# sks detachable clip ?



## diamondback (Apr 12, 2008)

I have a sks that has an attached clip and a wood stock.How hard is it to change over to the detachable clip and what does it involve?Another question is when I got this gun,it was given to me,along with what looked to be old surplus ammo and it was jamming about 1 in 10 shots.Do you think there is a problem with the gun ,or just the old ammo.thanks.


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## georgia357 (Apr 13, 2008)

*Sks*

I changed the mag on my SKS and wasn't any problem.  Only had to chip away a little bit of the wood.  I went back to the original mag though, thought it just looked better on the rifle.  Don't know about the feed problem, haven't had a lick of problem with mine.


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## redneckcamo (Apr 13, 2008)

just take the old mag assembly out an the detachable mag should just snap rite in... although some need the bolt back to go in all the way ....an are the rounds jamming as is locking up , not feeding well or just stovepipeing an not gettin all the way out .....could just be cheap ,old or weak ........kinda hard too diagnose without more info......


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## striper slug (Apr 13, 2008)

*removing clip*

hold the gun upside down and press the small button by the trigger guard, it will seperate the upper half from the lower half, remove the clip and then squeeze the halves back together, not too hard when you actually are doing this, good luck


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## Bill Mc (Apr 16, 2008)

I have heard from our gunsmith that you should always have the bolt open when you insert that removeable magazine.

He said it would bend the feed lips and ruin the mag.

I don't know for real but I have heard many folks complain about those mags not working. And that's why I asked him the question.

If you want a 30 shot rifle, just get an AK. Or an AR.


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## Auburn (Apr 18, 2008)

Sks'es go to bolt-hold-open after the last shot in the mag; with a detachable duckbill it's the only way to remove the mag; Bill Mc's right, the feed lips 'grab' the bottom of the bolt. Google SKS bolt mod for a way around it.

your jams are likely the ammo. could be a sticky chamber or a partially obstructed gas port. also, these guns were stored in cosmolene. if yours still has cosmo in it that can cause issues. serious issues. like sticky firing pin mag-emptying issues. gotta clean it up.

as for feeding with a high-cap mag: go with the Tapco 20-rd. Great reports all around on these. Otherwise, try and find a 'USA' brand steel mag. well-built.


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## Big7 (Apr 18, 2008)

I'm not aware of a "good" after-market magazine.
10+1 is to me plenty of shots for aimed fire.IMHO
Your gun will almost certainly function better with the original parts.
The SKS rifle was designed to shoot the military rounds.
They are commonly laquered steel cases with an extra seal
around the primer pocket and case mouth. They will gum up the action. The fix is to clean it after 300-400 rounds, or if new it will need a through cleaning first.
Unless you can see something wrong with the ammo, it is probably
o.k.. When the rifles were stored they were treated with cosmoline
which will need to be removed. This will stop up the gas ports and make the action sticky. Carb. cleaner works good, followed by some quality oil. Don't believe the stuff you hear about the surplus ammo. I wouldn't shoot a lot thru a Ruger but the SKS and AK have hardened feed lips and ramps, like I said "made for this ammo".
A good cleaning will fix you up unless something is wrong with your gun. The Russian's and Yugo's are the best. I give a tip to the Yugo.
Some of the other stuff, China, etc... are not very good.
PM me with some specifics and I can likely help you out.
I have built a few.
Good luck!  Greg


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## diamondback (Apr 19, 2008)

Thanks for the replies.The gun did have a kinda sticky grease film on it when I got it and I did clean it after shooting all the old ammo up and havent bought any new stuff and tried since the cleaning.That was a few years ago and I may need to clean it again or better cause I have noticed that where it was sitting ,some type of sticky,smelly goo has been leaking down to the floor,maybe cosmoline ,not sure.The only thing I dont like about the original mag is that it seems to take so long to reload it as is compared to a couple of detachable magazines.The gun is chinese ,with matching numbers,and a number 3 in a triangle.I remember that the triangle had some significance but dont remember,Anybody know?


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## Inatree (Apr 20, 2008)

Here Ya go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng_Kdn3JQDQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWmEyxA9o-M

SKS duckbill mags are very undependable and a pain in the tail. You didnt mention stripper clips if arent using them then yea, Ill bet it does take a long time to load. Once you break in some stripper clips they are a lot faster.


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## Auburn (Apr 23, 2008)

The sticky is cosmo, and it will continue to bleed out in hot temps until it's gone. Try putting the stock in a black trash bag and leaving it in your trunk on  a hot day. Again, the cosmo's GOTTA come out of the bolt or it can cause your firing pin to stick. Add that to a gas-operated system and you've got a full auto rifle.

+1 on stripper clips. Actaully as fast or faster on reload than detachable mags. Further, the detachable mags for SKS aren't the same as AK mags, not really a quick change sorta thing.

And I'd disagree on the Chinese being of lower quality. The Chinese rifles had chrome-lined bores and are often newer than other countries. The triangle is an arsenal designation mark. /26\ is most common, but there were many, many others, and since the Chinese g'ment doesn't disseminate the info, no one in the West knows which number corresponded to which arsenal. 

A good page for factory marks:
http://www.simonov.net/codechart.htm


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## rdhood (Apr 30, 2008)

A couple of points...

on jamming:   Hollow points sometimes jam at the 4 and 8 oclock position.   Try non hollow points, and see if it still jams.  If it doesn't,   then consider doing a 4 and 8 mod. 

on hi cap mags:  Tapco are the best.  You can also shave the bolt on older SKS so to match the SKS D and M versions. This will allow you to insert and remove mags without destroying the feed lips on them, and without reaching down inside and manually moving the hold upen tab.

If you do both mods and get a bunch of Tapco 20 rounders, you should be able to treat it like any other semi auto, and it should feed reliably

have a look at http://www.sksboards.com/smf/  for the mods.  I did them, and it works like a charm.


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## Auburn (May 1, 2008)

Dang, rdhood, I didn't realize that was you 

'Alabama' was taken here...


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