a gun sent home from Vietnam in 70s
My husband was a Airborne Ranger, he and his commrades came upon a cache of guns in a cave, for some reason they each got one and got permission to send it home. I know it was in Cambodia and the rifle is called a SKS but it has a bayonet on it that he says is illegal in the Geneva Convention, it is not a blade but a long thin thing. Does anyone have any info on this gun or its value. I does have Chinese, Japanese or something engraved on it. Thanks Honey
0
-
Good detailed pictures would really help ID what variation of the SKS you have. Value would go up with official bring back papers, etc. as well.
Probably a Chinese SKS w/ the spike bayonet, but good clear pictures will tell all.0 -
If it resembles the one in the photo, it's probably a Chinese SKS. The pig sticker bayonet are mostly found on the Chinese manufactured SKS's.
For a definite definitive indentification/valuation we would need quality closeup photos.
0 -
And don't worry about the Geneva Convention[sic].
The accords put together by the Hague Commission (I think that is what it was) refers to equipment restrictions used by state-sponsored armed belligerents while afield as a belligerent state. And the state has to be a signatory to the agreements to make it binding.
You are neither a state (government entity), engaged in battle, nor are you a signatory to the accords..so you have no problem posessing the equipment. Did you know shotguns almost became illegal for use in combat?
Bottom line..the Geneva Convention has nothing to do with you. Nothing wrong with what you have.
Also, do you have the Armed Forces "war trophy" paperwork? It adds significantly to the "aura" of the item in question. Best, Joe0 -
Its a spike bayonet. Those were standard on the Chinese made SKS rifles.
Despite the musings of armchair experts, the use of triangular profile bayonets is NOT specifically addressed by the Hague (not Geneva) Convention of 1898, which amongst other things, required signatories to use full-metal jacketed bullets in time of war.
I've seen it claimed many different times by different individuals that spike bayonets are banned by the Geneva convention. Perhaps this is true, but if so, I can't seem to find the relevant law to cite (and I kind of doubt it).
The most recent Geneva Convention on Conventional weapons from 1980 doesn't address bayonets or knives at all.
I think in practice most militaries aren't using triangular bayonets anymore simply because nowadays bayonet combat is so unusual its noteworthy in and of itself when it does happen. Permanently attached folding bayonets add weight, and expense, but not that much more function.
For the once in a great while that you actually need one, detachable knife-bayonets are far more pragmatic (ie you can actually take them off the gun and use them for anything you'd use a knife for).
Edit: And yes, to be absolutely clear, even if the Geneva convention DOES ban the spike bayonet (and again, I'm pretty sure that despite the popular conception, it does NOT), the Geneva convention DOES NOT apply to you, unless you are fighting on behalf of a nation-state that is a signatory.
So unless you plan on enlisting in the military, secretly taking this gun to Afghanistan or Iraq with you (against every military order), then unfolding the bayonet and using it to stab insurgents, you have nothing to worry about!0 -
Thanks to all of you for your awesome info and the picture , it is almost identical. I will ask him tonight when he comes home about the papers he had to send it here with. Very good info you gave me, again thanks to all of you. Honey 0 -
quote:he says is illegal in the Geneva Convention
This would be a shock to the armies of Great Britain, France, several Iron Curtain countries, and even the USA which had the 1903 ramrod bayonet until Teddy Roosevelt bent one and they went to a knife bayonet in 1905.0 -
If I am not mistaken, the triangular (spike) bayonet was retired from use by most all western countries, by agreement, because the wound it inflicted was near impossible for surgeons to close. 0 -
FWIW, almost all (well, a heck of a lot) of the SKS type rifles here in the US are marked with an importer's stamp. A captured miltary rifle will not have that stamp, and all other things being equal, will bring more $$$ from a collector. Having the military capture papers adds $$$ as well- term used by collectors is provenance. Markings are almost certainly Chinese. Might check the little trap door in the buttplate (don't getcher finger caught in it) and see if the cleaning kit is in there. 0 -
Your husband was most likely saying that he should not have been in Cambodia due to the Geneva Accords when his group stumbled upon the cache of weapons. 0 -
The rifle would probably bring in the $500-1,000 range, depending upon markings, condition, & paperwork.
Neal0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
10 comments