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Posted: 12/23/2004 4:06:20 AM EDT
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I recently purchased my first SKS (Yugo M59/66A1) in unissued condition and while cleaning the cosmoline off I stuck my pinkie finger in the cleaning kit hole in the butt of the rifle and thought that the spring had worked loose because I was able to touch something loose. When I put the muzzle up and held the door open, an unfired round came out of the butt of the rifle (FMJ, brass case, brass primer w/red-orange paint on it, in 1K and 86 marked on the rim) !! Has this ever happened to anyone else out there and if this is normal, why is it in there?? I am very interested in finding out why I would have a live round in the butt. |
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The grenade launcher uses special blank rounds....SKSs load with a 10 rnd stripper clip.....maybe the previous owner stashed the 10th fmj round in the cleaning kit recess when he loaded up a blank round to launch a grenade. I found a couple of Hungarian 7.62x39 fmj rounds trapped in the bottom of the AMD-65 mag pouch I got from Tapco. |
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Occar, that is exactlly what I thought and asked a friend and he said the same thing...kinda like a doomsday bullet!! As far as the swap out for the blank goes RiffRandall, this is supposed to be an unissued, "new" rifle. It really does not show any signs of being fired, especially the grenade launcher itself, the bluing is perfect around the entire launcher circumference (no scratches, etc.) Anymore ideas out there?? |
Well, the whole "new/unissued" thing is kinda funny. I recently bought one, and the log book says my rifle was fired 788 times, and had 30% rifle corrosion. Then there is a stamp in the log book that says it was rebuilt. My rifle looks brand spankin' new. It was built in 1981, and the rebuild was in 2000. The barrel has very sharp and clean rifleing, and its so shiny, I would swear it looks like its chromed. There isnt even the slightest wear on it, inside or out. The same with everything else, the gas valve, the op rod, the piston, even the finish of the rifle on the all the metal parts and the stock. It looks like it was made yesterday. After the rebuild stamp, according to the log book, this rifle was not issued or fired. So...in its current form, it is technically new/unissued. |
The "FORMER YUGOSLAVIA" is now broken up into Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia. My question is still unanswered! Where do Yugo SKS's come from? Serbia? Croatia? Bosnia?
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They were produced when it was still "Yugoslavia". They did get around though. I've got one with a Croatian crest hand-scratched in the stock. Had a guy at the range about freak when he saw it, he was Croatian. What if the next guy is a Serb?? My guess is a few of these rifles have some not-so-nice histories, and that all sides got a little of the old arsenal. Most of the "new" rifles are just arsenal refurbs.. Not that there's anything wrong with that. An arsenal refurbed rifle should have been returned to new condition, with any worn parts replaced and everything refitted then refinished. As a shooter, a refurb is a great choice. |
Thank You.
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Well, as was stated earlier, the Yugo SKS were built in the Zastava Arms factory, in Yugoslavia. The original Zastava plant was in the city of Kragujevac, so if you can find out where that is, you'll know what country, but it sounds like that factory was turned into a car factory, and later destroyed by NATO bombing. The successor to that factory is also called the Zastava Arms factory and is located in Serbia. I can't tell you which one your weapon was bulit in however. I'm guessing that depends on the date of manufacture. I've also seen the old factory called the Zastava/Red Banner Works. Does that answer your question? |
Yes & NO, I initally thought they would have been exported from Serbia, But when you consider the Hostile anti US envirorment, Not to mention the Trade restrictions imposed on Serbia during the Clinton Era I doubt that the State Dept would allow them to export rifles onto the US.
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That kind of stuff, I don't really know. It seems like the information about the origins of the Yugo and Albanian SKS's is rather slim compared to what is known about the Russian and Chinese. I'm sure at least some of the newer Yugo SKS's were built at the new factory in Serbia. I read somewhere that they were built at the old factory from 1960-1970, the M59/66 A1 specifically from 1967-70. However the rifle I own is a M59/66 A1, but according to both the date code and the log book, it was built in (if I remember correctly since I'm at work) 1989, so mine had to have been built at the new factory. That's the coolest thing about these C&R weapons, learning about the history behind them. |
Is it still classified as a C&R if it was built in 1989? I did not know they were still building SKSs at such a late date.
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| Another interesting note is that Zastava still has both the 59/66 SKS, M48 Mauser, and M76 in their catalog as available.Zastava's Website |
| Just got home, and I checked the log book. April 10, 1989 is the manfacture date. I don't believe the date affects it being a C&R, I think it's the type and rifle. I bought it at a gun show anyway, and I also don't have my C&R permit, so it really doesn't matter if it is or not. |
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