I have a chance to buy a SKS D, but have heard it’s very finicky with mags and unreliable in general.

Any truth to this? If so, are the problems easily fixed by tweaking mags, polishing etc?

I’m pretty familiar with the SKS, but not the ones that take AK mags.

Thanks.

I have had 4-5 of the SKS-M's and 2 of the SKS-D's over the years

They are reliable as an AK,only issue i ever had with one was a broken extractor which was a simple fix and a wearable part.Keep some spare parts like gas piston,extractor,firing pin just in case.

On the question of mags here is what i know from owning these

Do not use or try to insert any polymer mag even if it looks like it will go into the magwell.

They go in and are very,very hard to remove.I am talking using a rubber mallet to whack them out tight.Just dont do it

Use surplus steel AK mags.Each one will fit different,doesnt matter on country of origin.I had 30 or so mags and went through them all until i found 10 or so that fir great with zero modding of the mags

Some guys say Chinese mags fit best but that is not always true.Some are either too tight and some are wobbly as shit.I also remember that Yugo steel mags were often very tight

I wouldnt file down or polish any mags,just grab a bunch and mark the ones that fit and stick with those mags.

Other than that they are great rifles.Hope this helps

OK great.

I have a bunch of BHO Yugos. I’d try them first since I have them.

I think they were tighter than other surplus mags as they might be a tad bit thicker.

You will know when one is too tight.If it goes into the magwell tight and wont come out,grab a rubber mallet,hold the mag release and whack the shit out of the mag on the spine

It comes with 3 30 round flatbacks.

I grabbed one and it seated and removed easy, but not too loose IMO.

I’ll measure all dimensions and try to find ones that come close. I’m sure with the loose tolerances measurements will be all over the place.

I’m happy these things can be AK reliable. I’ve always liked the SKS better than the AK, but wished for higher capacity.

Where’s the go to place for spare parts?

They are very reliable,just keep the firing pin area clean so you dont get any slam fires.

SKS's are usually a bit more accurate than an AK from my experience with them

Here is the go to parts website for all your SKS needs. He has all the spare parts you would want to have.Be aware that the extractors have went way up in price in the last 5-6 years

They used to be $12-20 each,now $30-40 since parts are drying up.I have bought from this guy a bunch,he is GTG

https://www.desertfoxsales.com/sks_parts_stripper_clips_stocks_s/1.htm

Get these parts at a minimum -

Recoil spring
Extractor - x2
Gas Piston Extension Spring
EXTRACTOR SPRING
SKS GAS PISTON EXTENSION
Firing Pin
SKS Spring Kit ( this is the way to go to have all the springs in one package)
Gas Piston( if the original is in excellent shape then this is optional)  If its pitted get a spare
FIRING PIN RETAINER PIN -x2

The only thing i see that he doesnt have in stock is the firing pin retaining pin.Check gunbroker or ebay.A lot of SKS's are being parted out as the parts get harder to buy.

Thanks a lot for the info.

I really appreciate it.

Your welcome,glad to be of help

Very stiff and difficult to insert AK mags but its a lot of fun

I had one. It was finicky about mags and somewhat unreliable.

Some of the early imported ones were converted here in the states and were unreliable.

The Chinese then took notice of the conversions going on here and did it themselves in Chinese factories

Every one i have owned shot fine,i am sure there are some bad apples in the bunch though

That’s nuts that a gunsmith here did the mag conversion, and the Chicoms copied it.

You’d think they could have come up with it on their own.

I think Norinco made a M14 copy in x39 that took AK mags.

It was a importer or a big dealer in the midwest if i remember correctly.

They did a conversion,it took off with sales even though it wasnt reliable.

Then the Chinese were visiting for new guns they wanted to export to the US and they found out about the conversion.The Chinese made notes on the bolt conversion and magwell and took it back to China

They pretty much perfected it and pumped them out like candy.

The end

Not familiar with the M14 taking x39 but i know they did a rare SKS in .223.

It was a prototype very few made it into the US as the ban started around that time

The Chicoms can copy anything if given the time to do it and they can make money on it

Forgot to mention, the x39 M14 was in a Canadian ad IIRC.

I actually remember the Shotgun News ad (I think is was J&S sales) with the .223 SKS.

I’ve never even heard of one in the wild though.

Guy had one in his collection years ago,refused to sell it at any price.

Cant remember if he was a dealer or a distributor.

Either one would be awesome!

I have a couple AK mag SKS. I have not yet found a Chinese mag that has not worked. Polymer and other mags can be tight but I have never had to use a mallet or anything to get one out.

Chinese 10rd mags and Hungarian 20rd are what I use the most.

My SKS-M works well with Magpul mags.