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Old July 30, 2014, 09:59 PM   #1
Theohazard
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Join Date: April 19, 2012
Location: Western PA
Posts: 3,829
A technical question about the history of the AK-47 in relation to the SKS...

I’m reading The Gun by C. J. Chivers, a book about the history of automatic weaponry in war, and focusing on the historical impact of the AK-47. It’s an excellent book, but it (understandably) doesn’t go into many technical details; it’s obviously written for a general audience that might not know anything about firearms.

Right now I’m at the part about the AK-47’s development. The author explains why the Soviets were looking for a new rifle, and how the SKS was lacking a full-auto ability and only had a 10-round fixed magazine. But so far, the author hasn’t explained why a completely new rifle was needed: Why couldn’t they just modify the SKS to be select-fire and have a detachable magazine?

Basically, my question is a technical one: What was it about the SKS’ design that required a completely new rifle instead of modifying the existing design? I suppose the author might address that question later, but I doubt it considering the general non-technical nature of the book.
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