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Modded my Saiga .223 for 5.45 mags


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There seems to be a large gap in the info about doing this mod. Yes, modified Weiger mags work great, but they are expensive and if you have more than one .223 AK you don't want "special" mags just for the Saiga. This was the case.

 

So I got out the old Dremel tool and ground down the front trunnion lugs until a Bulgarian 5.45 mag would fit tight. That's all I did. To my surprise all ten of my 5.45 mags fit and fed (hand cycling). I was expecting to have to buy or make special followers but these are good so far. Another surprise was that my three modified Weiger mags still fit tight and fed perfectly even though they are filed down in the front.

 

So... did I just get lucky? Will a problem develop when I go shooting next? No matter how much I read about the special followers I can't see how it would help.

 

I really hope it works since I bought these mags way back when they were $7.00 ea. I need these to work in the .223 Saiga, a 5.56 AK and a 5.45 AK.

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So... did I just get lucky? Will a problem develop when I go shooting next?

 

I really hope it works since I bought these mags way back when they were $7.00 ea. I need these to work in the .223 Saiga, a 5.56 AK and a 5.45 AK.

Did you load them with 30 rounds? Due to the case designs, loading .223 into the 5.45x39 mags doesn't work too well after round number __.

 

If you compare dedicated AK mags, the .223 magazines are straighter than the 5.45 for this reason.

 

On the far left is a Bulgarian Factory 10 5.56x45 (.223 Rem) 30 round magazine and on the far right is a Bulgarian factory 10 5.45x39 30 round magazine

 

akmagsge2.jpg

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Hmm, no I didn't load them to full capacity. Well, can somebody actually post a picture of the modification to the follower? Everyone is explaining it in a couple of paragraphs but a picture is worth a thousand words! It just doesn't register with me unless I can see it... you know?

http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?showtopic=9148 << very nice post by Dinzag

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Hmm, no I didn't load them to full capacity. Well, can somebody actually post a picture of the modification to the follower? Everyone is explaining it in a couple of paragraphs but a picture is worth a thousand words! It just doesn't register with me unless I can see it... you know?

http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?showtopic=9148 << very nice post by Dinzag

Great reference! Thanks!

 

;>)

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Yeah, if you look carefully, the bullets will not line up correctly and will be pointed towards eachother. You have to remove some of the plastic on the underside of the lips, and some from the follower. Then I had to add a ramp to the mag out of JB Weld. I got them to eventually work, but i would not consider them to be reliable.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you only load 20 rounds then 5.45 mags will usually feed alright, (they'll feed even better if you file the area right in front of the feed lips a little too). If you want to load them to capacity then you'll need to either modify the followers or get aftermarket followers like the Robarms ones.

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