gunfun 3,931 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Yes, but it takes a little more effort than some other mags to make sure the front lug is hooked. I'd say you could ease loading by at least sanding the transition on the underside of your rotating bolt face and bolt body, just enough to eliminate a snag there. More is beneficial, but pretty much every one can benefit from what I just described without any risk to speak of. Also, the steps in my video apply. I find I need to be a little more positive on the up and forwards stroke with these. I think this is because it has a better spring and it holds the shell up at a higher location. (Which is perfectly in line with the bore for a shorter jump and therefore theoretically better reliability.) The prototype was a little easier than the production mags IMO. I haven't compared, but I think the shell on those sits at a height closer to other brands. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
headshot 52 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 I wanna see the computer case mag! So here's my two cents. These mags are $23 more than a Promag stick. $18 more than a izzy 5 or an Sgm 12. $3 less than the cheapest I have seen a promag 12 for, and $18 less than the normal price. They are roughly a third the average cost of an izzy 8, and arguably better looking and tougher. They are extremely well fitted if the betas are any indication, and he's already stepped up to say since this is an early release, he will rapidly solve any problems on his dime. If you get one and hate it, the next batch will be a while. At a guess, most the world that doesn't use this site or the vepr site has never heard of it. You could probably scalp them on gunbroker or ebay for double what you pay before people catch on. maybe even $150. At anyrate, if you think it sucks you shouldn't have a hard time getting your money back. As I understand it he has many hours of labor and hundreds of thousands into the dies at this stage. If you were in his shoes and knew the above, what price would you charge? How about when you know customers have been begging for them for close to a decade, and you could probably sell the first batch for $99 each without difficulty? Everyone who knows me knows I am a tightwad and would rather do myself or do without than over pay. I'm probably not going to order a dozen at $65, but for one or two mags that will absolutely work if dropped hard on a cold day while in the gun, or even fallen on, that seems like a reasonable expense. I'd rather have 1 of these than two promags (or some AGPs) that I can't completely trust. I don't recall anyone ever saying a CSSpecs spring fell into shards. I can't speak for CSSpecs, but I expect after he recoups his development cost they will be between $45 and $55. There are things I actually prefer the plastic mags for, but these make a lot of sense for rough use or very cold weather. They also look very good. Factory Saiga12 8rd mags are 109 bucks shipped, so I don't know where you got your figures from. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csspecs 1,987 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Up until the last year or so you could count yourself lucky to get them below $150. Kvar still lists them for $150 Legion Arms has them in supply now at your stated price. But that was not the case until recently. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
headshot 52 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Up until the last year or so you could count yourself lucky to get them below $150. Kvar still lists them for $150 Legion Arms has them in supply now at your stated price. But that was not the case until recently. Yeah I know, but they have had them since about May last year. Regardless of all that, I love your S308 mags, and I will be ordering the S12 mags. They look great, and I just want some metal mags. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Squishy 1,149 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Factory Saiga12 8rd mags are 109 bucks shipped, so I don't know where you got your figures from. From people like me who paid that much from "private" importers before any retailer had them listed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ruffian72 548 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) 2 words. "Saiga Solutions" went broke before getting to production. Few years ago saw their templates for sale. Never knew if sold, or just gathering dust somewhere. 1st innovators catch unneeded heck from those who don't understand process or costs to bring to production. Others fallow after market is established, or rip off concept. FBMG(now Unita), AGP's 10 rd stick. Mike's drum, Csspecs metal mags, These are just the mag producers that put a$$ on the line. There are many accessory makers on this forum that's done the same. Especially producing an item that has to work with such a lose tolerance platform. Sometimes I buy just to show appreciation to those who are willing to go the distance. Can load up over 1,000 rds of 308 due to this reason. 4 or 500rds of 12 gauge. Myself and others have done 1 off or few for friends build of items. So, 1st hand realize the hassle to bring to market consumes the private producers life, and can/could easily wipe out financially. Realize it's a passion/dream to get to market, so if a producers gets touchy with those who don't understand process, it's ignorance by those who don't know. Edited February 1, 2014 by Ruffian72 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
headshot 52 Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 (edited) 2 words. "Saiga Solutions" went broke before getting to production. Few years ago saw their templates for sale. Never knew if sold, or just gathering dust somewhere. 1st innovators catch unneeded heck from those who don't understand process or costs to bring to production. Others fallow after market is established, or rip off concept. FBMG(now Unita), AGP's 10 rd stick. Mike's drum, Csspecs metal mags, These are just the mag producers that put a$$ on the line. There are many accessory makers on this forum that's done the same. Especially producing an item that has to work with such a lose tolerance platform. Sometimes I buy just to show appreciation to those who are willing to go the distance. Can load up over 1,000 rds of 308 due to this reason. 4 or 500rds of 12 gauge. Myself and others have done 1 off or few for friends build of items. So, 1st hand realize the hassle to bring to market consumes the private producers life, and can/could easily wipe out financially. Realize it's a passion/dream to get to market, so if a producers gets touchy with those who don't understand process, it's ignorance by those who don't know. We've been on these forums for a while. I remember the Saiga Solutions stuff. I remember Mike's pre-orders and everyone going crazy about DD classification worries. A lot of things started because of this forum. I remember Csspecs first mags too. The first thread where he was just making his own mags, and people offered to buy them. Its great when you see people go from their own ugly-ass products, to the awesome products they currently produce. Csspecs first mags were so fucking ugly! They looked like someone gave monkies some steel and a welder! LOL! Look where the guys who had that drive are now! Shit! A TV show even happened because of this forum! That reminds me that I haven't paid the site some money in a while..... Gotta go fix that! Edited February 2, 2014 by headshot 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ruffian72 548 Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 (edited) Was one of Csspecs testers on the 308's. And purchased some of 1st run, then while back purchased few more, come a long way on finish. Correct on finish. About needed welding gloves to load 1st patch due to sharp edges. Yet they worked and could club critters if needed with no worries of breakage. Remember the drooling and can't wait for higher capacity than 5, the franken mags. Heck, I found a supplier and fought customs to get from New Zealand a couple dozen Izzy 8's. Where $300 stateside if found. Got these for $90 each. Sold 6 for $175, and had at least 100 requests. Yes, I love our innovators, and if small issue arises, like many here, realize, it's due to platform with lose tolerances. Inform producer of my issue, because others will have, solve it and move on. Edited February 2, 2014 by Ruffian72 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk451 2,230 Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Mine was in the mailbox Friday night when I got home from work. Took about 20 minutes of judicious file work to fit. Got a chance to try it out today. 90 rounds of field loads & buck with flawless reliability. I'm very happy with the magazine: just ordered 3 more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skitterfish 10 Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I got a chance to run mine yesterday with zero issues and very smooth feeding. Of all the saiga 12 mags I have these seem to feed the smoothest and I will be ordering more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csspecs 1,987 Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Hey if anyone wants to leave a short review on my website I'd be happy to see it. I know many people are checking for a review before they buy. I don't really mind if it has "had to file a lot" on the review. That is real. I've been trying to make it less of an Inquisition to post a review, but some of the anti spam measures are really hard to bypass. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beefcakeb99 572 Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Any chance you could send out some of that stripping? Or have a cheap option on the order form? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk451 2,230 Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I put about 90 rounds of heavy field loads & reduced recoil 00 through my magazine Sunday (no slugs or full-power buck allowed at indoor range) NO malfuntions or misfeeds. Drove down to C2 Tuesday & put about 95 rounds of bulk-pack and various slug & buck downrange. 100% reliability with; 2-3/4" Federal bulk-pack, Fiocchi 00, Winchester 'Military' 00, Winchester #1 Buck, Rio Star slug, Brenneke KO slug, Brenneke 1-1/8 oz Green Lightning slug, 3" Winchester, Remington & Federal 000, Brenneke 1-3/8 oz Black Magic slug. Last mag was an alternating mix of 3 different types buck & 2 different slugs. Other than the factory 5, this is the only magazine I've used that works every time. (no factory 8s here, I've been meaning to get at least one, but it's hard to reconcile the price). I personally think this mag looks more appropriate with the Saiga than the factory 8, so I'll be getting more. Just got done leaving a review at csspecs site. Best endorsement I can think to give is to point out that, for me, this magazine has displaced the factory 5 mag for HD purposes. I think I'll keep what drums I have just for range-toys. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csspecs 1,987 Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Any chance you could send out some of that stripping? Or have a cheap option on the order form? I'm waiting on my order to come in. I'm getting: Flat black Red Yellow Blue I figure people can come up with a color coding system for bird, buck and slugs. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beefcakeb99 572 Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Guess I could just try to buy some myself but it seems like redundancy to buy auto door trim when my truck has been immobile for 2 months Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Azkamidaka 26 Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Congrats, they look like they are as functional as they are good looking. I can't wait to see the improved variations, possible compatibility with a cobra lrbho, and ten round capacity....until then I save my pennies for you sir. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Hey if anyone wants to leave a short review on my website I'd be happy to see it. I know many people are checking for a review before they buy. I don't really mind if it has "had to file a lot" on the review. That is real. I've been trying to make it less of an Inquisition to post a review, but some of the anti spam measures are really hard to bypass. Review- Done. As to the mag prices for izzy 8s. Since roughly 2008 I've seen them sell for $150 as the general rate when someone gets a batch in. The last couple of years they became a lot more common, at $120, and I've seen them listed for as cheap as $95 on a couple of occasions. Generally they are in stock for hours or less at that rate. I still see them go for over $150 when they are listed on ebay, and during a few of the scares I've seen people ask for $300 and others get marked sold that were asking $250. I don't know if anyone actually paid $250. If some place has been listing them for a while at $109, that's an improvement, but I know they still sell at $120 elsewhere. That does seem to be the going rate. If they get down to around $65, I may have to get one to see if they live up to the hype. If they stay around a hundred bucks for a while, I will revise my thinking. The funny thing is, now you could probably get a lot more money for one of the clear SGM or AGP mags. (I wish I had bought a few of the former) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Any new stuff going on with these? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csspecs 1,987 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Not a whole lot.. They are selling fairly well. I have more being made, we tweaked the rear lug a little to reduce or partially eliminate filing. When they come in I'll put them as an option. We made a prototype Vepr-12 and I'm going to work on one for the Fury-12 as well now that I've got my stock on. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spicoli 12 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Are you going to the front lug any bigger? Also, a ribless design? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csspecs 1,987 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Let me see if I can get my brother to make a larger front lug stamp.. If I can get something that works I'll post pictures of it. I'm going to a manufacturing show in Orlando in a few days, I'll ask the welding reps if they have any ideas for making a smooth back using our existing stamp plates. The ESAB people had some robot tig welders, either that or a mig with tiny wire. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoeAK 337 Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 If possible, I think changing the angle of the bottom of the lug would help alot too, like the factory mags. For making the lug bigger, my factory five front lug measures .161", my steel mag measures .096" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sunnybean 939 Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 If possible, I think changing the angle of the bottom of the lug would help alot too, like the factory mags. For making the lug bigger, my factory five front lug measures .161", my steel mag measures .096" Is this causing problems for you? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoeAK 337 Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Just for loading on a closed bolt, it can be done of course, but I think it would be much easier if the front lug were more like other magazines. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KTM 72 Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Just got the 2 mags I ordered. I did a bit of filing on both and they lock up nice and tight. I had no problem loading them on a closed bolt. My BCG is profiled and polished up a bit so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. These mags are built like a tank and look great. I'll probably sell all of my SGM 8s and only run the steels. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 I'm thinking of liquidating most of my 10 round polymer mags too. The mag (unless factory Russian) has ALWAYS been the lone weak point in the S12. These steel mags won't warp, are consistent with feed, and impervious to temperature issues. Time for me to save my nickels so I can purchase some... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
csspecs 1,987 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 We are getting our components to make the vepr-12 feedlip set on Wednesday.. A few of the parts got delayed. We should be able to show that magazine fairly soon. We made a rough prototype to get measurements off of, it cycled well and activated the LRBHO just fine. So with any luck this tooling set will be done fairly fast.. The Fury shotguns are pretty much the vepr with a slightly different cut out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sunnybean 939 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 We are getting our components to make the vepr-12 feedlip set on Wednesday.. A few of the parts got delayed. We should be able to show that magazine fairly soon. We made a rough prototype to get measurements off of, it cycled well and activated the LRBHO just fine. So with any luck this tooling set will be done fairly fast.. The Fury shotguns are pretty much the vepr with a slightly different cut out. Well, there goes whatever remains of my checking account. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Let me see if I can get my brother to make a larger front lug stamp.. If I can get something that works I'll post pictures of it. I'm going to a manufacturing show in Orlando in a few days, I'll ask the welding reps if they have any ideas for making a smooth back using our existing stamp plates. The ESAB people had some robot tig welders, either that or a mig with tiny wire. edge of seat on this. I'd like to see what it would take to mod one of the V12/030 mags for the JTE magwell. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TexanShooter 8 Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Well what happens when you leave a forum for a while? You come to find that a company has been making steel S12 mags for a couple months. LOL Just ordered one to test out and hopfully it won't be the last. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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