SKS - Duckbill Mag problem

aiwa

aiwa

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OK, I've had this steel duckbill magazine sitting around here for like, 15 years. Today was going to be the day I finally put it in.

I grabbed my SKS and popped out the trigger group and the factory mag. The duckbill fit snugly, but no 'fitting' was required. However, when I released the bolt the bolt failed to close. Upon investigation, I noticed the bolt had caught on the plastic follower inside the duckbill mag. After re-positioning the follower and gently sliding the bolt closed, I noticed that the mag follower protrudes about 1/4" in the path of the bolt. It will continue to bind, therefore, every time the last round is fired.

- are all these duckbill mags like this?
- can I make a cut in the rear of the follower so that when the bolt slides forward, it forces the follower slightly downward?
- will the constant abrasion of the steel bolt along the plastic follower cause the mag to fail?
- who designs this stuff?
 
So you're saying the protrusion causes the bolt to lock back when it's empty? (im serious i have no idea how these work, im using the standard integrated mag)
 
it could be a little too snug, when i was fitting my tapco's to my ati, i made it so that they would fall free from the magwell and move in and out without hitting the sides. That's probably your problem, too tight.
 
Spotagwan said:
it could be a little too snug, when i was fitting my tapco's to my ati, i made it so that they would fall free from the magwell and move in and out without hitting the sides. That's probably your problem, too tight.
Click to expand...

I don't see how. The mag has to be inserted high enough into the rifle that the mag release catches. At the very moment it catches, the follower is already in the path of the bolt.
 
I think what you mean is the top of the follower is not allowing the bolt catch to drop when you depress the ramp.
Ive had to thin out the spine of the top of the follower on Tapco mags to have them function properly.

It's just how some of these mags fit on some SKS rifles.
 
Behold the point of contact:

3Jifqij.jpg
 
Jesus clean that thing. Find where it is rubbing and catching, file down. How I fixed literally 5 out of 6 detach mags for my sks... In the end went back to original anyways.
 
Is that in the correct place to feed from a stripper clip? Looks like it's locked in the right place but can't tell from the photo angle. By design?
 
stevepardy89 said:
That's normal. The bolt is supposed to hold open to allow for quick mag change. The only way to insert those mags is with the bolt to the rear on a unmodified sks
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I know the mags only go in the bolt open, but I'm not sure you've read the above. The issue is not that the bolt stays open, but that it binds on the mag follower at 3/4 closed - necessitating the removal and reassembly of the magazine. In the above photo, I am physically holding the bolt to prevent the return pressure from bulldozing the follower around the magwell.
 
aiwa said:
I know the mags only go in the bolt open, but I'm not sure you've read the above. The issue is not that the bolt stays open, but that it binds on the mag follower at 3/4 closed - necessitating the removal and reassembly of the magazine. In the above photo, I am physically holding the bolt to prevent the return pressure from bulldozing the follower around the magwell.
Click to expand...

If the bolt hold open worked this wouldent be an issue.
are these mags made so the follower wont operate it ?
Sorry that might sound dumb , but I never had a duckbill mag.
 
At this point, it would seem you're not missing much. I take the bolt hold-open feature to be a feature of factory mags - which are built totally different than the duckbill jobbies. The factory mag has a pin on the follower that appears to engage the bolt on the last round, holding it open.

Basically, I want to know if anyone has experience grinding a ramp into the rear of their follower. Will the mag continue to function with a fix like this - or am I going to fubar the operation of the mag? I do like the way the duckbill looks in the rifle, and so I would prefer to keep it - but not, of course, if I can't actually use the rifle.
 
The way I see it, you have two options. File the the follower a bit and hope the ramp allows the bolt to shut or put it back on the shelf for another 15 yrs. If filing it doesn't work then put the factory mag back in and carry on, I mean if you haven't put it to use in 15 yrs then it doesn't really matter if filing doesn't solve it. Not like you'll miss using it if you wreck it or can't get it to function lol.
 
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