Insert the barrel into the slide. On the barrel, behind where the recoil spring guide sits, you'll find a barrel link. Rotate that link up so it's perpendicular to the barrel. Insert the barrel bushing and rotate it clockwise until it stops.

Then install the recoil spring guide. Being mindful of that link remaining perpendicular to the barrel, slip the frame onto the slide and pull it back until the takedown notch is aligned with the rectangular cutout on the frame, and you can see through the barrel link when looking through the slidestop hole. Install the slidestop pin through the slidestop hole and barrel link until it sits flush against the frame. Make sure the bushing is fully turned clockwise and install the spring and plug onto the recoil guide rod. Compress the spring until you can maneuver the barrel bushing wrench over the bushing with the plug and spring under it. Compress the spring with the wrench while turning the bushing counterclockwise enough to lock the plug in place. Cycle the action to make sure you got it, and you're done!

When was my gun made? Learn how to find your firearm's serial number. The serial number will tell you your firearm's history and when it was made. The M1911 is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated pistol chambered for the.45 ACP cartridge. It served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986. It was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The pistol's formal.

'Best' is way too subjective a term. A lot of people like to think Kimber is an all-around best, but, personally, I don't think a pistol that price should use metal injection molding parts for their internals. For an all-purpose 1911, I'd probably go with Springfield Armory. For competitive target shooting, my choice would probably be the Colt Gold Cup. I would recommend avoiding the Sig-Sauer 1911s. And this is difficult for me to say, being an extremely devout fan of Sig-Sauer, but their 1911s were most definitely not up to par.

Every customer who came to me with one had to have burring removed from the frame rails, and the finish left much to be desired.

INTRODUCTION: China has been manufacturing SKS for over 50 years producing more SKS than any other nation. During this period, we've seen how it has evolved from the original design to the many variations.

The main driving force for the changes was purely economics, a need to produce more at a lower cost. Faced with an over supply in a saturated North American market, several new variants were created and marketed. Writing this sticky was a daunting task because the amount of information was overwhelming. Just the factory codes alone numbered in 150. Some of the codes were difficult to decipher because they were like jig-saw puzzles fitted within a triangle. I've decided to cover two of the most common Chinese SKS in, the standard and a variant.

The SKS-D is a distant second. As with the Russian SKS sticky, information on how to operate a SKS is at the bottom of the report.

I don't pretend to be an expert and this report isn't chiselled in stone. There is alot more information yet to be gathered. Should you have information that is different or relevant to this report, then please post it. There is one thing I have learnt with the Chinese SKS is to never to say never because anything is possible, there are plenty of anomalies. Please use this report as a guide only. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.HISTORY China was embroiled in a bitter civil war that began in 1927. The fighting continued in spite of the invasion during WWII, it finally ended in 1949 when the Communist defeated the Nationalist who fled to the island of Taiwan.

October 1st, 1949 was the birth of a new nation, the People's Republic of China (PRC). It had little time to rebuild when they were drawn into another war the following year.

When China entered the Korean War in support of her communist neighbour, her army was still equipped with captured WWII Japanese, American and Nationalist built rifles along with donated Russian small arms. The huge stockpile quickly dwindled by the end of the war and they were resupplied with Russian surplus. In 1956, when ended production of the SKS at the Tula Arsenal, they shipped the toolings, spare parts and specification to China along with technical advisors, who helped set up the manufacturing and training of the Chinese workers at Jianshe Arsenal (aka factory 26). While the SKS no longer met Russia's new standard of modern warfare, China on the other hand embraced it, China liked it for its simplicity, ruggedness and ease of operation by its newest recruits. China felt the SKS had a role to play alongside of the AK47.

In battle, it didn't use as much ammo, it was faster to charge 10 rounds and it could provide cover fire while the AK 30 round mags were being reloaded. The SKS having a longer barrel was more likely to hit the target than the shorter barrel AK. China adopted both the SKS and the AK47 in 1956. The spirit of cooperation between the two Communist superpowers didn't last, it ended a few years later in 1960.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. China was an ally of North Vietnam, another Communist neighbour.

Unlike the Korean War she did not send troops to fight but she did supply food, equipment and weapons. China was the leading provider of small arms to North Vietnam and the war had a big impact on her production. If there was ever a major war that the Chinese SKS was recognized to have played a significant supporting role, this would be the war. The American public first encountered the Chinese SKS when the soldiers brought them back from the jungles of Vietnam. It soon became a popular war souvenir.

The bringbacks as they were called, could fetch as much as $1000 with proper documentation. The majority of all the bringbacks were from China and most were built in Jianshe Arsenal.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. JIANSHE ARSENAL. Aka factory 26.

China did not have a long history of firearms manufacturing. The oldest factory was Jianshe and it was built in 1889 during the Imperial Dynasty in the city of Chongqing. Prior to the arrival of the SKS in 1956, Jianshe was producing bolt action rifles. By the 60s, Jianshe became the largest SKS producer. China decided to further expand production by adding more factories.

Stubbs The Zombie Iso Torrent there. The majority of these factories were small and they were scattered throughout the country to aid the local economies. I'm not quite sure how many factories were actually built but probably far less than the 150 known factory codes.

Most of these factories used more than one code. Eg: factory 26=126=136=296, factory 36=386, factory 96=9616. The late 70s to early 80s was a period of uncertainty for Jianshe. The Vietnam war ended several years earlier, Chairman Mao had passed away, New leadership was more focussed on economic reform than with building bigger armies. The writing was on the wall for this nearly 100 year old factory.

Its fate was decided when the Army dropped the SKS and the AK from its front line. It was replaced by the newly designed Type 81 rifle. However, other branches of the military: the militia, border guards, honour guards and security police continued to use them as second line weapons. Today, the SKS is mainly used by the honour guards, troops on parade and for training by militias and cadets. China's Premier Wen Jiabao and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper inspect honour guards. Chairman Mao takes a closer look at Jianshe in 1964.

If Chairman Mao were alive today, he would not recognize the factory that began as an Imperial arms manufacturer because it is now one of the top motorcycle, ATV and moped manufacturers in China. With joint venture partner Yamaha, they sold over 14 million units since converting in 1982. I bet Mao never imagined the factory he once toured would one day be producing consumer products that are shipped around the world, would be in partnership with a Japanese corporation, no longer wholely owned by the state and listed on a stock exchange. Times sure have changed. The past, girl training with a rifle built in Jianshe. The present, girl sitting on ATV built in Jianshe.

However, Jianshe Industry Ltd. Hasn't quite completely abandoned its legacy as it still develops small arms in partnership with Norinco and the PLA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. PRIMARY IDENTIFICATION. Left side of receiver. This is what a left side of the receiver from factory 26 looks like, built in 1965.

Factory code, 3 Chinese characters and serial numbers (9 million). Factory code.

Each factory was assigned a set of numbers (some had more than one), the older codes were within a triangle / while the newer codes were within a rectangle [ ] or an oblong ( ). They eventually dropped the codes altogether and replaced them with the exporter's name.

-List of factory codes: The following codes are some of the 150 factory codes. I'm only listing the ones that I have seen pictures of and the pictures are from various sources. Some are from members of this and other forums and some are from various gun auction sites.

This list will be updated when new information is received. -Triangle codes: -Square codes: [0129],[0134],[0136],[0138],[0140],[0141],[0144],[0146],[0147],[0148],[0221],[0223],[0224],[0303],[0306],[6615]. -Oblong codes: (23),(874),(965),(974),(9186),(9696). -Diamond codes:, -Plain codes: M8, M21 No, M21 0296, 416M21, DB, DP.

Location of the codes: - Factory 26 1956-1961, the codes are located on the right side of the serial numbers. Eg:123456 /26 - Factory 26 1962-1970, 1979-1980, the codes are on the far left side before the 3 Chinese character. Eg: /26 *** 12345678 - Other factories Triangle code, Most are located on the left, before the 3 Chinese character but a very few codes are located on the right. Square code, can be found either before or after the 3 Chinese characters.

3 Chinese characters ***. Translates to Type 56 carbine, not to be confused with Type 56 rifle which was assigned to the AK47. Location of the 3 Chinese characters: - Factory 26, from 1956-1961, had no Chinese characters. Eg: 1234567 /26. - Factory 26, from 1962-1970 and 1979-1980, located between the factory code and the serial numbers.

Eg: /26 *** 12,345,678. - Other factories. Most had the 3 Chinese characters are between the code and serial numbers (as above) but a few factories had only the codes and serial numbers, no Chinese character.

Eg: /636 1,234,567 note: At factory 26 information on 1971-1978 are not available at this time. The absent of date of production. Jianshe used to mark dates on their rifles prior to the arrival of the SKS but for some reason they did not on the SKS.

Serial numbers. Chinese serial numbers are generally numeric, except for the first year at factory 26 where two styles of serial numbering were used. - Russian style (early 1956).

While under Russian supervision, it was only natural the Russian advisors would implement the Russian style of serial numbering on the Chinese built SKS. They basically followed the Russian style but instead of using 2 cyrillic letters followed by 4 numbers, they used 1 alfa letter followed by 4 numbers. Download Video Separuh Aku Mp4 on this page.

On a few rare occasions an unrecognizable symbol was observed in place of the alfa letter. This early first year production is better known as Sino-Soviet SKS.

Eg early 1956: A1234 /26 - Chinese style. Sometime in the latter part of 1956, the style was switched to the Chinese. This led me to believe the Russian Advisors didn't stay in China for very long. The serial number contained 5 to 6 numbers. Every year thereafter it began at the next million, eventually to 24 million at factory 26. I have seen higher at other factories.

Eg late 1956: 12345 /26 or 123456 /26 eg 1957 to 1980: 1234567 /26 to /26 ***24000000 - Partial serial numbers located on parts: Early and mid production: On carrier, bolt, top cover, mag, trigger guard and buttstock. Late production: On carrier and bolt.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. TRANSLATING THE SERIAL NUMBERS TO PRODUCTION DATE. Production date in serial number- Commercial variant. Some commercial production have the production year in the serial numbers. These ones have no factory codes (nfc) and serial numbers of 7 digits. Serial numbers began with 88 and later. The earlier serial numbers have no space while the later ones have a space between the first two and the last 5 digits.

Eg: 8812345= 1988, 02 12345= 2002 b. For factory 26.

Serial number in the millions plus the year of adoption (1956) equal the year of production. Great information! Here's another neat variation of the SKS56 - the 'Public Security' marked rifles. These rifles have two Chinese characters on the RIGHT side of the receiver that translate as 'Public Security.' These rifles are reportedly made by just three of the many different Chinese arsenals - /026, /016, and [0141]. The importer of these uncommon rifles was Kengs Firearms Specialties out of Atlanta Georgia and have the 'KFS' import marks. Importer stamp: Here's a couple examples of the Public Security marks: Here's a recent photo taken in Shanghai of one of the Public Security force vehicles displaying the same two characters: Both early and late features can be found on these rifles - threaded or pinned barrels, stamped and milled trigger housings, etc.