SKS noob - bolt hold open?

J

jory

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Hey all,

I'm quite new to the SKS world, and frankly I feel less than intelligent when it comes to dealing with mine.

I recently procured an SKS-D (kodiak machined) version from a fellow CGN'er, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the bolt to stay open. AK mags are no problem to insert when the bolt is open, but legitimately impossible while the bolt is closed. I'm hoping that I'm missing something, and that the solution is really simple and right in front of my face. I can't see myself keeping this gun if I can't reload it without having to temporarily become a contortionist.
 
I thought the bolt was machined to accept the magazines with the bolt closed. May I ask which magazines are you using? Are you using the 20-30 rounders pinned to 5 or the 5 round AK mags designed for the Chinese SKS-D? When I had mine I got some of the 5 round Chinese SKS-D mags but they were hard to load with the full 5 rounds when the bolt was closed. Take out 1 round and they worked fine. They work fine with the Chinese SKS-D rifles but the Kodiak Defense the mags engage in the magwell and I believe they sit just a little higher than where they sit in the Chinese SKS-D. So again it will depend on which mags you are using. The 5/30 round mag that came with mine inserted and worked fine with the bolt closed. But the Chinese 5 round SKS-D mags are not quite as long so the spring is really compressed with the 5 rounds so the rounds cannot push down when the mag is inserted. If you remove 1 round they will work fine. There is no bolt hold open if I remember correctly on the Kodiak SKS-D as it has been removed when modded. Hope that helps.

When I used my Chinese 5 round AK mags I braced the butt of the rifle against my waist and held the bolt open and in serted mag then let bolt go when loading those short mags with 5 rounds. If you don't want to do that then only load 4 rounds and they work normally.
 
I’m using magpul Pmags and one of the original metal mags that came with it.

Does the CZ858 have a bolt hold open? I wanted a beater rifle that was reliable to run x39 through, but having to struggle to load a mag is not for me.
 
you may need to shave the sides at the bottom of the bolt with a file. When i was doing the AR Mag conversion it did need a fair bit removed. basically the bottom of the bolt needs to be able to clear the mag lips as it moves forward.
 
Hey Noob: I wouldn't think it would be any different than the other sks's. If you put your finger in the mag well(towards yourself or the trigger) there is a little tab that moves up and down push it up and let your bolt slide forward until it catches it. Problem solved I hope, unless the D is different than the other sks's? Good Luck.
 
I thought AK mags don't have a bolt open feature on them, unless you replace the follower with a special one... or am I wrong?
 
CobraGT said:
Yes. Much better rifle in every way than any SKS[/QUO

Your saying the CZ 858 is a better rifle than the sks . I've never owned the CZ but I have heard of instances where the bolt of CZ 858 rifles have come apart while guys have been shooting them . I've never heard nor seen that ever happen with an sks. In my opinion I would say the sks is inherently a much stronger firearm than the Cz 858 or 58 or whatever one you might own . the only difference is the CZ has a detachable mag . now I've never taken a CZ apart but the ones I have seen don't look as well built as a good old sks. now this is only my opinion .
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The CZ-858 is a very well built rifle that is plenty strong and very clever in its design. Not to take away from the SKS or make it a competition. But dont hate on the CZ/VZ until you at least get to try one, and/or rip it apart to see what its all about. There are many features it has other than the detachable mag that set it apart, but I'll let y'all do your own homework for that.
 
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