SKS Failure to Feed Last Round

ReK_

ReK_

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I'm having an issue with my SKS that's proving hard to figure out. Most of the time (maybe 7 or 8 out of 10 times) the last round in the magazine will fail to feed. It will stick out sideways, pinched by the bolt. Looks a lot like a stovepipe except it's an unfired round. It's only ever the last round in the mag, every other round has always fed flawlessly.

The magazine follower is not stiff, it can move easily on the follower arm. I don't think this is a gas issue or I'd be seeing failures on more than just the last round. I have noticed something odd when function checking using dummy rounds. If I load the rounds from the top, either by hand or with a clip, everything is fine. If I open the magazine and drop the rounds in from below I get something interesting: Racking the bolt once will chamber one round just fine but when I pull back the bolt both the chambered round and the second round that's in the magazine get ejected...
 
How is your mag pinned? Maybe last round is catching on a poor pinning job. Might have to break out a dremel tool. Have had to clean up an few SKS mag followers.
 
p.Rundle said:
Are you loading from the top or doing the trick where you just dump the rounds into the magazine from the bottom and close it?
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Live ammo I always load form the top. I just noticed the weird double eject when I tried loading from the bottom once with dummy rounds.

rb2 said:
How is your mag pinned? Maybe last round is catching on a poor pinning job. Might have to break out a dremel tool. Have had to clean up an few SKS mag followers.
Click to expand...

There's a pin on the follower that sticks down and hit the bottom of the mag. What do you look at when trying to clean them up? I'm pretty hesitant to take a dremel to it since laws, etc.
 
I would bet money that your magazine is pinned by a bar welded to the bottom of the follower.
That, more often then not, creates a last round stoppage.
 
You don't have to go crazy with a dremel. Just smooth up the follower and make flush where the pin is. Problem will be solved is my guess. I have had to do this to numerous SKS mags with poor pinning job.
 
rb2 said:
You don't have to go crazy with a dremel. Just smooth up the follower and make flush where the pin is. Problem will be solved is my guess. I have had to do this to numerous SKS mags with poor pinning job.
Click to expand...

So it's because the last round isn't sitting right due to the sharp edges around where the pin is in the follower?
 
Is it pinned through the follower or it it welded to the side of the follower? One of mine had a pin through the follower, you could feel the top of the rivit sitting proud of the top of the follower by a #### hair. I was getting the same unfired stovepipes on the last round, after I filed I peened and filed it flush the problem went away. If it's welded you might have to file the bottom of the limiting arm smoothing any rough or buffed edges.
 
Butcherbill said:
Is it pinned through the follower or it it welded to the side of the follower? One of mine had a pin through the follower, you could feel the top of the rivit sitting proud of the top of the follower by a #### hair. I was getting the same unfired stovepipes on the last round, after I filed I peened and filed it flush the problem went away. If it's welded you might have to file the bottom of the limiting arm smoothing any rough or buffed edges.
Click to expand...

It's pinned through the follower. Thanks for the details. I won't be able to get to the range for another week or two but I'll try it and post result.
 
If the pin /rivet goes through the follower and is sitting even a hair higher than the follower itself than that's likely you problem, be careful when you file it flush. They peen or flare the top of the post which is why it sits proud, once you file it flush don't be surprised if the pin wants to spin or gets loose or even fall out. It's a stupid way to pin the mag if you ask me, I filed mine flush and then took an automatic centre punch and flared the edge of the pin buy putting some dimples into it which are under the follower.

I hope you get what I'm saying, let me know if you want pics of what I'm talking about and I'll dig it out of the safe and post one. It totally got rid of the issue of unfired rounds stovepiping before they were able to be chambered.

My other sks is pinned from the bottom of the mag base with a big rivet, kind of ugly but it works way better than off the follower.
 
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