Been a while since I've had an SKS but I traded into this one today at a local gun show. Best as I can tell, this is an early M21 marked, all original and matching SKS that I *think* may have been brought back from Vietnam? (Maybe. No papers came with the rifle, and I got it from a guy who had bought it at a previous gun show so if it ever did have papers, I have no way of knowing. Or if it was just brought back without them, there is no *proof* save for the fact that it has no import stamp that I can find on it anywhere, all the numbers match and the gun *appears* right to my non-expert eye. That said, I do understand that some folks believe that without papers means it is *not* a *real* "bringback" rifle. That said, it is what it is and I thought I'd post a few photos and see what you guys think it is (or isn't, as the case may be). Also I have a few of the pictures that have my NVA Type 56 milled AK clone build and my XM177E2 clone with it; just for a bit of Vietnam "flavor". Here's the photos:















So what do you guys think? I got into it at what I think was a decent trade deal, so even if it isn't a bringback, it should be a good plinker at the very least (which is what the guy I got it from was using it for) but if it is what I *think* it is, then it is probably rare enough to put up and hang onto as a keeper, or to sell later for a pretty good price on GB, etc.

Looks legit to me.  The M21 SKS/M22 AKs were sanitized Chinese gear sent to the NVA.  Its a nice piece even with the minor pitting and overall is in vg shape.  Its a very unusual find, I personally have only seen one other and it was in bad shape but had papers.  Have you disassembled and looked at the markings under the woodline and determined the receiver type?  If you don't mind what did you trade for it?

I'll defer to mech4's knowledge about the M21 being sanitized to be sent to the NVA, but the minor pitting mech4 noted would seem to indicate it may be "real".  I am told almost all of the Chinese guns imported a few years ago were new guns built for that purpose, and not military surplus.

The stock appears to have been sanded and refinished, but the divots that were not sanded out are pretty dark and that would also tell me it's likely a "real" gun.

I noticed that too but didn't mention it.  It appears to have been lightly sanded and touched up because the edges are rounded off but the stampings are still visible.  Also, the wood itself is a dead giveaway its Chinese being Catalpa.  Its the most common Chinese stock wood.  My father has an AK marked M22 that is a papered bringback from S. Vietnam circa 1968.  I know the vet who brought it back, its legit.  All sources I've found say the M designated com-bloc arms from the era were made and supplied to the NVA by China in the late '60s but exact dates are unknown.  From that same vet I got a NVA manufactured SKS with the star in circle markings, another rare piece.  I have the capture papers on that too, iirc its 6/68 capture date.

ETA: Also to add to your post - the recent imports over the last 20yrs has been a mixed bag of refurbed surplus military carbines and new made carbines intended for the civi market.  Some new made carbines are built on refurbed military receivers using new barrels and other parts.  Another thing I noticed about this carbine is the Cavalry or Mounted Troops sling swivel position near the butt, its uniquely chinese.  Also, that looks like an AR sling mount somehow attached to the factory front SKS mount.  Never seen that before.

I've been looking all over it and so far, I have not found ANY import mark of any kind on it. The wood is a LOT less "shiny" than my camera flash made it look in the pictures. I was wondering about the pitting; some of the guys over on Survivors SKS site think it has been refinished but it doesn't look like it in person so much. I wonder IF the pitting might have been the way it was made? Maybe not, but it just doesn't look like a typical re-blue job to me in hand. I don't see the polishing down that most stateside refinishers do. I wonder if it *might* have been redone over there after being captured? I remember hearing that there were some places in the bigger cities in Vietnam that would do that sort of thing, who marketed to GIs for trophy guns. Don't know if its true or not, but that was what I was told by a vet who was over there anyway. I will pull it down and get some better pictures to add to the thread later this evening. Also, that weird looking improvised sling mount- I left it on there, just in case it might be some sort of VC field mod thing to hang a captured USGI sling on or some such. Always hesitate to do too much to something like this until I am sure of what it is. I don't want to FUBAR it if something "odd" may still be correct for the rifle's history. No TAPCO stocks, no cut-off bayonet lugs, and no ill-fitting 30rd mags for this one...

Please leave it alone, shoot it as-is and don't modify it in any way.  As for the metal finish I can't say but the stock has been sanded at some point.  The finger grooves should be sharp, yours are rounded and the serial number has been partially sanded away.  As for the pitting, it wasn't made that way.  That happened either in the field due to saltwater exposure or in storage due to lack of cosmoline.  

If you feel the need to modify your SKS I have a like new paratrooper I'll trade you plus cash for your M21.  Its a collectors piece and needs to be preserved as-is.  That doesn't mean don't shoot it, shoot it and clean it thoroughly after each use.  Please post pics of any markings you find below the woodline and pics of the barrel/receiver connection so we can see which receiver type it is, I'm betting its threaded which would make it a type 1(early style).  Thanks for sharing.

I was only joking about modifying it. No way I would do that to to something like this. (Frankly, I wouldn't do THAT stuff I mentioned to a plain-jane, run of the mill commercial SKS- just on the principle of it)  I'll get better pictures, but I am pretty sure it is a threaded barrel version. I don't think I'd trade it for a paratrooper, though. Maybe one of those Yugo "snipers" with the M89 scope on the side of it?

TG has cyrillic markings. (Some early Chinese had Russian parts or were mostly built by the Russians.) Nice old SKS. Too bad I had to sell all of mine. Had a nice Yugo, a 1951 Russian and an 'M'.

Also, it has a milled trigger guard, making it early style, but that doesn't guarantee the action is early, could still be mixed but not likely.  How about the AK its pictured with?  Is it a MAK or M22?  Definitely chinese with the folding pig sticker.

The AK is a milled Type 3 CNCWarrior semi-auto receiver with a screw-in Chinese Type 56 barrel and Chinese folding bayonet set-up, with Type 56 engravings, etc. it needs the wood stripped and redone to look like the wood one the SKS (if possible) and a Chinese gas block with the cleaning rod lugs intact. It's my NVA AK clone.




Oh, and those aren't cyrillic marks on the SKS trigger guard; those are just "4" on each end of the partial serial number. My camera isn't the best any more...

Very nice(Borat voice).  And the XM177?

It is built on a Nodak Spud NDS-16A1 full fence A1-style lower receiver, with a correct Colt forward assist upper. It has a DPMS lower parts kit with a semi-auto no tick safety, 6-hole hand guards and a two-position stock. The fake moderator and grenade ring are by Brick, and a new 1/9 twist chromed J&T Distributing (so it can and will shoot modern cheaper ammo) pencil barrel that was professionally cut and threaded, and the extension blind pinned to give an overall length of 16.1 inches, making it about 3/4 inch longer than the original but also avoiding needing a tax stamp as an SBR would.

OK; after pulling the action out of the stock and looking over it, some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that yes, it indeed HAS been refinished. The good news is that it is with paint, not rebluing, so *maybe* it might be possible to remove the paint without ruining what is underneath it? I'm considering trying a little acetone or denatured alcohol on a spot on the receiver underneath the wood line, to see if either one "lifts" the paint. I also took a few more photos of some of the markings before my camera battery ran out, so here they are:

Its a threaded receiver aka Type 1B.  Most Chinese SKS models are pressed/pinned Type 2 receivers, so that helps date it.  China switched to pressed barrels in late '67 so its at least that old.  The 5s on the bbl/receiver may be assembly numbers.  Some steel wool and oil should clean up the rust on the trigger group.  Thanks for the pics, hope it shoots good.