I really dig the "been there done that" look.  A year or so ago I got one of the "sino-soviet" Chinese military SKS rifles that came in from Albania.  I cleaned it up a lot and I am pretty happy with it.  My buddy got one at the same time, his looked... unattractive but was covered in dirt and cosmoline.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving I had him bring it over so I could clean it for him, since he hadn't yet.  I like it better than mine of course.  It cleaned up really nice, and the bore looks like brand new, which is crazy considering the rest of the gun.

So anyway...  About 2 weeks ago, my LGS got in one of the new batch of these Chinese military guns.  The price is now $375, which seems a little excessive but whatever.  The thing that gets me is the sling that is on it.  Holy cow I want it.  I offered to buy it, but the owner said no.  He has enough of a reputation that I know not to pursue it any further.  Does anyone here know where to find Chinese slings in this sort of shape?  

[/url]

Here is my SKS collection...  1959 Chinese is 2nd one, under the Russian.



Here is my buddy's that I just cleaned for him...  No shellac on the stock, and almost no blue left on the rifle.  I wish I'd picked this one when I bought mine.



SO, where do I find a sling?  :)

-J

Drag a surplus NOS sling tied behind your rig for a day or two?

The wear on your buddy's SKS is definitely an interesting "patina"!

looks like somebody purposely tried to remove the finish on your buddy's.

I had a Romanian SKS that looked like your buddy's. Hardly any bluing left north of the woodline.



Checkout Liberty Tree Collector's, they might have some used slings with the look you are searching for.

The Albanian issued Chinese SKS I got recently looks pretty much like that with little bluing left where it wasn't protected by something, plus some "trench artwork" on the stock...  and no, my sling is not for sale...

I got another "New, Old Stock" Chinese stock to put on mine because it was sold as a "cracked stock"...  but it turned out the only real damage to the stock was the carvings by some unknown Albanian soldiers...  and I thought it was kinda cool so I am leaving it as-is.

Here's another worn out one - I got it in Cambodia in 1970 with some other stuff.

No, it's authentic wear..   I've looked at enough fake patina guns to know the difference.  It looks a little more "silver" in that pic than some others.



Liberty Tree has a nice selection of brand new/good condition slings.  But I haven't been able to find any authentic worn ones.  Slings can't be controlled can they?  Someone over in Vietnam should round some up and put them on ebay.  :)

I might try dragging a NOS one behind the truck, but I really don't think that will create the authentic look that the one in the LGS has.  It really looks good.

-J

That is a wonderful set.  Very nice.

-J

You must be a hell of a haggler.

Dumb idea but buy the rifle, replace the sling, sell the rifle. I've bought rifles just to get the bayonet or accessories that were included before. Then resold it as I had a better one.

I do like the worn look of it. I wonder if it is a local made Albanian SKS/AK sling. I don't think I've seen a Chi-com sling like that before.

Don't think that thought didn't already cross my mind.  Every time I've been in there.

But it's $375...  I don't think that's a $375 rifle.  I think it would be more like $250-$275.  Plus tax and all that stuff.  I really like the sling, but I don't $100 like the sling.

-J

I would love to see more pics / see more details of both of those guns !

Yes, maybe another post with info on these. Very interesting.

Just a pic for reference. Albanians with  Chinese AKs. Cant tell if the attachment piece is leather or metal like the other guy has. In the lower right part of the pic it does have what looks like the same sling keeper.
Picture is from the AK Variations book by Tokoi.

Liberty Tree Collectors had worn Chi-Com SKS slings. I got one for my well worn 1967 non-import marked SKS. I even asked if they could find me one dated '67 or older and they came through with a '66 dated sling for me. Been a while though.






BTW....The next time you are digging through some vendor's Box-O-Slings pay attention and if you find one of these you could be $100.00+ richer.

Early unmarked SKS/AK sling. Some say they were Vietnamese made and some say sanitized Chi-Com. It's on a equally rare early M21 so I'm going with sanitized Chi-Com.

I'm liking those slings. Nice M21.