Greetings folks. As many of you know my shop has been producing a stainless steel mag release for the SKS platform. Recently we had the time to do some design improvements to our initial product. With the testing help of fellow board members mogunner and 40below, as well as myself and a local friend, we have created what I believe to be the best case scenario for an extended release. Although we were not able to offer every suggestion we got from all of the testing, we were able to incorporate a majority of things that have vastly improved what was already a pretty nice item.
Here is what the new, fully universal mag release looks like:
For those that have the original design, or are curious what the visual differences are, here is a side by side pic of the current version versus the new, universal version:
REVISIONSThere were many things that went into the redesign of this release. Although the new and old versions look similar, they are very much different. Here are the new additions to the design:
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Universal fit. The previous version of this was designed for milled trigger groups only. Although there were a few different successful applications on stamped groups, there were many that just would not fit. We wanted to offer something that would cover any trigger group with no issues, and we have completed that task. This has been tested on a variety of different SKS stamped groups, as well as milled groups. The installed operations have all been successful. We have even refined beyond the prototype test releases to make them even better than the ones that were tested, so the end result is pretty sweet indeed! We did find that the stamped groups quality tolerances vary quite a bit, so depending on the quality of the trigger group, some of them do have a decent amount of side to side play, but it does not seem to affect the operation any. The milled groups are of the same quality fit as they always have been.
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Radius corners. There is now the addition of two radius' where there was once square corners. This is actually an upgrade from the test releases. We wanted to add some visual style, and as a bonus the upper radius by the spring pin actually makes the pull on stamped groups much smoother. The old version (as well as the factory release) had a square corner and, depending on the quality of the stamped group, would cause a bit of a bind occasionally giving it a stronger pull feel. The addition of the upper radius helps to smooth out the transition of lower quality groups for flawless operation.
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Finger tang. The length of the release, as well as the actual tang itself, were thinned out from .125" to .100". This was done to be a bit more of a cosmetic blend to the trigger guard of the SKS. The .100" thickness is a similar average of the dozen or so SKS trigger guards that I could measure. I think that when it's installed it looks a bit more factory like than the thicker version. The tang was also lengthened as much as possible to maximize the material blank that is used. Along with a longer finger tang we also incorporated a 5 degree forward facing angle. This helps to eliminate any potential slipping off of the finger from the straight down version.
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Finish. All of our previous versions have been polished. After some suggestions we have now opted to offer them in a brushed surface finish instead of polished. We will still offer the polishing option for those interested, but many people seem to prefer less bling on their SKS, and so it shall be.
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Material. Personally I prefer stainless, but there have been a few customers here and there that have asked about getting a plain steel version that could be blued to match the finish of the SKS for a factory look. Although we are not offering the bluing service at this time, we will now be keeping limited inventory of these releases in plain steel as well as stainless. I know a lot of people do home bluing so this should be a great addition for those interested in doing that.
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Logo. We offer many products from our shop, as well as do a lot of custom work. Although not all of our regular inventory items would be good candidates for a brand logo, this particular item wears our belted magnum logo very well. I had originally designed this logo for custom pieces only, but since this is a pretty custom piece for an SKS I figured it was worthy of the logo.
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Pricing. The amount of labor for the stainless versus mild steel is identical, so they will all be $50 shipped for a direct buy from me with a 2 per person limit. We also sell on ebay and etsy for anyone who prefers that.
Let me know if you guys have any questions or comments. And thanks again to mogunner and 40below for their help. The pics, descriptions, and suggestions helped a lot in the final version of this release!
