SKS-D (Type 56 Model D)

About the SKS-D (Type 56 Model D)

The SKS-D (officially Type 56 Model D, with 'D' standing for 'Detachable') is a Chinese-produced SKS variant engineered to accept standard AK-47/AKM detachable box magazines instead of the SKS's traditional 10-round fixed internal magazine. Manufactured by Norinco in the early 1990s primarily for US commercial export, the SKS-D features a shortened gas tube with the gas block repositioned rearward to clear the magazine well, a modified trigger group with welded extensions accommodating an AK-style magazine release, and a rebuilt receiver opening sized for AK magazines. Both standard 521mm (20.5-inch) and 'paratrooper' 419mm (16.5-inch) barrel lengths were offered. Pre-1994 SKS-Ds retain the bayonet lug and removable spike bayonet; the closely related Type 56 Model M (SKS-M) was the post-ban-compliant version with the bayonet lug ground off and a sporterized stock. Importation ended in 1994 with the Clinton-era Chinese small arms import ban, making surviving examples increasingly collectible.

The SKS-D was Norinco's attempt to bridge the gap between the obsolete-but-cheap SKS and the AK-47, giving budget-conscious American shooters detachable magazines without paying AK-pattern prices. The window of legal importation slammed shut in 1994 - barely three years after the design debuted - making the SKS-D a brief, ironic footnote: a Chinese rifle designed entirely for an American market that abruptly stopped being allowed to buy it.

SKS-D (Type 56 Model D) specifications

The 'SKS-D' name was coined by American importers; Chinese factory markings simply read 'Type 56'. Some early SKS-Ds use proprietary magazines incompatible with standard AK pattern mags; later production runs accept any standard AKM magazine. The shortened gas system can be sensitive to ammunition power factor and may short-stroke with weak commercial loads.