value of non-26 marked matching numbers Chinese SKS?

[trashman]

So I bought one of these Chinese SKS's from Classicfirearms back in ... 2014. I was really disappointed in the condition ("hand select" lol). The stock was really beat up, lots of surface rust, rust on the butt plate and stock screws. I was really busy and didn't want to screw around complaining and sending it back to Classic (I remember reading a lot of folks had the same experience with that batch or whatever).

So - I disassembled it and half-heartedly set out to clean it up over the last several years. Used a heat gun to remove most of the cosmo from the stock, etc. Mainly it's existed as a bucket of parts in the garage since then. Never even bothered to date it.

Looked at it today, did my research, and it's matching numbers, 6-digit, and from the "ghost / non-26-marked" series of rifles. I'm gonna finish cleaning it up and sell it. You guys know the provenance - what's it worth? $300? $400? I've never sold a gun in this condition.

Will post pics when I get it cleaned up.

[03ttcobra]

I’ll buy it.

[beerman]

Have to see photos.. hey, what’s your avitar… model19?

[trashman]

Have to see photos.. hey, what?s your avitar? model19?

Model 28 Highway Patrolman! Found it years ago in damn near mint condition. Only evidence it was fired was the toothbrush a prior owner left in the box.

[Ar15223]

hand select has always been yes, we selected it by hand, NOT, we selected the best ones.

[trashman]

hand select has always been yes, we selected it by hand, NOT, we selected the best ones.

I've had good success with hand-select with Century, Aimsurplus, JGSales and Classic before. It was just this SKS that I was like....huh...what'd the non-hand-select ones look like?

[Dan_Eastvale]

Lots of non Factory 26 SKSs.
Usually later ones.
Pressed and pinned. Milled trigger guards. Accurate.
My National Security Forces is Factory 416 and pristine

[bohoki]

there are the pre-93 china imports and there is the more recent chinabanians that are under curio and relic status there really is no "rare and unique" value that i have seen like ive seen in the past like the occasional flur-de-lis ak mag or finland mosins that have a gear stamp

[SVT-40]

More like $550 to $600.

Numbers matching means something.

[boris badinov]

Post some photos

[beerman]

Model 28 Highway Patrolman! Found it years ago in damn near mint condition. Only evidence it was fired was the toothbrush a prior owner left in the box.

Beautiful gun OP.

[echo1]

More like $550 to $600.

Numbers matching means something.

Numbers matching only means something to people that it matters to. It won't impact the price much to someone who just wants a shooter SKS for cheap. Depending on how well it cleans up & overall condition, the Kali base for run of the mill Chinabanian SKS is hovering around $550. It could take a bit to get that if it's fugly, so you need to decide what profit margin you need, and how fast you want it to sell. In '14 you prolly paid $300 for "hand select". I moved the bulk of my "on the fence" SKS rifles at the height of the Covid panic buy, but I discounted them if you bought 3 or more. The first three fellas picked up 10 rifles, and some have made good barter fodder. PAX

[trashman]

Thank you all for the feedback - I posted some pics in the original post. You're right I paid around $300 for the gun in 2014.

For cleaning, I soaked the metal parts in mineral spirits to remove the cosmo, and then soaked the parts in vinegar to loosen up the rust, then washed in water, dried, and soaked in CLP.

I used a heat gun to remove some of the stubborn cosmoline, most of the rest I sweat off old-school in a black plastic bag. I've removed cosmoline from a number of rifles (mainly Garands) and have never encountered anything in this condition.

Numbers matching only means something to people that it matters to. It won't impact the price much to someone who just wants a shooter SKS for cheap. Depending on how well it cleans up & overall condition, the Kali base for run of the mill Chinabanian SKS is hovering around $550. It could take a bit to get that if it's fugly, so you need to decide what profit margin you need, and how fast you want it to sell. In '14 you prolly paid $300 for "hand select". I moved the bulk of my "on the fence" SKS rifles at the height of the Covid panic buy, but I discounted then if you bought 3 or more. The first three fellas picked up 10 rifles, and some have made good barter fodder. PAX

[BrokerB]

My 3 sks are still sitting, basically same condition, but all 3 stocks have some issues. 2 stocks have cracks or heavy wear, I dont think any that cant be fixed or stop function. Then 1 stock was attempt to refinish and quit by someone other than me. I used it because the stock that came with it was definitely crap.


The all matching numbers dust cover and the stock is definitely on the more rare side but value is not a great increase. Hard to tell how your stock/wood is because it is so dark. As long as no functional cracks in it...try for $550... well it is missing cleaning rod so knock however much a rod is for sale $20??

When sks are missing a cleaning rod or bayonet they look not happy to me : )

[trashman]

Haha yes, wondered if anybody would notice the cleaning rod missing. No cracks in the stock, but good feedback - I'll see what I can do to get better pictures of it before I post it.

My 3 sks are still sitting, basically same condition, but all 3 stocks have some issues. 2 stocks have cracks or heavy wear, I dont think any that cant be fixed or stop function. Then 1 stock was attempt to refinish and quit by someone other than me. I used it because the stock that came with it was definitely crap.


The all matching numbers dust cover and the stock is definitely on the more rare side but value is not a great increase. Hard to tell how your stock/wood is because it is so dark. As long as no functional cracks in it...try for $550... well it is missing cleaning rod so knock however much a rod is for sale $20??

When sks are missing a cleaning rod or bayonet they look not happy to me : )