My Dad's Vietnam "Bring Back", now in my collection..

Thanks again guys. I took the gun apart today and cleaned it up a bit. Some grease in the action but the bore was spotless. I performed a function check and it works as it should. I haven't tackled the surface rust yet but will get to that soon.

h2u said:

Awesome rifle!!! If you even contemplate removing the plaque, I will schedule another weekday lunch just to bitchslap you
Less is always better when "cleaning up" a rifle. Remove action from stock and use only rags, oil, and elbow grease

PM member Streetgang. He's done some very nice shadow box work in the past.

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I'm not planning on removing it. I'm keeping the rifle as is. Thanks for the info on Streetgang. I wasn't aware he made shadow boxes.

Can we still do lunch without any bitch slapping involved?

Sorry for your loss!

Great story, thanks! Nice rifle.

That's a very special rifle.
I like the idea of a shadowbox, love to see it when done.

Machodoc said:

Once you have it thoroughly de-greased and dried, apply silicone paste wax (auto store) to the metal and the wood. put on a couple of coats. You don't normally want to do this to a rifle that you plan to shoot regularly, but it's a good way to protect a firearm that's going on long-term display.

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Be careful because "Regular" auto wax (and carnuba wax) isn't necessarily a good idea, especially on blued metal, because it can contain acids and other detrimental chemicals.
Renaissance wax is the best but a little pricey, and you only need but a dab or two.

Sorry to learn of your father's passing. Keep the rifle as is and pass it along in your will. I inherited a Jap 6.5 from my Dad in 2004 when he died and I will never part with it. I served two tours in Vietnam, 1966-67 and 1969-70; fortunately, they were both fixed wing flying assignments and not quite as risky had I had to use my Infantry training.

Lew--Ranger63

somd_mustangs said:

That's a very special rifle.
I like the idea of a shadowbox, love to see it when done.



Be careful because "Regular" auto wax (and carnuba wax) isn't necessarily a good idea, especially on blued metal, because it can contain acids and other detrimental chemicals.
Renaissance wax is the best but a little pricey, and you only need but a dab or two.

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I will definitely update this thread once the shadowbox is done. It's going to be a while as I'm sure it will be an expensive purchase. I have a tub of renaissance wax that I use on my S&W Model 29. That stuff is amazing.

good guy 176 said:

Sorry to learn of your father's passing. Keep the rifle as is and pass it along in your will. I inherited a Jap 6.5 from my Dad in 2004 when he died and I will never part with it. I served two tours in Vietnam, 1966-67 and 1969-70; fortunately, they were both fixed wing flying assignments and not quite as risky had I had to use my Infantry training.

Lew--Ranger63

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Thank you for your service and I appreciate the comment

I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

Your father handed you a beautiful rifle. Like others have said, why hang it up when you can shoot it! Your rifle of course, just my 2c.

rouchna said:

This is why I love MDS.

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Posts like this, and the true good will of those who respond, are why I love MDS as well, and maintain a presence here even though I escaped to a more 2A friendly state.

Thanks guys for being awesome. There is not a better forum like this around, and you are all truly classy in the world of virtual gunclubs.

make copies of the letter

Insane amount of family history. Not even sure how I would handle it, but probably pay the cost to have a professional shadowbox made for the gun and documentation, a good craftsman wont be cheap but its worth it. Keep somewhere safe.

Very sorry for your loss.

Nice story and rifle. There is expert advice in this thread.

Sorry for your loss, and please post some pics of the end result!


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Sorry for your loss.
I"m sure you will do him proud with your care of it.

AACo said:

Like others have said, why hang it up when you can shoot it!

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Here's a good reason:

There's only one SKS rifle that was presented to his Dad and brought back from VN by him. Its overwhelming value is as a family heirloom. It can't be replaced. You can replace parts, of course, but the more you do of that, the less there is of the original rifle.

On the other hand, there are beau coups of SKS rifles that can be had for about $300, on up. If you break something on one of those, it's only a cash loss -- not a loss of very important family history.

So then you are faced with the question of whether or not an important piece of family history is worth more than the $300, or so, it would take to buy a "shooter" SKS, or if it's just not that important to you? If it were mine, and my dad's gun, I'd value it at far more than the cost of a shooter to take out plinking. I'd consider it to be priceless, and would treat it that way.

Would I shoot it once or twice myself? Probably so -- after a good cleaning and passing a very thorough inspection -- just to say that I shot it. I'd likewise let other family members put a couple of rounds through it, so they could also say that they had. But then I'd conserve it and place it somewhere safe.

I like the shadow box idea, if it can be displayed in a safe place. I also encourage what others have said about copying the paperwork. As you clean it, document the numbers on every part, just in case it should ever be stolen. You might have a chance of getting it back that way.

A personal example of why a gun like this shouldn't be shot often, if at all, and only with great care, happened to me many years ago. I inherited my G-grandfather's Winchester .32-20 lever action, but had to leave it at my parents' home while I was in the military. A family member saw it, thought it needed to be shot, and took it without permission. He bought a box of ammo and one of the early Lee Loader sets. He didn't have any problem with the commercial stuff, but when he re-loaded the casings he did something wrong. The result was that he ended up with a round lodged in the barrel. Not knowing what to do about it, he left it there for months.

When I got out of the military, and saw that my rifle was missing, I asked my parents where it was. They didn't know, but did remember the family member, who had visited them for a few days, fondling it and saying that it needed to be shot. Fortunately, when I contacted him and simply said, "I want my rifle back right now," he admitted to having it and said he had been "taking care of it" for me. He didn't mention the bullet stuck in the barrel, and apparently decided that it needed to be pounded out with a steel rod before he returned it to me.

The bottom line is the bore was ringed, scraped, and made totally useless. Now I'm still debating whether or not to have it re-lined. I've been facing that decision for decades, and still haven't decided.

240 towles said:

make copies of the letter

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Already have. The paper is extremely thin but my Dad kept it in a sleeve all these years. It is amazing how well it kept.

nerfherder said:

Sorry for your loss, and please post some pics of the end result!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Will do.

Machodoc said:

Here's a good reason:

There's only one SKS rifle that was presented to his Dad and brought back from VN by him. Its overwhelming value is as a family heirloom. It can't be replaced. You can replace parts, of course, but the more you do of that, the less there is of the original rifle.

On the other hand, there are beau coups of SKS rifles that can be had for about $300, on up. If you break something on one of those, it's only a cash loss -- not a loss of very important family history.

So then you are faced with the question of whether or not an important piece of family history is worth more than the $300, or so, it would take to buy a "shooter" SKS, or if it's just not that important to you? If it were mine, and my dad's gun, I'd value it at far more than the cost of a shooter to take out plinking. I'd consider it to be priceless, and would treat it that way.

Would I shoot it once or twice myself? Probably so -- after a good cleaning and passing a very thorough inspection -- just to say that I shot it. I'd likewise let other family members put a couple of rounds through it, so they could also say that they had. But then I'd conserve it and place it somewhere safe....

I like the shadow box idea, if it can be displayed in a safe place. I also encourage what others have said about copying the paperwork. As you clean it, document the numbers on every part, just in case it should ever be stolen. You might have a chance of getting it back that way.

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I agree wholeheartedly. Thank you for your input and reinforcing why I don't want this to be a regular shooter. Do I want to shoot it? Yes. Does my little brother want to shoot it? Yes. Having said that, it will be taken out once, then cleaned up and put in a shadow box. I will keep this thread updated as I go through the process.

Thanks again everyone.

Sorry for your loss, thanks for sharing the story though. Sounds like he raised a good kid.

md_rick_o said:

Sorry for your loss, thanks for sharing the story though. Sounds like he raised a good kid.

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Thank you Sir.

rouchna said:

Thank you Sir.

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First at all, I am sorry for your lost.
Attach is the letter which I translate into English for everybody to read. I believe that the letter is worth as much as the rifle, priceless.

zoopal said:

Attach is the letter which I translate into English for everybody to read. I believe that the letter is worth as much as the rifle, priceless.

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That was nice of you to do!

I agree with you about the value of the letter. Were it my gun, I'd make a good copy to display with the rifle, then put the letter away somewhere dark, reasonably dry, and where the temp stays about the same.

zoopal said:

First at all, I am sorry for your lost.
Attach is the letter which I translate into English for everybody to read. I believe that the letter is worth as much as the rifle, priceless.

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WOW! Thank you so much! That was very kind of you

My condolence's for the loss of your father. He sounds like he shared some of my fathers traits also. At least as far as hard ass and mean :-). But...that was how he was raised, by an immigrant Greek father, who came over in the 1920's spoke very little English to start, and opened his own little coffee shop in a not too friendly neighborhood called the Bronx! , hahaha. But, again, my Dad was fair, but, did not communicate much, usually only when angry. But he got me into competitive shooting when I was 12, worked his whole life, and supported his family, drank very little, only played the ponies from time to time, and had no other bad vices. When I think about him from time to time, it makes me sad that we did not have a friendly, verbal, open relationship until the year before he died. He always talked about going fishing again, like when I was a kid, but he would not make plans. After he died, I found 2 new, still in the tube, compact fishing rods in his room. :-( With his interactions with my mother, not good at all, he did not have a decent life. As far as i would have assessed it. Wife that constantly pushed his buttons, son who he was always reactive to and daughter he was removed from. As I matured, and learned about life I came too realize that he was not a bad guy, and that many of the things he wanted to teach me, make good common sense today. He was just a quiet, probably lonely, and non verbal communicator, who cared for his family up until the end. His motto was: Go to bed, you'll feel better tomorow.Hahaha When we had to call an ambulance for him, as his valve needed replacing and he could barely move, he locked himself in the bedroom and would not let the EMT's in at first. But, eventually relented. He left me his Browning Hi-Power, that we bought together when I was 12, and I cherish that pistol. I purchased a new BarSto barrel for it last year, and need to have good, dove tail sights installed in it. But no $$$ yet for that. You are lucky also, having his SKS to remember him by. These are the little things, that we can appreciate about our loved ones. So, sorry for your loss, but he is not gone. He is always there, right beside that rifle. :-) Enjoy it, I think he would like that.