Here's a fairly scarce AK in mint condition that I thought I'd share, so a little background info for AK enthusiasts or members new to AK's. This is one of my Golden State Arms Distributor (GSAD) Chinese Pre-Ban 7.62x39mm AKS, manufactured in the Jing-An Factory and imported in 1984. The Jing-An Factory was the manufacturing arm of the Chinese Police/Secret Police agencies, as opposed to Norinco who was affiliated with the Chinese Army. GSAD is known to have imported only a few thousand of these rifles in both fixed-stock and underfolder configurations, and it’s estimated that ~96% of the early unmarked, dark mahogany fixed-stock models as depicted below were never resold. These are top quality AK's and are considered among the best pre-ban Chinese AK-47 rifles...the Poly Technology milled AK47/S Legend also among that group but there were far greater numbers of Legend's imported by Kengs than the GSAD imports. I have a few GSAD's in my collection, both early and late models, and just recently added another early configuration.
Background History:These rifles are the most mysterious of all Chinese AK’s as they were arguably the first legally imported AK's from China to arrive in the US...about the same time as the Clayco’s, except they had very few markings. These AK’s were imported from China prior to the Norinco’s and later Poly Tech’s. There were also several less notable import companies that followed, such as Sherwood, GLNIC, ARMCO, D.I.G., C.J.A., R.A.I., and B-West. Many of these companies went out of business early or were shutdown due to questionable activities or poor business practices, or their involvement with certain factions of China’s government and/or military. Of course both Norinco and Poly Tech had their share of well documented legal problems as well.
Many GSAD AK's were bought up by companies in Hollywood to be used in the production of movies and have come to be referred to as “movie guns.” In the late 1980s, production of movies showcasing the Vietnam War had tapered off and the movie guns were sold to firearm distributors. GSAD is also to have been rumored as the source of firearms for the Bay of Pigs invasion, as well a clandestine asset of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The early GSAD fixed-stock models with folding spike bayonets had nice deep red mahogany wood furniture and a top-notch finish. The quality of these rifles is exceptional. The early GSAD’s are simply marked “GSAD MANH. BEA.. CA” above the left-side pistol grip on the receiver. The only other markings on the rifle is the serial number, which is stamped on the receiver and major components. No factory codes or symbols, no exporter markings, no country of origin, no caliber and no model. The rifle shown below was in the first shipment of GSAD’s in 1984, marked only “GSAD MANH. BEA.. CA”. That is the main reason most believe these to be the first imports…lack of import/export markings. Later GSAD’s had a faint roll stamping and the full complement of markings and often the factory name was hand stenciled on the later rifles (usually underneath, forward of the mag well). The early "unmarked" GSAD's are highly sought after and very collectable, depending on condition of course.
Then on the other hand, the Min Shan Factory Clayco’s closely resembled the Chinese Army AK’s and many believe those to be the first imports. The furniture on the Clayco’s was a greenish-black fiberglass and they had a very crude blued finish that wears fairly easy. They also had a blued bolt carrier and open front sight. Most collector's agree and argue that the GSAD’s got here before the Clayco’s for two main reasons:
1) Unlike the GSAD's, Clayco’s had all the required markings. Goto love the Clayco top cover marking...“ALTERATIONS TO THIS FIREARM ARE UNSAFE AND ILLEGAL.”
2) The first two sentences of the Clayco Owners Manual shows a Norinco symbol at the top of the page and states “We are proud that you have chosen a CLAYCO SPORTS firearm. This firearm is manufactured by China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO)." This statement implies the Clayco AK was manufactured by Norinco, or at a minimal, under their guidance, and they did not legally export AK's until circa 1985 at the earliest.
Either way, it's best to just own at least one early GSAD and Clayco from a collector’s prospective since the topic of which one was actually the first import will likely never be definitively answered due to the lack of records and unwillingness of the Chinese Government to provide information. I’ll post a pic of one of my Clayco’s sometime in the near future but clearly a huge difference in appearance and quality.
The guy who formed and owned GSAD is still around…in fact he’s a moderator on one of the AK forums and a great source of information for AK enthusiasts, collector’s and history buffs, although he turned over all his official records to the BATF in 1992 and has since sold his personal GSAD collection consisting of single-digit serial numbered GSAD's.
GSAD (first shipment) Pre-Ban AKS depicted with a Bei’an Arsenal (/66\) Type II, 1st Variation Sino-Soviet Ribbed Magazine. Also, small pic showing the “GSAD MANH. BEA.. CA” receiver marking above pistol grip. There are no other markings on this firearm.