Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 So i went to the range today with a friend, a camera, a few hundred rounds of ammo, and my S-12 with all the accessories on it. First the ommision of guilt. I went with close to 100 rifled slugs, and didn't use most of them. I was planing on sighting in my Kobra red dot sight, and i left it on the last time i put it away... I did not bring any of my extra batteries with me. First up is my AGPs they functioned properly with only one failure to feed the entire day. I can't remember the last time i had a FTF with them befor this, so maybe it was a fluke. Overall fit and finish of them is right on what you would expect, and at ~$54 a piece i still consider them money well spent. If they have a flaw it is that some have been known to break while using 3" buck rounds. My gen 2 AGPs handled this duty today with no problem, though the weather was warm. I fired 2 full mags of 3" 00 remington. Next is the Pro-Mags. When i first pulled these out of the box i was excited, now i would trade all 3 in for one AGP. I had at least 15 FTF with them and 3 of the rounds were destroyed in the process. They required fiting and did NOT come with instructions, while this may not be a issue for me, i'm sure many of thier customers have not fitted a mag to thier guns befor and would need this information. Mine did not have the follower problems many have complained about, but the inside diamiter was smaller than the OD of a standard 12 ga round. At $35 a piece i don't consider them worth the time and effort to have a substandard mag at the end of the day. With work, these will be fine for plinking at the range, but you'll never see me grab them to defend the house, go hunting, or in competition. I fired 2 full mags of 3" 00 remington, and these too passed that test. Cobras vented upper HG: this performed admirably. I had my friend loading mags while i dumped them and i would touch my bare wrist against it to see if i could burn myself. Thankfully it never got more than on the high end of warm. At $20 it gets my aproval as a worthy addition to my gun. My el-cheapo flashlight however did NOT pass the 3" 00 test I put the mags through. I'll have to man up and get a real one next time. I love my trigger feel with the 25% reduced power spring. Its right where i want it now with just a little bending and tweaking. I can say though that i have a new occurance that needs to be ferrited out. a few times during firing my trigger did not reset all the way, and had to be pushed foward a little. I cannot say this is directly related to the reduced power spring, but i can tell you i need to figure out a way to stop this. At $15 I feel very good about my money spent here. My modified poly choke performed just as it was suposed to, at about $100 i still like having this guy on the buisness end of my barrel. My Chaos quick clean and gas piston went under a severe duty test. Not only did i put a few hundred rounds into it today i intentionaly left it in the #2 setting for both mags 3" 00 test to check durability. During this i put a blackjack recoil buffer in to protect my gun, and all FTF and FTE did not count against the mags. So yeah ~250 remington trap loads 40 remington rifled deer slugs on the #1 setting, and finaly 40 remington 3" 00 on the #2 gas setting, and no visible wear to the quick clean. The gas piston has a few small mars in the very center but they are just surface scratches. As a package deal for $90 this would still get my nod, any durability issues they had in the past are just that- the past. right at the end of the day i had the front screw holding the tromix DIY trigger guard pop out. I blame myself for this as i should have used thread locker. So thats about it, if you all have any questions about something else i have installed just ask, in the meantime enjoy some pics... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patriot12 11 Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 . Great lessons learned. I had the same experience with the promags. I sent all 10x of mine back for warrenty work. If I get them back, I will give them another try and the first time one fails I will sell all 10x of them. They look great, but for me that fad is over. I wish I got surefire 8rd mags instead. It sounds like AGP mags are good as well. I use energizer lithium AAs in my Kobra. I find they last much longer. For the Kobra a 50 yrd zero with slugs will allow you to be zeroed for most 2 3/4in and 3in slugs. I use the dot for the slugs at 50 yrds and switch to the three post when I fire shot at closer range. I find that seems to work best. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hobbyshooter 59 Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 That looks like fun. Great report. As for the trigger reset, since the hammer spring is the trigger reset spring also I'm thinking you should try holding the trigger with the bolt & carrier out of the gun, and pushing the hammer cocked then slowly releasing the trigger to try & replicate the issue. Chances are that reduced power spring isn't pushing down hard enough to overcome the sear hook. You can try bending the legs to increase the pressure, and polish the contact points of the hammer & sear face with some wet 600 grit. Then be sure to grease those points, and maintain the grease on them with each cleaning. That's my guess anyhow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 (edited) Out of curiosity Nailbomb, what exactly did you do to "fit" the ProMags to your Saiga? Edited April 24, 2009 by Jpanzer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 Out of curiosity Nailbomb, what exactly did you do to "fit" the ProMags to your Saiga? Underneath the front catch i filed away material with a standard flat bastard, the back catch i removed material at a angle, and then shortened it from the bottom of the back catch untill it locked in solidly but with less effort. so in my opinion there are 3 key areas to worry about... Want a pic of a mag to display what i'm talking about? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 Out of curiosity Nailbomb, what exactly did you do to "fit" the ProMags to your Saiga? Underneath the front catch i filed away material with a standard flat bastard, the back catch i removed material at a angle, and then shortened it from the bottom of the back catch untill it locked in solidly but with less effort. so in my opinion there are 3 key areas to worry about... Want a pic of a mag to display what i'm talking about? Sure, you can post the pic if you want. I was just wondering whether or not you got inside the mag body. I opened mine up, and found the slight narrowing towards the top of the mag body you spoke of. Did a little bit of material removal, filed a tad off the metal feed lips as they seemed to want to catch high brass shells. Sprayed the mag spring and the interior of the mag body with dry lube, and it seems to cycle a lot smoother now. Haven't hd them on the range yet, but hopefully they will be fine. Folks seem to forget there is a 3 page AGP Mag complaint thread stickied to the top of this board, and I've heard of Surefire's having issues too. I think the ProMags will eventually be sorted out also.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vintagedude88 16 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) Hey Nailbomb, you didn't say anything about your SGM foregrip and that Choate stock kit. How did those hold out? About the spring, when I installed mine, during testing, I found that one of the legs had a tendency to slip off the trigger. Check that. I bent my spring slightly so that it wouldn't slip off. Edited April 25, 2009 by FrustratedInCali Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) Hey Nailbomb, you didn't say anything about your SGM foregrip and that Choate stock kit. How did those hold out? About the spring, when I installed mine, during testing, I found that one of the legs had a tendency to slip off the trigger. Check that. I bent my spring slightly so that it wouldn't slip off. My SGM has been serving duty for a while now. I didn't care for it much in its stock form, but with a little bit of massaging, i am quite happy now. The venting i did may have helped the cobra slightly. as far as the rails, i don't have any heavy use for them. I primarily use the rails for a sling mount, the flashlight was somewhat of a afterthought. The SGM tri rail came to me from Greg at carolina shooters supply as a seemingly well made kit including some thread locker. Greg from CSS has a nearly legendary customer service reputation, and i cannot fault him in any fasion as he exceeded any of my expectations as a middle man. My stock is a bulgarian thumbhole. It seems to be well made, and i find its ergonomics to be very pleasurable. If i were to improve upon the design at all it would have the option for a mercury tube for better balance, and grip tape on the grip(a future upgrade). Its very light and it dosn't help balance the weapon itself much, though converting improves this slightly. It would make a fine place on a lightweight SHTF weapon. I really like the length of pull it offers. Its longer than a warsaw, but not too long for quick shouldering. I have not tried action with it and body armor on but i believe the longer than warsaw length could be easily compensated for in a situation like this. In short it seems to have a nice balance between sporting length and tactical compactness. Edited April 25, 2009 by Nailbomb Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 I was just wondering whether or not you got inside the mag body. I opened mine up, and found the slight narrowing towards the top of the mag body you spoke of. Did a little bit of material removal, filed a tad off the metal feed lips as they seemed to want to catch high brass shells. Sprayed the mag spring and the interior of the mag body with dry lube, and it seems to cycle a lot smoother now. Haven't hd them on the range yet, but hopefully they will be fine. Folks seem to forget there is a 3 page AGP Mag complaint thread stickied to the top of this board, and I've heard of Surefire's having issues too. I think the ProMags will eventually be sorted out also.... I wouldn't consider getting inside the mag body a fitment issue. Yes i took a dremel tool to the inside of the pro mags. the failure to feeds i expirienced seemed to have more to do with a bad feed angle than with parasitic drag. This caused the rounds to mash themselves against the front of the mag and my feed ramp. I truly hope your method of "fixing" them is better and you have good results from these mags. I'm sure plenty of people could enjoy saving some $20 a mag, and i would like to see them enjoy it. Please leave a report on your results when you go to a range. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RABIDFOX50 6 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Outstanding report Nailbomb. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonblack 9 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Good looking Pan in the background. Is it yours? jonblack Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nailbomb 10,221 Posted April 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) Good looking Pan in the background. Is it yours? jonblack Heh, no thats my fathers. All of the pics you see of my bikes are in his garage. He allows a few people to store there bikes there including me, and he has a really nice shop setup. Heres a few pics of his 59' pan. Edited April 25, 2009 by Nailbomb Quote Link to post Share on other sites
corbin 621 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) I have a Tromix TG and the reduced spring in my Saiga too. The spring did the same thing to me after about 20 shots. It's from the ends on the spring (on the trigger) slipping inward and hitting the disconector area. They lose their pressure against the trigger, so it might not reset after a shot. The easy fix is to slightly bend the last 1/2" of the springs outward just a little. That keeps them from falling inward by the disconnector. I saw one guy add a thin sheet metal tab to each side of his trigger to keep the springs from working inward too, but that seemed like overkill. As for the Tromix TG, I used slightly longer cap head screws and put them in from the bottom and then installed thin nuts on the inside (loctited of course). Rock solid. The thinner nut is really only needed on the front screw in order to clear the hammer. The others could be thicker if you wanted. Corbin *EDIT* How did I miss that Pan?! I love my trigger feel with the 25% reduced power spring. Its right where i want it now with just a little bending and tweaking. I can say though that i have a new occurance that needs to be ferrited out. a few times during firing my trigger did not reset all the way, and had to be pushed foward a little. I cannot say this is directly related to the reduced power spring, but i can tell you i need to figure out a way to stop this. At $15 I feel very good about my money spent here. right at the end of the day i had the front screw holding the tromix DIY trigger guard pop out. I blame myself for this as i should have used thread locker. Edited April 25, 2009 by Corbin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.