Does anyone use a metal 40 round magazine for a SKS Rifle ?
A neighbor was showing me one He has for a Chinese Model and I am wondering if these magazine are dependable ?

They look cool, but that is about where it ends. Functionality is poor.
I even ditched 30 rnd mags for 20 rnds for my Mini 14 due to difficulty in prone shooting with long mags.
I figure if I am ever in a situation I need to be proned out, I really want to hug the dirt close!

All the aftermarket sks mags are iffy. Might work, might not. Might work sometimes

If you want more than the standard 10 rounds, find a Russian 20 round model. Works well, loads with 2 streppers, and hangs down less than any of the detachable mags. Ivan

I had an SKS carbine with a thumb-through stock that took AK style mags with no modification. Basically, it was made that way best I could tell, never had the box mag.

I had a 30rd mag for it and it never malfunctioned on me once.

Not sure if this is what you are referring to of the "adapter" detatchable mags that can be used on a model that originally had the hinged floorplate box mag. Those adapter mags had the long "toe" protruding from the front of the mag. Years ago I had one of those type too and got a 30rd mag. I didn't use it much as I found the aforementioned carbine and liked it better.

I have an SKSS (16" barrel and non-standard short gas tube) that came with some odd, unnamed duckbill type magazines. Only one of those magazines proved satisfactory, and only after a bit of modification. The rest were junk. I also tried a 20 round fixed Chinese magazine, but that was junk too and would not function at all. The original 10 round integral fixed magazine was missing so I had to buy another. It now functions perfectly with all ammo and I will never change that magazine. My Yugo 59/66 also functions flawlessly with the original 10 round magazine. I wouldn't use anything but an original 10 round magazine in any SKS.

Dave Sinko

The original 10 round fixed magazine can't be beat for reliability. If you wanted an AK you should have bought an AK.

__________________
LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

I agree, the original SKS 10 rnd magazine is about as reliable as it can get. Years ago when I had my SKS rifles (1 Russian and 2 Norico's) I bought a chinese fixed box 20 round mag for it and it performed terribly. I put it aside & reinstalled the original 10 rounder and never went back to anything else.

Imo, the aftermarket mags are pretty much junk. The ones I've seen were very inconsistent.

Stripper clips are your friend, and cheap.

The Chinese Type 84 SKS, SKS D and the SKS M were all set up to take AK mags. They mostly came with a 16" barrel (AKA paratrooper length) but some are around with the full 20" tube.

http://www.yooperj.com/SKS-23.htm

__________________
Release the Kraken

It depends on what type of mag you mean. The AK-style detachable mags are extremely unreliable. The original-style non-removable ones that simply replace the original mag, and look the same (just bigger) and function the same, work fine. They are fairly rare and, IMO, not really necessary, but they work. They were made in 20,30, and40-round versions.

__________________
Pisgah

The Tapco 20 rounders have treated me well. I would use them during 3-gun competitions. With brass ammo no problem. With steel ammo with a lacquer or polymer coating it would occasionally hang up. That was remedied with a super quick spritz of silicone lube on a handful of ammo before loading the mags. YMMV

Stay away for the steel 30 rounders. Pure junk