Omaha shooter used an SKS with modified magazine
December 6th, 2007
UPDATE: The weapon has since been IDed as an AK-47 clone, not an SKS. It seems likely that the photo the commenter below saw on the news was not a photo of the actual weapon.
Just got this in a comment over at MO about the Omaha mall shooting incident from a reader who lives in the area:
Local TV showed a picture of the weapon this AM: SKS with the box mag removed and the mod for an AK style mag.
There are a number of routes to go for this, the most common being a magazine with a “bill” protruding from the front lip area. Some options have an adapter block that mounts into the weapon for “bill-less” mags, though I think these are almost always for use with mags designed for use with that particular style adapter, not for standard AK mags.
Generally, converting SKSes to use standard AK magazines requires a fair amount of machining to the weapon. I’m behind a firewall right now that prevents me from looking into this or providing any good links, so I just talking off the top of my head at this point.
Anyone with more knowledge, please speak up.
UPDATE: I should note that not all the common modifications for SKS magazines are for “removable” magazines. Some are fixed mags that increase the number of rounds held from the standard 10. It’s unclear whether this weapon’s mag was removable or not.
I updated the title of this post.
Tags: NE
