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Which Saiga 12 mags are the best? Are surefire ones any good?

 

 

I thought the Surefire magazines would be great after reading about them. I got six of them on Saturday..... thank God I only opened two of the packages to test them! Loaded with five rounds each (12 round capacity) and here are the results:

 

 

First mag - snapped off at the catch first or second round.

IMAG0176.jpg

 

Second mag - snapped off at the catch definetly the first round fired.

IMAG0180.jpg

 

Close up shot of both mags:

IMAG0184.jpg

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Which Saiga 12 mags are the best? Are surefire ones any good?

 

 

I thought the Surefire magazines would be great after reading about them. I got six of them on Saturday..... thank God I only opened two of the packages to test them! Loaded with five rounds each (12 round capacity) and here are the results:

 

 

First mag - snapped off at the catch first or second round.

IMAG0176.jpg

 

Second mag - snapped off at the catch definetly the first round fired.

IMAG0180.jpg

 

Close up shot of both mags:

IMAG0184.jpg

 

 

They have a five year warrenty, you should be able to get your money back. Did this damage happen when you fired your gun or from attempting to load the mag in the gun?

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Which Saiga 12 mags are the best? Are surefire ones any good?

 

 

I thought the Surefire magazines would be great after reading about them. I got six of them on Saturday..... thank God I only opened two of the packages to test them! Loaded with five rounds each (12 round capacity) and here are the results:

 

 

 

Oh man!

 

I got the AGP mags and they're worked flawlessly for me, but someone said their's exploded. Evidently there is an issue with the AGPs when it's really cold outside.

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Nice stovepipe officer960!

 

I don't believe there is any mag that is the best, there have been people who have has issues with all of them.

 

I like my AGPs but there have been people who have had the same results patriot has had with them too.

 

By asking this kind of question your really opening yourself up to hearing horror stories.

 

Edited to give proper credit to stovepipe owner.

Edited by Nailbomb
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Which Saiga 12 mags are the best? Are surefire ones any good?

 

 

I thought the Surefire magazines would be great after reading about them. I got six of them on Saturday..... thank God I only opened two of the packages to test them! Loaded with five rounds each (12 round capacity) and here are the results:

 

 

First mag - snapped off at the catch first or second round.

IMAG0176.jpg

 

Second mag - snapped off at the catch definetly the first round fired.

IMAG0180.jpg

 

Close up shot of both mags:

IMAG0184.jpg

 

 

They have a five year warrenty, you should be able to get your money back. Did this damage happen when you fired your gun or from attempting to load the mag in the gun?

 

Both magazines were loaded into the weapon with the bolt locked to the rear. Closed the bolt, pulled the trigger.... Bang! Thud. Mags fell out and onto the ground.

 

I think I might just get some Russian 5 rounders instead.

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Nice stovepipe patriot!

 

 

Hey, that's my stovepipe! :rolleyes:

I will edit my post to correct myself. Sorry

 

 

I was able to get 6x 12rd surefire mags to cycle perfectly in my Saiga all loaded to capacity. I know that AKs are hand made with low tolerances. I wonder if it is possible for differences between guns to be so great that some mags will work better than others. Could this be why we hear of problems with just about every mag out there with no real answer on which one is the best? any thoughts?

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factory 8's offer the best capacity and reliability.

 

AGP's are slightly behind. Did I read somewhere that Tromix made some baseplates for use within the ridges that would allow you to shorten the mag by cutting at any (your choice) of the ridge locations? If so, that might be a good 8 rounder as was asked for.

 

I had planned to get a surefire mag or two, sometimes starting with 12 rounds can be ideal for a shotgun stage, and 2 cinched together might be the best solution for a stage of 21 to 25 rounds. But I'm going to pass untill QC catches up. If it's having trouble holding up with 1 long mag recoiling, I don't think it's going to like 2 cinched mags. Too much torque on the front lip it seems.

 

As for reasons that differing mags are behaving differently in different guns ... Sure, it might be a fit problem. But differences in shells and temperatures surely add to the confusion. Maybe different runs of plastic at the factory? And I'd guess that the shooter's ability to firmly shoulder the gun and prevent recoil movement also plays a role. IOW, I'd think that holding the saiga against a large tree would remove these issues as the gun doesn't move rearward and the mag's inertia doesn't end up torquing the front lip as it does when the shotty gun moves. That's just a guess tho.

Edited by kmoore
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Sorry to hear about your mags breaking. Every mag out there has had someone experience something bad with them. EVERY mag. Even the drums have had some problems.

 

Here's a short list I just put together using the search engine. As you can read, every mag has at one point or another had issues. Most have pretty good warranties though, so that's the good news.

 

"Same thing happened to AGP mag on first shot" thread

 

I WAS THE ONE THAT HAD THE AGP BREAK ON ME IN THE PREVIOUS THREAD.

 

ProMag thread

 

Another Promag thread

 

AGP complaint thread

 

Surefire thread

 

"Which mag is best" thread

 

 

I myself have had great results with my Surefire mags.

a video of me at the end of a shooting day firing off my last 8 rounds really quickly through a Surefire. This was after having put through 100+ rounds through it in 3 hours in about 16 degree temperatures.

 

It was on this same day that Juggernaut's AGP mag broke the front tab off on the first shot. I was the one that shot it when it happened. I had thought the mag catch wasn't locked all the way at first.

 

 

Corbin

Edited by Corbin
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Sorry to hear about your mags breaking. Every mag out there has had someone experience something bad with them. EVERY mag. Even the drums have had some problems.

 

Here's a short list I just put together using the search engine. As you can read, every mag has at one point or another had issues. Most have pretty good warranties though, so that's the good news.

 

"Same thing happened to AGP mag on first shot" thread

 

I WAS THE ONE THAT HAD THE AGP BREAK ON ME IN THE PREVIOUS THREAD.

 

ProMag thread

 

Another Promag thread

 

AGP complaint thread

 

Surefire thread

 

"Which mag is best" thread

 

 

I myself have had great results with my Surefire mags.

a video of me at the end of a shooting day firing off my last 8 rounds really quickly through a Surefire. This was after having put through 100+ rounds through it in 3 hours in about 16 degree temperatures.

 

It was on this same day that Juggernaut's AGP mag broke the front tab off on the first shot. I was the one that shot it when it happened. I had thought the mag catch wasn't locked all the way at first.

 

 

Corbin

 

I think I have commented in all/most of the threads mentioned by Corbin...

 

I own, and have tested: AGP, Surefire, Promag and Mike Davidson (MD20 drum) products.

 

FOR THE RECORD: I am unaware of any Promag ever breaking in this fashion. Can someone prove otherwise?

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I think I have commented in all/most of the threads mentioned by Corbin...

 

I own, and have tested: AGP, Surefire, Promag and Mike Davidson (MD20 drum) products.

 

FOR THE RECORD: I am unaware of any Promag ever breaking in this fashion. Can someone prove otherwise?

I can't but they havn't been out that long. Its still kindof cold here, when i get them in i'll pound them with some 3" wally world 00. Maybe i can get a failure so i can be the first to complain about them? :devil:

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Nice stovepipe officer960!

 

I don't believe there is any mag that is the best, there have been people who have has issues with all of them.

 

I like my AGPs but there have been people who have had the same results patriot has had with them too.

 

By asking this kind of question your really opening yourself up to hearing horror stories.

 

Edited to give proper credit to stovepipe owner.

 

Stovepipe????? That's a Locomotive Smoke Stack! :haha:

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Hey, this may not be the best place to put this, but just ordered more AGPs. I found the best price, $46 ea. at:

 

http://www.ambientweather.com/agparp1sa10r.html

 

Haven't dealt with this company before, so I hope they're good. Must admit, it's a little weird that a company selling weather-related equipment has diversified into shotgun mags, but I should celebrate their diversity....not judge it. Especially since they were the cheapest AND had some in-stock.

 

I know other makers are less expensive, but AGPs have treated me well, and I have a bad history with other companies' products. So, I'll stick with known quality for a few extra bucks.

 

AGP itself has a bunch in-stock, also, according to the website, but they're $50 a pop.

 

Fianlly, I love finding other sites listing these things for more than AGP is selling them directly, and they're back-ordered!!

 

Hope this helps.

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I myself have had great results with my Surefire mags.
a video of me at the end of a shooting day firing off my last 8 rounds really quickly through a Surefire. This was after having put through 100+ rounds through it in 3 hours in about 16 degree temperatures.

 

It was on this same day that Juggernaut's AGP mag broke the front tab off on the first shot. I was the one that shot it when it happened. I had thought the mag catch wasn't locked all the way at first.

 

 

Corbin

 

 

Are you going to TRY to tell me that is a semi-auto and your finger is REALLY that fast?

 

LOL

 

I love that S-12! Seriously, I love that!

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I'm not asking you to believe me if you don't want to. That's your choice. The fact is though that the Saiga was an "Obama Special" from Cadiz Gun Works and I had only had it about a week when that video was shot. It IS a semi auto, as Juggernaut could probably attest to. He was there. His wife was who shot the video. He's the one covered in snow.

 

Either way though, it makes little difference to me if you think I'm lying.

 

 

Corbin

 

 

By the way,

another video of me doing the same thing with a Ruger 10/22.

 

 

 

 

Are you going to TRY to tell me that is a semi-auto and your finger is REALLY that fast?

 

LOL

 

I love that S-12! Seriously, I love that!

Edited by Corbin
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I'm not asking you to believe me if you don't want to. That's your choice. The fact is though that the Saiga was an "Obama Special" from Cadiz Gun Works and I had only had it about a week when that video was shot. It IS a semi auto, as Juggernaut could probably attest to. He was there. His wife was who shot the video. He's the one covered in snow.

 

Either way though, it makes little difference to me if you think I'm lying.

 

 

Corbin

 

 

 

 

Are you going to TRY to tell me that is a semi-auto and your finger is REALLY that fast?

 

LOL

 

I love that S-12! Seriously, I love that!

 

Are 3in shells loaded to full mag capacity more likely to fail in sure fire mags?

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Note that there are no "factory8" complaint threads!

 

I'd forgotten about the AGP's breaking.

 

In VA, I doubt it gets cold enough to aid in the breakage, and if it did I doubt I'd be out shooting in it. :P

 

My educated guess is that more power + more weight and the distance that weight is from the fulcrum point at the front lip will all contribute to mag failure, cold temperatures are likely not to help either. So, yea, 3 inchers (heavier and more powerful) in a full mag (heavier and further) would be more likely to fail.

 

But it is just a hunch.

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Which Saiga 12 mags are the best? Are surefire ones any good?

 

 

I thought the Surefire magazines would be great after reading about them. I got six of them on Saturday..... thank God I only opened two of the packages to test them! Loaded with five rounds each (12 round capacity) and here are the results:

 

 

First mag - snapped off at the catch first or second round.

IMAG0176.jpg

 

Second mag - snapped off at the catch definetly the first round fired.

IMAG0180.jpg

 

Close up shot of both mags:

IMAG0184.jpg

Did those break with 3in shells or 2 3/4in? Was the mags loaded to capacity? Did your bolt hit the back of the mag after your first shot causing it to break?

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Kmoore,

I suspect you're right. I believe higher capacity mags are more prone to failing when fully loaded and when cold. Having 3" shells in them just increase the torque too. I wonder if anyone's ever busted a 5 rounder shooting mags. Probably not.

 

 

Corbin

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We have hammered on many many AGP mags and never encountered any issue....they hav all worked perfeclt. We will be buing more of them.

I have had no experience with surefire mags.

The only promag experience I had was with there 9mm smg mags. NOne would work. Exchanged them, again none would work....so I heaved them in front of us and we proceeded to FA them to bits :)

 

AGP for ME

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Hey, this may not be the best place to put this, but just ordered more AGPs. I found the best price, $46 ea. at:

 

http://www.ambientweather.com/agparp1sa10r.html

 

Haven't dealt with this company before, so I hope they're good. Must admit, it's a little weird that a company selling weather-related equipment has diversified into shotgun mags, but I should celebrate their diversity....not judge it. Especially since they were the cheapest AND had some in-stock.

 

I know other makers are less expensive, but AGPs have treated me well, and I have a bad history with other companies' products. So, I'll stick with known quality for a few extra bucks.

 

AGP itself has a bunch in-stock, also, according to the website, but they're $50 a pop.

 

Fianlly, I love finding other sites listing these things for more than AGP is selling them directly, and they're back-ordered!!

 

Hope this helps.

 

If you think that a weather-equipment related company selling gun stuff is weird check out what I stumbled across looking for Saiga 12 magazines! http://www.cosmeticmall.com/category.aspx?...d_category_id=0

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That does beat mine......

 

I guess you could sneak your gun accessory purchase by the wife by throwing in a lipstick or something. They never question the cost of that crap! It's more brilliant the more I think about it.

 

Will update after I get my mags from Ambient this week. I noticed someone else posted in another thread that they recently received some ProMags, I believe, from them, without a problem.

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I have 14 UNUSED AGP 10rd mags, and 4 factory 5rd......

......so I should rethink my curious surefire thoughts and hold to AGP?

 

off note, I am also trying to build a custom "Oh shiiiiit" vest.

I like the handgun molle mounted chest position with a primary weapon of rifle or 12ga

 

How many AGP would you keep?????

 

 

lol,.......This will be similar someday

post-9755-1235220395_thumb.jpg

Edited by Benelli M4 SPAS12 user
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My personal opinion is that an individual can hardly ever have too many mags or ammo....or firearms. :rolleyes:

 

If it were me, I would want no less than 10 mags and a boatload of ammo. Granted, I probably wouldn't be able to carry them all, but it's nice to have backup.

 

I might be another one of the lucky ones, but I have two Surefires with a couple hundred rounds through the 12 rounder and about 50 through the 8 rounder. That's all within the last month here in a Michigan winter. The first 100 rounds were in 16 degree tempuratures for about 3 hours out at "the pit" with Juggernaut and a few others. I never had a problem.

 

My experience with AGPs are somewhat limited. I'm expecting to get a clear one shortly though.

 

Corbin

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Response from Surefire Gun Magazines:

 

Please send the mags back to us at the below given address via USPS with signature required and we will send you new replacement mags.

We have discovered that the weight of the 10Rd. and 12Rd. mags cannot Handel the 3" shot shells of #6 and below. The concussion of the 3" shell is still occurring over the front part of the mag as it is being ejected and putting extreme pressure on the mag material. We originally tested the mag with 3" shells but the ammunition was #7 and above and we had no problems with a few thousand rounds. We did not anticipate anyone using high power rounds in the very high cap mags because of cost and inability to use them for hunting since all states govern restrictions of two RD's and 5RD's for hunting purposes with shotguns. Our mistake! There unfortunately is not a remedy to this situation so notices will be put on the 10 & 12 Rd mags and also on our web site. We have tested the competition magazines and found out they have the same problem as we do.

We actually have multiple people in different states who assist in test firing our new mags before we finalize the mold for production and none of them had any problems, so naturally we started production. Although we have only gotten 10 back out of approximate 18,0000 shipped to date for this problem that's 10 to many.

 

The two magazines that broke were each loaded with five 3 inch, high velocity #4 shells. Guess that was too much weight for them, but they were not even close to fully loaded. I will stick to 2 3/4 with the Surefire Mags. I will say so far that Surefire seems to be doing the right thing regarding the warranty.

 

Does anyone have a source for the Russian 8 round mags and what do they cost? Either they arent readily available or my search-fu is lacking, because I can't find any?!?

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