3 Reasons to Convert 5.45 Mags to 5.56?

[tbryanh 11]

Price, Composition, and Verstility are the three reasons I see to convert 5.45 mags to 5.56.

PRICE
It appears that 5.45 mags were converted to 5.56 in the past because 5.56 mags did not exist. Then when 5.56 mags became available, and the price of 5.45 mags went up, there was no longer a need to convert mags.

Well, the price of 5.56 mags appears to be pretty high at this point. Circle 10 mags are $45 each new, and Beryl mags are about $25.00 each used if you can find them. Converting mags could be cost effective at this point.

COMPOSITION
There are currently not any all steel mags for 5.56 that I know of that will work in dimpled reciever rifles. Converting steel mags would solve this problem.

VERSATILITY
Probably alot of people at this point own Saiga's in both 5.45 and 5.56 calibers. Wouldn't it be nice to have mags that can be converted from one caliber to the other and back again?

SOURCES
Dinzag has some info on his website: ".223 Magazine Options - Three ways to use high-cap AK magazines in your 223 Saiga rifle." (http://www.dinzagarms.com/downloads/223_mag_options.pdf)

There is probably info in the archives of this website too.


Anybody want to share their knowledge and experience in converting mags?

Edited November 19, 2014 by tbryanh

[jimdigriz 580]

Probably best to just wait for csspecs' steel 223 mags. He seems determined to do make them.

[Matthew Hopkins 1,065]

Anybody want to share their knowledge and experience in converting mags?

 

 

I converted several E.german mags to 5.56 (when they were 5 bucks a pop), the big thing to make it work is to change out the follower.  the 5.45  bullet profile on the follower  won't work with 5.56 rounds. up to 10 rounds it's OK but anything more and you get feeding issues.

 

 so what I did was to ground off the 5.45  bullet  profile and cut the "tails" off a  AR 5.56  follower and epoxied that onto the 5.45 follower, you can only load 29 but it all feeds into my SAR3 with no problems.  

 

if you want one mag to work in both in 5.45 and 5.56, just buy some US made 5.45 followers (which is a couple bucks each) and get some AR 5.56 followers, ground down the 5.45 bullet profile cut the "tails" off the AR follower, epoxy it on that. then if you want a mag to shoot in your 5.56 AK change out the 5.45 follower and visa versa 

Edited November 20, 2014 by Matthew Hopkins

[tbryanh 11]

 

Anybody want to share their knowledge and experience in converting mags?

 

 

. . . you can only load 29 . . .  

 

Is this because the 5.56 rounds are a little fatter than 5.45 rounds making it so that only 29 5.56 rounds will fit, or will 30 5.56 rounds fit but the 30th round won't feed?

[tbryanh 11]

The all steel ak74 mags that i have have steel followers. replacent followers are probably plastic. not sure i want to downgrade from steel followers to plastic followers.

Edited November 23, 2014 by tbryanh

[mikebaker1129 19]

The Followers made by Robinson Armament fixed the feed issue in the 5.45 mags with the 5.56 by raising the round up more. The other issue was the need to grind out part of the 5.45 mag body. The mags converted by Century for use in the SAR .223 rifles had all of the hard work done to the mag bodies,but century failed to add the RA follower, which led to feeding issues.

The partially converted Century mags can still be located,add a RA follower and you are golden.

MY RA imorted Vepr cam from Robinson with a texture painted East German modified 5.45 from the manufacturer.

These mags do work well for me ,no matter how many people talk of mag geometry.

Unfortunately the RA followers are made of plastic and are no longer available. My wife scored me 10 just before they stopped selling them.

Hope this helps !

[Matthew Hopkins 1,065]

 

 

Anybody want to share their knowledge and experience in converting mags?

 

 

. . . you can only load 29 . . .  

 

Is this because the 5.56 rounds are a little fatter than 5.45 rounds making it so that only 29 5.56 rounds will fit, or will 30 5.56 rounds fit but the 30th round won't feed?

 

 

not any of those, when I epoxy the 5.56 follower onto the 5.45 follower  that made the "new" follower much thicker.  I can always cut the "skirt" on the follower shorter to make more room for that 30th round but I can live with 29 rounds in the mag 

[mancat 2,368]

Personally I usually suggest at this point that people just buy as many of the cheap Tapcos as they feel they might ever need. Sure they're stupid looking and all-plastic, but do you foresee yourself having a problem if you buy yourself 12 or more mags for a single rifle?

 

I ran over them with my Explorer and threw them fully loaded quite a few times onto crushed rock, no problems. The only way I was able to break one was by inserting it into the rifle and slammed my fist into the back of the mag.. Broke off the rear tab. The same type of force can easily separate (or bend) the steel ribbing from the polymer casting of a poly 5.45 mag.

 

I have 12 Beryl mags and a few of the Tapcos. The only reason I don't have more of the Tapcos is that they don't work in Bulgarian 5.56 rifles.

 

Now I wouldn't be surprised if some of the common plastic AR followers could be made to work in a 5.45 mag body, if you really must do it. Both the Galil, Yugo, and Weiger mags do accept AR followers, but they have the same side wall ribbing pattern as an AR mag in order to support the follower.

Edited November 23, 2014 by mancat

[Matthew Hopkins 1,065]

I have found that the TAPCO  GALIL/GOLINI mag works in a SAR3

[GregM1 241]

tbryahn,  Have you tried the 30 round galil mags? i have 3 for my 223. they are thinner and shorter than the circle 10 polymer mags. my rifle does not have dimples, but i dont see why they would not work with dimples.