How loose are galil magazines in the saiga .223

[callahan318 0]

I am wanting to do a conversion, but i am wondering how loose these mags are. Is there any way to make them tighter if they are really loose? I am looking for a good, solid fit so that they will not drop out of the gun.

[gunguy51 0]

are these galil mags you're talking about mine fit tight front to back but some movement side to side to get rit of this when you sand or file the front of the mag file a little and then try to fit then in the mag well till they lockin tight a little movement is alright.

gunguy51

[dinzag 31]

The Orlites do rock back & forth. However, it does not affect function in the least.

You could probably build up some plastic on the bottom of the rear mag catch and file it clean.

 

The Steel galil mags (at least in my gun) need further movement of the rear catch to work properly.

 

Comparing the two side-by-side the cartridge base sits 0.05-0.06" lower than the orlites. As for why

some guys guns feed them, I don't know. Mine the bolt slips off the base and stovepipes the round.

[ChrisP 0]

They have some side to side wiggle but overall they're not bad. I wouldn't hesitate to use them.

[Bad Bob 0]

The Orlites do rock back & forth. However, it does not affect function in the least.

You could probably build up some plastic on the bottom of the rear mag catch and file it clean.

 

Dinzag's recommendation (not worrying about it, because "it does not affect function in the least") is probably the best. If you really need to have the Orlites fit tight (in terms of front-to-back motion), I would recommend what I did: I used the stock Saiga trigger guard (as shown in the tutorial), but left the front extension long enough to act as a spacer (or filler) between the Orlites' rear mag catch and the receiver. Worked great for me, but I'm planning on only using Orlites (no Bulgys, etc.). I did buy a couple of 12-rd steel Galil mags, and I had to file a little steel off the top of both of their rear mag catches so they would lock in. I'm happy with the result, but a tight fit, almost by definition, limits versatility...

The Steel galil mags (at least in my gun) need further movement of the rear catch to work properly.

 

Comparing the two side-by-side the cartridge base sits 0.05-0.06" lower than the orlites. As for why

some guys guns feed them, I don't know. Mine the bolt slips off the base and stovepipes the round.

 

As I mentioned above, I needed to file some steel off the top of each steel Galil mag catch, to get it to 'lock' in place in my Saiga. My recommendation: DO NOT EVER THIN THE BOTTOM OF THE MAG CATCH; as dinzag noted, the steel mags need to sit as high as possible to function correctly, and removing material from the bottom of the mag catch would let them sit lower.

 

Even with my steel Galil mags fitted as high as possible at the rear (I filed steel off the TOP, NOT THE BOTTOM of the rear mag catch), they would not feed from the left side. The bolt would ride over (and dent - dinzag has mentioned this problem) any cartridge feeding from the left side of the magazine. My solution? I made a 'relief cut' at the back of the mag, so I could get a file in to cut on the inside (bottom) of the lefthand feed lips. If you look at it, you will see what I mean: you need to remove material from the inside of the feedlip, so the lefthand cartridge will move a bit higher, and get caught by the bolt. The steel Galil feedlips are built like T-34 tanks, so you can file (or Dremel) material off the inside surface without compromising reliability or durability. I just picked an obvious angle (the factory feedlips are 'square,' looking front-to-back or vice versa - just turn that 'square' cross-section into a 'triangular' cross-section), and smoothed it out. A word of advice - if you modify the feedlips of any mag, try not to increase the distance between the left & right lip! That's asking for trouble, IMHO...

 

I'm really happy with my two 12-rd steel Galil mags - neither one locked or fed right up front, but a little work, and they're both 100%...

 

Remember: whenever you are removing material, GO SLOW, a test what you're looking for A LOT...

 

(EDIT: If you are working on your mags, it's best to remove the floorplate/spring/follower first, and clean out the mag body when you're done, before replacing the follower/spring/floorplate. You don't need any metal bits or other crap messing up the function of your magazine... ;>)

Edited February 13, 2007 by Bad Bob

[pogy 5]

My Orlite Galil's rock slightly side to side after I filed them to fit. To solve the mag catch slop, I put a dab of epoxy cement on the bottom of the mag catch and let it set up 24 hours. Then, just carefully file a flat into the epoxy constantly checking it until the mag snaps in tightly.

Edited February 13, 2007 by pogy

[Red Jacket 329]

all these Galil conversions we're doing use .223 Saigas as the base and go out with a steel mag . I test fire with steel and Orlite. To get them to fit/feed right I did away with the selector stop plate altogather . I weld the "stop" tap onto the maglatch assy . I'm using K-Var feed ramps ,re-shaped to a 45 degree angle and rivited it . I much prefer the Orlite , looks cool , but needs a tad of plastic shaved on the sides up top. hope this helps . Will

Edited February 13, 2007 by Red Jacket

[Bad Bob 0]

all these Galil conversions we're doing use .223 Saigas as the base and go out with a steel mag . I test fire with steel and Orlite. To get them to fit/feed right I did away with the selector stop plate altogather . I weld the "stop" tap onto the maglatch assy . I'm using K-Var feed ramps ,re-shaped to a 45 degree angle and rivited it . I much prefer the Orlite , looks cool , but needs a tad of plastic shaved on the sides up top. hope this helps . Will

Sounds like a very, very 'clean' conversion! And I have to agree with you about the Orlites - they do look (and function, with the 'shave' job) very "cool"...

 

;>)

[Red Jacket 329]

My R&D advantage . The willingness to destroy in order to find out . Bin's of parts from guns I broke trying to find out if "Hey . I wonder how......" , That and "You know what would be cool ? " are the phrases that have been the demise of many a otherwise functioning weapon . On the Galil mag's , knew a milled Galil had no plate under the latch , didn't know if that would carry over to the stamped Saiga or not . Kept shaving down the plate , going for feed , till it hit the point of "throw it away" . There ya go , a little at a time till it works .

[Bad Bob 0]

... a little at a time till it works .

That's what everyone here is looking for. Obviously, you can deliver!

 

;>)

[noxid 0]

I just got three of the Galil Orlites and I followed the picture to filing it down and it does rock from side to side. On the next two, instead of filing the ribs off flat, I made more of a wedge, filing the top flush and allowing it to build towards the bottom. The other two fit pretty tight almost no wiggle. They are not as easy to load and release as the first but they are not a problem.

Edited April 16, 2007 by Noxid

[Bad Bob 0]

I just got three of the Galil Orlites and I followed the picture to filing it down and it does rock from side to side. On the next two, instead of filing the ribs off flat, I made more of a wedge, filing the top flush and allowing it to build towards the bottom. The other two fit pretty tight almost no wiggle. They are not as easy to load and release as the first but they are not a problem.

That's probably a great idea! One of the other guys here basically said that, if you do only just enough to let your Orlites barely fit, they will adjust themselves (plastic rubbing against steel), with a little use...