AK magazines, which ones?

Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
9,073
Likes
8,941
Location
Breathing free in Tennessee!
Feedback: 115 / 0 / 0
So here I am in FreeMerica and need AK mags since I sold my pre-bans. I can buy pretty much anything I want, but what brand should I get? Magpul, thermold, ProMag, steel milsurps, what? Probably 20 or so, so $35 mags are a bit pricy. I also plan to leave at leave 3-6 loaded (yes, I'll rotate) so if there is a brand with known spring or feed lip issues I'd prefer to avoid them. Also, I already have one 75 round drum, probably going to add another eventually, they will stay loaded but untensioned.
Thanks:)
 
P mags. Sometimes they can have a tighter fit in certain receivers, so maybe bring a rifle into the shop and test some out?

I have to say I feel like I’m doing a much better job than you are about not gloating for moving to a free state in the last 6 months[banana]

personally, I’m keeping all my heavy comm-blocks because I like a little extra weight...OF those, I’m partial to my Chi-comm flat backs...but I’ve admittedly never had a Bakelite.

also...what’s keeping you from loading the ALL up? It’s not going to hurt them. Maybe just rotate the stacks as you take them to the range though...?
 
Last edited:
Steel combloc are still my favorite. I've scored them as low a $5 each but usually in the $13-$16 range.
Pmags have been fine. They have versions with steel locking lugs and ones without. The steel ones are considered more durable but have a higher price accordingly.
I have had bad luck with Tapco.
The bakelite ones are my true favorite but at $40 + each even in free America it's not practical to stack them deep.

The Unity mags out of Bosnia have shown conflicting reports. Some say they're awesome, others claim to have broken them.

Consider the KCI (Korean) mags to be hit or miss. They are very cheap though (usually $8-$10).

To echo what @76Too said, the Chinese flatbacks are awesome, but not nearly as cheap or prevalent as their European counterparts. I have a few flat backs, and I love them.
 
Steel commie mags or pmags. Stay away from pro mags, I bought one and it don’t fit :(
 
the best are poly tech with a chrome follower. good luck finding them
Steel combloc are next in line followed by Bakelites. check for rusty springs on the surplus. Plastic is not my thing.

hope this helps

Rick
 
I’ve owned 11 various AK’s and the Steel Comblocs were sometimes tight or wouldn’t fit certain rifles, they are a pain in the ass sometimes.
 
Also just going to throw it out there that if you intend to comply with 922r, make sure your AK is in compliance with a non-US magazine. While not an AK strictly speaking, some IWI rifles have disclaimers that they can only be legally used with US-made magazines due to parts counts.

Not advocating one way or another, just a PSA regarding the 3 parts (body, follower, floorplate) and compliance.
 
Well, I'm off to Sevierville with older daughter for boots. She's visiting this week (last week it was younger daughter) and wants boots. Boot store is across the street from Smoky Mountain Knife Works where I found the barrel o' mags last week, all Bulgarian wrapped on plastic.

Honestly,i like the comboc steel, figure it's what the guns i have (WASR 10's) were made for, just looking for an alternative like p-mags are for the AR. I'm not a fan of the ProMags based on prior pistol mag experience, once gave away 6 because they just sucked.
 
Pmags, standard romanian mags, bulgarian anything (Steel or plastic waffle mags), and chinese flatbacks.... the flatbacks like daekken says are awesome, but they are a pain in the ass to find or expensive.

And yes, Promag is garbage, all the stuff they make is shit, wise to run away from that. No need to go down that road.

If you have to flint the $11 combloc specials are just fine.

-Mike
 
I’ve never had an FTF with any combloc mag, based on Russian, Romanian, East German, and Chinese flatback.

With AK mags, I doubt there’s a reason to pay a premium.
 
Be prepared to take a flat file to the rear lug for fitment, it's a common thing with those.

Other than that, they should out last you.

File, check, file, check, don't go apeshit removing material.
 
Be prepared to take a flat file to the rear lug for fitment, it's a common thing with those.

Other than that, they should out last you.

File, check, file, check, don't go apeshit removing material.
Good plan, appreciate the advice
I prefer the 20 round Bulgarian "tanker" mags myself.
I'd like to give them a shot, haven't found any yet ☹️
 
I’ve never had an FTF with any combloc mag, based on Russian, Romanian, East German, and Chinese flatback.

With AK mags, I doubt there’s a reason to pay a premium.

Believe it or not, there is some trash out there, but it's not usually necessary to pay a premium to get around it.

The trash is usually self evident if you look at the mag for longer than a few seconds..... I have a 40 rounder in my basement rusting somewhere because it was a
piece of shit. When I got it home it was more obvious, I pushed a cleaning rod on teh follower and it did the scrapety scrape f***stick thing on the way down, because the
mag itself was out of spec.

-Mike
 
Back
Top Bottom