Russian SKS Question

[Zoff12]

I have a Russian SKS with hardwood stock and polished blade bayonet. ALL serial numbers match (in Russian) and it is marked Tula Arsenal 1952. My question...Many of the Russian SKS's I have seen have a polished bolt. Mine has a blackened bolt. What is the deal here?

Thanks,

Paul

[CALIFORNIAN]

The Russian rifles Ive seen with black bolt
carriers were usually arsenal reconditioned
rifles, is the rear sight parkerized ? and
does the stock have numbers xxxxx out with
new numbers to match ? if it does ,it may be
a arsenal rework. Ive even seen some with the
bayonets blackened instead of chrome.

[steaklover]

I read it somewhere that if a Russian SKS has blackened bolt carrier, it must be rework. White bolt carriers can be original or rework. However, it's difficult to imagine that any of these imported russian sks are not rework. I believe that all these rifles have been refurbinished in some degree before they were imported. "Matching number" on these guns probably do not mean anything. These serial number probably were stamped by factory just during the refurb.

[Zoff12]

thanks, guys...it's probably arsenal refinished. It is in too good a shape to not be.

[Mike Kreca]

Originally, the bolt carriers were blued. I have seen specimens of SKSs brought back from Vietnam (Chinese, Soviet, East German and NV manufacture) with blued bolt carriers.



Also, the definitive and comprehensive book "The SKS Carbine" by Steve Kehaya and Joe Poyer (published by North Cape Publications in paperback and highly recommended) also noted that SKS bolt carriers were originally given a blue finish. The bright bolt carriers indicate a refurbished weapon.

[JA]

I have checked out over 80 russian SKS rifles. My friend/gundealer and I stripped the first 20 down he bought. I have seen bolt carriers blue,in the white,chrome,and painted black. Ditto on the bayonette's finish. He and I called KBI the importer when they were first being sold and was told that all were factory reconditioned prior to importation. We did this because of the safty spring being missing from all the rifles. They were left out of the rifles while being reworked.
If the bolt carrier is black it is painted.

[Bryant]

Why would some be "in the white and Blued" then others be painted. They can't be reworked on some because I had a gunsmith check the barrel and could tell it was never fired before I had it. I know the black bolt guns were redone somehow, but the blued guns with the white bolts look beautiful, you could deffinately tell if it was reworked since you could see milling marks and scrathes under the bluing but the blued guns don't have any milling marks or scratches and had the cosmoline all inside of them. they look to damn perfect metal wise to be reworks, but I have seen the one's with the black bolts and painted finnishes and they do look like factory redo's. I have seen redone guns many times and the early russian one's with blued metal and "in the white" bolts do not look in any way like they have ever been redone.