The SinoSoviet SKS Secret
During the early 1950s, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Peoples' Republic of
China shared one of their few periods of cooperation.
So much so that the Soviet Union agreed to share certain technology with China, including
construction instruction methods and right to construct the SKS rifle.
As a result, in 1956, the Soviet Union sent technicians, parts and equipment to China to get the
armory rolling for Chinese-made SKS rifles. One result of this techno-share (for the savvy C&R
buyer) is a limited number of superbly crafted SinoSoviets SKS rifles.
What is a SinoSoviet SKS?
It is a ''Chinese'' SKS made of Russian parts under the direct supervision of Russian technicians
which may have had Chinese personel putting the pieces together.
I was fortunate enough to stumble onto one of these rifles in November of 1997 when I spotted
an older (but decent shape) SKS sitting in a pawn shop with a $99 price tag on it. I had wanted
an SKS for some time (mainly because I didn't have one), so I went ahead and bought it even
though it was a Chinese and (say some) not as good a rifle as the Russian.
As I began digging into the history of my new rifle, I perplexed many of my bretheren collectors
because the rifle (while clearly Chinese by the armory mark) had absolutely nothing else in
common with a Chinese gun.
The serial nr. was odd, the sight ladder was odd, the stock wasn't right for a Chinese... only the
armory mark fit for a Chinese rifle.
Having put away my 'weird' SKS for a while and marked
it off as a mystery, I ran into a few brief lines in a history of Sino Soviet relations that discussed
the technology transfer and turned a light on regarding my mysterious SKS. It was indeed a
Russian gun built by the Chinese... one of the techno-transfer guns!
I have since verified through several SKS experts far more qualified than I that this is the beast,
representing a truly intriguing little niche in history.
Here is the secret to finding the SinoSoviet SKS among us.
1) A SinoSoviet SKS will be either a 1956 or 1957 model. (Mine appears to be a 1956, from the
serial nr -- A5xxx). About the middle of 1957, the Russians apparently packed it up and went
home, leaving the Chinese to make their very own SKS from stem to stern (barrel to buttplate, if
you prefer).
2) The armory mark will be the stylized number 26 surrounded by a triangle, representing the
Jianshe armory, as this was the only Chinese armory making the SKS at first.
3) The serial number will be a western-style letter followed by four numerals (ie: A1234) as
opposed to the six-digit, normal Chinese serial nr. I have seen a few of these rifles out there, but
have not a clue as to total number produced. The deepest letter into the alphabet I have seen
was an R5xxx, however.
4) The rear sight elevation ladder will have the Russian squared-off, upside down ''U'' stamped
at the foot of the ladder.
5) The lower handguard on the stock will be slotted to accommodate a 10-inch blade bayonet
rather than the elongated 15-inch spike.
6)The receiver shank for the screw-in barrel will have typical Russian stamps rather than
Chinese.
Needless to say, my little SinoSoviet has gone from being an impulse purchase to a treasure in
my collection. It has matched numbers on the receiver, bolt cover, trigger assembly and 10-rd
magazine. The stock, however is numbered to another rifle, being an H3xxx rather than
A5xxx.
It is a well-made, fairly heavy (compared to the newer export-only Chinese), accurate rifle with a
standard military wood stock.
And the best secret of all? It is a Russian rifle available to the savvy buyer at a Chinese
price.
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