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Bulgarian 40 round


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Hello :]

 

I recently purchased a new Bulgarian 40 round magazine for my 7.62x39 Saiga. I've done the conversion (with Dinzag's awesome bullet guide), and it accepts standards AK-47 magazines. In particular, the Bulgarian 30 round magazines have worked really well for me; there have been no jams with those. I decided to try a Bulgarian 40 rounder. I examined it, when I bought it, and it appeared to be in good shape. When I got it home, I put it side by side with my 30 rounders, and they looked identical, except for the overall length (obviously).

 

I took the 40 rounder out to the range yesterday, and the first shot fired, then the second round jammed. I ejected the shell, and I tried again. It fired one, then it jammed again. The magazine is a double stack (like any other AK mag) and the left round would fire, but the right would jam every time. Every other round was getting hung up somewhere and jamming the bullet way back into the casing. It was a mess! While trying to figure out where it was getting hung up, the magazine broke apart. I trashed it.

 

I also brought a couple of 30 rounders to the range, so the day was not ruined, thankfully. I had no problems with the 30 rounders for the rest of the afternoon.

 

I just thought I'd give a heads up to anyone who might be thinking about buying a 40 rounder, be cautious. Maybe I just had a bad magazine?

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I just thought I'd give a heads up to anyone who might be thinking about buying a 40 rounder, be cautious. Maybe I just had a bad magazine?

Undoubtedly.

 

You also did not tell us what KIND of "Bulgarian 40 round" magazine you have.

 

Some of them are made to commercial standards and are in the same league as Surefire, ProMag or [barf] Pro-Mag.

 

 

 

 

I can guarantee you that if you'd purchased a steel military surplus 40 rounder, you'd not be having any issues whatsoever.

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You also did not tell us what KIND of "Bulgarian 40 round" magazine you have.

 

Some of them are made to commercial standards and are in the same league as Surefire, ProMag or [barf] Pro-Mag.

 

It was Steel and advertised as surplus. It was in great shape, from what I could tell. I put it side by side with a mil-surplus steel Bulgarian 30 rounder (which has never given me a single problem) and they appeared to be identical (aside from the obvious difference in capacity).

 

I threw the magazine away (I wasn't thinking about posting this at the time, I apologize) but I found a picture from a sale on Gunbroker.com which advertises the same magazine.

 

pix263514359.jpg

 

It looked identical to that one.

 

EDIT: I should also say that in my original post, I referred to the magazine as "new". I meant that it's "new" to me. The magazine itself was in great shape, but it was definitely not straight from the factory.

Edited by essemgy
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While trying to figure out where it was getting hung up, the magazine broke apart. I trashed it.
It was Steel and advertised as surplus. It was in great shape, from what I could tell. I put it side by side with a mil-surplus steel Bulgarian 30 rounder (which has never given me a single problem) and they appeared to be identical (aside from the obvious difference in capacity).

 

You most definitely got a "bad magazine".

 

I've never ever heard of a milsurp mag "breaking apart".

 

Ever.

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You most definitely got a "bad magazine".

 

I've never ever heard of a milsurp mag "breaking apart".

 

Ever.

 

It's not like it cost a small fortune, so I'll probably buy another one at the next gun show and give it another try. I've never had any issues with my magazines, but I guess there's a first time for everything. The magazine didn't APPEAR to have any defects, and it while it did show some use, it wasn't a clunker. Hell, I have some older magazines that look like they've been to hell and back, and they work just fine every time.

 

Hopefully it was a fluke :]

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While trying to figure out where it was getting hung up, the magazine broke apart. I trashed it.
I threw the magazine away (I wasn't thinking about posting this at the time, I apologize)

 

Try swapping out the follower out with one of your 30-rounders and see if you still have issues. That's the only guess I've got, good luck!

 

. . . I'm not sure how changing the follower in a broken magazine that's in a landfill somewhere is gonna help him.

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While trying to figure out where it was getting hung up, the magazine broke apart. I trashed it.
I threw the magazine away (I wasn't thinking about posting this at the time, I apologize)

 

Try swapping out the follower out with one of your 30-rounders and see if you still have issues. That's the only guess I've got, good luck!

 

. . . I'm not sure how changing the follower in a broken magazine that's in a landfill somewhere is gonna help him.

 

I should probably stop reading posts when I first wake up, thankfully I can always rely on guys like you who like to point out flaws in everything, there's a name for people like that, but I think I'll stick to civility.

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You sure it wasnt one of the crappy korean 40 rounders.

 

It was advertised as a Bulgarian surplus magazine, and I can verify that it was made from steel. The vendor I purchased this magazine from is very reputable, and I have made SEVERAL purchases from them without a single issue.

 

I'm going to purchase another one and see if I have the same problem. Hopefully it was a fluke, but I thought it needed to be documented somewhere.

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