I worked a trade for this 16.5" barreled "Paratrooper" SKS today.....I have about $325.00 in it.



It's getting hard to find one that has not been Bubbaed to hell and gone. This one has some dings and finish wear from being a "truck gun" for many years but it was left alone and is still all matching.

Of course these rifles have no real pedigree as they were just SKSs shortened to 16.5" for the export market. This one was a Factory 36 gun that was scrubbed and re-serialed.

Good to find it matching. Looks like it doesn't have much wear on it. My grandfather has a couple hanging on his wall that have my name on them. One had the stock swapped for a folder, it slam fired on him once. Need to make sure the firing pin is clean. As stated good truck gun with a few strippers.

Factory 26 rifle.. great deal. One of the best!

Negative, Factory 36.

It's a common code for export rifles. That particular factory sent 250K +/- SKSs of different flavors to the USA.

From Howie Bearse's SKS factory code chart:



EDIT:

It was pointed out to me that it may be a Factory 136 rifle depending on who you want to believe.....Either works for me.