Hello everyone. I recently purchased my first Russian SKS a model 1951r, and I have taken it apart several times to clean it properly and get used to the disassembly/reassembly. I ran into a feeding issue caused by a bad magazine pinning job, and it was suggested by a gentleman and a scholar that I post my solution on CGN.
Everything seemed to be mechanically sound. I purchased some Snapcaps dummy rounds to test the ammo feeding, and it did not seem to feed properly.
I had the original 10 round magazine, and the serial numbers all matched. Please note that my 10 round mag was capped to 5 because of Canadian laws. I confirmed that the magazine seemed to be inserted properly, and the trigger group was holding it securely in place.
Using the Snapcaps, when I inserted one in the magazine, the bolt hold open (BHO) piece holding the bolt back did not seem to want to lower. When I pulled back on the bolt handle, the bolt hold open stayed in the upright position, and the bolt stopped against it. It looked like the first round was not lowering the magazine follower plate inside the magazine. Only when I fed a second round did the magazine follower plate inside the magazine move down, and the BHO lowered. With two rounds (snapcaps) in the magazine, the bolt moveed past the BHO, however the round either caught in the feed lip, or the bolt pushed it against the flat part below the chamber. I noticed afterwards that my magazine follower plate was stuck in a canted downwards position.
I posted my issue and was suggested to check the magazine follower plate to make sure it had free movement of about 20 degrees. Mine was stuck in a canted position, and did not have any movement.
To help address the issue, I soaked my magazine follower and plate for several hours in mineral spirits, and then applied several coats of WD-40 to the area. That loosened up the pin to allow very limited movement. Since the follower plate was only moving a little, I looked at it again and noticed that the limiting pin cylinder (5 shot limiter in Canada) was actually restricting the full movement of the follower plate.
I looked at it from all angles, and I realized that for my SKS I had to trim the top of the limiting cylinder that was restricting the free movement of the mag follower plate. Looking at the back of the limiting pin cylinder, I could tell where they cut a channel lower inside the cylinder from the top, but they did not remove the extra piece of metal off the cylinder to clear that area and allow the follower plate its full range of movement.
I took a thin manual metal saw, I used a spacer to make sure I wasn't cutting into the follower or plate, and then I simply sawed off the piece of the limiter cylinder that was blocking the plate. Once I removed that piece, the plate had greater movement, and I could see where the plate got stopped normally by the end of the follower bar.
I assembled my SKS, loaded my snap cap rounds, and it fed like a charm every time.
Here are some before and after pictures:
Magazine follower plate restricted by limiter cylinder - before adjustment.
Magazine follower plate no longer restricted by limiter cylinder - after adjustment.
This was one for the books guys. I am relieved that I didn't have to sink any money into replacement parts or gunsmithing services.
I'd like to thank everyone on the www.sksboards.com forum who gave me sound advice.
Take care, and live long and prosper.
Everything seemed to be mechanically sound. I purchased some Snapcaps dummy rounds to test the ammo feeding, and it did not seem to feed properly.
I had the original 10 round magazine, and the serial numbers all matched. Please note that my 10 round mag was capped to 5 because of Canadian laws. I confirmed that the magazine seemed to be inserted properly, and the trigger group was holding it securely in place.
Using the Snapcaps, when I inserted one in the magazine, the bolt hold open (BHO) piece holding the bolt back did not seem to want to lower. When I pulled back on the bolt handle, the bolt hold open stayed in the upright position, and the bolt stopped against it. It looked like the first round was not lowering the magazine follower plate inside the magazine. Only when I fed a second round did the magazine follower plate inside the magazine move down, and the BHO lowered. With two rounds (snapcaps) in the magazine, the bolt moveed past the BHO, however the round either caught in the feed lip, or the bolt pushed it against the flat part below the chamber. I noticed afterwards that my magazine follower plate was stuck in a canted downwards position.
I posted my issue and was suggested to check the magazine follower plate to make sure it had free movement of about 20 degrees. Mine was stuck in a canted position, and did not have any movement.
To help address the issue, I soaked my magazine follower and plate for several hours in mineral spirits, and then applied several coats of WD-40 to the area. That loosened up the pin to allow very limited movement. Since the follower plate was only moving a little, I looked at it again and noticed that the limiting pin cylinder (5 shot limiter in Canada) was actually restricting the full movement of the follower plate.
I looked at it from all angles, and I realized that for my SKS I had to trim the top of the limiting cylinder that was restricting the free movement of the mag follower plate. Looking at the back of the limiting pin cylinder, I could tell where they cut a channel lower inside the cylinder from the top, but they did not remove the extra piece of metal off the cylinder to clear that area and allow the follower plate its full range of movement.
I took a thin manual metal saw, I used a spacer to make sure I wasn't cutting into the follower or plate, and then I simply sawed off the piece of the limiter cylinder that was blocking the plate. Once I removed that piece, the plate had greater movement, and I could see where the plate got stopped normally by the end of the follower bar.
I assembled my SKS, loaded my snap cap rounds, and it fed like a charm every time.
Here are some before and after pictures:
Magazine follower plate restricted by limiter cylinder - before adjustment.
Magazine follower plate no longer restricted by limiter cylinder - after adjustment.
This was one for the books guys. I am relieved that I didn't have to sink any money into replacement parts or gunsmithing services.
I'd like to thank everyone on the www.sksboards.com forum who gave me sound advice.
Take care, and live long and prosper.
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