bigsal 757 Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Range Report: I took the three untested Korean Magazines I acquired from Aimsurplus out to the local range. They each were extremely tight fitting. The magazines functioned flawlessly. My buddy welded some reactive and stationary targets out of some scrap he pulled out of the city dump. We were quite a sight to see hauling his creations to the range. Although I think my tie-died grateful dead tee shirt and birkenstocks, got more strange looks from the Fuds than our AK's or the targets truth be told..... The magazines functioned well, the saiga hit 3-4 inch groups (we were not practicing stationary shooting). Anyway I would recommend these magazines considering their low costs. Im planning on putting one through a stress test next week. Because they are made of thinner metal than Com Block mags it remains to be seen as to their utility in a non-range situation. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lakedweller 10 Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Nice to hear, just ordered 2 from Ammo To Go for $12.00 each...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigsal 757 Posted June 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Nice to hear, just ordered 2 from Ammo To Go for $12.00 each...... Nice dude, I actually have been on the fence about buying those. $12 for 40 rounders is almost to good a deal if you as me. Centerfiresystems has 40 rounder pouches for $5.99, so If I get one,Ill buy 4 to fill a pouch.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vbrtrmn 167 Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 (edited) I got 5 of those mags, two of them had issues with the follower getting stuck on the welds. I had to file the welds down a bit to get them to follow properly. AIM has $11 30-round Romainian Mags http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Surplus...ype_Rifles.html AIM also has AKM Bayonet and Accessory packs for $15 http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Feature...ie_package.html Peach State has $15 Tapco Poly Mags http://shop.peachstateguns.com/product.sc?...p;productId=382 BTW BigSal, nice looking rifle! Edited June 11, 2009 by vbrtrmn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigsal 757 Posted June 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 BTW BigSal, nice looking rifle! Thanks Vbrtmn. I have several Romainian mags and they are great. As for the tapco mags, I own two that match the stock of one of my 7.62x39's. I wouldn't buy them ever again, to weak and the plastic is thinner than Bulgarian circle 10's. All in all, I would rank the Koreans as the best of the sub $10 mags. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FenderFreek 0 Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 I also bought a few of the Korean AIM mags, and mine work well too. I didn't like that goofy gray against the rifle though, so I degreased them and slapped some Aluma-hyde 2 on them. Now they match the rifle perfectly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigsal 757 Posted June 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 I also bought a few of the Korean AIM mags, and mine work well too. I didn't like that goofy gray against the rifle though, so I degreased them and slapped some Aluma-hyde 2 on them. Now they match the rifle perfectly. Nice dude, I am glad Im not the only one who got functional ones! When I get around to refinishing my saiga's Ill probably follow your example and re-do the mags color as well. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jabara572 3 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) I also bought a few of the Korean AIM mags, and mine work well too. I didn't like that goofy gray against the rifle though, so I degreased them and slapped some Aluma-hyde 2 on them. Now they match the rifle perfectly. Nice dude, I am glad Im not the only one who got functional ones! When I get around to refinishing my saiga's Ill probably follow your example and re-do the mags color as well. I got my 3 from Ammunition to go today. Ill post my thoughts about them.... (These are the 30rounders) $9.95 a piece I was hoping they would be the new black ones, but these are the gray ones. As far as construction goes, they seem sound and they ARE spot welded just like the combloc ones. At least I think they are. The spot welds look just like my other Ak mags at the front and rear locking lugs. But the rear spine spot welds almost look like some type of metal crimp. There is an extremely well defined circle on one side of the "spot weld", so its hard to tell if its an actual weld or something else..... The sheet metal does feel a tad slimmer, and they are easier to bend if you squeeze the mag bodies. I dont have a scale but i would say they are aprox 25% lighter than your average AK mag. Now the bad news, these mags are HORRIBLY LOOSE in my saiga. After a few reviews that claimed these were a very tight fit, i was optimistic about them. Side to side, they fit in the magwell fine, but the locking lugs must be way out of spec on the 3 I got. I have 4 Bulgarian metal 30rders, that click in TIGHT, so tight I sometimes have to push the mag catch forward to get them in all the way, they sit very tight, no side to side or front to back movement. I also have a tapco that fits the same. The korean mags are looser than my original Saiga mag now!!!!!! If youve tried to re-use your saiga 10 rounder in a modified mag catch, you know what I mean, and these are even worse! There is a visble gap between the rear locking lug and the mag catch. Id go as far as saying they might click right into an unmodified saiga. Since i have 5 mags that work perfectly, and ALL 3 of these korean ones are way loose, i feel confident the korean mags are undersized. I was able to hand feed ronds through them without issue, I'm pretty sure they would still feed fine.... but I wouldnt bet anything important on it. I'll probably try to add some metal to the rear tab to try and salvage them. Id feel bad selling them to someone else... buyer beware, i took a gamble at $9 a piece and lost Maybe i just got a bad batch, but all 3?? i wont be buying them ever again Edited July 31, 2009 by jabara572 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jabara572 3 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) FYI the Maximum dimension on the mag rear locking lug = Korean (average) = 4.62mm Bulgarian (average)= 5.24mm Tapco = 5.26mm Edited August 1, 2009 by jabara572 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigsal 757 Posted August 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) FYI the Maximum dimension on the mag rear locking lug = Korean (average) = 4.62mm Bulgarian (average)= 5.24mm Tapco = 5.26mm Did you get 40 rounders? Reports indicate they are all loose and grey. The 30's are what I own and they are still running fine after 3 or 4 outings with about 90 rounds per mag. Edited August 1, 2009 by bigsal 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Azrial 1,091 Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 Interesting, I have a lot of AK mags, but I guess that it is impossible to have "too many"... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jabara572 3 Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) FYI the Maximum dimension on the mag rear locking lug = Korean (average) = 4.62mm Bulgarian (average)= 5.24mm Tapco = 5.26mm Did you get 40 rounders? Reports indicate they are all loose and grey. The 30's are what I own and they are still running fine after 3 or 4 outings with about 90 rounds per mag. I got the 30's, Unfortunately, what must be a very bad batch of 30's. Upon disasembly, the back piece for one of the metal followers fell completely off. I wish i wouldve snapped some pics before I JB welded it back together. Also, each mag spring is a completely different length from the next (# of coils) I mean damn...... for real S. Korea? Edited August 1, 2009 by jabara572 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigsal 757 Posted December 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 I decided to bump this thread back from the dead, as people have had mixed results with newer batches of the ATI magazines. I maintain that these are great magazines if you can find them at $4.90 or less in todays market. If you can only find them at $8.95 or more, buy comm block steel. Anyway Please feel free to PM me after Christmas with questions. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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