MD 20 has a little play after 80 rds.

[redfish28 50]

I just recently purchased a MD20. I fitted it to my saiga 12 like the instructions/video suggest. It fit tight after doing so. I took it out to test it and it functioned flawless, however it now has a little play in it. I would say about 1/32 give or take. Is this normal? Will it continue to get worse? Will it affect function? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[GPalmer 1]

This ia an AK platform. Tolerances of 1/32" are pretty tight... I personally wouldn't worry about it.

[redfish28 50]

I didn't think it was anything to panic over. So, do you think it might get worse?

[StarPD 6]

Well, I'm certainly no expert, and don't even have a drum. But I have a bunch of mags, of which 4 are Russian factory 5 rounders. While my original mag that came with the gun fit well, the 3 extras were too tight to lock in place. I had to almost lock one in, then whack it good with my hand several times to get it to lock. The others were almost as difficult to lock in place. What I did was keep inserting them and locking them over and over again. Soon, they fit like a glove and now slide into place perfectly. I was afraid to remove material, so I just kept working at it. Now I'm glad I didn't try to remove material to make them fit, as they are now easy to insert yet not loose at all.

 

While others surely have their own opinions, and certainly some mags do require trimming, for me, just working with the mags (empty of course) gave me exactly what I want. I'd suggest that before doing any material removal, trying what I did, that is, working the mags in and out before resorting to removing material that can't easily be put back. It took a while, but it worked. I'm from the "you can always remove more material, but you can't easily put it back" school, so I'm reluctant to trim stuff, and when I do it, I'm very careful to do it a little at a time, and I keep checking my work as I go.

[redfish28 50]

Thanks for the input fellas. This is my first post and I gotta say, I really like this Forum. Its not like some of the others that make you feel like there is some kind of class system and you have to be deemed worthy in order to get an answer to a question. So, thanks again. In regards to the MD 20, I probably should have worked it in more and taken less material maybe. It seemed to have locked up reel tight when I fitted it. Oh well its nothing a little JB weld cant fix.

[rotortuner 0]

I fit my drum and inntiialy it was really hard to get the tab to seat fully then i worked it and it seated fully, but now about 500 rounds later it has a little play. Im not worried about it at all and i dont think you should be either. I have some AGP's that have a LOT of play in them and they still fead just fine and continue to function without issues. The MD drum is constructed pretty heavily and i think has less stress on that tab then the long single stack mags do. over time your drum will probably get some more play in it, it doesnt really matter as long as it continues to feed correctly and it should. Just shoot it and have fun.

 

CJG

[redfish28 50]

I fit my drum and inntiialy it was really hard to get the tab to seat fully then i worked it and it seated fully, but now about 500 rounds later it has a little play. Im not worried about it at all and i dont think you should be either. I have some AGP's that have a LOT of play in them and they still fead just fine and continue to function without issues. The MD drum is constructed pretty heavily and i think has less stress on that tab then the long single stack mags do. over time your drum will probably get some more play in it, it doesnt really matter as long as it continues to feed correctly and it should. Just shoot it and have fun.

 

CJG

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely just shoot it up and not worry. On another note, as much as I would like to purchase another drum, I just don't have the money to drop on one. I was wondering how you liked your AGP's. I have one surefire 8 round and it functions well. AGP's seem better priced. Just bought the Saiga 12 a few weeks ago and I need more mags.