Question about 223 bakelite magazines

[evergreenkid29 14]

OK I bought 3 223 bakelite magazines off another site. I got them and one has a factory sticker on it saying 223 and a 223 stamping on the bottom of the floorplate. The other two have nothing on them to do with 223 but they all look the same and are the same size, except if you look at them from the top where the ammo loads towards the front of the magazine you can see on the one stamped 223 someone ground away the plastic bumps on each side of the magazine. The other two still have the bumps on them and the bumps act like a kicker to the shell. when the shell is loaded and pushed forward the bumps center the shell in the magazine before it chambers.

My question??. Are they all 223 mags.or is the stamped 223 one a converted magazine and the other 2 are 5.45x39

 

 

The magazine in the middle is the one that has had the bumps ground off both sides,look at the top of the opening where the feed lips end and the mag. steps down, you can see the other two have a slant to them and the middle one is smaller and flat

[protected static 19]

My question??. Are they all 223 mags.or is the stamped 223 one a converted magazine and the other 2 are 5.45x39

They're all 5.45 magazines. The one stamped 223 may have been tweaked some, but it started life off as a 5.45 magazine.

[evergreenkid29 14]

Will the others work with 223 in them???

[schultze13 354]

That is correct they all started life as 5.45X39 30rd magsthe one marked .223 was converted by Century Arms for use in there .223 imports before the readily avaliable circle 10 .223 mags came along the other two look to be converted by someone else and it looks like they didn't remove enough material from the lips to let the bigger .223 shell clear. You have to becarful doing it cause if you remove to much the shells won't stay in the mag also with .223 ammo I think they only hold 28rds.

[evergreenkid29 14]

I noticed that the one that is stamped 223 has hardly any material left holding down the fowller and the first few shell seem loose but the other 2 seem to be ok??

 

Thanks for the info

Edited April 3, 2011 by vermontmadman

[protected static 19]

In addition to the cartridge casing being bigger, another problem is that the curvature of the mag body is all wrong for .223 - it's a straight-bodied casing, and 5.45 is tapered. Your odds of experiencing binding, double-feeds, and FTFs are pretty high, even if you underfill the magazine and alter the feedlips. Some people have reported success with them so YMMV - they may work, they may not.

 

FWIW, Dinzag has some instructions on his site for modifying them. Good luck.

[vulcan16 971]

I have a couple of the same mags and they don;t work well in the 223,

However, they work great in my 5.45s.

[evergreenkid29 14]

I found out where these first came from and the one as said above is a rebuild from century and the other 2 have had the followers changed to be 223, I will see today how they work I am going to try them in my wasr 3 first.

[vulcan16 971]

I found out where these first came from and the one as said above is a rebuild from century and the other 2 have had the followers changed to be 223, I will see today how they work I am going to try them in my wasr 3 first.

 

Mine had feed issues with a WASR 3.

[evergreenkid29 14]

even though century made them to go with that gun? The one thing I did notice is the springs in the magazine seem to not have enough pushing pressure. What was your problem with them in the wasr 3

[vulcan16 971]

Wouldn't feed properly.

Check Protected Static's reply.

[evergreenkid29 14]

Well I tried them in my wasr 223 and NO LUCK the bolt slides right over the top of the shells and does not grab one, and the magazine I tried was the one stamped 223, I loaded one of the others and same thing shells are not high enough. At first they are but after like ten rounds the angle changes and they start to drop. I am going to try Danzigs trick of building two ramps from back to front it will give the shells the lift that they are lacking.

Edited April 3, 2011 by vermontmadman

[avatar 4]

Well I tried them in my wasr 223 and NO LUCK the bolt slides right over the top of the shells and does not grab one, and the magazine I tried was the one stamped 223, I loaded one of the others and same thing shells are not high enough. At first they are but after like ten rounds the angle changes and they start to drop. I am going to try Danzigs trick of building two ramps from back to front it will give the shells the lift that they are lacking.

 

 

If your bolt is overriding the cases your problem is with the mag catch. The rear of the mag needs to be higher. Building up the ramps is necessary to allow loading to full 30 rnd capacity (allows the rounds to dip at the front while maintaining alignment of the upper rounds waiting to feed) but probably isn't all you need to do to make them work. Basically you need the raised ledge at the rear of the follower, adjust the feed lips for the shoulder of the 5.56, and make sure that the bolt catches the round to feed it. If your mag rocks front to back, pull back and up on it to see if the bolt lines up with the cartridge. You'll either need a new mag catch or add metal to the catch or mag.

 

EDIT: Only read half your post your mag catch may be fine. Try the pads/ramps/ledge -- the mags I've done with Robarm followers and others that have been built up to match the Robarms have been as reliable as Factory in my Chinese 223s.

Edited April 12, 2011 by avatar

[vulcan16 971]

Well I tried them in my wasr 223 and NO LUCK the bolt slides right over the top of the shells and does not grab one, and the magazine I tried was the one stamped 223, I loaded one of the others and same thing shells are not high enough. At first they are but after like ten rounds the angle changes and they start to drop. I am going to try Danzigs trick of building two ramps from back to front it will give the shells the lift that they are lacking.

 

Same problem that mine had.

Open up the rear some and still had some FTF.

Tossed them in a parts bin and forgot about them until a 5.45 came home.

They work well in a 5.45 Saiga with no bullet guide and also a Polish Tantal.

[Paulry 50]

I have one that is stamped 223 and it works GREAT in all my 5.45x39 AK's. They don't fit or/and will not work in the .223, take if from me.

 

Get a 5.45x39 or sell them to someone who does.

 

Frosty