AK103K
member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2002
- Messages
- 7,610
No, I was referring to the later part of the above. SKS's that use AK mags are few and far between, and not the "norm".I actually thought you were talking about detachable mag converted SKS's. Even if talking about a fixed 10 round mag though I can load 9 rounds in the mag and have an empty chamber. It's just a matter of holding the cartridges down when the bolt comes forward so that the bolt doesn't catch a cartridge. I've done it many times.
The SKS actually has a shorter LOP than the "short" AK's, or at least mine did. I believe they were around 12". I always have to chuckle when people complain about the AK's LOP, when it has the exact same 13" LOP as most other combat stocked guns, like the M16/M16A1, M14, M1, HK's, etc.I don't agree that the AK is more ergonomic either. Maybe the Yugos are less ergo but not the Norincos. I very much like the way my SKs shoulders. I'm not a small person either but the short stock doesn't give me any trouble. I'm 6'1" so I'm not super tall and I can see where taller people or people with longer arms could have problems but I don't.
From what Ive seen, many people try to shoulder the AK's with their cheek weld on the "comb", which is wrong, and why the stock seems so short. Your head should be down on the stock like you shoulder an AR(nose to the charging handle), and your cheek weld on the narrow portion of the stock at the rear of the receiver, with your nose along the side of the top cover. Shouldered like that, and you get retty much instant sight alignment as the gun comes up, and its very natural and comfortable to shoot with.
Its slower, theres no way around that. Its also a 3:1 deal, so you have to stop and do it more.I don't agree that loading an SKS is slower either. Those stripper clips work smooth if you practice with them a while. And instead of carrying a heavy mag to hold 30 rounds you have 3 light stripper clips to hold 30 rounds. The GI's in WWII didn't have a lot of problems loading their M1's with stripper clips. IMO Russia copied that design because it was so effective. I have a chest pouch that holds 20 loaded stripper clips. That's 200 rounds of ammo and it's very accessible and quick to load IMO.
Strippers arent a big deal if you practice and use them, regardless the gun, but I rarely ever saw anyone loading their SKS's (or anything else for that matter) at the range using them, and if they did, it wasnt from a pouch.
As I said earlier too, very often, you dont get a full stripper into the gun, simply because the stripper had dropped rounds somewhere between the pouch or pocket, to the gun. Most of the SKS type strippers Ive seen, and strippers in general, were not meant to be reused. Mauser, 03, M14, M16 strippers tend to be a lot more robust than the SKS strippers, and especially the Chinese strippers, and hold up better to reuse. Even with the others, if you use them a lot, they start to have the same issue as the SKS strippers, and lose rounds and have troubles feeding more and more as they wear.
The M1's "clip" isnt a stripper by the way, its an "en bloc" clip, and goes into the gun with the rounds, and is ejected where the gun is empty. The "strippers" have been around since the late 1800s, and were well known by the time the SKS came around.
As far as speed goes, heres an example of the difference. I used to shoot a lot of High Power/DCM military type matches. Most of the rifles at the time were M1's and M14's, with the occasional AR/M16's, but one boy I used to shoot with still used a Springfield bolt gun, that was stripper fed. He was quite good too, and usually beat many of the "geared up" auto shooters, and he shot in street clothes. These matches were designed around the '03 Springfields using strippers, and the rapid fire strings still force you to reload appropriate to that. You either load 5 rounds into a mag, or load 2 rounds into the first M1 clip. You cant load the mags with 9/1 rounds, or load an 8 round clip into an M1 first, you have to limit the mag fed guns to basically the bolt guns handicap.
The SKS stripper pouches Ive used (Chinese type chest bags) were not what Id call "quick" to use. The strippers are often hard to get out smoothly, and the rounds on the end of the strippers tend to catch on the pouch as you draw them. Ive practiced with them a good bit, and have a real good idea as how well they work. For my AK's, I also prefer the Chinese type chest bags, which are made of the same material as most of the SKS chest bags, but they are much easier to get the mags out of. Both those type pouches are for me, the most comfortable and usable. The AK's surplus type bags are usually are a 3-4 cell, but some of the aftermarket pouches will carry 6. I have a few of those as well, and they weigh just slightly more than my old SKS chest bags when loaded. The slight difference in weight due to the mags, is well offset by the mags ease of handling and use, and only having to load the gun 1:3.
Stripper loading is pretty quick, but the key is practice. Its basically becoming a "lost art", and other than classic military rifle shooters who use them, and even that isnt a very big number these days, many people dont have a clue what that slot in the receiver is for.Stripper loading can be fast if you practice a lot. Its old school but effective. The US Recon forces in Nam used AK 47s when deep inside enemy territory. They carry the SKS bandoleers loaded with ammo in strippers. The AK steel mags can be loaded using a mag loader.
I have a couple of the Chinese stripper loaders for AK mags, and while they can work "OK", once you get the knack of them down, they are really a pretty poor set up, and more often than not, annoying to use. You also have the same problem stripper problems you have with the SKS's, since they use the same strippers.
That, and they use a proprietary mag, and share nothing in common part wise.The only "disadvantage" is that there aren't 500 companies out there selling useless, heavy trash to hang all over your rifle.
Im not a big fan of trying to make an SKS into an AK, or an AK into an AR, but it is nice to have some options, especially when it comes to optics.