Some ammunition imported before this ban is still available. Surplus military ammunition from Com Bloc nations is currently banned from importation. The magazine can also be loaded with single rounds. The stripper clip is a one-piece spring steel stamping – very sturdy and efficient. It is important to exert thumb pressure against the cartridges as close to the clip as possible since pressure applied elsewhere makes it difficult to strip the last three rounds. The weapon is loaded from above with ten-round stripper clips for which a guide groove has been provided in the forward face of the bolt carrier. A coil spring set at the hinge point furnishes sufficient pressure to the follower’s arm to ensure the feeding of cartridges. Both the follower arm and the floor cap are hinged to the forward end of the magazine body. The magazine is unusual and consists of a stamped and welded sheet metal housing, stamped sheet metal floor cap, and a sheet metal follower. Chinese Type 56 semi-automatic carbine – Chinese SKS (Photo: XY) If properly locked onto the front sight base, the capsule lid can also serve as a blank firing device. Inside the capsule are a bore brush, a cleaning rod extension, and a tool to clear carbon fowling from the gas port. The body of the capsule also serves as a handle for the cleaning rod and its lid fastens over the muzzle to protect the rifle during cleaning. The buttstock of all versions is hollowed out to receive a cleaning kit contained in a steel capsule. The Chinese SKS is sometimes fitted with a synthetic plastic resin stock and handguard, which is molded in a reddish-brown color. The stock and handguard of the Soviet and Eastern bloc carbines are made of laminated beechwood with a hard, waterproof, clear lacquer finish.Ĭhinese-made SKS carbines are usually found with stocks and handguards made of porous Asian hardwood resembling teakwood and brushed with an orange-colored shellac-type finish. Both types are attached to the barrel and fold back under the barrel when not used. The last type is 12″ long and is needle-shaped. The earlier type is 9″ in length and resembles a knife blade. SKS carbines have been fitted with two different styles of the bayonet. A field-stripped SKS carbine – disassembled into major components for cleaning (Photo: XY) When locked, the lower rear end of the bolt butts against a hardened steel crosspiece set within the receiver. The camming surfaces within the bolt carrier move the rear end of the bolt down into the locked position. The compressed recoil spring forces the bolt and carrier to strip a cartridge from the magazine and chamber it. The kinetic energy imparted to the bolt carrier upon being struck by the tappet rod is sufficient to cause the bolt and bolt carrier to travel together 3 7/8″ rearward to extract and eject the fired case and to compress the recoil spring. The claw-like arrangement of the bolt carrier cams the rear end of the bolt upward, unlocking it ultimately after 7/16″ of rearward travel. In moving around, the tappet rod slides through a hole in the rear sight base and a corresponding one in the top of the receiver to strike the bolt carrier. When the rifle is fired, gas enters the gas port housing pressure to thrust the piston rod back against the short tappet rod. Its removal for field maintenance takes less than three seconds. The latch located on the right side of the sight locks the handguard-gas cylinder into place. The rear end butts against the rear sight base, containing the tappet rod and tappet rod return spring. The front end of the combined gas cylinder and handguard fits over a gas port housing pinned to the barrel approximately 7 inches from the muzzle. The gas cylinder is an integral part of the handguard and contains the piston rod. Unlike its predecessor, the Tokarev, the SKS features an instantly dismountable gas system. Because of its light recoil and moderate weight, SKS can achieve 35 rounds per minute of aimed fire.
The SKS and the PTRS were designed by the famed Russian arms inventor Sergei Simonov. It is a gas-operated, semi-automatic rifle and might be referred to as a miniature version of the 14.5mm PTRS semi-automatic antitank rifle used during World War 2.
The SKS was adopted by the Soviet Union in 1946 and is the basis for the later AK series of weapons.