Yugo SKS problem
Any ideas? Last week on Saturday it chambered rounds flawlessly. The next day when my son wanted to shoot it, we couldn't get rounds to chamber without 'helping' them. It's like the rounds wouldn't 'raise up enough' for the bolt to push them into the chamber. The round is jammed between the rear of the chamber and the bolt. Like I said earlier, it's like it's not raising up enough to slide into the chamber. There's several pics from different angles in hopes that someone'll be able to point out my problem. The next pic is of the magazine and where the round is when it's jammed (I didn't slide it forward). I noticed some scuff marks on the back side of the magazine. Is this normal? The round on the right is the one that we tried chambering. As you can see, the bullet is pushed into the casing further than it should be. Is this round safe to shoot? I appreciate the help. Thanks.

First things first. What kind of ammo are you using. Looking in the first picture, For some reason that don't look like 7.62x39. Secondly, Do you have the original magazine, Some magazine don't work well at all. They can cause dozens of problems. If I was you I would try to find an original factory magazine. Most of the time you can load 10 rounds of s stripper clip quicker than you could change a mag. Dustin

Dustin answered your question. IT IS A Magazine lip problem. the average after market magazine just isn't strong enough. I have tried lots of them and haven't found one that lasted me more then 2 or 3 trips to the range. The SKS is one fine weapon and will work forever with very little maintenance but the after market stuff just don't hold up. Ron

The round on the right is the one that we tried chambering. As you can see, the bullet is pushed into the casing further than it should be. Is this round safe to shoot? No it now seated to deep and will cause excessive pressure. You can pull it out to the correct COL and shoot it

Also another reason the magazines don't always work right is, That their is no such thing as a magic magazine. Their are a dozen different models of SKS's and thousands of minor design differences. And it is impossible to make just one magazine that work on every different variant But if you want a little higher capacity than 10 rounds the fixed 20 round chinnese originals work good on most different modelshttp://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=83862674 Dustin

Thanks guys. I really do appreciate the help. Oh, those are 'Silver Bear' cartridges made in Russia. 123 grain bimetal hollow points w/ zinc plated casings.

The only aftermarket mag that works well are the old USA brand ones but they are hard to find. Also, the front notch in the receiver for the Yugo is machined a little lower than most SKS's so low-feed problems are common when a non-factory mag is used.