Need Advice On Restoring A SKS Nornico Modified To Take AK Mags Back To Original Magazine With Stripper Clips

[NC Farmer]

I have a Norinco SKS I bought a few years ago that was modified to take AK magazines. It's in great shape but I have decided that I would like to put the original magazine back on it so it would accept stripper clips again. I'm not much of a gunsmith so I just wanted to know is this something I could do myself or should I take it to a professional.

 

[NCLivingBrit]

Actual AK mags or those duckbill AK style mags that just replace the SKS fixed mag?

 

[NC Farmer]

Actual AK mags or those duckbill AK style mags that just replace the SKS fixed mag?

I've bought some of the 10 round SKS mags and I have a number of the 30 round AK magazines but I have feeding issues with them unless I am very careful how I load the magazines. I thought that if I could restore it back to the original configuration with the stripper clips I might eliminate this problem.

 

[Catfish]

Are you certian it was modified and not manufactured that way?

 

[NC Farmer]

Are you certian it was modified and not manufactured that way?

I'm almost certain someone modified it to accept external magazines. I'll show some pictures later today. I would leave it the way it is except for the feeding issues which I believe are due to to the modification done to it.

 

[Catfish]

Post some pics of the bolt too, esp the bottom of it.

 

[NC Farmer]

Here are a few photos of my rifle and the magazine well. It is a Chinese Norinco manufactured in 1957. There is damage inside the magazine well but I don't think these photos show it too well. I will try to disassemble my rifle later this afternoon and include a photo of the bottom of the bolt.

 

[NCLivingBrit]

View attachment 524366View attachment 524367View attachment 524368View attachment 524369

OK just acquire and install a regular SKS fixed magazine. Those don't convert anything they just lock into the same fittings used by a standard SKS mag.

 

[DangerRuss]

OK just acquire and install a regular SKS magazine. Those don't convert anything they just lock into the same fittings used by a standard SKS mag.

That’s right. Those aren’t AK mags. They are “duckbill” mags designed to fit the SKS without modification

 

[NC Farmer]

Thanks! I do have some of the 30 round AK mags and I will try those out the next time I get a chance to shoot it. If they work better then I'll order some of the standard SKS mags. Like I said before, I am ignorant when it comes to gunsmithing. I have several firearms and I just basically shoot them and clean them. I do wonder if the standard magazines will fit correctly though due to the slight damage inside the magazine well.

 

[NCLivingBrit]

Thanks! I do have some of the 30 round AK mags and I will try those out the next time I get a chance to shoot it. If they work better then I'll order some of the standard ten round SKS mags.

If these 30 round mags have the same duckbill they aren't AK magazines. Regular AK mags only work in type M or D SKS rifles. They have a totally different magazine well.

The 30 round SKS magazines are of dubious utility in my experience, I'd stick with a fixed factory 10rd magazine and stripper clips.

 

[NCLivingBrit]

Quick SKS magazine primer

These are detachable magazines of various manufacture. They are designed to be swapped like regular mags, but have the clumsy "duckbill" arrangement to work with the standard pattern SKS. These are typically not going to work with stripper clips.




This is a standard fixed 10rd factory magazine that will work with stripper clips.


This is a 20rd fixed magazine often referred to as a Red Star magazine that will work with stripper clips. Beware, there are knockoffs of these out there that are of variable quality.




I've found the 10rd factory magazine and stripper clips to be the most reliable mag and with a little practice and decent stripper clips you can reload it as fast or faster than the clumsy duckbill magazines.

Edit: not sure why it keeps repeating these pics at the bottom, but it won't let me remove them. Please ignore.

 

[NCLivingBrit]

If your SKS has this mag well, it takes standard AK magazines, although some polymer models are going to be balky.



Note the side lugs not being present on the bottom of the bolt/carrier. A standard SKS bolt locks into the top of the magazine when in battery and feeding. This makes it impossible to remove the magazine with a closed bolt. Since this variant uses a detachable AK box magazine the bolt was changed to allow magazine removal with a closed bolt.

 

[NC Farmer]

Thanks for the help! I'm going to order a ten round box or a twenty round Chinese magazine and install it myself. I believe this will solve the feeding issues I've been having with the duckbill magazines.

 

[NCLivingBrit]

Thanks for the help! I'm going to order a ten round box or a twenty round Chinese magazine and install it myself. I believe this will solve the feeding issues I've been having with the duckbill magazines.

Typically yes it will. Only the Tapco ones ever worked anything like reliably.

 

[Gator]

Duckbill mags for an SKS are the work of the devil and should be avoided.

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