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0408 factory code on my SKS

fastcarsgofast
Anybody have any info on it. The rifle has a blade bayonet and red fiberglass stock.

Edit:
Sorry, I should have been more clear on what I already know and what I want to find out.

It is Chinese, but does not say NORINCO on it any where. The serial number is 21002*** and the numbers in the 0408 code make a triangle.
The blade bayonet is held on with a screw not a rivet.

Sorry I don't own a good camera so I cannot post any detailed pictures.

I am trying to figure out if it is a military or commercial rifle and how old it might be.
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • nmyers
    A fiberglass stock on any SKS would be an aftermarket addition.

    You will need to post photos of your rifle, showing all markings. We can probably figure out what country made your SKS, then we can worry about a factory code.

    Neal

    EDIT: All legally imported Chicom SKS's were commercial & should have the importer's name, city, & state. Lacking that marking, & the fact that it has the red stock, would indicate it is a military bringback, probably from Vietnam.
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  • rufe-snow
    The red plastic stocks are Chinese. Whether it's still on a Chinese SKS, we can't say? Usually the Chinese SKS's had cruciform,(spike) bayonets. One good indication would be the serial number range. The Chinese usually had 9 digit serial numbers, with the first one or two digits as being the year of manufacturer.

    If it has a long serial number more then likely it's Chinese.
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  • TRAP55
    0408 factory code is Chinese, and so is the red plastic/fiberglass stock. The stocks were an attempt to replace the "palm wood" stocks for tropical conditions. Like Rufe said, it "should be" wearing a spike bayo. Is the bayo held on with a threaded screw or rivet? If a rivet, it most likely came with the blade.
    Other than the 26 Triangle code, I haven't been able to find any reference that gives an arsenal name to match a code.
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  • rufe-snow
    quote:Originally posted by fastcarsgofast
    Anybody have any info on it. The rifle has a blade bayonet and red fiberglass stock.

    Edit:
    Sorry, I should have been more clear on what I already know and what I want to find out.

    It is Chinese, but does not say NORINCO on it any where. The serial number is 21002*** and the numbers in the 0408 code make a triangle.
    The blade bayonet is held on with a screw not a rivet.

    Sorry I don't own a good camera so I cannot post any detailed pictures.

    I am trying to figure out if it is a military or commercial rifle and how old it might be.


    The 21 million serial number range dates it to the late 70's. This dates it to well before the slap/dash commercial SKS's that were assembled for the U.S. market. Other then that it anybodies guess? Whether it was made as a contract gun for export, or for internal use in China. If the blade bayonet and stock are original, I kind of believe that it was made for export?
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  • machine gun moran
    Arsenal 408, or 406? The Chinese used two types of arsenal markings on the 406's, one was the traditional western script inside a triangle, and the other was stylized triangular numbers which were joined to form a triangle themselves. I mention this, because the latter is frequently misread as 408.

    Blade bayonets on SKS' were discontinued by the Chinese in 1966. No positive dating can be done on guns other than those made by arsenal 26, so it is possible that you have a gun that was made in the 10 years prior to 1966, and another possibility is that the gun was made later and was retro-fitted with a blade bayonet. BTW, some Chinese arsenals other than 26, used a hyphenated prefix in front of the serial numbers. It has been theorized that the prefix represents the year of manufacture, in the same system as the arsenal 26's, but it is uncertain.

    Chinese military export guns had a serial number with an alpha suffix (as an English letter). As with any large-volume industrial contract, more guns were started into the process than the contract called for, to ensure that the contract was fulfilled in spite of the normal scrapping of some guns through the usual industrial accidents. Any overages were apparently relegated to the Militia arsenals, which were the first ones that came on line for the commercial export of the surplus, obsolescent, weapons by front offices such as China North Industries Co. (Norinco).
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