? converting SKS from 5 shot hinged magazine to 10 shot removable

[Dand]

A guy gave me a Chinese  sks. It only has the 5 round hinged magazine. Is there a legal problem with changing the gun to take removable box magazines with larger capacities? I thought I read somewhere that could be a problem.

Any recommendations as to where to get the parts and instructions?

I haven't been into these kinds of guns but I'm getting interested. I think some 10 round magazines would be handier.

Oh, I live in Alaska and I'm not aware of any magazine capacity limits here.
Thanks,

[Default]

 Dand ,

   I personally havent seen or owned ( and i have owned 5 over the years) a SKS with a 5 round setup , cant say that i know of anyone that makes those either ( Norinco made a SKS with a 5 round removable AK mag after the first ban draft,not many made it in) ... You might benefit from looking around on the net for parts to get the original 10 round hinged internal mag .. Honestly in my opinion it would take you less time to stripper clip 10 rounds into the rifle then to try and get the aftermarket mags to lock up ..That i know from experience ...
 Tried to get my father to get into a AK instead of a AR but he was like  "Why? I have a SKS"
  The real benefit is that the 10 round stripper clips would cost you next to nothing and weigh alot less then those funky shaped sks removable mags would..

  I do recall there being a 20 rd fixed chinese hinge mag available for the SKS ,But i havent owned one of tried them ... Nevertheless they are out  , Or were at one time dont know about now with all the buying up thats been going on ..

    Hope that helps ya and good luck with it ,

       Default

[jgalar]

I prefer the fixed mags also - stripper clips are cheap. 5 shot mags were and still may be sold as some locations limit you to 5 shots magazines when hunting. I have 5, 10 and 20 round fixed magazines and they all work fine. I don't know what is available for the sks currently, you just have to do some web searching.

[Dixie Dude]

They come standard with a 10 round magazine.  I have a 20 round fixed Chinese mag if you want to buy it.  You have to remove the barreled action from the stock to drop out the original magazine if you want detatchable mags.  The Tapco 20 round composite mags are the best.  However, you can't easily remove them if you have a round in the chamber and rounds in the mag.  There is a little part that slides up to hold the bolt open upon firing the last round.  This allows for easy removal and replacing the magazine.  They make a replacement part that has a little lever which allows for easy removal and replacing magazines.  It is less than $10.  I like the SKS better than the AK due to the stronger action.  It is more accurate, and I also have two 5 round detachable mags for hunting.  I have tried the 30 round steel, but the only one's worth having are a welded type made by a company in Michigan who no longer makes them.  The Tapco ones are great, but you have to hold the bolt open with one hand while removing the mag with the other and you will always drop a shell when doing so if it is still loaded. Same with the 5 rounders.  I'm going to order the little replacement part for mine, will let you guys know how that works.  

[Mikey]

Dand:  The SKS came with a fixed 10 round mag set for the use of stripper clips.  The 5 round mag is an aftermarket hunting magazine. 

Find yourself a standard issue 10 rounder and you should be set.  I have had 20 round mags that never took 20 rounds and after a while I just reloaded with a 10 round stripper clip rather than trying to jig around using only 7 or 8 rounds from the last stripper clip.  HTH.  Mikey.

[mannyrock]

   Ditto: Find a standard 10 round hinged magazine, and put it on.   With some practice, starting with a full stripper clip of 10 rounds in your hand, you can load a full stripper clip into an open action, and close the action, in 5 seconds.  (The trick is to first press down hard on the rounds with the flat of your thumb, which will force about half the rounds into the action, and then put the tip of your thumb on the top round, with the left  edge of your thumb butting tight against the clip, and the face of the thumb nail facing the left side of the rifle, and push the remaining rounds down hard, until the are all off of the clip and into the action.)  Then, yank the clip, and pull back slightly on the operating handle, to let the action slam shut.  This is much faster than trying to change out a loaded magazine.
   

[Dand]

Hmm- I have some stripper clips. Maybe I should take a closer look at this gun. I might be mistaken on the magazine capacity.  I've shot it some but its been quite a while.

Thanks for all the advise. I'll have more to go on when I do dig it out.

My 10 yr old is getting big enough that I thought it might be an ok centerfire rifle to start him on at the range. And I've thought it might be good to get more familiar with the gun and what it can do.

Thanks to all.  Have a good weekend.  Dan

[S.S.]

I just set up one last week for a local police officer.
He had several tapco 20 round magazines an it took me about
a half hour to get the rifle set up. All I basically had to do was smooth up the wood
in the magazine well. I took a black magic marker and colored the top of the magazine
, pulled back the bolt (should be open to replace mag) and installed the mag then removed it.
The magic marker ink colored the high spots. File away the ink and repeat install and removal.
Check for ink. Once I got the mags to fit without being loose, I then whiped a small ammount of
teflon grease on the wood and let it soak in. Good to go after test firing.