Seeking Help From Those Experienced With Aftermarket SKS Magazines. (bolt catch)

ShotgunNut

ShotgunNut

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Hey, I bought a Baur Arms 5/30 mag today. It was tough getting it into my ATI stock but after inserting and removing it a few times it seems to have broken its fit in to the point that it finally clicks in all the way. The problem is the bolt catch won't work properly or so it seems. It will not close or feed a round. Please educate me on the solution if you have encountered this problem before. It would be greatly appreciated, thanks...

You know what? I think this is just one of those things I have to figure out myself. I don't think its installing right for some reason. I had it in good once and the bolt catch was able to move freely as it should so I think its just installing crooked or something... I'll have to pick away at it I guess...
 
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Often with plastic aftermarket mags you need to grind away some material for proper fit. On some of them I've had to slim the sides down. On others, I've had to thin and adjust the top "lips" for the bolt to close and the first round to feed.
 
I got it working. Although I haven't fired it yet for a performance test. I can manually cycle rounds with no hang ups. It should be ready for a test fire. Only thing in regards to the original mag, I'm not sure what raises the bolt catch to lock it open on empty...

Maybe I'm mistaken about the original mag but with this plastic one the feed ramp is what catches the bolt on emtpy. This mag won't install with the bolt closed. So on empty when I pull the mag I have to hold the charge handle back and manually raise the bolt catch with my finger to keep it locked open before reloading and installing the magazine again. Any thought on that?
 
Next time you take apart the SKS look at the bottom of the bolt. Youll see two rails sticking out on either side of the bottom of the bolt. Thats why you cant insert or remove a mag with the bolt closed. Those rails slide into place under the feed lips of the mag and stop the mag from sliding out.

The stock sks magazibe follower lifts the bolt catch. That new mag probably had the lip material too close where the mag catch is and as u inserted the mag the lips brought the catch up not the follower.
 
ShotgunNut said:
I got it working. Although I haven't fired it yet for a performance test. I can manually cycle rounds with no hang ups. It should be ready for a test fire. Only thing in regards to the original mag, I'm not sure what raises the bolt catch to lock it open on empty...

Maybe I'm mistaken about the original mag but with this plastic one the feed ramp is what catches the bolt on emtpy. This mag won't install with the bolt closed. So on empty when I pull the mag I have to hold the charge handle back and manually raise the bolt catch with my finger to keep it locked open before reloading and installing the magazine again. Any thought on that?
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The ramp pushes the catch up when the last rounds gone. If you dont like the bolt open mag in routine, grind your bolt. All of those bauer mags ive seen were pretty rough and flimsy looking and the feed ramps seem to have excessive rocking play.
 
Red_Liner740 said:
Next time you take apart the SKS look at the bottom of the bolt. Youll see two rails sticking out on either side of the bottom of the bolt. Thats why you cant insert or remove a mag with the bolt closed. Those rails slide into place under the feed lips of the mag and stop the mag from sliding out.

The stock sks magazibe follower lifts the bolt catch. That new mag probably had the lip material too close where the mag catch is and as u inserted the mag the lips brought the catch up not the follower.
Click to expand...

Thats sounds exactly like what was happening but could you elaborate on exactly what part is the follower?
 
BCrecce said:
The ramp pushes the catch up when the last rounds gone. If you dont like the bolt open mag in routine, grind your bolt. All of those bauer mags ive seen were pretty rough and flimsy looking and the feed ramps seem to have excessive rocking play.
Click to expand...

Yes I figured this out but too bad not sooner. I filed the back of the feed ramp, the part that catches the bolt catch on the way up. Ooops! So now much like a 10/22, the bolt won't lock open on empty. It seems to feed and eject fine though.

I think this will cause the lips to wear faster and shorten the magazines life quite a bit but at least it was pretty inexpensive and I know what to grind and what not to grind on the next one...

....damn it...

The follower is the rib on the back of the feed ramp isn't it? The part I shouldn't have touched...
 
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Feed ramp? Magazines don't have feed ramps. Receivers have feed ramps in front of the chambers to help guide the cartridge properly. SKS feed ramps have nothing to do with your issue.

Follower is the plastic part of the magazine that the ammo pushes down on and the spring pushes up on. If you look at the back of the follower there should be a tab. That tab sticks out and when the follower reaches high enough that tab raises the bolt hold open and when the bolt cycles back it stays there.
 
Red_Liner740 said:
Feed ramp? Magazines don't have feed ramps. Receivers have feed ramps in front of the chambers to help guide the cartridge properly. SKS feed ramps have nothing to do with your issue.

Follower is the plastic part of the magazine that the ammo pushes down on and the spring pushes up on. If you look at the back of the follower there should be a tab. That tab sticks out and when the follower reaches high enough that tab raises the bolt hold open and when the bolt cycles back it stays there.
Click to expand...

My mistake. The term seemed to make sense.
 
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