I recently purchased and installed one of Marcus's G5/1 adapter systems in my Norinco. The system is now installed and working.
After taking my rifle apart for the assembly, the adapter drops in place. The adapter is two parts to fit in the forward area of the magazine holder and secure in place via a screw which draws the two parts together.
At this point the variability in SKS tolerances can cause issues. In my case, my rifle is shorter than most in the magazine insertion area (apparently) as the G5 retractable piston was too far backward and interfered with magazine insertion/removal. The front tabs on the magazine would have to be shortened too much for this position (to maybe .040", far too short). In the picture below you can see the amount of overlap when the front release is fully depressed.
In the fully extended piston position, the initial assembly looked like this. If only the rear/standard mag release is used, the tab would almost be nonexistent for the mag to release.
Therefore, I needed to move the adapter forward so I modified how it fit into the front magazine catch of the rifle. Removing some material of the lower tang and deepening the recess the rifle magazine catch fits into allowed me enough movement. I still had to shorten the magazine forward tabs so they would clear when releasing the mag but now they had a reasonable protrusion.
With the fitment modifications, my initial functional test was successful. About 160 rounds in 7 magazines and the magazine adapter worked as expected and did not loosen. I have the issue of certain ammunition types sticking in the Tapco mags, but I will fix this before my next range session, and I still need to taper the feed lips at the top of mag for a little more entry angle to the chamber.
Overall, I'm pleased with the product, as it allowed me make this SKS a better tactical tool and eliminate those large duckbills when carrying mags on your body during training classes or matches.
