AK mag well question

[bdb]

So I picked up one of those WASRs from J&G. I have been to the range with it twice now and like it. I also bought 8 Romanian surplus mags for it. My issue is that of the 8, 4 work great, 2 are REALLY a tight to get in and 2 won't go even if I pound at them. Before I get out tools I figured I'd double check here. I assume I need to take a file and widen the mag well a hair. Does this seem like the best approach?

 

[Nation On Fire]

Before you mess with the magwell, take a look at the lips on the mag that go into the mag catch. I had a lot that were too big, so I filed the mags down a little. Also, when I first got my wasr, the mag catch was a little too wide, so I bought an ambidextrous extended one. Mine had a lot of other problems at first, but I was able to fix them.

 

[Hellbound]

I would consider altering the mag before the rifle (magwell) itself.

 

[dnepro-mike]

check mags dimensions for consistency.
maybe compare against some other mags from diferent country of origin.
I have polish, russian and hungarian ak47 mags. i can take measurments of areas in question for you if you need it. just PM me if you decide to take this route.

 

[Horrible]

I would consider altering the mag before the rifle (magwell) itself.

This. Don't mess with the mag well. Mags sometimes have different widths. Some will fit better than others. The next one you buy may be too loose a fit if you lather the mag well.

I would file the mag to fit.

 

[bdb]

Not a single vote for a hammer and bottle of vodka to fix anything on the rifle? You guys are slipping . Yeah I guess I'll mess with the mags first, probably a better idea.

 

[Queen Bee]

yup, like everyone has already said , grind on the mags .. they are much cheaper to replace.

took a few to a dremel and got 2 out of the 4 that were not originally working, able to be used in my Norinco.

 

[HansGruber]

+1 use a micrometer to measure the width of the magazines. Sand the beefy ones down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mikelawtown]

sand/file here

----->View attachment 121221

 

[billmelater]

Aren't the WASR's imported with single stack mags? I think the magwells are widened by hand at the importers before they're sold here in the US with the wider 30 rd mags. They use their thumbs to measure the width, which is usually close enough for AK's.
Somewhere online you can find the specs for the opening. I did have to Dremel one of mine out to meet the minimum. And it [STRIKE=undefined]has to[/STRIKE] should be close to center.

 

[Archilochus]

In general I'd agree not to mess with the receiver - but I have one of these and EVERY mag was really tight in it. I did finally take a file and remove a small amount on the opening.

 

[LoginName]

Aren't the WASR's imported with single stack mags? I think the magwells are widened by hand at the importers before they're sold here in the US with the wider 30 rd mags. They use their thumbs to measure the width, which is usually close enough for AK's.
Somewhere online you can find the specs for the opening. I did have to Dremel one of mine out to meet the minimum. And it [STRIKE=undefined]has to[/STRIKE] should be close to center.

Yep.

Tight magwells and canted front sights are old, common problems with CAI AK-47's.

I'm going to go against the majority (so far), and say to open up the magwell a bit with a file.

If it's only tight with a few mags, it should only require very little material removed.

Touch up the bare metal with cold blue.

 

[SKS Ray]

Aren't the WASR's imported with single stack mags? I think the magwells are widened by hand at the importers before they're sold here in the US with the wider 30 rd mags. They use their thumbs to measure the width, which is usually close enough for AK's.
Somewhere online you can find the specs for the opening. I did have to Dremel one of mine out to meet the minimum. And it [STRIKE=undefined]has to[/STRIKE] should be close to center.

They are imported with single stacks and widened when they reach the importer. After a few rifles were widened too far they have been careful and haven't been removing too much material.

If your other mags fit snug but work, it wouldn't hurt to remove some material. Any AK should be able to take a plastic Tapco magazine which are slightly oversized to begin with for a snug fit.

I agree with modding the other mags but you should get a Tapco (10 rounder if you're in MA) and see if it fits.

 

[Terminator03]

On my M&M, several mags were tight, but not the magwell. On mine it was the mag catch that was way too tight. I could lock them in, but not get them out afterward! I'd have to pry very hard on the release to break them loose, so I had to modify the mag catches on a few that were problematic.

On my particular rifle the Maxwell itself was CNC machined and perfect dimensionally, but not diverted at all. The edges were razor sharp so I sanded them. I also radiused the catch hoping it wouldn't jamb so tight, but found fixing the mags was more effective since not all mags fit the same.

 

[dhuze]

I tried to put a Drum mag in mine and it wouldn't go. I looked at the mag well and noticed there were two little "v" shaped protrusions into the mag well area. a quick couple pushes of a file and the drum fit perfectly. It looked to me like it was purposely made that way.

 

[Maniac Mac]

Yep.

Tight magwells and canted front sights are old, common problems with CAI AK-47's.

I'm going to go against the majority (so far), and say to open up the magwell a bit with a file.

If it's only tight with a few mags, it should only require very little material removed.

Touch up the bare metal with cold blue.

The pre-2008 WASRs had many of the problems. However, around 2008 they got a huge change in Quality Control. After that very few came outta there with these issues.

 

[bdb]

Well, it's done and works great now. I needed to open up the front of the mag well where it narrows down. Just a little too tight. A couple of minutes with a dremel and some cold blue and now all is well. All mags, even my new 5 rounder that wouldn't go in at all are now functional. Didn't take much material removal at all. Thanks for all the replies.