There were no chinese guns imported in any finish but blue.

[saleen]

Thanks for the replies. In a way I was hoping that it wasn't some ultra rare bird that I shouldn't shoot. I didn't buy it as a collector's piece, and no I did not field strip the supposed NIB gun, but you are probably right about the dealer's motives -- god knows there's enough of them like that. Now that I know for sure, I can't wait to go and enjoy it like I used to.


Saleen

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