Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I've been trying different AR mags in my Saiga for awhile and just got one of the new 60 rd quad stacks from Surefire. I would like to hear some others' opinions who have also tried these mags. I'm pretty disappointed so far myself. The follower tilts and gets stuck, as well as being slow to rise to the top, even under a small load. Feels to me like the spring is too weak. Wondering if others have had a similar experience, or is this mag possibly defective? I have a buddy who brought his AR over and we had no trouble with the three full 60 rd mags of his we emptied through his gun. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lbsrdi 1,078 Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I can not comment at the moment, but I have one in my cart ready to buy. I plan on ordering soon and I will report my findings. I would hope with all the hype they created around these mags that they would function properly. If not, it will not be the first time I was disappointed with a mag purchase. I hope there are others forum members out there with these mags because I would like to hear a little more feedback before ordering. @Cobra76two - Have you tested the one you have, or did your buddy have his own that you tested? When you say three full mags, were they three different mags or did you reload one mag three times? Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheDeacon 168 Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) I haven't had a problem running brass ammo through it in the AR or Saiga 223. Steel cased ammo seems to hang up in the magazine and cause FTF problems, possibly due to the coating on the steel. Initially it seemed to get sticky in certain spots while loading regardless of ammo casing, but it seems to have worn in and they load with little effort now. I have 3 of the magazines and 1 worked perfectly right out of the bag with no stiffness at all, the other two seemed to need some serious use to wear in. The 7.62 Magpul fits perfectly. Edited December 7, 2011 by The Deacon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Yeah I have the magpul on this one too, fit's great. I tried Wolf and also Lake City, and the LC brass still hangs up. I don't get it. My buddy was shooting some nice new brass ammo so maybe that had something to do with it feeding great. My LC is old and dirty / faded...and the Wolf is laquered steel of course. I sprayed the inside with silicone and that seems to help at least in the double stacked part up top. Maybe I'll disassemble it and hit the whole inside with it. It seems to do alright with the first 15 rds or so, then once they start quad stacking it starts hanging up. It's got this funky three stage coil spring instead of a normal zig zag type spring. Need to take it apart and see it better inside to see how it works. Looks like the smaller top spring fits down inside the larger bottom spring. K.O.T.H., He had four all together and let me borrow this one to test in the Saiga with the magwells. We emptied all of them through his AR including this one, which is strange..... maybe the ammo is the problem... I may try cleaning up and buffing this Lake City brass I have to see if that makes a difference. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheDeacon 168 Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Someone on another forum was talking about the inside surface of the magazine being a rough finish and that being a consideration. And the polymer or lacquer used on the Russian ammo is a bit "sticky" as well. The brass I was using was new speer gold dot, the steel was monarch (academy sports relabeled barnaul). Would like to know if the dirty brass made a difference and if the silicoe (or maybe a teflon based dry lube?) makes a difference in yours. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Dammit I wish I hadn't left my camera at Grandma's house onThanksgiving... Need to get back over there and get it, maybe today. Took mag apart this AM and now see how it works. There are actually two separate followers and the skinny top one fits down inside the wider one in the quad stack section, once you get the first 15 rds in. The light weight top coil spring has to compress fully til it fits down inside the lower follower then the column goes 4 wide and pushes it down, compressing the next two heavier springs, graduating in size (diameter), the largest spring at the bottom. I can see rub marks on the finish inside the body but it looks like mainly the followers themselves are making them. They will jam up if they even tilt slightly. I think It would help if they were designed with front and rear anti-tilt 'legs'. The shell cases themselves really only make solid contact on the sides along the rib indentions. If anything else the case heads may be dragging on the spine some. I'm gonna wipe it out with silicone and maybe use an old trick I do on my poly mags... coat the followers with Armorall. Then put some clean brass in there and compare results to just plain Wolf steel cases. Will report back after a range session. Hopefully with pics... If none of that works I'm gonna try adding an additional spring to the bottom on top of the floor plate, that could be interesting...lol. Just getting the thing back together is gonna be a trick.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dayanx 1 Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Yeah I have the magpul on this one too, fit's great. I tried Wolf and also Lake City, and the LC brass still hangs up. I don't get it. My buddy was shooting some nice new brass ammo so maybe that had something to do with it feeding great. My LC is old and dirty / faded...and the Wolf is laquered steel of course. I sprayed the inside with silicone and that seems to help at least in the double stacked part up top. Maybe I'll disassemble it and hit the whole inside with it. It seems to do alright with the first 15 rds or so, then once they start quad stacking it starts hanging up. It's got this funky three stage coil spring instead of a normal zig zag type spring. Need to take it apart and see it better inside to see how it works. Looks like the smaller top spring fits down inside the larger bottom spring. If you're comparing Wolf .223 to LC 5.56, perhaps the slightly thicker case proves the magazine design to have REALLY tight tolerances? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheDeacon 168 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 (edited) The steel cased ammunition seems to be hanging up exactly at the magazine shoulder where it goes from quad to dual stacks, as if the rounds are not staggered enough. The LE / consumer grade .223 does not seem to hang up at all. Time to break out the calipers and inspection cam to see exactly where the rounds are actually hanging up. Edited December 17, 2011 by The Deacon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alphagunner 6 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 I 180rds of Silver Bear 62gr fmj trough my Saiga Surfire combo and no problems yet Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheDeacon 168 Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 It seems to have a bit to do with the finish / coating on the ammo. Scored a case of TulAmmo in .223 and it feeds flawlessly (well, 240 rounds) so far. The Monarch steel .223 hangs up regularly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Motopilot1 37 Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 try to coat the inside of the mag and followers with graphite i did this on some of my glock 32 rnders and they started working great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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