Chinese Type 53

[shoto2758]

Buds has T53's for $119,free shipping if anyone is interested.
Condition=50-60% =Good.

Century once again offers you rare examples of Sino-Soviet cooperation from a bygone era! The Type 53 is a copy of the famous Russian M44 carbine, and like its predecessor is chambered in 7.62x54R. We were able to locate a cache of these carbines where they have been preserved for decades just waiting to be re-issued. Needless to say - these won't be around forever. If you are a collector of Mosin-Nagants, this is a fantastic opportunity to add a hard-to-find carbine to your collection. 5 rd. integral mag. Barrel: 20.25", Overall: 40", Weight: 9 lbs. Condition: Good.

[Junk Yard Dog]

They have been trying to sell them for decades Back when they were first offered they sold for $25 and didn't sell well due to their notoriously battered and filthy condition. Today people appreciate them a bit more, but some are still put off by their condition, but it is possible to find a good shooter under the rust, and grime.

[jeremyb]

Ya ill get one some day. But that is not a rifle I'd buy will out looking at first.

[BubbaDX]

One's on my list, just have not clicked 'Buy' yet.

[walnut red]

I'd pick one up when you get a chance if for no other reason than as an example of what many of the refurbs looked like after a few years of war time service. The Type 53 I picked up fairly recently shows hard use but after cleaning is in better shape than the examples my older brothers and their friends brought or sent home from Vietnam. Field use is hard on a wood stocked military rifles irregardless of country of origin. Both the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine I purchased from the DCM years ago had been through a rebuild before going into storage and both came with oversized stocks. According to the WW2 ere TM I have for them the stocks on these rifles were expected to be sanded and refinished at least three times. A lot of the Mausers, Enfields and Arisakas on the market in the 70's and 80's did not look much better than the last batch of Type 53's coming in now.

The interesting thing to me about my T53 is that after cleaning, a couple times, and polishing the chamber it functions reliably and shoots reasonably well. Of course I do not have high MOA accuracy expectations from these rifles to begin with. To me if I can reliably hot a paper plate at 150 yds I'm happy. Though I'm expecting that at 200 with the 91/30.

[andrewd41]

Does anyone have pictures of their T53 to post? I really want to get a carbine and this would be what I can afford. I. Am concerned as to what they clean up to be and how to deal with the stock.

[shoto2758]

This is a SOG Rifle,no handpick.Its what i expected..Rough wood,good metal.Shows its use.
Deal with the stock? Put some lemon oil on it and put it in line with the others as an example of a well used Mosin Nagant with character.
Although it does seem to make its way to back,like its hiding??

[andrewd41]

That looks much better than I expected. Thanks for posting. You made my day. I can't wait until Monday to place an order.

[jeremyb]

interesting... Wonder where that rifle saw action.

[Darryl]

I didn't want a Omega $25 T53 because they were really a crap shoot. But I wish I had got a few now for $25.

I got mine from someone on Gunboards for around $50 I think. But I was trying to beat Millman? for ugly T53 contest. I ended up with one that was pretty bad, but after taking photos (for the contest) I cleaned it and oiled the metal and took off the rust and it was pretty good. And I hate to say this, but it is one of my better shooters. Oh, and I lost the contest also.

More photos of it before.
http://www.thedolk.com/T53/index.html





Along side my M44 re-furbished and re-issued.




Some of the rust I had to put up with before removing it.



And the barrel...wow, I have never cleaned anything that bad. It turned out great!




Rust before and after.
.....


I'm a firm believer in clean them up and stop short of "restoring" them which is a buzz word for re-finishing them. They don't need to be restored and hidden from what they have been through. Most of them were in the jungles or high humidity and fired and put away dirty. That is what makes them fun to me. Remove the active rust and stop the deterioration of the metal and wood and enjoy the history. They are a fun rifle. Any T53 in really good condition, I look at cautiously. If they are in excellent condition, then they have more than likly been refinished. But I have seen a few nice ones....very few.


Oh, and I never have to worry about putting a dink in the stock when I take it out shooting!


dolk

Dolk

[Capybara]

Thanks for posting the SOG example, I was thinking about ordering one, now I know what to expect.

[SA1911a1]

I went on a T-53 buying spree early in the year. Here are a couple of examples. Neither are raging beauties, but netither are butt-ugly either. Both rifles function well and shoot better than I do. If I don't score at the gun show next weekend I will probably gamble on another couple of the T-53s at $119.00 shipped.

[Junk Yard Dog]

[desdem12]

If these were m91 length i would have about 10 of these. I still don't have one.

[Junk Yard Dog]

The Chinese didn't make any M91's, by the 1950's such long rifles were long out of use as a infantry rifle, they were shades of the Great War, not the Cold War. The type 53 was part of the last gasp of the bolt action rifle in general military service, a stopgap measure until they could manufacture enough AK47's.

[clayshooter2]

They have been trying to sell them for decades Back when they were first offered they sold for $25 and didn't sell well due to their notoriously battered and filthy condition. Today people appreciate them a bit more, but some are still put off by their condition, but it is possible to find a good shooter under the rust, and grime.

I'm still in that crowd. If I was ever to buy a T-53 it would be one in better condition on the private market as opposed to the beat to crap ones available on the primary market today. I'm just not willing to take a chance sight unseen on these.

[desertgunner]

You guys have me thinking after just coming from work!
Well here is the outcome:
I want one, but want to see it first !
I want one for the collection, but I want to shoot it ,too!

...and the end of this: Why does my local yokel not stock at least two?
...because he reacted stupid the first time I asked him about Mosins.....no chance there! Asks $75 for a FFL transfer and test, yikes!
But thinks he is ALL THAT! Trying to sell 7.62X39 for $10.99 a 20 Pack when Walmart sells it for $4.97. ROFL

Very unsatisfying, Big 5 is easier to deal with in most ways

[Junk Yard Dog]

They have been trying to sell them for decades Back when they were first offered they sold for $25 and didn't sell well due to their notoriously battered and filthy condition. Today people appreciate them a bit more, but some are still put off by their condition, but it is possible to find a good shooter under the rust, and grime.

I'm still in that crowd. If I was ever to buy a T-53 it would be one in better condition on the private market as opposed to the beat to crap ones available on the primary market today. I'm just not willing to take a chance sight unseen on these.

I never bought a milsurp with the expectation of it being a shooter. I could care less if they shoot as I have plenty of commercial sporters if I must shoot, if they do shoot then it's icing on the cake, but it's the history that I am buying, not the bore condition. I bought IMA's Gehendera Martinis uncleaned. 20 times worse than anything you have seen on a type 53 and twice the cost, or more, but what a piece of history. The '53 is actually a nicely made carbine, better quality than most wartime Soviet models, they can clean up nicely.