A Recognition and Identification guide for Yugoslav SKS
Rifle, M59/66 by Og
Og e-mailed me the
following essay on how to identify rebuilt Yugo M59/66 rifles. With his permission I have posted it to my
webpage. I hope you find it as helpful
as I have. At the bottom of the page is
a link to a PDF version of this document.
I have made some minor changes in picture size and location.
Rev.
0.9 /02/14/2005
There
is large number of M59/66 rifles being offered for sale in the U.S. lately. The
primary purpose of this write-up is to facilitate the selection of rifles for
collectors.
The
excellent survey on M59/66 is given on http://yugosks.net/Survey%20Results.htm.
There you can find the relationship of the serial number to the year of
manufacture. However, there is a huge number of M59/66 being sold as new, while
in fact they are “Arsenal Refurbished” rifles. Given that these rifles have new
barrels, I prefer to call them overhauled.
For
shooters, the arsenal refurbished M59/66 should shoot just as good as brand new
rifle, but for collectors, the refurbished rifle may or may not be as valuable.
So,
how to distinguish the new from refurbished rifle? First of all let’s divide
the presently available rifles to 4 categories,
1.
Overhauled
and unissued
2.
Overhauled
and used
3.
New
(non-overhauled) and unissued
4.
Non-overhauled
but used
To
check the history of each rifle one should first look into the “Log Book” or
“Tehnički Karton”, Figure 1., a grey-cover, hardbound booklet accompanying
each rifle in the crate.
Figure 1. Log Book Cover
The
crates used by former Yugoslav Army held 10 rifles, together with the
accessories and these books, Figure 2. Unfortunately, upon arrival to US, many
log books are thrown away by importers or distributors. Some dealers do not
bother to offer them to customers buying the rifle. This is unfortunate as one
does not need to know the foreign language to understand the content of the
booklet. A lot of data in this book is self-explanatory.
I
have found that C7XXXXX series (the last M59/66A1 series ever made), imported
by KBI, Inc. have come with log books in English. The translation is excellent.
Log book contains no stamps. It appears that this last M59/66 series (and
possibly the B7XXXXX series preceding it as well) was the only “commercial”
order for M59/66.
Figure
2. The M59/66 in
original crate, with accessories and log books. (photo courtesy of Jim’s Gun
Shop)
Recognizing the rifle category from the
accompanying log book
First,
new rifles were only coming from Zavodi Crvena Zastava manufacturing facility
in town of Kragujevac in Serbia. If all pages are stamped with stamps
bearing “Crvena Zastava” name, then the book is issued by manufacturer and
belongs to categories 3 or 4, i.e. it was not overhauled. The two types of
Zastava stamps are given on Figures 3 and 4.
There
are probably more, some may be in Latin and some in Cyrillic alphabet but the
content on the stamp is the same. To date I have identified two locations in
which overhaul of M59/66 rifles was performed. Those facilities are named
“Tehnički Remontni Zavod”, in translation Technical Overhaul Facility, and
one is located in town of Čačak in Serbia and another in town of
Hadžići in Bosnia. The stamps from these two facilities are given on
Figures 5 and 6. The new log book was always issued after the overhaul (but not
repair), for the simple reason of barrel being replaced. Obviously, the barrel
replacement makes the old book meaningless as test firings and maintenance
records are tied to the original barrel. The date on the front page will thus
be the date of the overhaul and will not match the rifle’s year of manufacture
from the web page given above. Frequently, overhaul facility would only
replace relevant pages from the log book, so the log book might contain mix of
pages stamped by Zastava Arsenal as well as by overhaul facility.
Figure 5. Stamp of the Overhaul Facility
Čačak, in Serbia.
Figure 6. Stamp of the Overhaul Facility Hadžići,
in Bosnia.
For
example, on the Figure 7, the first page of the log book is displayed. The log
book is for the H-series rifle which was manufactured in 1971, but page bears
the date from 1989, the date it left the overhaul facility Čačak.
This rifle is thus clearly overhauled. The date of manufacture (“Datum izrade”)
field is left empty.
Figure
7. The typical
front page of the log book issued for an overhauled rifle. The Date of Manuf.
"Datum izrade" field is left empty. Page bears stamps from Overhaul
Facility Čačak. H-series files were made in 1971 while the only date
on this page is the date of overhaul, in 1989.
Recognizing the rifle category without
accompanying log book
In
order to classify the rifle which came with no accompanying documentation, some
detective work is necessary. Luckily, it does not even involve disassembly.
The
primary way of recognizing the refurbished rifle is the look at the stock. The
highly accurate method of recognizing refurbished M59/66 is the presence of
streaks from sanding on the stock, as well wood ground very close or all the
way to the front stock-reinforcing crossbolt (or better said - screw), on
both sides, as shown on Figure 8.
Figure 8. The excessive sanding of the
wood around the front stock reinforcing screw. On overhauled rifles, upper two
pictures, the stock is sanded all the way to the screw heads. The lower two pictures are taken on the new
stock. Screw is recessed in the case of non-overhauled rifle or overhauled
rifle with the new stock.
Another
sign is the presence of fine sanding streaks on the rubber buttplate, Figure 9.
These streaks are aligned to the grain of wood as sanding was done with the
buttplate attached. The reason for doing so is to keep the edges of the stock
and buttplate aligned after the sanding. It appears that this method was
used in the manufacture of new rifles, but fine sanding paper was used, as
opposite to relatively coarse used on overhauled rifles. The width of the new
SKS stock is around 41.5 mm at the front stock reinforcing screw, and about
42.5 mm at the butt as measured across the center of the buttstock trap door.
Figure
9. On overhauled rifles, streaks on rubber buttplate are clearly visible, a)
and b). Figure c) shows the new stock with smooth rubber surface.
Measurements
on the overhauled rifles indicate the typical stock width of about 38 mm
at the front stock screw, definitely less than 40.0 mm. The measurements across
the buttstock trap door indicate typical width of about 41 mm. Please use these
numbers as a guideline only, as wood expands and shrinks with moisture and oil
content. However, I measured these numbers on 5 sanded stocks and they were
quite consistent.
Sometimes, if stock needed replacement, a new
stock was paired with the overhauled action. Typically in that case, there is a
significant difference in the grain between the stock and gas-tube cover, or
handguard. Typically handguard will also be much darker, as it is older and
thus more soaked with oil or cosmoline. For example, on Figure 10, one can see
the example of the new “blonde” stock, typical for M59/66 with serial numbers S
and later. Yet it bears the 1XXXXX number from the much older, E-series rifle.
Figure 10. Typical late-model
"blonde" stock, but the number indicates E-series rifle. This
overhauled rifle received the new stock.
Although
I have seen no such case, it is plausible that new handguard could be installed
on the rifle, with stock being resanded. The grain difference and color will
again be different between the stock and handguard. Here, we are talking about
significant difference in color and grain. Small differences are present in new
rifles in many cases.
Another
strong indicator of overhauled rifle is the poor alignment of the individual
numbers in the serial number engraving on metal parts. No number restamping was
ever seen on M59/66, so the old serial number markings must have been lapped
off from all parts (stock included!) carrying them. That was actually easy, as
unlike in the case of M48 mauser, no deep stamping was done, and thus no deep
markings in the steel were left. The same number was then reapplied. The
misaligned digits are shown on Figure 11. Making was done after blueing, before
the final assembly.
Figure 11. The serial number of the
overhauled rifle. Note the vertical misalignment of the individual numbers.
Alignment on new rifles coming from Zastava is perfect.
It
seems that overhauled rifles typically come with serial numbers earlier then R
or S-series. The
S-series and later were not used enough to warrant their overhaul, so they will
most likely be in non-overhauled category, whether new or used.
About used M59/66 rifles
It
is relatively easy to recognize un-issued M59/66 whether new or rebuilt.
Cosmoline, 99% blueing, no dings on metal parts, bright and shiny bore,
etc… but what about used ones.
No
later then early 80’s or probably even earlier, the M59/66 were replaced in all
infantry units with M70 automatic rifles and M59/66 were relegated to
non-infantry troops - artillery, Navy (except Marines) and Air Force as well as
to long-term war-reserve storage or for the territorial defense units. A
conscript serving 12-month military service in these units would shoot no more
than 100 rounds, typically about 50. With the breakup of Yugoslavia and the
onset of war, some M59/66 ended-up on Croatian and Bosnian sides, but
overwhelming majority ended up on Serbian side.
Serbian
side really had no use for them as they had enough of M70 rifles (Yugoslav
version of AK-47), to fight the war. The situation on the Croatian and Bosnian
side was exactly opposite. Starved for any weapons, those rifles were pressed
into service, immediately at the outbreak of the war. The handling marks and
carvings, as well as pretty bad shape of these rifles were simple indication
that they were used in the battle. Barrel condition should also reflect this.
In one stock I found heavy powder deposits. The exceptions however always
exist. I have found one late U-series rifle with carving indicating the
Croatian name. (Stock carving or marking of rifle in any way was strictly
prohibited in the Yugoslav Army - while it existed). Rifle had few dings and
bent front sight guard as well as bent rear sight leaf. After fixing the bent
metal, sanding the stock (carving and dents were shallow), and some reblueing I
had a rifle which can pass for very-good to excellent. As an interesting
side-note, the use of cleaning rod for cleaning was forbidden in Yugoslav Army.
The brush in the cleaning kit of M59/66 is so soft that it is only useful for
lubricating the barrel. Cleaning was done exclusively with the cleaning rope
accompanying every M59/66. Reason, of course, was to avoid the damage to the
muzzle crown. For that reason, used rifles can still have very sharp rifling,
provided they’ve seen no fighting.
The
significant number of rifles were imported in the used condition but with no
battle-marks. They show just handling marks, and bores are in very good
condition. These rifles were most likely in the Yugoslav Army units at the time
of breakup of Yugoslavia. They ended in Serbia as Yugoslavia disintegrated, and
were placed in storage until sold.
Proofs
Unlike rifles
from other countries, rifles made in former Yugoslavia are devoid of colorful
and interesting proofs. The most probable reason is the fact that, unlike
Germany, U.S., or USSR, Yugoslavia had only one production facility. So, the
origin of each rifle was certain. The M59/66 especially comes with very few
proofs . Occasionally, there would be “1.TRZ” proof stamped onto the stock.
That stands for “Prvi Technicki Remontni Zavod”, or “First Technical Overhaul
Facility”. In the earlier days, the names of various defense-related production
facilities were referred to by the number. (Zastava was known as
“Preduzeće 44” or “Enterprise 44”). The location of First TRZ is unknown
at this time. Another proof sometimes found on overhauled rifles (to date I
have not seen one on non-overhauled rifles) is “BK” or “VK” in the square or
circle. The “B” is Cyrillic letter “V”, while letter “K” is the same in Latin
and Cyrillic alphabet, so these two proofs have the same meaning. They probably
translate to “Vojna Kontrola” or “Military Control”. Occasionally in the neck
area of the stock, behind trigger guard, there would be proof consisting of the
sole number “2”. What does is stand for is uncertain at this time.
A Recognition and
Identification guide for Yugoslav SKS Rifle, M59/66 PDF
If you have
questions or comments please contact me at yugosurvey@hotmail.com
Please put “yugo” in the subject line of the e-mail
so I do not delete the message as spam.
All information on
this page courtesy of Og. Reproduced
with permission.
Last updated
2-18-2005
