breid1970 327 Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 (edited) Ok, Im still on a budget, and the magazines I got from the guy who sold them to me seem a little less then desirable. They rattle like crazy to be frank. If you could buy some magazines for the 74 and were on a budget, what would you get? I'm not super familiar with them, I do know AR mags and I have always enjoyed magpul magazines, but I don't seem to be able to find any in 5.45. Also what do you guys know about CDNN distributing? Edited September 4, 2015 by reid17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 (edited) Bulgarian, Russian, or Polish surplus are probably the best you can find. The Bulgarian and Polish commercial mags don't look too bad, but most lack any metal reinforcements. The Polish mags are really cheap - around $15 - and every review I've read said they function 100%. Just no reinforcements. Apparently the Polish army thinks that's OK, since Polish military currently uses non-reinforced mags in the Beryl series, but I don't know that the commercial mags are made of the same material - the current issue Beryl mags are green translucent, these are not. Tapco magazines are stupid looking but underrated in their durability IMO. If they would just stop with their ugly old "grip" pattern and make all of their mags like their slabsides, they would have a solid winner across the board. Edited September 4, 2015 by mancat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
breid1970 327 Posted September 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 I have three tapco, but they rattle something fierce. I'm going to the range tomorrow to see how they shake out. I also have a promag. It doesnt seem to rattle. Atlantic has some decent prices on bulgarian and polish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 (edited) I take it back, the commercial Polish 5.45 V-project mags do appear to be the same greenish material as the newer Beryl mil mags. They're probably tough enough for rough use, still not as good as steel reinforce. A couple posts on AKfiles show them surviving pushup and drop tests. Edited September 4, 2015 by mancat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
XD45 7,124 Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Bakelite. Yeah, I know. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sim_Player 1,939 Posted September 5, 2015 Report Share Posted September 5, 2015 (edited) My Tapco mags rattle less than my Russian reinforced plum or Chinese steel 30's. I agree. Tapco slabsides all the way. Cheap and reliable. Edited September 5, 2015 by Sim_Player Quote Link to post Share on other sites
breid1970 327 Posted September 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2015 I took my tapco and pmags to the range today just to see if they would function correctly. 120 rounds and zero malfunctions of any kind. I was very pleasantly surprised. The bushnell TRS25 red dot was also on the money. Crisp and clean. made a huge difference on my old eyes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storm6490 2,768 Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 East German VEB bakelite magazines were the most reliable ones I have ever found. They seem to be hard to find for some reason. They were easy to get back when the caliber was a ghost. early to mid 90's...... The more you used them, the better they got. There is a burned orange bulgarian that is a darker color that works pretty good too but the ugly orange german mags are bomb proof and wore in nice. You can always gaffer tape them to hide the hunter orange sheen it gives of in the field. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
whatmanual 44 Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 I only use the russian plum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigChongus 765 Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Russian plums or Bulgarian circle mags for me. Also have some unused bakelites, but they're too pretty (in their ugliness) to use. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DLT 1,646 Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 I like my Tapco's. Never felt that the price was justified on the east block mags. Back in the day, when they could not give them away, I didn't own a 5.45. Just my luck I guess. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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