TL;DR version
Here's what I got:
- Russian, Tula?
- laminated stock with 2 stock reinforcing bolts,
- a 1955r and an arrow-inside-a-star emblem on the dust cover,
- matching serial numbers on the dust cover, bolt carrier (which was blackened), (blackened) bolt, extractor, gas tube, stock, magazine, trigger group, piston
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After missing out on the $425 Norinco two weeks ago, I set out on a long trek yesterday. I would hit three gun shows. I hoped to either:
- either see again the SKS I was kept from buying two weeks ago due to the brush fire near the casino where the gun show,
- find an entirely different SKS I would want to buy, or...
- find the bayonet, magazine, and stock that would complete an SKS I saw for sale in a town located near the last gun show I would go to. That carbine had been put into a fancy ATI hunting stock, and the owner only had 2 TAPCO magazines and a muzzle break/flash hider to go with it. He did have 800 rounds of WPA soft point he would sell with it for a good price.
I started out in Miami Beach, went north to Fort Lauderdale, then north to West Palm Beach, then east to Naples. The last stop was Fort Meyers.
While I did find a mint Yugo stock with hardware for sale at a gun store on Friday night, I did not find much in the way of carbines or parts at either of the shows.
Fort Lauderdale had no carbines for sale. This was in a venue the size of two basketball courts.
West Palm Beach was in a venue the size of a football field. It had one of those "commemorative" Vietnam War carbines whose stocks had been painted or lacquered black, had a bunch of golden inlaid scroll work, and a disk embedded in the stock. The owner had the gall to put a sign next to it claiming it was a "Vietnam bring back!" I forgot the price, but even if they gave it to me in exchange for a tissue full of boogers, I would not want to be seen with that piece unless I was wearing clown shoes and a squeaky rubber nose and it was Halloween.
There was another at this location. This was a 1955 Russian. Laminated stock. Matching parts. Supposedly, very rare. $650, but the guy would let it go for $625. Took mental notes, and called a friend with many carbines. He said it was a good deal. If nothing else panned out, I could come back to this show on the way back, or the next day if internet research panned out.
Started driving across the Peninsula. Towards the end, it got interesting because the "empty gas tank" came on. Turned off the aircon, slowed down from 80 to 70 (the speed limit) to an infuriating to other drivers 65 for the last 20 minutes, but managed to get to a gas station a few miles shy of my destination.
Third show was hard to find. GPS was sending me to different places. Stopped for directions twice, but found the place. This was a smaller show sponsored by "2 Guys," in a venue smaller than the size of a basketball court. I arrived with just 75 minutes left. First table I walked across had an
SKS. It was marked $550, but he said he let me have it for $500. I was able to get $490 out of the cash machine.
Two questions:
Why does my bolt look different than the bolts I have seen on YouTube tutorials? My firing pin is staked in and it is a mere cylindrical shape, with no "L".
Why is it almost impossible to take out the firing pin retaining pin? (It is staked in!)
Why does my firing pin have a spring in it to keep from free floating if it is a 1955?