Difference between Russian & chinese bolt carrier

[Darryl]

I recently purchased a russian SKS but I noticed that the bolt carrier SN has been ground off. I was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference between the russian & chinese bolt carrier - Are they interchangeable ? I think I heard somewhere that they are not. Thanks

[Target Shooter]

I would suspect the reason the SN was ground off was to hide that it didn't match all the other numbers.
Do all the other numbers match?
Seeing that the Russians started the Chinese on making the SKS and supplied them with excess parts in the early years, I would imagine the parts would all be interchangeable. Don't know if any of the specs have changed.
In the later years, many parts came into the country to be later assembled as SKS parts guns. These were the later imports and are easily identified by all the mismatched Serial Numbered parts.
TS

[JA]

The Russians boxed up a SKS factory loaded in on rail cars and shipped it to China in the mid 1950's. The early Chinese rifles are exactly like the Russians. This changed later as the Chinese decentralized the mfg. of SKS's. After Mao sent everyone into the country side(culrtual revolution) he had to have something for those peasents to do after working in the fields all day. You know you can't plot aganist him if you work the fields all day and make SKS parts all night. Hundreds of farm communes made SKS and AK parts. The parts were shipped to arsenels and assembled into rifles.
All the parts made by hundreds of factories aren't 100% interchangeable more like 99%. This is why the Chinese rifles have file marks here and there on some of the smaller parts.

[Darryl]

Thank you all for your reply.

Target Shooter: All the serial numbers appear to match except for the bolt carrier and on further examination, the bolt also. I'm going to have the head space checked before I take her out and shoot just to be safe.
Back when I had an all original Russian SKS the bolt was "in the white" but this one is more of unpolished dull look to it that I've seen on the Chinese SKSs.
Thanks
Darryl

[jaydee]

The Russian And Romanian bolts and carriers are stainless steel while china are not.

[TinMan99]

The Chinese carriers aren't stainless steel but they are chrome-alloyed steel. They don't rust as badly as standard chrome-moly steel might, but they aren't as corrosion resistant as the stainless carriers.

TinMan99