DavePAL84 1 Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 I know many of us are always searching for new US compliant parts for our Saiga's and I kind of stumbled on this one on accident. I was trying to modify an Orlite follower and ended up buggering the whole thing up. I took an old USGI green AR mag follower and hacked it to size in just a few minutes with a dremel tool. I have lots of comparison photos below for reference: Standard USGI AR follower on the left, Galil Orlite on the right: Bottom view: Side view: Regular USGI on left, modified follower on right: Galil on left, modded USGI on right: Side view: As you can see although I had to thin out the rear tail I left some of it intact. Now the real question is, how does it function? The answer, well initially I wasn't so sure because the modded USGI follower sits much higher up in the magazine than the regular Galil follower as you can see here: However, when it took it out and live-fired it I experienced no hiccups with it at all. One more US part for those of you that need one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Outstanding!!! (A great idea, although some other folks - not me - have done a little work in that arena before: http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?showtopic=13611 ;>) (I figure the Magpul followers might work also, and have finally got off my sorry butt long enough to actually order some from Dillon... ;>) Please let us know how they function - an inexpensive & reliable compliance part is worth its weight in gold! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 (By the way, GREAT PHOTOS - thanks!!! ;>) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vjor 2 Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Cool more info for the brothers. nice done bother. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 I finally got my act together (I've been talking about doing it for many moons ;>) and converted a 'Magpul Gen II Self Leveling Follower' to fit the Galil Orlite mags. The Magpul follower has anti-tilt legs both fore & aft, so I figured it might be a better bet than the stock M-16 green followers. Took a while working with a file and a hack saw, but you could probably get it done with a belt sander in a couple of minutes. End result functions fine (hand cycling) and looks great (it has the Magpul logo & "5.56" visible when installed in the mag body). I just got transfered from a place where it was easy to find a place to shoot, to a major metro area, so it may take me a while to do a range test. I'll post pictures when I get a chance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bkbrno 0 Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Did the same thing last year with a green follower and a Magpul follower. The Magpul was more challenging but it works a lot smoother. I tried to fit one to a plastic 5.56 Bulgarian? mag and there was no way it was going to work. The E.German mag was the one that worked better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 My Orlites seem to have a couple of pairs of internal rails or ridges, one pair near the front of the mag, the other near the rear. The factory follower seems to engage the front pair. The Magpul follower I modified seems to use the rear pair more than the front - the rear anti-tilt legs on the modified Magpul follower look like they ride in the slot between the rear rails and the back of the magazine body. Seems to function 100% (although a range test is obviously required). A WORD TO THE WISE (WHICH I HAVE NEVER SEEN MENTIONED HERE): IF YOU REPLACE PARTS (INCUDING MAGAZINE PARTS) WITH AFTER-MARKET "COMPLIANCE" PARTS, PLEASE CONSIDER KEEPING THE ORIGINAL PARTS WHERE YOU CAN FIND THEM (CAVEAT - ASSUMING YOUR FEDERAL, STATE & LOCAL LAWS PERMIT IT). IF THE CURRENT LAWS CHANGE (OR THE SHTF - SAY AN ASTEROID TAKES OUT 49 OF THE 50 STATES, ETC.) YOU MIGHT WANT TO SWAP BACK TO ORIGINAL MILSPEC PARTS. FYI, FWIW, YMMV, etc., etc., etc... ;>) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dinzag 31 Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 pics gone now - can you just upload them here? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavePAL84 1 Posted December 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 pics gone now - can you just upload them here? Whose pics? I can still see mine... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dinzag 31 Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 They must have been down the other day, they're back now Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 OK, I finally got some photos of a modified 'Magpul Gen II Self Leveling Follower' that looks like it will fit Galil Orlites. Original Orlite follower on the left, original Magpul follower on the right, and modified follower in the middle: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Original Orlite follower on the left, original Magpul follower on the right, and modified follower in the middle - the front of the followers is towards the bottom of the photo: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 (edited) Order reversed here: original Orlite follower on the right, original Magpul follower on the left, and modified follower in the middle. The rear of the followers is towards the bottom of the photo: Edited December 29, 2007 by Bad Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Here's how the modified follower looks when installed in a Galil Orlite mag. The Magpul logo and "5.56" are visible (nice for compliance purposes ;>): Looks 'factory,' doesn't it? I've run the follower up & down in the mag several dozen times (using a long screw driver), and it hasn't hung up a single time, even when I try to tilt it. Still need to range test it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavePAL84 1 Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Here's how the modified follower looks when installed in a Galil Orlite mag. The Magpul logo and "5.56" are visible (nice for compliance purposes ;>): Looks 'factory,' doesn't it? I've run the follower up & down in the mag several dozen times (using a long screw driver), and it hasn't hung up a single time, even when I try to tilt it. Still need to range test it! Very nice work! I like the way the gray follower looks with the black mag body too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Very nice work! I like the way the gray follower looks with the black mag body too. Thanks, compadre! Magpul also makes them in orange (but orange was out-of-stock where I got mine)... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hoboscratch 0 Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Curious if you had a chance to test it on the range yet? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Curious if you had a chance to test it on the range yet? Unfortunately, no. Just moved to this town, and don't even know where the range is. I know a police officer here, and he suggested some range time, but it hasn't happened yet... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgunnar 0 Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Curious if you had a chance to test it on the range yet? Unfortunately, no. Just moved to this town, and don't even know where the range is. I know a police officer here, and he suggested some range time, but it hasn't happened yet... Just curious if you've had an opportunity to give these a try. I just ordered six galil's and am interested in knowing how you've made out with the magpul's. thanks, dgunnar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MD_Willington 11 Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 wonder if magpul would consider making these themselves, and maybe some for the 5.45 magazines... hmmm hmmm hmmm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikebaker1129 19 Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 How long did it take to do this mod ? How difficult was it to do ? Thanks....Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Azrial 1,091 Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Very Intersting Post! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Bob 0 Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 The Magpul PMag followers fit the Galil Orlites WITHOUT MODIFICATION. You can get them from Magpul - go to their web site, pull up the 2008 catalog, and go one page past the PMags - they have a PMag parts kit (follower, floor plate, etc.) for $5.95 (IIRC). I still have not had a chance to range test that setup, though (I've been so busy with work I haven't been shooting in over a year - God, how did THAT happen? I never meant to become a slave to my job!). Magpul has an 'EMag' (export mag) now, that looks a lot like the Galil Orlite, so maybe it's not an accident the PMag follower fits... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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