Guide: how to mod military mags

[usmc_mwroseberry 0]

First is the reason I have not gone the bullet guide route. First I wanted to still be able to use my factory mags for deer hunting. In some states you have a limit to 10rds for hunting purposes and I wanted to be legal while hunting. Also I had purchased a surefire mag that I didn't want to be unable to use after the process was complete.

 

The mag I'm going to show you is already complete and works flawlessly. I wish I would have taken before pictures but when you get your mags you will know what the starting point looks like. Here is how to tear the mag down.

 

Depress the button located on the bottom of the mag:

 

 

While button is depressed slide the base plate:

 

 

Once the base plate is removed be careful as the spring is under pressure and is quite long. After done pull out spring and base plate (slides right out):

 

 

The next step is filling in the lip of the mag. I do not currently have a welder so I took a set of three mags to a weld shop (cost $20 to get all three done) and explained that I wanted additional material on the front lip and fill the lip area in to be even with the rest of the front of the mag. Afterward I took a file that I purchased from sears for $6 and filed the added material to make it smooth and even. Also matched the lip depth with that of a factory or surefire mag. The distance shown in the next two images is the the most important to making this work. Use your file and test fitting and measuring to ensure this area is the correct size.

 

 

 

Finally you need to file the rear catch. Removing material from the sides of the catch is not important and I would advise against it. Instead focus on making the catch thinner. Use your file and file from the bottom up to make your catch thinner vertically in order to let it fit under your mag catch. Test fit and ensure that you attempt to match your factory or surefire mag catch thickness. Also ensure that the mag catch comes closed once the mag is installed. If it doesn't completely close the mag may fall out during firing.

 

 

 

Next paint your mags, re-install the followers, springs and plates and you are complete.

 

Ensure that your parts count is correct for these mods. You need to be 922r complaint. You can add US made followers and base plates which does give you two compliance parts however the mag body will always be foreign therefor you need to account for this in your parts count.

 

Good luck and if you have any more questions please ask.

 

Thank you,

Merritt

SGT USMC vet.

Edited April 11, 2009 by usmc_mwroseberry

[BKLYN_C 14]

Why did you decide to go this route?

IMO, the bullet guide and mag latch is better mod. I can use any AK-47 mags in all my AK's and Saiga.

My saiga is the newer model with flat in the trunion. All it took a 12x10x2 mm piece of steel and 1 hour to make it all fit and work.

[usmc_mwroseberry 0]

Why did you decide to go this route?

IMO, the bullet guide and mag latch is better mod. I can use any AK-47 mags in all my AK's and Saiga.

My saiga is the newer model with flat in the trunion. All it took a 12x10x2 mm piece of steel and 1 hour to make it all fit and work.

 

Please look at my first paragraph.

[imarangemaster 315]

I used the Dinzag bullet guide kit ($30) in my flat trunion Saiga and the factory mag still works, even after trimming the mag catch.

[ninja99 0]

Modifying the gun to take AK mags DOES NOT render the original mag useless. I filed my mag catch and added a bullet guide. My gun now takes regular ak mags, but the original 10rd mag still works just fine, it just wobbles a bit now.

Edited April 11, 2009 by ninja99

[jackstraw 1]

Merritt,

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

-Jack

[BKLYN_C 14]

Why did you decide to go this route?

IMO, the bullet guide and mag latch is better mod. I can use any AK-47 mags in all my AK's and Saiga.

My saiga is the newer model with flat in the trunion. All it took a 12x10x2 mm piece of steel and 1 hour to make it all fit and work.

 

Please look at my first paragraph.

 

I still am being able to use the factory saiga magazine. Its all the matter how you grind the mag latch

[Agias 0]

Good job trashing some perfectly good AK mags : (

[usmc_mwroseberry 0]

To each his own gentlemen. This is a guide to help those out that have been asking. You have your own opinion and are entitled to it however I have mine and will voice it and help anyone that asks for it. If anyone has a problem with this my front door is always open.... I just can't promise you will make it back out alive ...

 

For those of you that requested this you're welcome for those of you that make no contribution to this site but to trash others trying to help, then you need to find better things to do with your time.

 

Thank you,

Merritt

SGT USMC vet.

[Myetball 1]

Good job trashing some perfectly good AK mags : (

 

Considering AK's are the most prolific weapon in the history of mankind, I would assume that AK mags are the most prolific magazine. How many millions are out there. What a ridiculous comment.

[nalioth 405]

To each his own gentlemen. This is a guide to help those out that have been asking. You have your own opinion and are entitled to it however I have mine and will voice it and help anyone that asks for it. If anyone has a problem with this my front door is always open.... I just can't promise you will make it back out alive ...

 

For those of you that requested this you're welcome for those of you that make no contribution to this site but to trash others trying to help, then you need to find better things to do with your time.

 

Thank you,

Merritt

SGT USMC vet.

The point they're trying to make is:

 

Your mod is costly and unnecessary to achieve your stated results (ability to use factory 10 rounders).

 

I will admit that it should work well.

 

It is the same technique Surefire started out with on their Saiga mags.

[Agias 0]

To those who start crying at the slightest negative opinion, allow me to present smy point of view.

 

First, as has been said above you can still use your factory mag in a converted Saiga, and there are military AK magazines in various sizes from 5 to 100 rounds, so modifying the magazines instead of the rifle seems like backwards thinking to me.

 

If you modified the gun instead, it would be compatible with the millions of military magazines out there, not just the few you butcher.

 

And second, AK mags won't be so prolific if people keep turning them into rifle stands and saiga mags! There are only so many 7.62 steel mags now, nobody makes them anymore and every time someone cuts one up, or one rusts away in a warehouse/stash, we'll have less of them. If you're going to cut them up at least don't do it to new condition bulgarian ones!

[usmc_mwroseberry 0]

First, as has been said above you can still use your factory mag in a converted Saiga, and there are military AK magazines in various sizes from 5 to 100 rounds, so modifying the magazines instead of the rifle seems like backwards thinking to me.

 

If a factory mag will work in your weapon then these "butchered" mags should work as well. They have the same front lip and rear catch sizes.

[Agias 0]

Snap, you're absoloutely right! They should still be functional in a normal AK. Now what should i say to keep my post valid to some degree.... oh i got it! You're still modifying them and thus trashing the collector value.

 

EDIT: Oh and obviously your saiga will still only work with the mags you modified if you convert the mags instead of the rifle.

Edited April 12, 2009 by Agias

[imarangemaster 315]

Agias,

 

Lighten up! It's not your weapon or your mags he is modifying, it's his. I was the first to point out that factory mags work with the latch conversion and bullet guide, BUT, if that's what the man feels comfortable with and wants to do, that's OK too.

 

It's like being a stock Ford Mustang man and being pissed because some one wants to customize theirs with wide tires and a flame paint job.

 

Ity's his weapon and he has to feel comfortable with it.

[Agias 0]

It's like being a stock Ford Mustang man and being pissed because some one wants to customize theirs with wide tires and a flame paint job.

Ah, the car analogies always work. I'm a bit of an asshole in that regard - i can't stand when someone rices up an E34. But i don't think this is the case here. Sure i expressed my displeasure towards him modifying mags, but ultimately my "suggestion" would improve his rifle. Although i'm not sure about the availablility of 5,10 and 10in30 mags in the US, i'm sure you guys have some of those too.

[Shellshock1918 1]

The 10 rnd mags still work if you file the mag catch...

[ninja99 0]

To each his own gentlemen. This is a guide to help those out that have been asking. You have your own opinion and are entitled to it however I have mine and will voice it and help anyone that asks for it. If anyone has a problem with this my front door is always open.... I just can't promise you will make it back out alive ...

 

For those of you that requested this you're welcome for those of you that make no contribution to this site but to trash others trying to help, then you need to find better things to do with your time.

 

Thank you,

Merritt

SGT USMC vet.

 

not trashing your post. just imforming you there was a better and probably smarter way to do it, thats all

[usmc_mwroseberry 0]

I understand that all of you were stating you opinion on how you felt there was a better way of doing this. I just got a little wound up when I try to help people because of something that is asked over and over again and I have to worry about putting my flame suit on. I was just trying to help the members out that asked for the help. To each his own and I may in the distant future decide to add a bullet guide but I am in utter fear of messing up my trunion. Drilling the hole I'm not worried about but the tapping I have a bad feeling will end up messed up and then I'm stuck with a F*ed up dimpled saiga.

 

This is simply another option for those of us that don't have tapping experience.

 

Good luck,

Merritt

[nalioth 405]

To each his own and I may in the distant future decide to add a bullet guide but I am in utter fear of messing up my trunion. Drilling the hole I'm not worried about but the tapping I have a bad feeling will end up messed up and then I'm stuck with a F*ed up dimpled saiga.

I hand riveted a bullet guide in place.

 

If you screw up the tapping there are many options:

 

1) drill a slightly bigger hole and resume tapping (you'll need a slightly bigger screw, of course)

 

2) hand rivet (as mentioned above)

 

3) plug weld the bullet guide in place

 

4) weld up the 'butchered' hole and start over

 

 

 

Your fears are groundless. Converting a Saiga is a simple procedure.

[Bizzarolibe 5]

Actually, for those of you short on time (or maybe patience) here's a lighting fast way to make your AK mag Saiga compliant:

 

1. File down the catch (obviously).

2. Go out and buy some heavy duty stainless steel hose clamps. They're super strong but can still be cut with needlenose pliers. Cut a rectangular section 11mm wide and 5mm tall.

3. Use a saudering iron (or use super glue if you don't one) to sauder the piece of hose clamp at a 45 degree angle on the forward top part of the magazine.

4. After that, I added a polymer compound that they use to patch up cracks in fiberglass and coated the steel plate with it. I then coated that with a clear coat, like what they use to paint cars with. You're done!

 

Now step 4 is totally optional. I put about 400 rounds through it without all the coating stuff with aboslutly 0 problems. I just added it to make it look better as I'm selling the mag on Gunbroker. I just added a pistol grip and all that stuff to my Saiga so now I can only use US made mags. The AK mag is way better quality than the Surefire stuff. If you have enough US parts to where you can use a foreign mag in your Saiga, stick with the converted AK mags. Hope this was informative!

Edited April 14, 2009 by Bizzarolibe

[shades_of_grey 1,092]

usmc_mwroseberry, if you're worried that you'll screw up the bullet guide installation, why not just pay a gunsmith or someone else who's done it before to do it for you?

 

/shrug Just makes more sense to me to do that than to screw up military mags. Also, once you've got a bullet guide in place, you won't be restricted to your mags that you've "modded".. you can use any standard AK mag you wish.

Edited April 14, 2009 by post-apocalyptic

[Myetball 1]

... If you have enough US parts to where you can use a foreign mag in your Saiga, stick with the converted AK mags. Hope this was informative!

 

Wonder if anyone could tell if you take some AK mags to a trophy shop and have them engrave a big U.S. with a circle around it, or "Made In USA", on the mag body, floor plate and follower. Then blue/paint over the engraving.

Edited April 15, 2009 by Myetball

[imarangemaster 315]

KVAR us followers are $2 each,Tapco followers (+5) $3 each, and KVAR floor plates $4 each. Why chance it! even if using a stock Saiga, you can use Kvar hammer and Disconnector (2 parts about $20) and a TapcoGalil handguard $60. WHere you can't have a PG conversion, you can still play the parts game.

Edited April 16, 2009 by imarangemaster