HiTech SKS Magazine Experience?

[Ed in North Texas]

Does anyone have experience with the HiTech (and HiDollar) removable magazines for the SKS? Comments on your installation, fit and function experience appreciated.

Ed

[jim147]

No experience with that one.

Every Tapco I have tried has worked 100%.

jim

[Multigunner]

My Yugo came with a detachable high cap mag. I traded it even for a regular fixed ten round mag before I ever fired it.
Don't remember the brand, it was one of those duck billed abortions.

I decided to get the original type magazine because whenever I moved around the house with the carbine in hand that hi cap mag was always getting caught on something.
I remembered a friend mentioning that in his line of work he found the twenty round AR15 magazine to be a must when crawling through windows when an armed bad guy might be on the otherside, the thirty round mags just got in the way. At 6'4" and 270 lb not counting body armor he needed to be as unencumbered as possible when negotiating small passage ways.

Also many years ago in the next county a gunman shot and killed three out members of a gang that had ambushed him and left him for dead. He had put on a long wig to cover his bandaged head and walked right up on them at a bar where they were celebrating his supposed demise.
After blazing away at point blank range with his M1 carbine he was holding the carbine on the other bar patrons as he backed away.
Somehow the end of the banna clip in the carbine contacted the corner of the bar and the magazine popped out on the floor. When he tried to snatch up the fallen magazine the bar patrons rushed him. They pounded on him for awhile then dragged him outside and someone (possibly the girlfriend of one of the men he had killed) ran over him repeatedly with her car.

So I don't much care for large awkward magazines.

[Ed in North Texas]

My Yugo came with a detachable high cap mag. I traded it even for a regular fixed ten round mag before I ever fired it.
Don't remember the brand, it was one of those duck billed abortions.

I decided to get the original type magazine because whenever I moved around the house with the carbine in hand that hi cap mag was always getting caught on something.
I remembered a friend mentioning that in his line of work he found the twenty round AR15 magazine to be a must when crawling through windows when an armed bad guy might be on the otherside, the thirty round mags just got in the way. At 6'4" and 270 lb not counting body armor he needed to be as unencumbered as possible when negotiating small passage ways.

Also many years ago in the next county a gunman shot and killed three out members of a gang that had ambushed him and left him for dead. He had put on a long wig to cover his bandaged head and walked right up on them at a bar where they were celebrating his supposed demise.
After blazing away at point blank range with his M1 carbine he was holding the carbine on the other bar patrons as he backed away.
Somehow the end of the banna clip in the carbine contacted the corner of the bar and the magazine popped out on the floor. When he tried to snatch up the fallen magazine the bar patrons rushed him. They pounded on him for awhile then dragged him outside and someone (possibly the girlfriend of one of the men he had killed) ran over him repeatedly with her car.

So I don't much care for large awkward magazines.

My SKS just arrived and had been converted back to the OEM 10 rounder and issue stock. Problem is my son reports the bolt is not going home when the mag is installed. He disassembed the carbine and removed the mag and the bolt fully closed. Former owner reports hundreds of rounds with an aftermarket mag, and a smith installed the OEMs to bring it back to issue condition. Smith reported the OEM mag was a tight fit. It might be that the TX heat caused the binding as my son checked it out right after delivery from the mail lady's Jeep. I'm off on a long vacation, so I'm not even there to check it out - but my youngest son (the baby is 35) is familiar with the SKS. He said he'd check it out when cool the next time he is out to the house.

As for maneuverability, my 870 (18" bbl), 1911, Glock 30 or de-horned S&W 3" 65 are hard to beat. None of my rifles would be my initial go to for things which go bump in the night.

Ed

[Multigunner]

As for maneuverability, my 870 (18" bbl), 1911, Glock 30 or de-horned S&W 3" 65 are hard to beat. None of my rifles would be my initial go to for things which go bump in the night.

Ed

One of the things that went bump in the night here turned out to be a 160 lb Black bear.
I do get your point though.

Problem is my son reports the bolt is not going home when the mag is installed. He disassembed the carbine and removed the mag and the bolt fully closed.

Is he having the bolt hold open on an empty magazine?
Been awhile since I had my Yugo but seems to me it had a last shot hold open feature to allow loading with the stripper clip.

[Ed in North Texas]

One of the things that went bump in the night here turned out to be a 160 lb Black bear.
I do get your point though.


Is he having the bolt hold open on an empty magazine?
Been awhile since I had my Yugo but seems to me it had a last shot hold open feature to allow loading with the stripper clip.

Nope. He's familiar with bolt hold open, it is closing - just not completely. He says it shows drag marks on the mag where it is riding on the mag. Might be due to the heat when he checked it, it had been riding around in the mail lady's jeep most of the day in the TX heat. He said he'd check it the next time he's out to the house, when it hasn't been over 100 degrees for a few hours, to see if that was the problem. While I wish I was there to do this, it is a heck of a lot cooler near the Canadian border than the Mexican border. If he doesn't figure it out, I'll get to it in the fall. Just add it to things like making brass for my new to me Dutch Beaumont-Vitali 1871/88.

Anyway, the reason I asked about the Hi-Tech mags is they use a separate adapter and magazine. They claim they make a different adapter for a country's SKS (e.g. Soviet, Chinese, Yugo) and there is no "duck bill" on the removable magazine. Sounded interesting, so thought I'd ask if anyone had any experience with one. About 3x the cost of the usual "removable" mags though.

Ed

[Multigunner]

Might be due to the heat when he checked it, it had been riding around in the mail lady's jeep most of the day in the TX heat. He said he'd check it the next time he's out to the house, when it hasn't been over 100 degrees for a few hours, to see if that was the problem.
Ed

Hard to see how heat would be a factor, the SKS has been in use in Africa and the Mid East almost from its first appearance.

Could be the magazine needs something trimmed for a proper fit.

[Ed in North Texas]

Hard to see how heat would be a factor, the SKS has been in use in Africa and the Mid East almost from its first appearance.

Could be the magazine needs something trimmed for a proper fit.

Previous owner acquired the rifle in an aftermarket stock with a Tapco type magazine. Decided to "restore" it to original configuration (less bayonet) so bought a stock and original 10 round mag. Says a smith installed the rifle in the stock and found the mag to be a tight fit, so had to do some fitting to get it to work.

Owner states that he shot several hundred rounds in the aftermarket stock and mag, about 100 after conversion back to original configuration. So it was working, both stocks and mags. Probably something bumped around, or if it still was kind of tight in the stock, maybe the heat had something to do with it. I'll have to see when I get home. Meantime the prior owner shipped the aftermarket stock and mag just in case.

Ed

[JIMinPHX]

The Tapco (duck bill) magazines have worked flawlessly in every SKS that I have seen them installed on. The stock magazines are usually flawless too. I don't know about the brand that you speak of.

There was a variant of the SKS that used an AK magazine. I don't remember the specific designation. Perhaps your system with the adapter & the non duck bill magazine is similar to this.

The SKS bolt slides forward easily to a point about 3/16" short of home, & then needs a little more effort to get it to close that last little bit where the final lock up occurres. Several things can cause the bolt to not go home that last little bit. Since you just had the mag changed, the fit of the follower & other magazine components would be the first logical place to look. Other possibilities include poor lubrication on the bolt carrier, dirty or poorly lubricated piston &/or piston extension rod, weak spring, dirty bolt groove & dirty/poorly lubricated recoil spring.

It could also be something as simple as not letting go of the bolt cleanly from its rearmost position. Riding the bolt, even just a little way, can prevent full battery lock up on many of them.

There was also some detail about what position the safety needed to be in before you could pull the trigger group out in order to change from one magazine type to another. If someone forced the trigger group because the safety was in the wrong position, that may have caused some damage.

There are a bunch of pointless rules on the federal books that concern what parts can be assembled on an SKS. If the SKS was imported after a certain date & you do not have it in the original configuration, then it needs to have a certain number of American made parts in order to be legal. An aftermarket stock kit & magazine usually qualify the gun under the US parts rule. Removing them & replacing them with foreign made parts may put the gun in an illegal configuration. The law makes absolutely no sense to me, but if you are going to fool around with making changes to that gun, then you might want to get the details on that idiocy first.

[Ed in North Texas]

The Tapco (duck bill) magazines have worked flawlessly in every SKS that I have seen them installed on. The stock magazines are usually flawless too. I don't know about the brand that you speak of.

There was a variant of the SKS that used an AK magazine. I don't remember the specific designation. Perhaps your system with the adapter & the non duck bill magazine is similar to this.

The SKS bolt slides forward easily to a point about 3/16" short of home, & then needs a little more effort to get it to close that last little bit where the final lock up occurres. Several things can cause the bolt to not go home that last little bit. Since you just had the mag changed, the fit of the follower & other magazine components would be the first logical place to look. Other possibilities include poor lubrication on the bolt carrier, dirty or poorly lubricated piston &/or piston extension rod, weak spring, dirty bolt groove & dirty/poorly lubricated recoil spring.

It could also be something as simple as not letting go of the bolt cleanly from its rearmost position. Riding the bolt, even just a little way, can prevent full battery lock up on many of them.

There was also some detail about what position the safety needed to be in before you could pull the trigger group out in order to change from one magazine type to another. If someone forced the trigger group because the safety was in the wrong position, that may have caused some damage.

There are a bunch of pointless rules on the federal books that concern what parts can be assembled on an SKS. If the SKS was imported after a certain date & you do not have it in the original configuration, then it needs to have a certain number of American made parts in order to be legal. An aftermarket stock kit & magazine usually qualify the gun under the US parts rule. Removing them & replacing them with foreign made parts may put the gun in an illegal configuration. The law makes absolutely no sense to me, but if you are going to fool around with making changes to that gun, then you might want to get the details on that idiocy first.

As I have not yet had my hands on the carbine, I can only relate what my son tells me. He is familiar with the SKS and, while he is my wife's "baby", at 35 he isn't exactly a child. He researched prior to disassembly. We are both familiar with the 922(r) regulations.

The seller told me he obtained this SKS (a Tula) in an aftermarket stock with Tapco mag. He decided to "restore" it to original configuration and found a Soviet stock and mag. Had a gunsmith install both. Said it functioned in both configurations (several hundred rounds in aftermarket config and 100 rounds after "restoring"). On receipt (USPS shipping) the bolt would stop short of full closure. The seller then shipped the aftermarket items and my son just reported that he had made it out to the house and installed the Tapco mag. He reports that the bolt now goes fully to battery.

When I get home, I'll see what can be done about obtaining proper function with the OEM mag as it is obvious that the problem lies with that mag.

Ed

[Ed in North Texas]

Looks like the Hi-Tech magazines are a bit too expensive for SKS users, at least they apparently aren't selling any to Cast Boolits members.



Anyway, thanks to all who responded.

Ed

[Gliden07]

I removed a 10 round original and was using a 30 round metal Duckbilled one. The only problem I had was I could only load 37 rounds or it would jam. Other than that it worked fine.

[Ed in North Texas]

I removed a 10 round original and was using a 30 round metal Duckbilled one. The only problem I had was I could only load 37 rounds or it would jam. Other than that it worked fine.

I think I got that. You removed an OEM, replaced it with a 30 round Tapco type, then replaced the Tapco with a HiTech (which they advertise on their website as a 37 round capacity mag). You've had no problems with the HiTech, other than jamming when trying to load more than 37 rounds.

Did I get that right?

Ed

[2ndAmendmentNut]

At one point in time I tried three 20rd Tapco mags on my Chinese SKS. They pressed up against the bottom of the bolt so hard that it basically turned the rifle into a bolt action. On one magazine I tried to modify the lips and notch that held it in place, but I could never get it to feed more than two or three rounds. Another problem with detachable magazines on an SKS is the bolt has to be open in order to insert a new one.

[Gliden07]

I think I got that. You removed an OEM, replaced it with a 30 round Tapco type, then replaced the Tapco with a HiTech (which they advertise on their website as a 37 round capacity mag). You've had no problems with the HiTech, other than jamming when trying to load more than 37 rounds.

Did I get that right?

Ed

Close enough!! LOL!! Actually the 30 should have been a 40!

[Ed in North Texas]

At one point in time I tried three 20rd Tapco mags on my Chinese SKS. They pressed up against the bottom of the bolt so hard that it basically turned the rifle into a bolt action. On one magazine I tried to modify the lips and notch that held it in place, but I could never get it to feed more than two or three rounds. Another problem with detachable magazines on an SKS is the bolt has to be open in order to insert a new one.

As the bolt is not going into battery with the OEM, and is going fully into battery with the aftermarket, it seems probable that it will work with the Tapco type. When I get home I'll confirm full function with the aftermarket (if my wife or sons don't beat me to that) and work on the problem with the OEM.

Ed