Tapco Vs Circle 21 Mags

[JCP281 2]

Hey guys, most of you probably will think this video is trivial... but I decided to post up my perceptions on the two mags. I plan to update my channel on how the mags work as I shoot my IZ-240, but I just wanted to post up my initial comparisons.

 

Maybe someone can use this as some form of insite on the forum.

 

Any-who, heres the vid.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VFfewPertk

[IPSC45 8]

JCP...nice review. However...maybe a bit pre-mature posting..... as the true "value" of whether a mag is good or not is if it functions. You said you only recently purchased these mags and haven't done any shooting.....I think that is a vital missing piece of a "review".

 

Anyway...let me add some thoughts.

 

I also have an IZ-240 that will be converted. I have other legal issues to contend with ( resident of New York State).....so I am nornally limited to 10 rd mags. However, I can own "pre-ban" 30 rd mags if I can prove they were built before Sept, '94,in a "grandfather" clause allowed in NYS law.

 

So.....besides the factory Saiga 10 rd mag....I also bought 2 x Tapco 10 rd mags. In addition, I was able to find 2x East German Bakelite 30 rd mags. This proved an interesting purchase as anything made in "East Germany" is automatically date-stamped to be made prior to 1989-1990......after which the two Germany's re-united. Instant compliance for me as being pre-'94, then.

 

Some points to mention:

 

- the Saiga mag has its front body wall portion "built-up" to be level in height with the follower...even a bit higher than the follower. This is the built-in "bullet-guide" ( on the mag !!) that comes with Saiga mags, and is an area that needs to be "cut-down" slightly, to make room for the metal bullet-guide you will install on the Saiga for the conversion. It will be necessary to install a metal bullet guide *on the gun*.... to yield 100% functioning with 30 rd mags, I've come to hear.

 

- the Tapco ....AND.....the East German mags.... have the "cut-down" construction. Odd...as the Tapco is reported to work 100% with the Saiga in an unmodified condition ( meaning....as delivered, with no metal bullet guide installed on the gun). This is extra evidence that pretty much all 10 rd mags.....with or without the "cut-down"....can work with Saigas as delivered. As we move-up toward 30 rd mags, it appears that 29 rounds will operate properly if there is no metal bullet guide added to a Saiga.... with an occasional jam of the last round, when using 30 rd mags. The Tapco 10 rounder is also sold to work with AK-74's, so maybe it is no surprise of the cut-down construction on the Tapco.

 

- I tend to see a trend for people on this Forum ( and elsewhere) to trash the Tapco's as "junk".....but it seems they are very sturdily made, likely out of a reinforced plastic. Emphasis "reinforced". I've seen other applications of glass-filled or "reinforced" plastics holding up extremely well to wear and abuse. When pushed....almost all "nay-sayers" of Tapco will admit the mags work 100% reliably....but they would not depend upon them for SHTF scenarios....which seems a bit absurd. All mags are "appendages" that hang down from the gun and are exposed to sideways and fore-aft knocks that can break both Tapco and the Mil-spec mags. Due solely to their hanging-out exposure. The fact that the mil-spec have metal "tabs" fore and aft (vs "plastic" for Tapco) may simply mean the metal tabs can still be ripped out the core plastic body of the mil mags...just under a different set of abuse conditions. I really haven't heard anyone say they run Tapco's and then say they don't work well.

 

- Oddly.....the factory Saiga and Tapco's fit snug and tight once fully inserted in the gun , both fore/aft and sideways.....the East German mags are nice and tight too, but do show a "slight" fore-aft wiggle...."ever-so-slight"....that the other 2 don't have.

 

And lastly....to prove that I'm not picking on you....I didn't test fire this group of mags either. That will come in a later report.

Edited April 27, 2012 by IPSC45

[JCP281 2]

I never said it was a review, I said it was a comparison...I specifically avoided the word review because i did not intend it to be a review.. just a simple comparison. This was just my first impression of the differences, as I mentioned in the video.

 

The main point I wanted to drive home was the fact that the Tapco mags are just as sturdy as the Bulgarian mags, a common question you see about Tapco mags. They both flexed the same when stripped down. The tapco actually flexed a little less from the side, believe it or not. Like I mentioned I will also do another comparison of how they actually function in the weapon over time. So I dont really feel this is a premature video lol.

Edited April 27, 2012 by JCP281

[IPSC45 8]

I thought I prefaced my points well enough so that no one would get overly sensitive to the "review" angle...yet it seems still to have struck a nerve. As it is, I point an accusing finger even at myself for the same reason...so please don't take it the wrong way and settle down. Nice vid as I said.....

 

I think we're in the same corner.....I've read some incredible stuff how people are bad-mouthing TAPCO... "yeah, it's got lifetime warranty, but who wants to continually replace junk?....junk is junk"....etc,etc. Yet,...when pushed....no one has had a failure, or has had an unreliable mag. Or heard of anyone having a bad one. So I think they're getting a bad rap. I agree that the body and parts are very stoutly made and seem to be able to hold up to a lot of serious abuse. We don't need to get into a dooms-day scenario to bad-mouth the mags.

 

I would think any mag.....hanging out in the breeze as it were....can be prone to failure. Even mil-spec. I would not put such absolute trust in any ONE mag.... if there truly is a life threatening scenario....without also thinking about rapid-reload drills with another mag, just in-case someting goes wrong with that first mag . Situation fixed/closed....in that case. It is not a matter if the mag is mil-spec or not. Any man-made "device" can fail.

 

Here's something for the TAPCO nay-sayers to chew on.....I have both the factory Saiga (Izhmash) mag and the Tapco mag in my hands....both 10 rounders....and notice that BOTH are totally plastic body including the retainer "lip" on the backside. Do you for a moment think that Ishmash/Saiga would compromise on military type quality or reliability for THEIR mag that they put THEIR name on? Both look to be equally sturdy. Like I said, even if the TRUE mil-spec mags have metal retainer lips....they can still rip out or fail as the "next-in-line" weak-link of the mag design is uncovered in a bad scenario. It might take "more" to rip it out.....but that in itself doesn't mean a bad situation with a mil-spec mag CAN'T happen. So practice rapid change-outs...and you're OK.

Edited April 28, 2012 by IPSC45

[JCP281 2]

LOL i didnt take offense...just saying it was never intended to be a review

[IPSC45 8]

Here is one of the few data points I found that actually torture a Tapco mag to failure--->

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCqv1CQunIk

 

However....not quite fair to say dropping a Tapco on a concrete floor breaks the mag lips....and then saying the ALL STEEL Combloc mags don't break.What about any of the Combloc synthetic mags? Maybe the mounting tabs for those are still steel (sure, better....or maybe the tabs tear off the synthetic body)...but the feed lips seem just as vulnerable as Tapco.

 

Again.....for "tactical" use.....

[JCP281 2]

LOL... im sorry but anything with that guy in it I just ignore.

[IPSC45 8]

Not saying this guy is personable or objective......but he DOES test the Tapco mags "to failure"...a data point I found on the web.

 

I offered the counter-point that his comparison to ALL STEEL Combloc was biased....and his comparo needs to be done against Combloc synthetic.

 

Whether he drops the mags on the concrete floor...or if someone else does....is of no relevance to me, although "I know" what you're saying about following him and his videos in general.

[Joseph 141]

Ahh yes, Texas grebner, the ultmate idiot proofing test

Edited April 29, 2012 by ZombieJefferson

[JCP281 2]

Ahh yes, Texas grebner, the ultmate idiot proofing test

 

ROFL.

[brownwood 11]

My 3 Tapcos have worked great in my 5.45x39, converted with bullet guide, about 500 rds downrange so far. I am going to buy more for this rifle and an upcoming bullpup project I am working on.

[BCOWANWHEELS 0]

FME TAPCO MAGS DO A FINE JOB, COUNT AS 3 922R PARTS SO I BOUGHT UP A BUNCH CAUSE THEY WAS 11.00 EACH NEW AND LIFE TIME WARRANTY. SEEMS LIKE A GIFT IN ALL WAYS TO ME.