Does it really matter if your military rifle has matching serial #'s?

T

Tropical Z

New member
I'm looking at some different SKS's on the market and Centerfire has them in"collector grade" with all matching #'s and wood stock,for the same price as a draganov style stock and different( i assume)#'s.If its not for collecting purposes(that's hard to find in a Romanian),does matching #'s mean anything? I want the synthetic stock,so if i bought the "collector grade" i'd have to also spend the extra for a good synthetic stock.Just trying to get some opinions.;)
 
If it's a shooter, who cares as long as it works as well as you need it to and it is legal? It's nice to be able to say that numbers match, but I wouldn't care personally. All my guns are strictly shooters.
 
Matching numbers would be a contributor to collectors' value. If you just want a shooter, then that factor would not apply.

The other factor to consider, however, is, if your rifle was assembled from parts from other rifles, there may be a greater chance of functioning or safety problems from unfitted or ill-fitted parts, depending on how much fitting and tolerance checking was done by whoever assembled it, the model of the gun, etc.

One big thing to check is headspace. If headspace is out of spec it can be dangerous. If you are going to collect rifles in a certain caliber, it may be advantageous to obtain a no-go headspace gauge for that caliber, and/or a field-reject gauge. They are about $25 I think. If you are only getting one rifle, most gunsmiths have those gauges in popular calibers and will do the check for you for about $5. You should have a gunsmith do a general safety check if you really want to be on the safe side.

Once your rifle checks out safe to shoot and you take it to the range, carefully examine the fired casings for signs of excessive pressure or other maladies. Start with the very first round.

Enjoy. Be safe.

-10CFR
 
Should "collector grade" and "SKS" even be in the same sentence? I can't imagine spending extra for this "feature" on an SKS-type rifle. Isn't the purpose of having an SKS to shoot it, shoot it, and shoot it? Or, if you aren't going to use it, you keep it handy for the SHTF situation.

Collector grade SKS, indeed...
:) :D

JB
 
Don't laugh, JonnyB...

I'm assuming you haven't been paying attention to the imported semiauto rifle market in the last couple of years under the Clinton administration. Because as it turns out, prices on basically ANY rifle can climb to whatever the market supports, and turn that same rifle into something worth collecting.

Case in point, the AK-47 clones that used to be so plentiful. Certain varieties are banned from import, and voila', you see a Bulgarian SLR-95 that sold for $219.95 when they first arrived climb in price to over $600.00, I've seen over $900.00, because they were banned from import, etc. As the BATF bans a certain group, others step up to fill the void, but in the meantime the banned guns simply appreciate.

Same goes for what were once considered undesirable British Lee-Enfields. I would never have considered paying more than $100.00 for a mangy-looking No1MkIII SMLE, but guess what? ALthough they're not banned, there aren't that many more being imported, and the prices reflect it, even the Ishapores aren't quite so cheap. When the big batch of No5Mk1 Jungle Carbines hit these shores last year they were selling for $200 immediately. Now they're climbing up again.

And so it goes for the SKS. See if you can find any new-in-the box Chinese SKS for that wonderful 1991 price of $75-100 nowadays. And while I don't place the SKS in the same collector's category as a pre-64 Model 70 Winchester, I wouldn't deride the individual who has a nice, matching numbers SKS and decides to sit on it for a few years as it appreciates in price, regardless of how clunky it may appear. And that's coming from a guy who had a NIB SKS back then, and sold it for close to the $100 I paid in 1991. Hindsight being 20/20... :rolleyes:
 
I've got a nice 1954 Russian SKS. I gave my Chinese one to my brother.:) I recommend getting one matching numbers or not. They're alot of fun to play with. What's the price difference?
 
Case in point, the AK-47 clones that used to be so plentiful. Certain varieties are banned from import, and voila', you see a Bulgarian SLR-95 that sold for $219.95 when they first arrived climb in price to over $600.00, I've seen over $900.00, because they were banned from import, etc. As the BATF bans a certain group, others step up to fill the void, but in the meantime the banned guns simply appreciate.
Click to expand...
The thing is, the collectors market for those remains within the ranks of hardcore collectors, because the market is too flooded with substitute standards (SAR's,WUM's etc.) The same holds true for older bolt rifles. Unless I'm a hardcore collector, a $140 M48 is a much better deal than a $400 Waffen stamped K98. The M48 so similar from a functional and observational point that it really narrows the market for these collector guns. Now when you talk about the banning of whole classes of guns, now we're talking about value accruing quickly (eg pre-bans)....
 
I agree 100%, Poodleshooter!

I managed to hang onto my preban AR-15, M14NM, and BM-59, and I've paid real close attention to those prices, accordingly. I still shoot them, but keep them in excellent condition, same as my SLR-95. (Which I should've bought a couple more at $219.95 back then, too.)

It's hard to believe in this day and age that one with a beer budget (namely, myself) can snag a M-96 Swedish Mauser from Big 5 Sporting Goods, complete with import stamp, and watch as the prices continue to climb. Not that I'd make a living out of it, nor go into hardcore prima donna mode like some folks on a certain 1903/1903A3 forum, but who woulda thunk?
 
I usually try to sort through the racks to find a rifle with matching numbers. I would't pay any more for it, but I see it as an indicator of use and abuse. If the numbers match, I figure it either hasn't been used much or the armorer did a caring job of upkeep.
 
Destructo:

The down side is that maybe it never received attention and the parts are worn, but original. Condition, condition, condition will always pay off even if not a collector.
 
I should have stated, "if the numbers match and it doesn't look abused..." Of course I'd go with the rifle that appears new, but numbers are mismatched over one that matches, but looks beat.
 
My thought process was the same as 700pss shooter's.The price is the same on a wooden stock with matching #'s or the Draganov with 3 to 4 (of 5)matching #'s.Centerfire simply said that means that it was rebuilt at some point in time.I'd greatly prefer matching #'s if all things were equal but i don't know if matching #'s is worth the extra $70 dollars it would cost to go with the wooden stock and replace it with synthetic.Thanx-Everyone!:confused:
 
FWIW ... when I talked to CenterFire, the gal there said that in addition to having matching serial numbers the collectors' version also had about 80% to 90% original bluing while the "standard" version had about 50% ... the Collectors' was only $10 more, so I looked at it kind of like the handpick charge that so many places do. I was looking to keep the stock if it wasn't in too bad a shape and her comments were that the stocks on the Standard were serviceable but that those on the collectors' were nice. The standard grade started to sound a lot like the Romanians that have inspired the "They look like they were dragged behind a tank across Europe" comments. For these reasons added to the headspace issue, I would go with the "collector" in this case ... but the knowledge that you will want the synthetic stock regardless, might turn the tide ...
Saands
 
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