SKS bolt will not lock back

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Purple2

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I purchased a 1950 SKS and cleaned the cosmoline from the rifle. After cleaning, the bolt hold open latch moves smoothly up and down with the rifle disassembled. When I insert the magazine and trigger assembly, the hold open latch moves down smoothly until the last ~4mm and then it takes some force to push it flush with the receiver. At that point, there is enough friction that the follower is not able to push it back up. With the rifle fully assembled the bolt pushes the hold open latch all the way down and the bolt will not lock back. Any suggestions?

btw, the magazine is the only part where the number doesn't match.
 
it sounds like the problem is the "channel" which is behind the latch (and also rides down into once depressed). if look at the latch, the is a spot "behind" (towards the rear of the rifle) the latch that the magazine inner sleeve slides into.. the "back side" of the latch can rub against the metal of the sleeve..(or the 2 outter edges) the spring bar and contact point in the magazine contacts the follower could also be "twisting" the latch (is there any free play of latch when there is no spring pressure on it??)

what you can do is this..

look at where the latch contacts the sleeve on the back side.. remove the magazine assembly, and mark that area with a black perm marker.. reassemble, and then get it to "catch" and work that point up and down a bit.. then remove the mag assembly and see if the black marker is rubbed of.. you now have the contact are to work with.. (fix)

it could require a slight bend in the sleeve.

see the pic of mine..

sks.jpg
 
mdmaroon said:
There's a thing in the way of another thing. Eliminate the thing that is in the way of the thing.
Click to expand...

LOL, dude that was f*ckin brilliant!

Sounds like you need to take a flashlight and have a good look. Assemble your rifle without the stock so it doesn't hinder your view. Test its movement with just the magazine in place. Be sure the magazine is installed straight and proper. Older SKS magazines can be a ##### to get in straight and they can be installed crooked. All good? Detach the mag again and put your trigger assembly in place and test its movement again. You should be able to determine the problem that way. Your magazine could be bent or warped or its not installed 100% proper even though it may look that way. If you know anyone else with an SKS, try swapping parts to find the issue.
 
Thank you both for the help. I don't know how I didn't see this, but it appears that the magazine is warped. I do not think that it will be easy to bend it. How interchangeable are SKS magazines? If I buy a magazine for a Russian SKS should it fit my rifle?

gEtwuf3.jpg


YATiZz1.jpg
 
Absolutely. Shouldn't be very expensive either. But make darn sure that that mag is warped and not installed crooked. I have a 1951 sks and in a couple of cases I have had to re-install my magazine many times in a row before I got it in straight.
 
This looks like one of the recent bbq finished refurbs. I have found the mags in most of these to not only be not numbers matching but almost jammed in. I have has to use grippers to remove some of these. The forward catch lip at the front of the mag needs to have a bit of material filed off it, then it fits much better. When they are in tight they are bowed out to fit. Or like yours they don't want to line up properly.
 
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