Type 56 SKS with odd stock

[warriflefan]

I just got one of the early chinese sks' that have come on the market. It has the blade bayonet, with all numbers matching except for the stock which has no numbers. The serial is a 2 million series which I think means it's a 1958. The stock has a reddish brown color instead of the chocolate color typical of the old chinese sks'. The handguard has the dark brown look though. The weird part is that it has the two trapdoor buttstock with the slight concave like the early albanians, but the stock is standard length and cut for the blade bayonet. The stock has a hole drilled for each trapdoor with the spring for the cleaning kit. I have found no other markings on the stock.

Anyone have any idea where this could have come from? Did the albanians make a standard length sks stock? Why would it be on a chinese sks?

Any help would be great! I'll try to get pics once I've got all the cosmo off.

[barmstrong2]

I'm not an expert on the SKS, although I do have one and enjoy it, the blade type bayonet is indicative of a Yugoslavian. Chinese manufacturing was a spike bayonet. My Yugo has only one trap door in the stock where the cleaning kit resides. Could have been refinished?

[Bigdog57]

Earlier Chinese did indeed have the blade bayonet. My "Psuedo-Sino-Soviet" Factory /26\ SKS is 1959 manufacture with all the proper Sino-Soviet features including bayo, but the serial is too late for a true Sino-Soviet. I suspect they were still using the Russian-style parts up til that time.
Later the SKS became almost a 'cottage industry', with many prefectures and villages having their own factories - new codes are still ocasionally found. Many different variations may be found.
Quality of the /26\ rifles is far better than the later cheapened Norinco models.

[barmstrong2]

I stand corrected. Thanks Bigdog.

[armenjs802]

Yes, Only evil firearm that will not be in AWB is the SKS. buy them now, that will go up as well.

[WHSmithIV]

SKS is listed in the ban.......

[PMK]

And you are positive that it is Chinese? Is the barrel chrome lined?

[warriflefan]

Ive been researching on the sks boards and found out it is a sino-banian. The first 9 million chinese sks were made with blade bayonet in the russian pattern. Mine was put in a cut down albanian stock when china sent aid to albania (hence the two trapdoors in the buttstock). By serial number it should be a 1958. Not a sino-soviet but only two years after.

[Bigdog57]

I only see the SKS listed in the 'ban' if it has a detachable magazine - I will keep my thirty rounder detachables carfully hidden......

The fixed ten rounder works better on the bench anyway.

[barmstrong2]

With the 7.62X39 ammo getting more difficult to find, I have to resist the temptation of the 30 rd mag, too.

[amx4080]

The recent "Chinese" (yes, originally built in China) imports came from Albania. The ban for importation of firearms from China is still in effect, even after the original 1990's AWB expired. Many from this batch of "Chinese" imports have shown up with Albanian SKS features (bolt carrier, mag, etc.). My own example from this batch has an Albanian bolt carrier and a modified Albanian SKS stock. You can tell the Ablanian SKS stocks that were cut down to fit the Chinese SKS by two identifying features, 1) The two hole stock which was designed to hold the cleaning kit and oiler and 2) rough finish at the fore end where the stock was cut and then filed (looks like a hobby rasp was used on my example) to fit the Chinese SKS.

On boards dedicated to the SKS, the term "Sino-'banian" has been created to separate these SKS from Sino-Soviet examples.

[warriflefan]

Those albanian bolt carriers look pretty sweet, mine has the standard hollow ball instead of the ak looking one though.

[A square 10]

its a chinese synthetic replacement stock IIRC