have SKS, SN1608852,from CJA,SFLD,MI, has plastic stock with plastic folding butt and bayonet. Have 2 mags that don't work... 30rd USA,metal, and 20rd, plastic Pro Mag for SKS-5A. Don't know what 5A indicates. The USA must be forced in position but I can fire with it. The ProMag does not fit.Bass Pro Shop suggested I get PAPCO mag with their sku of 1903011. Any suggestions?
search for proper magazine for SKS
- Thread starter AJAMES
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Unless this is an SKS-D that is designed to take AK mags, the best mag for the gun is the original 10 round magazine it was designed for.
I'm not recommending this particular company, but here's what you need.
http://www.kbtacticalstar.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=210
I'm not recommending this particular company, but here's what you need.
http://www.kbtacticalstar.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=210
Al Thompson
Moderator Emeritus
Welcome to THR! 
Agree with John. I have yet to see a 30 round magazine work in an SKS.
Agree with John. I have yet to see a 30 round magazine work in an SKS.
dusty14u
Member
The original 10 round mag with stripper clips works like a champ for mine.
For aftermarket sights I went with Tech Sights peeps. Now I hsve a reliable and accurate rifle.
For aftermarket sights I went with Tech Sights peeps. Now I hsve a reliable and accurate rifle.
stchman
Member
The fixed 10 round internal box magazine for the SKS works the best by far.
The Tapco 20 round detachable mags work kind of.
Just stick with what the rifle was designed to use. Too many people want to turn an SKS into an AK.
The Tapco 20 round detachable mags work kind of.
Just stick with what the rifle was designed to use. Too many people want to turn an SKS into an AK.
krupparms
Member
I have owned & worked on a few SKS's. If your rifle is not a D model, then you can put a 10 rd. magazine back in it. ( The best choice! ) . Or you can buy a better 30rd.magazine. I have had good luck with the U.S.A. magazines, BUT you must have them fit to the rifle. This is not hard, if you know what you are doing! If you don't, you will waste magazines! The 10rd.magazine should not be hard to install & the stripper clip system works great. It sounds like someone wanted a cheap AK &even though those magazines are 'supposed to drop right in '! They don't! Even the better ones need to be filed & fitted. The rifle will work with 1-30rd. magazine in place. You can load it with 10rd.s in a hurry & top it off when you get a chance. Good luck with whatever choice you make.
I have half a dozen of them that have never failed to function even once in well over 20 years. They are all USA brand. I did have another half a dozen but I figured no one needed that many mags so I sold some.
http://www.a-framevideo.com/SKS.wmv
And yes I called a mag a clip. So sue me.
BTW I've lost a lot of weight since then too.
gojuice101
Member
I don't understand why everybody seems to have so much trouble with SKS magazines. I have many 20, 30, and 40 round magazines from Tapco and ProMag and have never had a single failure out of any of them. I've also never had to file or fit any of them to the rifle to make it work. Just pop them right in and they run non-stop.
Surly
Member
The Tapco 20's do work and may require some fitting in your rifle. If you don't care about additional capacity, find a factory 10 rounder, as mentioned previously.
Panzerschwein
member
The TAPCO 20 rounders get rave reviews. I stick with the 10 round boxer mags and clips, but you might like the 20s for more firepower.
Sunray
Member
Suspect you'll find the aftermarket stock is the issue. QC from the assorted aftermarket stuff makers varies a whole lot from one year to the next too. Almost seems it's from one piece of kit to the next.
dprice3844444
member
read sks info posted below including sks forums.might help you find your answer
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search...&hsimp=yhs-att_001&type=att_pc_homerun_portal
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?board=65.0
sks history
http://www.victorinc.com/SKS-FAQ.html#_Toc167103936
halfway down is some info about converting sks originally imported with 10 rounders to large capacity mags,folding stocks etc.you might want to save this above site to file for personal use.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search...&hsimp=yhs-att_001&type=att_pc_homerun_portal
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?board=65.0
sks history
http://www.victorinc.com/SKS-FAQ.html#_Toc167103936
halfway down is some info about converting sks originally imported with 10 rounders to large capacity mags,folding stocks etc.you might want to save this above site to file for personal use.
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Reloadron
Contributing Member
Consider the SKS rifle was never designed or intended to function with a detachable magazine. The magazine as designed did work just plain great. That said, during the early '90s when the SKS rifles poured in the USA manufactured magazines were likely, in my humble opinion, among the few and best detachable high capacity magazines available. Like most tricked out aftermarket things for these rifles many if not most did require some aftermarket fitting with a file. My experience was that with some filing the USA brand magazines could be made to fit and function reliably.
For reasons I never understood people insisted on removing the factory magazines as well as the original wood stocks and replacing them with aftermarket pieces and parts when the rifle, again as designed, worked just fine. Somewhere there is a black hole stuffed to the brim with original SKS stocks and magazines. Obviously, all of the original parts went somewhere?
Ron
For reasons I never understood people insisted on removing the factory magazines as well as the original wood stocks and replacing them with aftermarket pieces and parts when the rifle, again as designed, worked just fine. Somewhere there is a black hole stuffed to the brim with original SKS stocks and magazines. Obviously, all of the original parts went somewhere?
Ron
frankenstein406
Member
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- Jan 9, 2011
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- 816
The metal usa ones work great if you adjust them.
we are not amused
Member
I tend to agree with the people who recommend sticking with the original 10 round fixed magazine. If you really want a AK-47, then buy one. You tend to get a much better deal.
I have talked to people with modified SKS's and it seems to be a very mixed batch. Some people had very good luck with them, others nothing but trouble. It seems that the quality of the work done to modify the SKS has a lot to do with the result.
I have talked to people with modified SKS's and it seems to be a very mixed batch. Some people had very good luck with them, others nothing but trouble. It seems that the quality of the work done to modify the SKS has a lot to do with the result.
mljdeckard
Member
I bought a Yugo as a project and experiment rifle, I have a couple of Tapcos and a newer Promag. The Promag 30 works great. The Tapcos have had a few malfunctions, I called Tapco and complained, and they recommended sanding the sides of the followers and putting on a little bit of graphite powder lube, and it greatly improved them. Since then, I have had more problems with things like a blown out primer that condomed itself over the firing pin and gave me slam fires.
krupparms
Member
Try shooting a SKS w/ 10 rd.magazine & stripper clips, against one w/ 30rd.magazines if you can. Some modified SKS's work just fine with the right mag.s! This rifle has had alot of accessories made for it. Some of it is an improvement. Most is just garbage! Look around at what is around. Or you may find you like it like it was originally made! These are fine combat or hunting firearms.
There are many different SKS models around made in many countries. The Chinese did a lot of modifications over time although there is a model that was very common that came from there. And there are countless SKS mags available. The odds of them all working together perfectly are nil. You will see some very bad examples.
Again my rifle works perfectly with detachables and always has. That doesn't mean they all will. The truth is a person can load with a stripper clip almost as fast as they can load with a duckbill mag. And the mags themselves are heavy. You can carry hundreds of rounds with you on stripper clips. You can't do that when your rounds are loaded in duckbill mags. The weight is too much and the bulk is too much. I suppose you could carry them in a backpack but why do that? There is a Chinese chest pouch that holds 200 rounds loaded on stripper clips. You can access them quickly and the weight is far less than you would see if you tried to carry that many rounds in mags.
I don't really see any reason for carrying all that ammo but I guess you just never know. Those chest pouches are cheap as heck so I bought one. I've never used it.
BTW even with a detachable mag you can reload it with a stripper clip. But you can't really top off a mag without a big hassle. You have to know how to hold the bolt back which takes removing the mag so there isn't much gained in trying to do that. But if you empty a mag you can load 10 rounds in it quickly.
One thing about an SKS is that if you empty a 30 round mag and your stock isn't on fire it soon will be if you try to empty another one. They run HOT if you shoot them quickly. Also watch out for them climbing on you. Just a general bit of advice. And watch out for rounds getting cooked off. If you heat the gun up enough you will have an uncontrolled machine gun on your hands. I've seen rounds cook off before. It does happen.
There's also the hassle of trying to use anything to rest your SKS on to aim when you have a 30 round mag on it. Like with an AK, it becomes impossible to find a rest. The OEM mags allows you to actually rest the rifle on something for more accuracy.
So if you can stick with an OEM mag. They are better. I keep thinking I will go back but there's something about having 30 rounds ready to fly before reloading is needed. I actually offered to trade my stock mag to the OP for his USA mag. I haven't heard anything from him.
Again my rifle works perfectly with detachables and always has. That doesn't mean they all will. The truth is a person can load with a stripper clip almost as fast as they can load with a duckbill mag. And the mags themselves are heavy. You can carry hundreds of rounds with you on stripper clips. You can't do that when your rounds are loaded in duckbill mags. The weight is too much and the bulk is too much. I suppose you could carry them in a backpack but why do that? There is a Chinese chest pouch that holds 200 rounds loaded on stripper clips. You can access them quickly and the weight is far less than you would see if you tried to carry that many rounds in mags.
I don't really see any reason for carrying all that ammo but I guess you just never know. Those chest pouches are cheap as heck so I bought one. I've never used it.
BTW even with a detachable mag you can reload it with a stripper clip. But you can't really top off a mag without a big hassle. You have to know how to hold the bolt back which takes removing the mag so there isn't much gained in trying to do that. But if you empty a mag you can load 10 rounds in it quickly.
One thing about an SKS is that if you empty a 30 round mag and your stock isn't on fire it soon will be if you try to empty another one. They run HOT if you shoot them quickly. Also watch out for them climbing on you. Just a general bit of advice. And watch out for rounds getting cooked off. If you heat the gun up enough you will have an uncontrolled machine gun on your hands. I've seen rounds cook off before. It does happen.
There's also the hassle of trying to use anything to rest your SKS on to aim when you have a 30 round mag on it. Like with an AK, it becomes impossible to find a rest. The OEM mags allows you to actually rest the rifle on something for more accuracy.
So if you can stick with an OEM mag. They are better. I keep thinking I will go back but there's something about having 30 rounds ready to fly before reloading is needed. I actually offered to trade my stock mag to the OP for his USA mag. I haven't heard anything from him.
krupparms
Member
I agree with CEE ZEE. I have a D model & it gets very hot shooting 30mag.s! These rifles were never ment to be hi-cap guns! They are not assault rifles no matter who calls them that!
I've literally seen smoke billowing up off my front stock. And that was after running through just a couple of 30 round mags. It got so hot I couldn't hold it and shoot it anymore. Even through the wood it was burning my hand. That's one of the reasons I'm about to join the ranks of the AR owners. I've resisted long enough. There are enough good reasons for me to switch now. I got my hands on a M&P Sport last week and I'm hooked. That's a lot of rifle for not a lot of money. I figure it will be after Christmas when prices come down when I get one. My SKS has served me well and I won't get rid of it unless someone makes me an offer I can't refuse ($400 should do it) but they will have to buy all my ammo too and that won't be cheap.
Anybody looking for a super reliable SKS with detachable mags that actually work (and the original mag too for that matter) plus a few thousand rounds of 7.62 x 39? I will probably sell something so it won't hurt much to get the S&W. I'll probably sell one of my rimfire rifles. I don't need as many as I have but they are all nice and I hate to part with them. I might even sell my Savage MkIIBTV, which is the most accurate shooter I have (slightly better than my CZ but not nearly as nice overall - plus I've tweaked it until it shoots consistent and accurate).
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krupparms
Member
Out of all the models, I prefer the Chinese 'Para or Cowboy ' versions. Add a good F.S. or muzzle break & some peep sites along with a tritium front site and you will have a nice S.D. or H.D. carbine that also will work for hunting. A red-dot site would be the only other piece of equipment I would stick on it. The Chinese rifles also have chrome barrels. They stand up better if you use ammunition that's corrosion. These are great little carbines! Useing a 200 rd. chest pouch with stripper clips these are fast, easy to reload with a little practice. These are great pickup guns. The SKS series is very popular & are commonly seen. I like my A.R.just fine, but my SKS see's more time in my hand, than anything else . Grab a good one &you will not regret it!
P.S. Grab a drop in magazine block to make it leagle for hunting. It must be unable to load more than 5rd.s for hunting.
P.S. Grab a drop in magazine block to make it leagle for hunting. It must be unable to load more than 5rd.s for hunting.
Those models can be nice but be aware that many of them were put together with parts gathered from different factories and from different production runs. So you're liable to see some odd things together that were never meant to go together. For example some have the chambers that were actually made for the D models which took detachable mags. And because they took detachable mags they didn't have the slot for loading with stripper clips. So you wouldn't be able to use stripper clips to load those rifles. There are other oddball combinations too. I'm not saying all of those models are messed up. Actually only a few were but it's something to watch for.
krupparms
Member
All the Chinese models have the same style chamber. I believe C.Z. is referring to the 'Bolt Carrier ' . That part holds the 'Bolt '. The Bolt Carrier is the part with the stripper clip guide. I have not seen this issue, BUT these guns were made for export & didn't have the same Q.C as some factory's that were producing for the PLA.
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